How much better is Fireline Crystal vs regular fireline?

[lakevet]

How much better is Fireline crystal vs regular fireline? My 8 yr old demanded regular fireline on his rod (thanks to Al Lindner ). Loved the sensitivity, but had problems with tip wrapping and line guide wear on his ugly stik. Switched him back to good old mean green 6# Trilene XL. He popped a 29.5" walleye with it the next trip out. Interested in trying Fireline Crystal if it doesn't have the tip wrap, guide wear problems. I think it could be a good match with the forgiveness of the ugly stik. He is an incurable slammer on the hookset, just like his 2 brothers. Any thoughts?

Lakevet

[TonkaBass]

I used it this year for ice fishing, but I think it's a nice compromise between the smoke color and bright green. I might use it this year for jerkbaits.

[Brian H]

IMHO you are going to tear up line guides with braids. The exception my be the high end rods with the high end guides. I would spool the Trilene line onto an empty Fireline spool and let him spool that up. Sometimes it pays to be the parent.

[Muddog]

The only differance I see is, It is much easier to see the crystal for line watching. It is hard to see the smoke colored line on over cast days.

[Tim_Anderson]

Lakevet,

I don't think you will see any difference with the crystal as far as tip wrap or wearing on the line guides. It's the same line as smoke...just a different color. Like someone else said, it's easier to watch, especially above water. I personally really like the line, and many of my rods are not that high-end. I do notice kids in general having problem with line wrapping at the tip. Many of them are older than your son. That is something that will come with experience and better concentration.

He caught a 29.5" walleye though...that is both awesome and impressive at the same time!

BTW I think you have a great line combo going. I use both fireline and trilene mono on my spinning outfits. Like them both alot.

[lakevet]

Thanks for the input. Will run another year with trilene.

Lakevet

[sparky27]

I love the crystal. I don't think I will ever use anything else. I fish rivers alot. The strength of crystal has saved me many rapalas and jigs that otherwise would still be in the river. Just my 2 cents though.

[opsirc]

IMHO you are going to tear up line guides with braids. The exception my be the high end rods with the high end guides. I would spool the Trilene line onto an empty Fireline spool and let him spool that up. Sometimes it pays to be the parent.

the orginal fire line was hard on rod guides. but if I recall correctly, berkley changed the shape of the line so that it will not tears up the guides, it how has a more oval shape instead of round.

[NCLaker]

I use to fish fireline with an Ugly Stick - same problem with it cuting up my tip guide. There is a pretty easy and cheap fix. Buy a Fuji tip replacement kit. The tip is ceramic (I think) so fireline will not cut it up.

Replacing the tip is easy. You use a lighter to heat the tip (not the rod blank) just enought until the old tip can be pulled off. Clean off the old glue - follow the instructions for gluing on the new tip using the glue stick that comes with it.

You shouldn't have any more issues with fireline cutting into the guide tip.

[bucketmouth64]

Is fireline crystal a co-polymer line? I was thinking of trying it this year. Is there any stretch or less stretch than mono? And would you say it is one step before going to a braid? This line wrapping around guides does this happen with certain pound line?

[Quetico]

I wasn't happy with Crystal. I had it on my Curado on a trip to Canada. I didn't like the way it handled. I switched over to Spiderwire and was much happier.

[mojogunter]

IMHO you are going to tear up line guides with braids. The exception my be the high end rods with the high end guides. I would spool the Trilene line onto an empty Fireline spool and let him spool that up. Sometimes it pays to be the parent.

I run spiderwire, and tuffline braid on several of my rods (loomis), and I have never had any issues with guides.

[riverrat56]

Is fireline crystal a co-polymer line? I was thinking of trying it this year. Is there any stretch or less stretch than mono? And would you say it is one step before going to a braid? This line wrapping around guides does this happen with certain pound line?

Crystal is a braid, just like regular Fireline, it has no stretch. The line wrapping is caused, I think, by slack getting into the line when casting. Since the line is so limp it has a tendancy to be come back at the rod tip when any loose slack occurs. I haven't ever had a problem with any braided line doing this, but I know people who do, maybe it has something to do with how you cast?

[PerchJerker]

I like the super braids like fireline, powerpro, etc. but I think there are some applications where they work really well, and many other applications where there are other options that are better.

The braided lines are really soft, and really limp, and that's what leads to wrapping around the rod tip and the so-called "wind knots". This can cause some problems for beginners, but anglers with some experience can usually notice and correct these problems right away.

I think copolymer lines have a lot of great qualities - easy handling, some stretch but not as much as mono, good sensitivity altough not as much as a super braid, easy casting, easy to tie good knots, etc. Gamma in the purple box is a line I use more and more every year.

[andrew chadwick]

I wasn't happy with Crystal. I had it on my Curado on a trip to Canada. I didn't like the way it handled. I switched over to Spiderwire and was much happier.

Fireline does not handle well on bait casters period. You are much better of with spiderwire or better yet powerpro.

fireline is a fused line, not a braid. The two will act compleetly diferently.

[Dave D]

Originally Posted By: Quetico

I wasn't happy with Crystal. I had it on my Curado on a trip to Canada. I didn't like the way it handled. I switched over to Spiderwire and was much happier.

Fireline does not handle well on bait casters period. You are much better of with spiderwire or better yet powerpro.

fireline is a fused line, not a braid. The two will act compleetly diferently.

While this is true, Fireline now has a new line called Fireline Braid. This is designed specifically for bait casting set-ups.

[Long Gray Line]

Put fireline crystal on a baitcaster last year and maybe I got a bad spool but the stuff was junk. Had it snap on casts and on hook sets for no apparent reason. It was on a new Shimano reel and a fairly new St. Croix rod. The only good thing was I got to hand over hand a 27" northern when about 30' of line broke off and was floating in the water after he hit. (btw, it was 20lb test line and I have regular fireline on both baitcastes and spinning reels and love the stuff)

[JakeJ_Mn]

I prefer Trilene for any live bait summer rigging, but use Fireline Crystal for pulling shad raps. I use 10# Crystal and have caught walleyes over 30 inches and northern in the 30 inch range without ever having the line break. Palomar knots work the best for tying lures or snaps. On the ice I use 8# crystal and haven't had any problems. Jake

[vern]

Put fireline crystal on a baitcaster last year and maybe I got a bad spool but the stuff was junk. Had it snap on casts and on hook sets for no apparent reason.

I've had the exact same experience with the Crystal. I bought a couple spools of 8lb when it first came out & had nothing but trouble. I had random break-offs setting the hook, fighting fish, pulling out of snags etc. I lost confidence & switched back to the Fireline Smoke which has been great for years. I'm guessing there were a few bad batches out there. I haven't heard many complaints lately so maybe I'll spool some up again.

p.s. I always tie a Palomar with the superbraids.

[guideman]

Thye original Fireline and the Crystal are not braids and they are specifically designed for use on spinning reels. I have been using Firline for years and Fireline crystal for about 3 years now. I have never had any of the problems descibed here.

The new Fireline braid has been developed specifically for use on baitcasting reels. It is round and lays on the spool much better than the oringinal Fireline does. It's my opinion that Fireline is far superior to any of it's competion. My customers abuse it all summer long and I can't ever remember a case where it failed me

like anything else, it should be used in the proper application, to get the full benifit of the design. The oringinal Fireline is a fused fiber line, it isn't a braid.

"Ace"

[jwhjr]

I picked up a spool of the new braid at the Sports Show and put on on my baitcaster. I'll put it to the test in a month or so. I didn't have many issues with the regular fireline on it, but I figured I'd give the braid a try this year.

[Cast A Way]

I use Crystal for pulling cranks in summer and on all my ice rods. Never had any problems. Cast A Way