# fireline



## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

its not old and its not abraded and today it just snapped, on the CAST no less.....actually it wasnt even a snap i casted my plug and the line just left my reel, which is where it came undone.  the line looked like the sharp end of a heavy sewing needle. 10/2 supposed to be gray but really its black which i never really cared for either. thats a real confidence buster, which was very high before today.


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

Reason i do not use "superlines" I tried Fireline when it first came out..i personally think it sucks. The zero stretch in the line will cause it to snap quite easily on a hookset....i like my fast action rods too much to switch everything around to use such a line. Plus you have to turn down your drag on these lines....nah i'll stick to good old dependable co-polymier lines thanks...have'nt failed me yet

Scott


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## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

when winding up the fireline, I first tie it to the spool, then make about 5 cranks. Then I tape it down with electrical tape. I then spool as normal. If you don't do this, then the line will spin on the spool as fireline doesn't grip on itself very welll. Eventualy after many hundreds of casts the line will rub on itself and begin to wear quicker. And the entire spool of line will spin on the spool if you don't tape it down.

flash-----------------------------------------out


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## ShakeDown (Apr 5, 2004)

I've never taped like that (sounds like less of a hassle than what I do!) but I always spool mono backing and splice in braid on top of it for the same reason.

I use fireline in TN and perchin on erie, and have never had any problems other than knots slipping (my own fault, wasn't tying palomars).


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## Jackfish (Apr 15, 2004)

I love fireline for my catfish lines & my trolling rigs, as well as bottom bouncing walleye...for general casting I think the stuff is horrible and greatly prefer mono for that application...


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

My guess is that the line had a nick in it that compromised the strength. The thing with the thin braids is that it only takes breaking a couple of fibers in one area to really weaken it. I have not had that happen to me but I had a buddy who had it happen a couple of times on hookset and appeared to have broken down somewhere near the lure. I suspected that he had a nick in the line or he had his drag set too tight. I agree that it does take a different approach to use the braids but I personally love them. The sensitivity is something that will never be accomplished on mono or copolymers. If I am fishing close-up then it is not an issue but on distance casting and deeper water fishing it is superb.


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## Bass_Hawg (Apr 12, 2004)

Ive only had one problem like that with any of the super braids before. I found out it wasnt the braid. It was my rod. One of my eyes in my rod had a small microscopic nick in it. this is what caused the braid to fail. It would cause any line to fail not just braid but this is what I found to be the problem. I could not see the nick with my eyes. So I ran a cue tip on each one of my eyes softly and when I saw the cue tip get torn on one of my eyes I knew what the problem was. It took me two spools of Braid to finally figure this out (thought I got a bad spool) so now when I have a line problem I just go straight for the cotton to see if I have a bad EYE.

Rod was new. I just bought it along with the reel I was using and the line. Its a real confidence blower until you find the cause then your ok.


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## BornToFish (Aug 22, 2005)

I've used just about every "superline" out there, and fireline is my favorite. I love it for throwing crankbaits, and topwater. You have to compensate for zero-stretch with a softer rod, and less drag. The advantages are superior strength, and ultimate sensitivity. I've pulled in entire tree branches, and other debris with 6/14. I loose less baits as well, because often it will pull out of snag, pull snag with it, or even bend hook point. There are some disadvantages: It cuts easier under tension"zebra mussels", to sensitive for catfishing"fish feels you and lets go", it is horrible for icefishing. I know guys who grew up using mono, have a hard time adjusting to the feel, and sensitivity of fireline. I'm fortunate to have gotten serious into fishing when the superbraids first hit the market, and have used them in my infancy stages of serious angling.


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## BornToFish (Aug 22, 2005)

Reel company's should consider putting a tie-hole on spool for superlines. Like many baitcasting reels have, wiffle spool!


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

It is funny how folks have different circumstances where they use braid. I am just the opposite of BorntoFish. I do not prefer braids when fishing cranks and topwater. The no-stretch is not an advantage for me when fishing these methods so I like having the spring of the mono to absorb the energy from the fish. In fact I have a larger baitcaster rig that has Power Pro on it but I often tie a flouro leader to fish cranks for the reasons I mentioned. I have had several times where I feel I have gotten a good initial hookup on a fish and they were able to toss the lure with a head shake. If I am tossing into heavy cover and need the power I stay with the braid only because I have the heavier braid to horse it out.


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## Reel Man (Jul 4, 2004)

hardwaterfan- Are you using a bait caster? If you backlash you will kink the line and compromise its strength. I've had some nasty rats nests inside my spool that resulted in the line breaking. It will happen with any line but no stretch lines take a bigger beating. I use fireline for heavy cover and pitching but this year strayed away from it for casting. I have been using co-polymer in most of my reels and flourocarbon and fireline in specific reels for certain applications. Gamma has become my favorite co-polymer but is hard to come by. I bought some at the Classic and I believe you can get it at Cabelas. It's worth the extra dollar to me.


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## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

Since the break was at the reel, check the reel!

Thin/limp line will get caught in the most unlikely spots. I had an issue with thin braid getting caught between the bail roller and housing on a spinning reel. Similarly, I had to move up in diameter for my Curados because I had problems with braid getting between the spool and housing.


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## shuvlhed1 (Apr 13, 2004)

I have said it before, I will say it again, that stuff is junk for almost every application for a common fisherman. I think the only useful place for that stuff is deep water trolling. Maybe. It has no abrasion resistance, the impact strength to me is extremely pathetic, and is is generally a pain in the ass to use.


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## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

Fireline works great for me with the applications I use it for. 

flash-------------------------out


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

shuvlhed1 said:


> I have said it before, I will say it again, that stuff is junk for almost every application for a common fisherman. I think the only useful place for that stuff is deep water trolling. Maybe. It has no abrasion resistance, the impact strength to me is extremely pathetic, and is is generally a pain in the ass to use.


 Can you please forward me your discarded braid. I am sure I can put it to use.


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## RiverRat (Apr 5, 2004)

First spool on a mono backing...then tie in your superline and fill the rest of the spool...then use either a mono or flouro leader....???? This is all a waste of time.

I fish for many species and lots of big species(fish over 20 lbs.) that pull hard and take a lot of line......superlines are for small fish that hit light...not ones that try to rip the rod from your hands, cant see spending $100's on spooling up my calcutta 700's with any of that junk.

Reelman, glad to see that others have found the great G-power line from Gamakatsu..its AWSOME.


I'll stick to G-power & McCoy mean green from the spool to the hook with no issues or hassel.....i'll let the rest of you have all the benifits of the so called "super-lines"....lol

Scott


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

RiverRat said:


> cant see spending $100's on spooling up my calcutta 700's with any of that junk.
> 
> Scott


 Can I have you leftover line too?

I don't see where the "$100's are spent spooling up my reels. I can spool a couple of reels with a filler spool of braid for $12-14. This will last me several years provided I don't leave it all at the bottom of the lake. That ends up being a savings for me...along with the several hundred dollars I did not spend on Calcuttas.


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## Rooster (Apr 8, 2004)

> i'll let the rest of you have all the benifits of the so called "super-lines"....lol


Like casting distance? LOL

You MUST come down to the dam this fall for some hybrids/stripers. You will be getting a spool of Power Pro on the way home!


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

well this thread is lively!  

hmmm... no reelman ive never even tried to use a baitcaster.

youve all brought up some good ideas, nothing at all is obvious though. like i said it happened on the CAST in the midst of fishing, which i thought was unusual, im glad i didnt have a fish hooked at the time. hopefully it was just a defect in the line, but ill inspect that rod and reel thoroughly, especially my spool.

i still like fireline.


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## Lundy (Apr 5, 2004)

I've been using fireline on Erie for many, many, years with great success for almost all types of baits and presentations.

With that being said I'm not going to try and stuff Fireline down anyone's throat or demean anyone that elects to use it over other available lines.

There are many different line manufacturers and types of lines made to suit the many varied applications and personal opinions. Select the line that best suits your personal performance desires.

A self proclaimed expert would have you believe that his personal opinion and preferences are indeed facts when actually they are just one persons opinion carrying no more weight and validity than anyone else's opinion, except in his own mind.


Kim


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## BornToFish (Aug 22, 2005)

Use whatever suits your needs. I know I do. Sometimes I use whatever suits my wallet. Actually one type of line I never use is soft"XL" type lines. I lost way to many fish in my early days of fishing. Well, I was trying to catch 4 lb.bass with 4lb.softline. Not smart.lol


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Lundy pretty much summed it up. "Select the line that best suits your personal performance desires." I use various line types for various applications. I feel that each has advantages and also disadvantages to which every person will put their own value. I think that any fisherman wanting to experiment with their fishing owes it to themselves to try various types. If one type was so much superior to the other we would not have such a vast array of opinions on them.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

i gotta agree with kim also.especially on this point  


> A self proclaimed expert would have you believe that his personal opinion and preferences are indeed facts when actually they are just one persons opinion carrying no more weight and validity than anyone else's opinion, except in his own mind.


i've used almost every type line out there at one time or another,for different applications.i have at this time,on different rigs,fireline,trilene XL,trilene big game,basspro excell,p-line,ironsilk,excaliber.i'm also looking to go back to dacron(which i grew up with) for my big cat rigs,to overcome excessive stretch of mono with 100 yards+ line out on a hookset.
i think being a multi-species,multi-method fisherman requires that i also be a multi-line fisherman
but i think i'll narrow my non-braid selection down a bit when it comes time to respool again,LOL.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

misfit said:


> i'm also looking to go back to dacron(which i grew up with) for my big cat rigs,to overcome excessive stretch of mono with 100 yards+ line out on a hookset.


 I am just curious as to the advantage of dacron over the new braids? I guess I very seldom see anything out there in the old dacron.

It is sort of funny that when I was growing up I would occasionally come across someone's old rods/reels and see dacron on them and say to myself "What an antiquated way of fishing." Now I find myself using pretty much the same types of lines at times.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

brian,i think it's more abrasion resistnt and absorbs water more than the superbraids,which keeps it from floating so much.more stretch,but not like mono.
i think the first mono i ever used on baitcasters was shakespeare,in the mid 60's.took a little getting used to 

when i was a youngun we always kept several spools of different strengths,from 12-50 pound,and only having one reel,had to change lines all the time,due to fishing for everything from gills to bass to musky to flatheads with the same rig,sometimes in the same week


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

That makes sense. The bouyancy of modern superbraids is probably the one biggest drawback in my opinion.



misfit said:


> when i was a youngun we always kept several spools of different strengths,from 12-50 pound,and only having one reel,had to change lines all the time,due to fishing for everything from gills to bass to musky to flatheads with the same rig,sometimes in the same week


 I would have liked to have seen that done with mono. That would have been a real nightmare.


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

LOL.yep.
we kept a few sticks in the tacklebox,to empty the reels onto cause we would sometimes forget and throw the old filler spools away


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## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

I use it a lot, but only for certain applications, like others have said.

If I'm just chunking out bait for catfish or carp, sensitivity is not an issue and I'll go with iron silk or big game.

If I'm finesse fishing, where casting accuracy and feel are important, Fireline simply can NOT be beat, although I like Silverthread too.


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## littleking (Jun 25, 2005)

spiderwire original braid for me boys


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Fireline all the way.



> The zero stretch in the line will cause it to snap quite easily on a hookset....


I never had that happen but I don't try to rip the head off the body of a fish like I've seen bass fishermen do.

I use cheap 20-30lb mono backing leaving enough room for 150 yards of Fireline. That way a 300 yd. spool will last 2-3 refills. I only have to respool once a year where I was refilling mono every two weeks.
I use it on spinning rods and can cast 20-30% farther than mono. Never used it on the baitcasters.
The only problem I've had with it is zebra mussels will nick and cut that line so easily you'll be left wondering what the heck happened.

I keep the extra spool for the reels filled with P Line. I tried that for the first time this year and liked it enough to stick with it.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

> I only have to respool once a year where I was refilling mono every two weeks.


 I could see maybe wearing out your fireline once a year but mono every 2-3 weeks. That would have to be a poor quality line that would only last a couple of weeks. I don't fish as much as a lot of the guys but I can get about a year from most of the mono that I use. Even when I was doing a lot of fishing and using only mono I still probably only change 2-3 times a year. The fireline on the other hand lasts me for years. It will not break down to UV rays or any other elements other than physical wear and tear.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

I know that Lewzer does a lot of fishing at Nimisila for bass and the weeds and cover in that reservoir will make short work of mono which is probably why he had to change so often. I too use Fireline and Power Pro very effectively and get long life out of it. For sure, you have to use a flurocarbon leader if you are grinding bottom in zebra infested waters. 
Now, if I was fishing almost exclusively for carp like the self proclaimed expert, I would probably use mono or in the case of braided i would learn to set the hook a little less violently and reduce the drag. But, seeing that I am truly a multi specie fisherman pursuing a vast variety of gamefish as well as non-gamefish, I simply use my skill to account for required changes in tactics.  

Carp 31# Flathead 32# Channel 10#
Largemouth 27" Northern Pike 39 Musky 44" 
Crappie 18.5" Perch 15.5" Smallmouth 7.4#
Walleye 12.75# Bluegill 10.5" Striper 32.5"
Sheephead 27" King Salmon 35+# Brown Trout 18"
White Bass 17.5" Rainbow Trout 19" 
Redfish 31 Snook 34 Spanish Makeral 34
Bonito 29 Red Snapper 11# Sea Trout 23 

Snapping Turtle 55#


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## Fishing-Miller23 (Jul 16, 2005)

That's a big snapper!


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Shorty had it half right. 
I always slide the mono between my lips to feel for nicks and abrasions, especially after a bass or walleye or after ripping through weeds. Any burrs or nicks and I retie. With mono I have to retie the knot 10-20 times everytime out. With Fireline I have to retie only when changing lures. I don't use snaps or swivels with worms or cranks so I retie often.
So losing 20' of line each day I go out, go fishing 5-7 days a week in the old, no child lifestyle and you can see why mono only lasts about 2 weeks.

I just respooled the 10/4 Fireline last week on the light/med rod. First time since spring of '04. I been using that rod for mainly crappie fishing in the brush so I didn't care the mono backing was showing and I only had about 20' of Fireline left.


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## bkr43050 (Apr 5, 2004)

Thanks for the explanation on the mono usage. That makes more sense to me now. I know I never tie that often even when I am fishing constantly but I can see you going through a lot of line then at that rate. I guess for someone like yourself the braids are even more of a cost savings than for me.


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## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

"...like the self proclaimed expert, ..."


and 

Carp 31# Flathead 32# Channel 10#
Largemouth 27" Northern Pike 39 Musky 44" 
Crappie 18.5" Perch 15.5" Smallmouth 7.4#
Walleye 12.75# Bluegill 10.5" Striper 32.5"
Sheephead 27" King Salmon 35+# Brown Trout 18"
White Bass 17.5" Rainbow Trout 19" 
Redfish 31 Snook 34 Spanish Makeral 34
Bonito 29 Red Snapper 11# Sea Trout 23 


That's some funny stuff.
 
I still remember the picture of the firecracker and the tomato.


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## Timbr (Apr 29, 2004)

Lundy said:


> A self proclaimed expert would have you believe that his personal opinion and preferences are indeed facts when actually they are just one persons opinion carrying no more weight and validity than anyone else's opinion, except in his own mind.
> 
> 
> Kim


Lundy that is profound.  Not just for this topic, but for people in general. Do you mind if I post that in my office??


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

> I still remember the picture of the firecracker and the tomato.


 dave,i usually don't pat myself on the back,but i gotta say i thought i came up with a classic on that one.it fit perfect  
too bad it got lost when my puter crashed


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

the reason my line broke was because there is a coating of paint on the spool which is starting to peel and it must have cut the line.


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