# fishing line shelf life



## dagofisher (Jun 26, 2007)

How often do you guys change your line? I spooled up 2 months ago and last week my line kept breaking every time I tied on a lure. I used Trilene something that I just bought at Walmart. I know that I left my rod in the car a couple of weeks ago when it was really hot. It was just for a day, but...any info would be appreciated


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## truck (Apr 12, 2004)

Sounds like bad line,why take a chance on loosing lures/fish-change it


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## chrsvic (Apr 20, 2005)

Several times a year, but i don't fish real often. (If i were on vacation fishing full-time, id replace it mid-week.) Monofilament line can be affected by ultraviolet light, abrasions, line twist, etc. I run my finger over the last couple yards of line, if i feel nicks in it i trim it back. Ive always thought Stren was more tolerant of abrasion than Trilene, just a preference i guess.

I just replace the last maybe 50 yards of line, connecting it to the old line on the spool with a blood knot. That keeps the line up to the edge of the spool so you still get casting distance, and its unlikely around here you would have a fish take out all the line to the knot.

Fishing line should have a long shelf life, if its out of the sun and doesn't get too hot.


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## Coonhound (May 12, 2008)

My rule of thumb for mono is that if you can pull it between your fingers and get a white residue, it's old.

I've always wondered about places like Wal-Mart...if they can sell line fast enough for you to actually get fresh line.

Yet another reason i stick to braid. lol


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## CatBassCrap (Apr 25, 2008)

I fish the rivers alot so I am always losing lures and retying. I always leave my fishing poles in the car because I never know when it's time to fish and the heat doesn't seem to affect it. Make sure you spool it on there the right way or it will have bad recoil. Dicks will spool up your reel for like 4 bucks with trilene line. They have a couple of different lb tests.

Not to change the subject on this but I bought some line over Labor Day just in case I needed to change because I was getting low. Well when I got back and started looking at it I noticed the contest they were having on the back of the box. It said if I caught a world record fish they would send me $1000. Then I read the expiration date. December of 1987.


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## dinkbuster1 (Oct 28, 2005)

even though its my line of choice, i seem to remember having the same issue a few times in the past with Trilene XL. there was a time when a local bait shop was spooling line for $2 per spool. they had huge bulk spools that they filled spools with and i re-filled my spools from the same 12lb spool for about a year. every time the same problem, knots would give out! after many complaints from several people they puit up a new bulk spool and the problem vanished.


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## River Anglin (Feb 18, 2008)

I found an old spool of Trilene in my basement that was probably 10 years old or more. It had never been opened and never seen sunlight. My first cast with a Smithwick the knot broke just from the weight of the lure. I managed to retrieve the lure and tie it back on. The next cast it broke again and the Smithwick was gone for good. So, I'm a believer that it does have a shelf life. So far, I don't think I've had problems due to the rods left in the hot car.


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## chrsvic (Apr 20, 2005)

I had a bad experience with Trilene XL. We fished for smallies with a charter boat captain up on Erie, he had this ginormous spool of Trilene, he tied leaders for the customers, fishing with soft craws.

The knots broke with that stuff on several big smallies, i swore of the stuff. I speculated the line he had got lots of sunlight - even if its under a canopy, you still get reflected UV off the water and white surface of the boat.

Maybe the line should come with a born on date!


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## Still_Waters... (Aug 13, 2008)

Never had any problems with them being in a car, unless the sun is beating down on the line, I usually keep my rods and spare spools out of sun as much as possible, and that seemed to help for me, but I also did two other things to help my line breaking situation, I switched lines (I use Suffix siege as a preference for mono, but Elite seems a suitable alternative and power pro for braided), and I started buying line only from places that seem to cycle through it pretty fast buying packages that looked the newest, and I replace mine as soon as it starts looking faded, but I use colored lines so you might have a little more trouble for a clear one. Don't know if it'll help you, cause when it comes to fishing gear my line is one thing I'm pretty crazy about, but it works for me.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

I read that mono has a shelf life of 3 years, and I think floro only is a year.


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## puterdude (Jan 27, 2006)

I've been fishing for over 40 years and this is the worst year I have had with fishing line bar none.Trilene,p-line,fireline,spiderwire,none have made any difference,even have tried different reels & rods thinking it was a nick on the reel or an eye problem.They all have twisted,broken easily,nicks easier than normal ,ect.Two others that I know have said the same thing.Maybe cheaper quality materials manufacturers are using but I hope it improves soon.


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## Snakecharmer (Apr 9, 2008)

Three words.....Made in China


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## ScottB (Apr 15, 2004)

Another thing to consider are zebra mussels. I know several times at Brookville after I have gotten hung on the bottom and got my lure back, my line will have lots of knicks from zebra mussels. Those little things are sharp. I retie much more frequently at Brookville, the Ohio River and other places that have large concentrations of zebra mussels.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

I try not to keep my rods in the car, but it happens sometimes, but out of direct sunlight and I have never had a problem with it. The line I keep at my house I never have for more than a year. I use braid a lot, but when I use mono its Trilene XL and I love that stuff and never had a problem with it. I fish probably 3 times a week and depending on what I am fishing for and the conditions I will change line every 2 weeks. When I go on fishing trips to Canada I change the line every 2 days. I am a firm believer in line works better fresh, and I am not willing to trust a fish of a lifetime to crappy line. I am more than happy to spend the extra money each year for fresh line. Bass Pro shops sell the 1000 yard spools for pretty cheap, I buy a couple of those every year.


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## dagofisher (Jun 26, 2007)

Thanks for the info. I use Trilene XL because it produces less loops on my open face reel. I went and got some more from BPS and it seems to work like it should. Maybe I just got in a bad batch, who know's how long it has been sitting on Walmarts shelfs.


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

I've gone to using braid on most everything I fish with and can say that apart from a spool of 2/10 Spiderwire I had a few years ago, it's been consistently strong. I had an issue with the 2/10 breaking at the knot on the hookset even on small fish. I tried a couple different knots and finally replaced the line and the issue stopped. Maybe it was me and maybe it was bad line but it's not happened again. 

In the past when I used mono I fished all Stren. I've used clear, orange, golden flourescent, etc. Most all held up well and I never had any issues that I could blame on the line. I usually respooled every January or February when cabin-fever set in and I wanted something to do. I've had a couple spools of line get that "white residue" on them and tossed them out as I didn't trust it after that. 

That being said, sometimes the opposite happens. While in the Keys last December, my buddy lost most of his 20# Trilene on a shark that nearly spooled him. I happened to have an ancient spool of Stren 20# flouro in my tackle box that HAD to be 10 years old. Desperation set in and he put all 300 yards of it on his reel. After a day of tangling with 6' bullsharks and 7' nurse sharks it never once broke or showed any signs of weakness apart from the "set" that it had taken on over the years. Once it got wet and stretched a bit it worked fine. So it's not necessarily age either. 

UV rays destroy nylon over time and will cause it to lose strength. Wear and tear, stress and dirt all contribute to the death of line. I keep my stuff clean and try to keep it covered when I'm not using it. 

UFM82


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## Trophy Hunter (Dec 7, 2007)

The most durable line IMO is Bagley's Silver Thread. I have used it for 20 years. When I was a teenager I didn't have the financial means to replace my line very often. Back then the same spool of line lasted for an entire season. All in all a very reliable product. I have a spool of 6lb on the shelf and use that on my M and ML action rods most of the time. It has the strength of 8lb and the diameter of 6lb. I recently used it to pull a 5lb bass out of a pond covered in weeds. On top of that, I hooked it at the end of a very long cast. Awsome stuff. Can't say anything bad, except it gets a little stiff over 6lb test because it's a co-polimer. 

This year I used Berkley flourocarbon (4lb) for clear water apps and loved the results. The increase in catch rate made up for the significant decrease in knot strength.

In terms of self life I am undecided. I never even considered it a variable in terms of performance.


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## TIGHTLINER (Apr 7, 2004)

Although I have always been interested in using braided line for catfishing I have never tried and have stuck to using monofilament for all of my fishing needs. I do not like Trilene at all. I have had many bad experiences with Trilene similar to what has already been mentioned above.

My go to line is most definitely Stren  Original Clear Blue monofilament fishing line. I have had good results with it, and it does seem to be best at being abrasive resistance to the above-mentioned elements (zebra mussels, sharp rocks, etc.). I generally spool my polls twice per season (March  November).

I did stumble onto some Penn Professional Monofilament Fishing Line while at Cabelas last year. I liked the stuff quite a bit but I have not been able to find it at Cabelas or anywhere else since that one time.


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## jimnrg (Aug 6, 2008)

My personal favorite has been Trilene for alot of years. They've earned their rep and have kept their high-quality long enough to have my confidence. On that note I also use Stren(since the 70's) and Spiderwire, whichever is on sale at the place and time I'm looking for it.


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