Fishing Lines

There have been a lot of new inventions in the fishing industry recently but none has impacted the sport like the new lines have, especially in bass fishing. Braided line is extremely popular now and has been a player in bass fishing for at least the last decade but as far as I'm concerned nothing compares to the impact fluorocarbon line has had. Most pros use the fluoro on the majority of their rods and it has made monofilament almost obsolete.

I went to fluorocarbon a few years ago and now use it on the majority of my applications and only use mono for topwater lures and am considering using braid for even that. The thing that got me thinking about fluoro originally was that if most of the pros use it almost exclusively then why shouldn't I? Yes it is quite hard to use on a spinning reel but I feel that an average fisherman like myself can use all the help I can get. If a line will get me a few extra bites each day then it is worth a few line twists as far as I'm concerned.

Fluorocarbon is virtually invisible underwater, it sinks and has better sensitivity and abrasion resistance so I even began using it on my spinnerbait rod last year with great success. But nothing is perfect and the problems I have had with this product is line twist, especially with spinning reels. I like to drop-shot and I get terrible line twists when casting a drop-shot rig all day. Another drawback is the price, between $15-$20 for a spool so a bad tangle can be expensive. But like I said, the extra bites I get are worth the headaches.

I have used several types and the BPS is my favorite so far. I can get a spool for around $12 at the spring sale so I usually load up and buy all my line for the year then. I've used more expensive line but can't say they are any better then the Bass Pro stuff and Kevin VanDam uses it so that's all I need to know. I use 8lb for my spinning rods and 10lb for my baitcasters and breakoffs are never a problem. I also use 12lb for my spinnerbaiting and last year started experimenting with braid and fluoro leaders on some of my spinning applications. I'm not sure I trust this set up completely yet but I'll give it a test run this spring.

With the clear water that we have in most lakes around here I think fluorocarbon is a must and would urge anyone to try it. One thing I will caution people of though is using the Berkley Vanish product. This is the cheapest fluoro on the market and it is an awful product and I can't believe it is still being sold. This junk will break guaranteed and believe me, I have tried it a lot. Don't waste your money, go with BPS or for some extra money use the Berkley 100% fluoro or the Seagar. Spend the extra cash and see why all the pros use the stuff.