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[Fishin_Squirrel10-4]

This wasn't sopose to be an experiment but then it became one.
To use monofilament or to use braided?
Many of you guys have a line of choice, some use flourocarbon, copolymer, monofilament or braided.
To find my line of choice, I've decided to use all of them. 

So, I have started doing serious river fishing this year and never knew whats good or whats bad.
Went out to buy my gear the day before my first day on the river and bought myself a Abu Garcia Black Max reel. Yay, My first ever baitcast reel!
Sadly to say, it was purchased at Canadian Tire. Also picked up a new rod, a Shimano Convergence <- Not too sure it its for trolling or a spincast.
Anyways, So I purchased a Maxima Ultragreen 15lbs test spool filler and installed it into my brand spanking new reel.

First day on the Vedder River I've heard so much about, the line was..... how would I explain it..... "Excellent"
No loss, catching fish, and having a blast.
Barely knew anything for I was a rookie on the river, I was taught mostly by me asking alot of silly questions about fishing, mostly common sense.....
but after using the Maxima Ultragreen on the river about 4 days, the line started to give out. Hooking a fish and losing it right away, "boink"
Float and below all gone. Lost about 8 fish, 7 setup. By then I started to become fustraited, asking myself "what in the worlds going on?" "is it me, or is it my line?"
I've knoticed people using braided lines on the Vedder River, also witnessed people getting yelled at for having them in their spool.
Because of my curious nature, I said to myself "maybe I should try it out, see how it feels"
Went to Army & Navy and asked for a 40 pound braided line. Over kill? yah I think so too.
Also bought a Luna 300, and got it spooled up ready to go!


^ Uhhhhhh yellow braided, forgot its name, and also don't wish to find out either...

Went to the Capilano River to test it out, no stretching what so ever. That was the first thing I realized when I snagged the bottom.
The pool under the bridge was deep, so tried bottom bouncing. "IMPOSSIBLE I SAY!!" the line is very buoyant, the current moves it so much.
It was a rag doll under water. As the day went on, snagging bottom and losing gear, another fisherman showed up and we started talking about braided lines.
They do not break down over a long period of time, also when it hits another persons line, it tends to ruin it.
So back to the drawing board. This time, after getting a lesson in line, I came across this line called Fireline Crystal by Berkley.
"not so much of a braided line" as they say. Another trip to A&N, pick up the line, 49.99$!!!! WOW
also picked up a new leader line for myself, The Berkley Vanish. "Invisible to the fishes eyes?" LETS TEST IT!!

^ Berkley Fireline Crystal
Once again! To the Capilano!!
Drifted for a while, then tried bottom bouncing, once again, a rag doll under water. Alittle better than the first line that makes me cry just looking at it.
Something was different about the Fireline Crystal. Smooth easy casting, very light. Rats nested it pretty bad but didn't have to snip anything, fixed it up and kept fishing, but after a while, the line started to frizz up abit, also lost feel of the ground. "uhhhhh... 50$ for this bull?? awww mannnnnn"
Tried different rivers, went to the chehalis River, it seemed better on faster currents with floats but I think it spooks the fish abit.
Also once again, no stretch what so ever.
So the day wasn't so great, Berkley Fireline Crystal was a big dissapointment, not a good line in the long run, also when it loses the outside coating, it feels sticky when you reel in, really grinds against the eyes.
Went to the A&N again today, but this time, its time for a non-braided line.
Bought myself a spool filler of P-Line cxx Xtra Strong 20lbs test.
Heard many good things about it, hope this line will be the last of my nightmares.
Also the Vanish by Berkley, its impressive, very clear under water, knots hold up well "use spit" or it will snap
but when it comes to abrasion, I'd give it a B. After a while of using the line, it tends to peel. (almost like a split end in hairs)

So, my concusion. Braided lines have its positives but more negative, use it for the Fraser and keep it there. It won't help you catch more fish, it'll bring you greif, sadness, and dissapointment. Monofilament and copolymer are the way to go for fishing the beautiful rivers. Flourocarbon lines are worth a shot, even tho they frizz out just a tad.
Lesson Learned!




Happy Fishing, See you all on the river!

[Fish Assassin]

Ultragreen is generally a very reliable line. Perhaps you just got a defective spool

[Athezone]

Get rid of your salute cupcakes, and I'll post more. It freaks me out.

[Riverman]

  Me too.It gives me a headache!Just a photo would not hurt my eyes.

[Nicole]

Braided line is not that great of an option environmentally, as it does not break down, nor is is recycleable.

Just putting that out there, not condemning you or anything.

Cheers,
Nicole

[Terry D]

Some very detailed line reviews here: http://www.tackletour.com/menulines.html

[YY]

Hey, Fishin_Squirrel10-4 . I appreciate you sharing your experiences with the various lines. I am pro-braid but allow me to present some minimally-biased thoughts.  

1) 40lb braided line is not overkill, assuming the weakest point in your set-up should be your leader, because the line test is supposed to be determined by the line diameter of your usual monofilament line. (ex. 30lb braid should have the diameter of 12lb mono.)
2) Buying mono is sometimes like buying meat. You want it as fresh as possible. When purchasing your mono, depending on the store, make sure you inspect the condition of the line because mono has a certain shelf-life. Some stores unfortunately don't sell enough to restock new spools all the time.
3) When spooling on braided line, either let the tackle shop do it or make sure you spool it on TIGHTLY and EVENLY. That way, retrieving the line won't be "sticky" and it won't dig into the spool of line.
4) No matter how abrasive-resistant a line is designed to be, bottom bouncing will eventually kill any type of line.
5) An advantage of using braided for float-fishing is that braided line do not absorb much water, meaning that the part above the float will float on top of the water. This allows me to visualize where the line is and how much drag is placed on it.

[hue-nut]

I love braid and in terms of not being enviromentally friendly, it may not be but I have never broken it off, therefore it doesn't build up in the river, it stays on my spool where it belongs. I also like the hookset that braid gives you. I originally had it spooled for the Fraser, and ended up leaving it on. There is a new enviromentally friendly biodegradable line out on the market, I don't know the name of it but that would be interesting to try out.

[YY]

Braided line is not that great of an option environmentally, as it does not break down, nor is is recycleable.

Just putting that out there, not condemning you or anything.

Cheers,
Nicole

Good point. However, if one uses, say, 2-3 feet of mono leader, the only part that should break off should be the leader (eg. 8lb mono attached to 30lb braided). I hardly have to replace my braided line ever, unless I want to try something new. So the question is how the math will work out: 1) If one respools with mono say 3-4 times a year and has to dispose the hundred yards of mono Vs. 2) If one chooses braided line, and all he loses is the occasional 2-3 feet of 8lb mono leader.

Of course, I am saying this because I know a lot of people don't dispose their mono line properly.

[dennisK]

Braided line is not that great of an option environmentally, as it does not break down, nor is is recycleable.

Just putting that out there, not condemning you or anything.

Cheers,
Nicole

Good point. However, if one uses, say, 2-3 feet of mono leader, the only part that should break off should be the leader (eg. 8lb mono attached to 30lb braided).

I've seen braided wrap around rocks under the water way ABOVE the leader...and that happens a lot...no way to get it out without breaking the main line.

[YY]

Braided line is not that great of an option environmentally, as it does not break down, nor is is recycleable.

Just putting that out there, not condemning you or anything.

Cheers,
Nicole

Good point. However, if one uses, say, 2-3 feet of mono leader, the only part that should break off should be the leader (eg. 8lb mono attached to 30lb braided).

I've seen braided wrap around rocks under the water way ABOVE the leader...and that happens a lot...no way to get it out without breaking the main line.

I can believe that. My points were made ASSUMING proper short-floating techniques. I've yet had that happen to me. On the contrarily, I've seen bundles of 50lb mono lying on the ground also. 

[adriaticum]

Ultragreen is only good for leaders because of its low visibility otherwise it's not a very good line IMO.
I had the same issues with Ultragreen mainline. High memory - low durability. Their pitch is "Limp line" and because it's limp, it breaks easy.
Change leaders often and it won't matter.

For main line any mono is better, I like Berkley Big Game green and Sufix. But Berkley is numero uno.
$10 a spool and very durable line

[~IvAn~]

Happy Fishing, See you all on the river!

Heyy look! the squirrel is flossing!!! 

[fullahead]

I have 40 LB, yellow fire line on a reel, I used to use on the Fraser for sockeye fishing. I have been using it on the Vedder, short floating. I like it because, it parts at the leader. Using a yellow line for steelhead fishing, I am not sure about. I am going to buy a Shimano Curado. Any suggestions on a good braded line I could use, for the Vedder steelhead fishing . Berkley Vanish is one I have been looking at ?  If I am not going to use braded line, pink 20 lb Maxima "fiber glow" is a good alterative.

[HOOK]

i wouldnt use Flourocarbon line for a mainline because flouro sinks. I have seen several guys out there using the pink Maxima line (good to see for long drifts) however they attach a section of regular Ultragreen to it for the section of line that would be under the water. I cant bring myself to buy pink line LOL and i have ultragreen on my pin right now but im taking it off and switching to Chameleon (because aparently its better line for pins)