Lines aint Lines


Have you ever stood in a tackle store and been confused or amazed at the amount of fishing lines available to today's anglers? Have you stood there thinking, which is the best one for what I want to do and what the hell is Dyneema or Co Polymer? Well don't be disheartened, as a tackle shop owner I can understand how confusing your choice can be as every year manufacturers produce newer, slicker, better casting lines with more abrasion resistance etc etc etc and bombard retailers with samples and stories of how this is the newest stuff and everyone's going to want it. How do sort out what the marketing hype is and what is actually a good line? Well I know you'll hate to hear this but price is usually a good indicator.
Monofilament is what you would call the normal fishing line you probably began you angling careers with and although many lines are called this there are many small subtle differences between brands such as coatings and diameters. Most cheap monofilaments have some sort of memory to them because of the materials they are made from, which means when stored under tension on a reel for long periods of time the line will memorize being stored this way and will spring off the reel in coils when cast and will take quite some time on a normal fishing day to straighten properly, this will also worsen and can cause more line twist than when fishing with better lines even if using swivels and anti kinks. Co Polymer monofilaments are much better at not keeping a memory and will cast flatter than normal mono's. They are more expensive but obviously for a reason, because they are a better line.
Monofilament and Co polymer lines are fantastic in several fishing situations because of their stretch characteristics, such as game fishing, float fishing, fishing un weighted baits and as leader material on super lines such as Gelspun or Braid.
Color is one of the most important things I think an angler should consider when purchasing lines because regardless of what you might think science has proven fish can see fishing line. If for arguments sake you were fishing worms or another bait on the bottom of a river or a lake I would recommend a green or brown colored line so it blends in with its surrounds but if I was spinning on the same water I would use a clear colored line. In the saltwater clear and blue/green colored lines are what you should stick with especially I believe when game fishing. I know there will be hundreds of game fishermen reading this thinking what the hell is he on about but believe me when I say Tasmania is the last stronghold of Hi Vis yellow mono for game fishing. Switched on fisho's have of late started changing their trolling outfits to clear or blue mono and I try and encourage as many game fisherman as possible to change because fish definitely see this color. It's only because your lures have a clear mono leader that you catch the fish that you do. And remember that Hi Viz line was developed so that Captains could see the line from a flybridge of their game boat when backing down on a marlin etc, and even these guys don't use a lot of Hi Viz lines these days. You might think to yourself that you catch plenty of fish now using yellow colored game line but how many would you catch if you didn't?   
Diameter is also very important when choosing a line, as a thinner line for the same breaking strain will pack neater on a reel and not only will you increase spool capacity but will also cast further. Basically when choosing a mono or co polymer buy the best you can afford and you will more than likely get a line that's got good abrasion resistance and have a thin diameter for its breaking strain.
Flourocarbon lines are a different kettle of fish again. A lot of monofilament lines claim to be invisible in water but science tells us that fluorocarbon has the same refractive light index as water which means it probably really is the only type of line that is nearly invisible to fish. There are many brands of fluorocarbon and they are all ok, obviously everyone will have their preference for what they think will work better but just describe to staff in your local tackle store what kind of fishing your doing and they should be able to recommend a particular type for your needs. Flourocarbon is probably the most expensive type of monofilament on the market.
Recently there has been a big push of high end Japanese monofilaments on to the Australian market and whilst these are very good lines and probably some of the world's best I still don't think anglers should look past good Australian made stuff like Platypus. They have a huge range of lines and produce some of the worlds thinnest strongest line like Super 100 and have also recently developed Platypus Lo Stretch which doesn't stretch quite as much as normal mono but isn't as unforgiving as Braided and Gelspun lines. It's probably the closest you would get to the best of both worlds. And remember it Australian made and owned.
So if you are in the market for some new fishing line stop and think about what you need before you make a purchase, and consider color, diameter and type of mono. You might find a line that suits your needs better than what you have been using.
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