I was using spiderwire stealth for the past couple muskie seasons and had great success with 80lb. After watching Bucher about a week ago i decided to check out Stren SuperBraid. I bought some 80lb. and Lined a reel with it. I know many of you use power pro, or tuf line. So what is the line of choice with you guys out there? and why?
also…one thing i have a question on, everyone using mono or flouro leaders, arent they risking bite-offs??? or are they rigged differently, never seen one, just curious hwo that works and if there is risk.
Bryan
I use several different lines . I started using Power Pro because of the price. It is much less than most other premium braided lines. I continue to use it because of the quality. I use 30,40, 50 and 65 lb test Power pro to spool a number of casting reels. 30# for small bass style and pike baits and little #5 mepps bucktails. 40# for small crane baits and medium Bucktails. My main line is 50# for most of the 4 to 7" lures and Bucktails with 3 to 5/0 hooks. I use 65 and 80 for big Jerkbaits ,topwater,weagles and such. Power pro is good reliable line in all tests. I use two types of Mono for trolling. Mason P-LINE in 17,20 and 30 lb tests. I feel that P-LINE is the best copolymer mono ever made. Tough as nails and very long lasting. Allmost every troller on Lake st. Claire does and has been trolling with Florocarbon or Hard( Mono leaders) for as long as there has been guys fishing there. Its real tough stuff and very few fish get the leader when taking a trolled bait anyway. On St. Claire I use 30 lb main P-LINE 60 lb Floro leaders that are 6 feet long. Most guys I know use 50 lb hard Mono purchased from Lakeside tackle in St. Claire shores. On Inland lakes I use Mason 7 strand stainless steel for both trolling and casting with stainless steel douloc snaps and sampo or crane swivels. Kingfisher
I have tried TUF, TUF Plus, PowerPro and Whiplash which was replaced by Stealth. Of these, Stealth is my personal clear favorite for its smoothness vs. the rope-like PowerPro for instance, its coating that makes it stiffer, and it has a little smaller diameter for its break strength. For these reasons I believe that it picks up less water, casts a little further, resists backlashes somewhat (I like to let er rip).
They all work and they are all good though- it really comes down to personal preference and what you are comfortable with. Its like the Ford vs. Chevy thing, you know, Ford trucks don't suck and Chevys can't compare ; )
They changed the actual line formulation slightly, went with a tighter weave, then added a teflon coating. At least that's what I was told when I sent a spool of 100 lb whiplash back in (I experienced the break offs that you mentioned)…it was replaced with stealth and haven't had a line failure since. Good stuff.
I use Power Pro because it's available in white.
All of the lines mentioned are good and once they've been used for a while it's tough to tell the difference.
To all those that might read this just getting into muskie fishing…
The most important thing when choosing a superline is to choose based on the diameter NOT on the stated break strength. The near zero stretch on these lines is NOT forgiving at all. I would NEVER fish with anything less than 65lb for muskies, I'll use that for finesse jigs and light lures lure on a soft action rod (flippin stick) and not on a regular muskie rod. For a standard muskie rod 80lb is perfect, for a stiff muskie rod with BIG lures 100lb is a better choice.
We first tried Tuff line but were rewarded with spray off of the reels. Plus my hands are rough and that line seems to get caught on my thumb and open up. Next we tried PowerPro and have stayed with that. We haven't been at this very long to have run the gamet of every product out there. Though…..Stren looks next in line if I switch.
One thing that Will's post reminded me of- the one complaint I have about Stealth is that it only comes in hi-vis yellow and moss green. Compared to other lines, the stealth takes a looong time to fade to that light grey-green-white color that I love. Luckily it lasts forever due to it's tight packing and fray resistance.
Someday might have to try Mason's tiger braid – I like the splotchy-white color, but it doesn't come in 100 lb and I haven't felt it to see how much water it would soak up.
Bryan, to address your question on mono/fluorocarbon – I personally haven't tried it for fear of break offs. When we asked Maina and his buddy whether they have lost any fish using fluoro, they said very infrequently. For me at least, one is too many. I suppose if you are diligent about checking for small nicks it would help, but personally I just can't make the switch.
"Pete" said:
When we asked Maina and his buddy whether they have lost any fish using fluoro, they said very infrequently. For me at least, one is too many.
Me too! I've see many big fish inhale lures, even mag-Dawgs, when casting to even think about flouro or mono leaders. Trolling is different though, I've never heard of anyone having a bite off while trolling.
I think there was a lot of misinformation about 6 years ago in regards to Florocarbon as a leader. I only have seen it used for trolling larger baits . I think the reason its used so much on St. Claire is that wire in a length of 6 feet would be very costly and unmanagable. I tried some 4 foot wire leaders once and after several kinks decided that When using Leader over 2 feet I was going to run Floro or Hard Mono. Chad,Chris Barton and I had a scare on Macatawa a year ago where we were banging the rocks in the channel. Snagged up a Loke and the line broke. I was using a 2 foot wire leader and the line got tore up above the leader. Here was a case where a 4,5 or even 6 foot leader would have been the right choice and seeing we were pulling 9 and 10 " lures I should have used some Triple fish 80 lb Floro about 5 feet. Lucky the snag wasnt a 40 lb Musky. As it was the Loke returned to the surface and a lesson was learned. I could not imagine casting with 80 Lb Florocarbon. The stuff is so stiff might as well try using weed wacker line lol. Kingfisher
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