In my opinion, fishing was much simpler when I was younger. I had all I needed…a rod, a reel, two-tray tackle box with a few hooks and sinkers, and (most important of all) a dog. So my reel was normally less than halfway stocked with its spool of monofilament line, I still caught some great fish. These days, I have closer to thirty rods and reels, each spooled with a variety of fishing line, each serving a purpose, just like my poles and reels.

The fishing tackle industry has managed to come up with a staggering variety of line types. The categories are easily defined as monofilament, braided and fluorocarbon and depending on whether you enjoy freshwater fishing, saltwater fishing or offshore you’ll want to use the line that is most beneficial to what you’re doing.

For the last 40 or so years, many people have fished using monofilament line. In reality, it is likely still the best selling fishing line available today. Monofilament line is made from one filament of extruded nylon. It is very inexpensive, but also very strong and somewhat pliable. Monofilament line is somewhat stretchy under tension, which acts like a shock absorber for catching aggressive fighters.

One of the downsides in the stretching capacity of monofilament is that it tends to remember the shape it was in. This means that when you cast the coils tend to remember the shape and this can create a coiling form in your line. These coils can easily turn into knots and that will make it impossible to easily cast your line. Inevitably, this means that when you least expect it (or want it) your line will suddenly be nearly impossible to cast smoothly. While the stretch in your line might be helpful if you have an aggressive fish on your line it can be problematic if that fish heads off to hide between rocks or worse yet in a batch of weeds. Monofilament is not meant to help you in these situations; it can only aggravate the issue.

These problems are why braided line can be so handy. This fishing line is made from braided miniscule synthetic fibers. Unlike monofilament line, it does not have the memory problem nearly as bad, and is extremely strong for how thin it is. A 30-lb braided line usually has the diameter of an 8 lb. monofilament line, making it feasible to fill a small trout or bass-sized reel spool with 20 or 30 lb. test. Braided line isn’t without its drawbacks however, including little abrasion resistance and high visibility. You should fish with this line only when using a non-visible leader.

Fluorocarbon lines are the premier line for many fishermen. Fluorocarbon lines had a bad name when they first came out because so many felt that it was too rigid. This rigidity often created issues spooling and casting. Since technology has evolved, these problems seem to have lessened over time and far more fishermen feel this line solves far more problems than it had initially created. Many anglers have discovered that fluorocarbon is perfect for creating leaders – this is because fluorocarbon line is highly abrasion resistant. If you’re fishing in deep water that reflects a lot of light or shallow waters, the fluorocarbon line could be just right since it is nearly invisible.

Each kind of line available today is a different tool for you to use to make fishing easier. When used correctly, each will help you catch more fish too. So, I suppose that fishing was much simpler when I was a kid, but then again so was my overall familiarity and knowledge of fishing. I could have probably continued to fish in that simple manner, but the desire to learn and catch bigger and better fish reeled me in. As I fished and began to learn more and more about fishing, I discovered the advantages of choosing the right line, lure color, etc. Fishing may not seem as simple as it once did, but I sure am glad that I understand how to utilize the tools that are available. They have certainly helped me add fish to my freezer.

There are many different fishing supplies out on the market today. Some of the most popular supplies include: Daiwa BG 90, Shimano Calcutta, and Daiwa Rod.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 4:29 am and is filed under Recreation and Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.