Northwest Fishing Reports

Its time to put new line on the reels. Muskies, Pike, what is some good line that will withstand a season of torture. Stumps, rocks, hang ups on those shoreline trees and those toothy critters. I proved last season that Maxima 20lb which was great for salmon just doesn't cut it for this fishery. How about some suggestions?>:"":>

Down here in arizona my uncle and I go to Lake Mary.
We use 8 pound test for pike with a steelleader at the end.
It doesnt get in the way of our bite either. We have caught over 150 pike in 2 days.
Using this.
Good Luck.

I'm thinking something like PowerPro Spectra, Sufix Performance Braid, Cortland Master Braid for braided. Maybe fluorocarbon of high quality mono. I'm now using Stealth Fluorocarbon leaders, much better than steel. Rather than online reviews I'd like to know what the fisherman in the field are using.

Are you talking main line, leader material or both? I haven't yet targeted musky but have done my fair share of dragging gear through fresh and saltwater structure. The braided lines like TufLine XP or Power Pro work great as a main line and they hold up well from year to year. As can be expected, the braid handles woody structure well and will stand up to smooth rock structure like you'd find in a river. It's weakness is hard, sharp rock like you find in eastern Washington resivoirs. It doesn't stretch so if you snag up and your line is against something hard and sharp enough to cut it, a hard jerk on the rod or your boat drifting in the wind can be all that is needed to sever the line. As with any line I check it for abrasion after every fish and snag retreival and cut off anything that looks suspect.

I use Spiderwire 50#, with a 40 pound fluorocarbon leader. No break off's due to fish this year. I am going to up my fluoro leader weight this year and up grade to a new line. Looking at the Suffix 832 in 65#. Again, no complaints with what I used, just looking to maybe step up.

sparky1doug wrote:Its time to put new line on the reels. Muskies, Pike, what is some good line that will withstand a season of torture. Stumps, rocks, hang ups on those shoreline trees and those toothy critters. I proved last season that Maxima 20lb which was great for salmon just doesn't cut it for this fishery. How about some suggestions?>:"":>

I tried braded line a few years ago and didn't care much for it at the time. Since then I realized I should chosen a much higher strength than the 20lbs I was using. Most people I know use 50 + when it comes to braded line in order to get a larger diameter to prevent it from cutting into itself. That’s the problem I was having and caused me to try something new. I tried P-line and have never gone back, this stuff is awesome and now I have it on all my gear. Add my 80lbs Charlie Leader and I’m good to good all year….LOL

Hope this helps Doug.

ND

Hey Everyone,

In regards to line choice I have 2 different preferences with different situations. First if fishing for Pike or Muskie I always use 30 # test (Pike) to 65 # test (Muskie) Suffix Braid with a 6 inch steel leader with a specialized O clip which I always go thru Rollie and Helens Musky shop for. I have never lost a fish on either of these and have never had a line break on me using either one of these lines or leaders. Coming from the Mid-West I grew up throwing Mono and Fluorocarbine as a kid and after enough break offs and lost fish even with the drag set low I learned that the only other way to go was braided line when it was finally introduced on the market. I began using Spider-Wire then after years of tangles and birds nest I started to learn that I need a finer diameter of line, which is when I gave Power-Pro a turn. It's a solid line, it's just a little too stiff for my liking. Thankfully Suffix Braid created a Braided line that is some of the smoothest, most abrasion resistant and doesn't have much of a memory to it. This is great especially if the line has been wrapped around the reel all winter and you go out for the first time in the spring to test it out. This line usually will come right off the reel and you won't have any issues with birds nest or line tangles even if its new line that hasn't been broken in yet. That is my breakdown of this line, I have other choices for other types of fishing but Braid is where I stay for Pike and Muskie because it WORKS!!!

sparky1doug wrote:I'm thinking something like PowerPro Spectra, Sufix Performance Braid, Cortland Master Braid for braided. Maybe fluorocarbon of high quality mono. I'm now using Stealth Fluorocarbon leaders, much better than steel. Rather than online reviews I'd like to know what the fisherman in the field are using.

In general, for Muskie fishing, it's best to study the hardcore Muskie forums like Muskyhunter or the local forums of Minnesota. There's a much bigger sample size than what you find here. There's just nothing Tiger-specific or local waters-specific in those places (great for gear discussions, though).

Here is what I posted on iFish...

I beat the heck out of my lines more than most, since I often cast and retrieve Muskie lures up to two pounds hundreds of times a day. I don't run anything less than 80# (often 100#) for that application, but use 20-65# for NW fishing. Every reel I have is strung with braid, unless it's an extra spool for a spinning reel.

Power Pro is the Henry Weinhard's of fishing lines for me...it's the lowest I'll accept if I have a choice about it. Out here I often get stuck with Tuffline XP. So I stock up on the good stuff when I go to Minnesota a couple times a year, or order from Thorne Brothers. Most people out here have only experienced a couple of braid brands (Tuffline and PowerPro) since that's all that's readily available in local stores, especially if you get it strung in the store from their winders.

In order of preference:

1. Spiderwire Stealth Ultracast: best casting, doesn't fray or puff up
2. Cortland Masterbraid: a little thicker, if you don't cast much this is #1
3. Sufix Performance Braid: A great all-round line
4. Spiderwire Stealth: Thin and casts well, more prone to weak spots
5. Stren Sonic Braid: Great when new, doesn't age as well as others

The rest:

Power Pro: frays more than most, breaks easier on fouled casts than others
Tuffline XP: Like PP only worse, though it wouldn't surprise me if they were the exact same line.
Cabela's RipCord SI: Just don't like Dyneema
Tuffline: Puffy, holds too much water, too thick
Berkeley Fireline: Why was this stuff ever popular?

Ok, we're getting down to it now. I'm seeing some good info. here. Thanks everyone.

Not to hijack, but has anyone here tried the new Suffix 832? An article I read on it says, "Every manufacturer will come out with its own version of this style of braid if they want to remain in the game." Pretty strong words. Spiderwire has their version of it out as well. It is called Spiderwire Ultracast Fluorobraid. Both lines incorporate Dyneema and GORE performance fibers which they claim adds loads of performance in higher abrasion resistance. So it is a braid that is thin, and wear resistant...... Anyone with experience here?

I saw the Spiderwire fluorobraid being touted as a sinking line as opposed to regular braid that they claimed floats. As far as I can tell braid is pretty close to neutral buoyancy but will sink on its own. I suspect what they meant is that it is a bit more dense than regular braid and will sink faster to help get or keep your lure down where you want it. I can see it being used by folks who like to finesse fish plastics.