Northwest Fishing Reports

What kind of line should I be using? I am a bank angler so I am fishing around sticks, rocks, and weeds alot. I use a spin casting reel I mostly do trout fishing, but I am gonna switch up and try for some bass also. What kind of line would work best for me? What test? What brand?

P- LINE CX .. :thumright

What lb. of test should i use?

Hey JS,
Check out Cabela's buyers' guides on fishing lines and then browse through the customer reviews on the individual brands.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... ieldguides

Bigbass Dez gave a pretty good reccomendation. I'll be trying that P-Line just as soon as I get a hold of a new reel.
However, on my old reel I am currently fishing with Berkeley Sensation in a 4lbs. test and am pretty impressed with it.
A word of cation...... lines advertising "extra-toughness" or "extra abrasion resistence" are more likely than not designed for casting reels and are a little more stiff and might give you a lil' trouble with your spinning reel.
Hope this helps

I use 6lb test mainline for most of my non big gamefish fishing with a 4lb leader. With that setup you should be fine taking on most any trout and panfish to 5lbs. For mono I stick with Maxima brand line in Ultragreen which works well on the coffee grinders(spinning reels). For bass I'll use the 6lb line straight from the reel which makes for some great fights. If you are really into bass and are using expensive lures you'll want to use heavier line. You can get away with using the same reel, you just need a spare spool loaded with 12 to 20lb line and a rod that can handle that line.

jsmith78 wrote: What lb. of test should i use?

For your particular stlye of angling i would say that 8 -10lb test will work for ya .. That p-line is very strong so dont be afraid to go light , since your bank fishing lighter line will give you a longer cast ..

for trout go with 4-8lb preferably four since it will allow you to cast further. I use ande monofiliment because its just a basic good line that does not strech a lot. the ande is also only about 7$ for a large spool that will spool your reel like 20 times. for bass you might want some braided 10# powerpro.

jsmith78 wrote:What kind of line should I be using? I am a bank angler so I am fishing around sticks, rocks, and weeds alot. I use a spin casting reel I mostly do trout fishing, but I am gonna switch up and try for some bass also. What kind of line would work best for me? What test? What brand?

You have received some good advice above, and I sure don't wont to argue with them, but.......................

1) What you seem to be saying is you need a castable line because you are fishing from shore, this requires a thin and limp line for best distance.

2) You need a tough, abrasion resistant line, because you are fishing near cover. This will take a line with a tougher finish.

3) You are fishing mostly for trout, but will try bass. This means that a 6 # will be more then adequate for most trout, but OK for light Bass.

4) Now, you are using a SPIN CASTING real? Perhaps something like a Zebco 404, with a push button on top to release the line for casting, real sits on top of the rod? This means you need a thiner line because line capacity is limited with these reals.

The problem is that while items 1 and 4 are compatible, item 3 could be a bit of a problem. Item 2 is completely incompatible with item 1 when using monofilament lines.

I have comprised my best suggestions, with the realization that a compromise is necessary if you only have one real, with one spool So, for item # 1, I suggest the following lines, in this order:

Cabelas Tectan Premium Plus
Suffix Elite
Gamma High Performance
P-Line CX Premium

For Item # 2, I suggest the following lines, in this order:

P-Line CXX Extra Strong
Suffix Siege
Maxima-Premium
Gamma High Performance

Notice that the Gamma is the only line that shows up on both list, but it is not at the top of either list. It is a compromise.

All of the lines above are lines I use, but because I have so many different reals, and spare spools, I can pick the ones I like for each condition. Still, for the one real, one line guy, fishing mostly for trout, will try some bass, in the conditions you are going to encounter, try the Gamma High Performance.

If you are coining to a spinning real (open bail, real hangs below rod), then you can also try some of the finer braided and Berkley Fire Lines. I have been impressed lately with the Crystal, but I still prefer Pro Line for my normal braided lines, using a leader. I just don't suggest this type of line for a Spin Cast Real. Braided lines give you much smaller diameter for the given line size, so a 10 # braided will be about a 4 # diameter. Braided lines also have more abrasion resistance, and they last for years on the spool. Still, they are not for everyone, and they also have their problems.

I hope this helps, but ultimately, you will find that you will need to try several lines to find the one you prefer best. Then they will come out with a bunch more so you need to test them also.

Thanks guys for all the great advice. I am kinda leaning toward 6# line either the p-line or the gamma high performance line.

Several people I've met fishing from shore on the lakes have recommended the braided fireline because of its limpness and small diameter. Anglinarcher, I'm wondering why this line didn't make your list of top lines.

Thanks

natenez wrote:Several people I've met fishing from shore on the lakes have recommended the braided fireline because of its limpness and small diameter. Anglinarcher, I'm wondering why this line didn't make your list of top lines.

Thanks

Only becausee I have seen "Spin Cast" reals catch the fireline on the ceramic pin that releases the line and break the real.

If you use a "spining real", or a "Bait Caster", then fireline is indeed at or near the top of the line.

"If you are coining to a spinning real (open bail, real hangs below rod), then you can also try some of the finer braided and Berkley Fire Lines. I have been impressed lately with the Crystal, but I still prefer Pro Line for my normal braided lines, using a leader. I just don't suggest this type of line for a Spin Cast Real."

go with gamma or better yet suffix elite it is strong and is abrasion resistant and you rub this stuff against logs and it will take a beating great for bass, trout and panfish

Doh! I guess I ought to be more careful reading the posts before I respond.

I have another question w/ the FireLine. At Joe's it comes in 125yd length, but lets say my reel will hole 240yd of line of that weight. Would you recommend buying mulitple packs of FireLine and tying them together, or put some mono on first and then finish the reel with FireLine?

THanks

Sounds like everyone has some great suggestions but something that I have found that works great for spinning reels (reels that seem to have a very high line memory) is that Mean Green works great. It is highly abrasive resistant and is silcone coated which doesnt allow for water retention which leads to line memory or loops in your line. The 6-8lb line casts like a dream and is plenty strong enough to haul in that lunker.

As far as the question about fireline on your spinning reel you definatley want to put about 25-50 yards of mono backing because after your fireline sits on the spool for a while when you go to retrieve your lure it doesnt stay tight to the spool and just spins. With the backing it allows for that tight line to the spool. Plus it gives you the density you need so that the fireline cast effortlessly without having to break the bank.

Hey guys
A trick I use when needing to use backing, is to spool on the main line (the one you will be fishing with) then tie on the filler/backing mono to the to the main line now on the spool, then finish filling the spool.
Then change spools (put on empty extra spool), and tie the mono/backing from the filled spool to the now empty spool on the reel, and wind it on. I find this way gets me the right amount of backing to have the reel filled for max performance (casting). I've had trouble in the past getting the right amount of filler on the spool to make it come out right and this manner seems to work for me.
Give it a try if you think it might work for you.
Hope I didn't confuse the issue too much
Fish On folks

Whoa, that's so simple I'm wondering why I hadn't thought of that myself. Thanks for the tip!

natenez wrote:Doh! I guess I ought to be more careful reading the posts before I respond.

I have another question w/ the FireLine. At Joe's it comes in 125yd length, but lets say my reel will hole 240yd of line of that weight. Would you recommend buying mulitple packs of FireLine and tying them together, or put some mono on first and then finish the reel with FireLine?

THanks

I'd stack the real with a heavy but quality Mono first, then use the 125 yard spool to top it off. You always want to have a few feet of mono on the spool anyway; if you don't the fireline or braided lines will often spin on the spool, expecially in extremely cold weather.

With 240 yard capacity (make sure of what line weight that is, 240 yards of 6 lb Mono is like a million miles of 10 lb fireline), clearly you have a spinning real, not a spin cast, so look strongly into the Fireline crystal. I think you will really like that line.

blufin loui wrote:Hey guys
A trick I use when needing to use backing, is to spool on the main line (the one you will be fishing with) then tie on the filler/backing mono to the to the main line now on the spool, then finish filling the spool.
Then change spools (put on empty extra spool), and tie the mono/backing from the filled spool to the now empty spool on the reel, and wind it on. I find this way gets me the right amount of backing to have the reel filled for max performance (casting). I've had trouble in the past getting the right amount of filler on the spool to make it come out right and this manner seems to work for me.
Give it a try if you think it might work for you.
Hope I didn't confuse the issue too much
Fish On folks

I do that too, but I also warn people that this can twist the line as you spool it the second time, so watch to see if you are getting loops that form in slack line, and if you do, turn the feed spool over and continue. It helps to keep checking, sometimes you need to turn the feed spool over several times during the transfer.

Thanks Anglinarcher
Small (but very important) detail I had forgot to mention. :bigsmurf:
The things we're use to doing we sometimes take for granted.
Gosh I enjoy all the sharing of tips.
Keep it up folks.