How Long is Line's good for?

[SkunkedAgain]

I know this is very variable in the answers, and I know my mono won't last more than a season or two at most. But what about braids? I'm thinking Power Pro in particular. I've had some of my Power Pro on some reels for over ten years and I'm still not seeing it weaken, has anyone had trouble with it and at what point? I've had trouble with my nanofil lines only making two or three years before they fray and get weak on me, and I have a cabela brand braid I got ten to twelve years ago that is starting to fray, but the rest of my super lines seem, (knock on wood) to be staying strong. Biggest problems I've had is tangle ups and boat motors wrapping them up around the prop... I guess this is why I've justified paying more for the braids over the years, plus the no stretch that lets you set the hook on fish a long ways out instead of stretching and not getting a good hook set. What do you think? Later J
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[mme1]

The only thing I have run into that has caused line failure with braid is if it gets left out in the sun for an extended time. Other wise it has lasted longer than I can remember putting it on [about 5 minutes] [crazy] except for the last foot or two sometimes has to be trimmed after dragging it through the rocks.
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[ice_sled]

I don’t use a lot of braid. On the reels that do have braid I change every two season’s. After the first year I spoil it off and reverse the direction of the line. The line seems to be Ok except it is faded and dirty. I use high visibility line and like for it to be bright.
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[RockyRaab]

I trim my braids back 10 feet or so before every season, but other than minor fraying due to casting or rocks, I don't see any signs of deterioration. I use a longer leader than usual, too. I start with 10 feet of Fluoro so I have a turn or two of that on the spool for each cast, which lessens any guide fray during the cast.

I love NanoFil, but it absolutely requires burr-free line guides. The slightest roughness or crack in a guide will frazzle Nanofil. If I see that happening, I replace the rod. (The old one is fine with mono or other kinds of braid.)

I'm curious about Berkely's new 5-carrier line and may give that a try, too. They also have a 9-carrier as their ultra-premium choice. Spendy.
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[doitall5000]

I have used the Cabelas braid but did not like it. Hard to tie and frays.
Now using 50 lb. 832 on my ocean rod. Really like it.
Had 20 lb. Spider wire on my trolling rod, caught a lot of muskies. Used it for 10 years. Did reverse it once.
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[packfish]

I change braid every couple of years and I change mono at least twice a year. I do splice on mono so I am not changing the entire spool every time but fishing 4 times a week or so I change my mono often.
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[RockyRaab]

If you want to be extra frugal - or get several times the use of the most expensive braid - fill the reel halfway with mono and then top off the last 150 feet (half the spool) or so with braid. Trim the casting end a few times, then strip off the braid, reverse it and wind it back on. Repeat the trim and flip, giving you four times the normal use.
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[SkunkedAgain]

That's what I have seen so far as well...I like that, now if I could keep the wet on it from freezing when I fish in the cold it would be perfect line... I hate it when your line all freezes on your reels in the winter, but it's hard to keep water from doing what it does... thanks for your thoughts... J
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[SkunkedAgain]

Ben I need to get on your hand me down list... I know for sure I've used my braid a lot longer than two years, but it does get grimy and not bright and crisp looking... If you continue to change it out that quick, let me know I'll pick up the used stuff from you... Thanks Jeff
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[SkunkedAgain]

Rocky you've got a lot going on in that post that is very interesting to me... I used to use the mono or fluorocarbon leader, but I've had a couple issues, one is my uni-uni knot at the splice sometimes likes to catch on the end eye when I'm fighting a good fish in the critical end of the fights and that could cause an issue so I'm a little afraid of that happening, and everyone has been telling me that they are going away from the leaders because they aren't necessary with most fish... I really haven't seen a difference myself with fish shying away from just braid, so I'm moving towards less leader use these days, but I still really like the idea of the leaders so I have a natural tendency to want to use them, I will likely keep doing some of both methods...

Nano-fil my love/hate relationship... I love the way Nano-fil casts, I can get so much more distance out of it and the accuracy is wonderful, but once it starts fraying it's worthless... It gets so weak so fast... I lost several big cats last year because of it... and some of my rods were fairly new that I was using it on, so I don't think the eyes should be bad that soon... Seems like it only lasts as long as mono for me, so if the price was more in line with mono instead of braid I'd probably use it on everything... but since it costs so much, I'm moving away from it, except in special cases... (I have it on a lot of my ice rods because it doesn't have the memory that makes the line kinky, plus it doesn't retain the water as bad as braid does.)

I haven't even heard of the carrier lines you mention, so I'm going to have to look into them, they sound interesting.. Thanks for some great info and conversation. I love to learn about new ways of doing things that might help me fix problems... Thanks again Rocky... Later Jeff
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[mike4cobra]

Nano-fil is IMHO a very specialty line. I don't consider it a "super-line" because it does have the abrasion resistance of 1980s mono. It is by far a superior line for ice fishing, deep jigging (15' plus) and open water casting. I love it but understand its restrictions. Very specific presentations and through the ice(doesn't absorb water) are why its on two of my reels, out of 20+. I would never recommenced it for general use or anything involving the bottom or structure. [fishon]
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[SkunkedAgain]

The Cabela braid was the first stuff I ever tried and it has been okay, but I don't think it is actually braided, but just fibers and yes I had it fray and fade in sunlight really bad, but it has still worked for me and never weakened, it just frayed out and tangled really easily, so I probably won't buy it again, but it served me well for over ten years...

Is the 832 the Suffix performance braid? If so I picked up a spool of it, but haven't put it on a reel yet... Looking forward to trying it this spring as I clean up reels that need new line... Looking the other day, I think I've got a lot that need a refresh this year... Most of them were mono lines... Thanks for the info and comments... Jeff
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[SkunkedAgain]

I think that is very wise to do with the mono... I don't change mine often enough and usually end up losing a fish, lures and all before I catch a clue and go "Oh I should have changed my line"... Good to take care of stuff so it doesn't fail when you need it most... Thanks for the tip... Jeff
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[SkunkedAgain]

I totally agree with you Mike, I just had to learn the hard way, and I wasn't smart enough to change it out after the first lost fish. I think it took me about three nice cats before I gave up on it. I loved the way I could pinpoint my casts for smallies with it, so didn't want to change it out, but when it wouldn't hold up to the fight, I had to give up... But so far it's been good on the ice fishing end of things for me... Hope I can keep from abrading it too much there so I get some time out of it.. I would like to have one rod set up for it for softwater use as well, because there are times when it is really nice, but it's not my rough and tumble regular go to rod line... I need something more durable... Thanks for the comments, I'm glad my thoughts are somewhat in line with yours... Later Jeff
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[Jedidiah]

One important note about braid on top of cheap mono filler, make sure your mono is an equal or smaller diameter than the braid or you can start getting the braid biting down into the mono and then pulling the most massive snarls of line off your reel that you've ever seen.
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[k2muskie]

We use PowerPro and flip line on reels so lasts us for 2 seasons if not a third season. Why waste expensive braid line that had never touched water. We use 80# PP with equivalent size diameter mono as backing. With the lures we cast and troll we’ll always check line exposed for fraying including rod eyes with a Q-tip for wear. Any eye wear will catch cotton.
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[L-D-R]

I change out my line every 10 or 11 fisbing trips . Your line won't show any signs of detect or wear untel you almost have that big fiah landed then snap and a few tail whips as your new pb swims off back to the deeps it came from . That's when you will rhink I should of changed my line ..
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[RockyRaab]

Short comments:

The Q-tip guide trick is excellent.

Micro guides are problematic with braid and leaders. Stick to main line only if your rod has micro guides.

Knot size is the important factor in avoiding tip hangup, either casting or retrieving. The popular uni-uni may be bulkiest because of the wraps of leader. The Red Phillips knot is smaller, and so is the Alberto. The Albright is skinniest, but is a booger to tie in a windy, rocking boat.

Instead of mono, use your old braid as backing.

Lastly, Grammar Cop says "should of" is wrong. The proper use is "should have" which is often shortened to "should've" and which may sound like "should of" when pronounced - but isn't.
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[gmwahl]

I have several rods with braid of various brand names on them and most of them are older than 5 years and some as old as 10. The oldest stuff if getting changed out this spring due to general wear and fraying. I don't know if it's needed, but it's going to happen. I have lost a few nice fish on the oldest stuff due to line breaking and I have reversed it on the spool as well. Maybe it's vanity, but I like my line to look nice, so half of my braid is getting changed.

My mono gets changed every year at minimum and I always use Stren Xl smooth cast. Seems to work best for me in all situations that I use mono. Speaking of mono, I too use it as a backer for my braid, but for different reasons than most people I suspect. I usually tie on about 30-50 feet of mono so that my braid doesn't spin on the reel spool. This was a trick I learned early on and it makes a great difference. I have also used a few wraps of black electrical tape to stop the line from slipping and it has done OK.

Mike
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[catchinon]

You wrote:

"Knot size is the important factor in avoiding tip hangup, either casting or retrieving. The popular uni-uni may be bulkiest because of the wraps of leader. The Red Phillips knot is smaller, and so is the Alberto. The Albright is skinniest, but is a booger to tie in a windy, rocking boat.

Instead of mono, use your old braid as backing."

I love how you share your extensive knowledge. Your tips seem to be always spot on.

About the Grammar Cop thing: it is sometimes very difficult for me when I read things on the internet that so butcher the language. It about drives me crazy. But I have had to take the cherry off the top of my cruiser lately, especially after I retired. I wish I knew how to fish as well as I know how to write. I understand that as a fellow wordsmith you have the same frustrations. For myself, I constantly re-proof my own posts to catch my faux pas and typos. I just caught myself having spelled "adapt" where I intended "adopt" about the fifth time I re-read it. [blush] The worst part of reading so much sloppy writing is that I have seen my syntax getting worse. I have been guilty of using comma splices lately. I just have to remind myself that no one likes a pedantic bloke and to recognize that there is a difference between formal and casual writing. Enyway (as Pat might write it) I appreciate the opening so I could vent a little. BTW, nothing I have written here is to be taken as criticism. Peace
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