How long is monofilament line good for?

My dad got a spool of several thousand yards of line from a friend that works for Berkley 3 or 4 years ago and wants to know if it is still good. It has been stored in a heated garage, out of the sun. Thanks.

Should be ok. My rule of thumb is check breaking strength, and when some comes off the spool is it limber or does it have a good memory? If the breaking strength is much lower than rated, or it has a good memory, then it isn't used. FWIW, I normally respool every year, but then again the line sees a fair amount of sun.

Sunlight is the biggest enemy of mono. If the line is kept out of the light it should be fine. I have a shelf in my garage of almost nothing but spools of different kinds of line and test. I buy the line in bulk, so some spools are pushing 3 years old for the tests I don't use as much. I'm not worried about their quality.

Absolutely the sun is the biggest factor for mono although simply drying out should be checked too. heck you could spool off some of the line that's on the "outside" and throw it out if the roll is so big! BTW Fluorocarbon is incredible, for people used to using mono they should really give it a try.

I've still got a number of spools of line that has to be at least 10 years old. It is out in my fishing shed, so I don't remember what brand it is -- but I think it was a TriLene. Whatever it is, it was discontinued in the late 90s, and I bought all the 4#, 6#, and 8# that I could find before it went extinct. (It is a light green color that perfectly matches the color of local river water and the water in my pond.)

Anyway, I restrung five reels about two or three weeks ago, and it seems as good as ever -- strong, limp, holds a good knot, etc. I've taken no special storage precautions over all this time. It just sits on a shelf in my shed. I replace my line two or three times a season on my most used reels. I figure I've still got 2-3 seasons of my favorite line.

Ken

I agree, fluorocarbon in many situations is great. I especially like it as a leader...

CJ yeah a superbraid with a leader of fluorocarbon is deadly! The superbraids have such a small diameter now that I usually spool my reel with that and then use the fluoro as a shock absorbing leader. Thinner line means less drag through the water as well as more line on the reel.
I think most people have their line break due to fraying as opposed to the line going bad. Using a qtip is a great way to check for damage to your rod eyelets which crack/scratch over time. Any cotton that catches on the eyelet will let you know what is fraying your line!

Yep, I love superbraid with fluorocarbon as a leader. Been using it a lot for drop shot fishing and just plain jig fishing. Great feel!

It has been several years since I have tried the superbraids. Seems like with the braids it would bury into the spool and break my line when I tried to cast, sending my lure off into the distant water. Have they corrected this?

I haven't tried the fluocarbon line. What makes it so special?

The cause of this problem is also one of the biggest advantages of the braids-a very small diameter compared to mono # tests. 8# superbraid is much more thin than 8# mono and this is what can cause the line to bury into the spool. I always make sure that I am adjusting the cast control knobs on my baitcasters to the weight of the lure I am throwing. With the lure dangling just below the tip open the bail and see how fast your bait falls. It should SLOWLY fall with a gentle bob of the rod tip. If it falls too fast turn your cast control knob clockwise, if it isn't falling then you need to loosen it off. I had the same problems until I started doing this little setup before fishing.
Fluorocarbon has apparently the same light refractive qualities as water-it is incredible in clear water! It has less stretch (better hooksets) and is more abrasion resistant than mono. Heck I use 100# fluoro as my muskie leaders

I also like the super braid because they last longer. Don't need to change line every couple of months. No UV ray damage... I really like the Power Pro brand.

Power Pro braid. Best bang for the buck.
How can you not listen to a guy that uses #100 leader?

Hey when you fish a lake that has previously held the world record you gotta be prepared (multiple 60+ lb fish have been caught there)! a few knicks from fishing around rocks and suddenly that 100# test is now 50 or 60#. And that's not considering the damage the teeth can do too!~
I definitely agree about the Power Pro, I don't use any other braid.

I like the heavy fluorocarbon leader as well... Don't get musky going 60+ pounds around here, but 30-40 lbs is possible. I usually use 60 or 80 lb fluorocarbon as a leader.

Is the Berkley Vanish anygood?

Yeah Brandon I use the vanish to make my walleye spinners and like it a lot! Seems to hold up to abrasion a lot better than when I used to use just regular mono

I use braided line almost exclusively these days. I do a lot of fishing around heavy structure like submerged stumps and rock piles. Mono would never stand up to the abuse, and I'd be losing lures left and right.

Just make sure you tie your braided line correctly, or it will be much more likely to fail.

Weissguy, I like the shape of your pond. I use a palomar knot or a trilene knot with 4 wraps for braid. What knot do you like?

the stick - Thanks. We've really enjoyed our pond. As to the knot. I found a good description of the one I often use.

http://www.bassresource.com/fish/knots.html

The Braid Knot
This special fishing knot has been proven to be one of the best for use with braided lines.

1. Run Double loop through eye of hook or lure.
2. Loop around end of line and standing part of braided line 8 times. Thread double loop back between the eye and coils.
3. Tighten knot with a steady, even motion without hesitation. Trim double loop and end of braided line leaving about 1/4".

I can't remember the name of the fishing show, but they do comparisons of different fishing knots. The palomar knot wins hands down for mono, fluorocarbon and braid. Plus its easy enough for even an idiot like me to remember to tie.

I tie all my leaders using a palomar knot, but I've tended to use the braid knot for securing line to swivels.

Sat down and tied the braid knot with 20lb spiderwire to a 6/0 bass hook, worked well sitting at my desk. I am interested to see how well it ties with 6lb fireline in a 20 mph wind.

Sat. morning I put some of the 14lb Vanish on my reel. Absolutley love it. Cast a mile and very sensitive. I caught about 15 bass from 2-4 lbs without ever having to retie. You just got to make sure the line is super wet when cinching down your knot. I tie the Polomar knot.

Anyone that wants to try the fluorocarbon out pick up some "Berkley 100% professional grade" fluorocarbon. Just tried it out and it's even better than vanish! Even with just 8# the leader was holding up to the NP we were catching while walleye fishing this weekend.

Replaced the line on two of my poles after the fact. Fish are too big. Broke the new line once, 17 pound line. Caught about 60 pounds of fish. There were 5 large cats the biggest over 14 pounds and the rest wsere bream. All are fillet and ready to eat. I have several friends I will give most to. Another friend came out about a week ago and caught several large cat fish and bream. keep fishing

I use Suffix and love it. I'm basically a BG and Crappie kinda guy - nothing big like some on here, but the braid is awesome when you GET ACCUSTOMED to it. You get NO strech, which means you get an ultra quick 'feel' on the bite. Had to learn to be a little more patient with the hook set. Some say that using braid with a leader for my style fishing is ok, but my experience is that with just a leader of mono you don't get the strech you're looking for, so basiclly a waste. I use 20# Suffix and it has a 6 diameter. FYI - Braid will wrap around the tip of your rod in wind, and sticks to the rod on occasion. Just know that before you get disgusted with it. It's gonna happen. It can be a little $$ for some, so some folks will use mono as a backing then fill with braid. But again, I'm catching 1 1/2 Bream, and 2-2 1/2 crappie. My .02.

Polamar. Period.

Every time I read that, I see less and less of a problem.

Noob here, when you say braided line are you referring to the stuff called spider wire or something different?

Spider wire and PowerPro are the two most popular braided lines out there these days... They are made of Spectra. I am personally a fan of PowerPro.

Thanks that helps me understand what you guys are talking about now.

You guys were right, after using Power Pro on my Revo for a season, it is great line. I am using 20lb on a 6.6 BPS medium trigger rod. I liked it so well I bought a spool of 10lb to try on spinning equipment. I have gotten so I glance down about every 6-12 casts when spinning and notice more wind knots developing then when I use Fireline. So baitcasting great, spinning not as well. Has anyone had any experience with the Suffix 832? I have read mixed reviews on it.

Hey Stick...I've got some of that 832 spooled on a baitcaster I'm using to pitch/flip jigs and a 2500 class Shimano spinning reel I'm using for cranks...so far so good..definately recommend spraying both with some of KVD's line conditioner night before and during use. On any given day however I may have 8-10 outfits in the boat...most with mono(sufix) and a couple with flouro (Trilene 100%). I like the thoughts of braid but except for flippin in really heavy cover or frog fishing in the same jungle I never really liked it...we'll see.

Never been a fan of braid line on spinning reels except for drop shotting, jigging and some flipping applications. I do some Power Pro and use it exclusively and have tried several other brands.

What line, 6 or 8 lb test, do you guys use for spinning reels? Why?

Dave, I use 2# to 12# depending on what I'm fishing for. Bg to LMB or Carp.

CJ, I like the braided line on my rods that I use for steelhead. I use a 4'-5' fluro leader. Great sensitivity, and no stretch like mono. I also used it on a spinning reel with a green colored braid when worm fishing for LMB in a lake that had a pretty good bloom going and visibility was only 12"-18".

I really like 6 lb Fireline on my ultra light. Lots of feel. Saw the Linder's talking about fishing line a year or two ago and they said day in and day out they use a lot of 6-8 lb Berkley Trilene XT. They liked it for it's managability and strength. Everybody has an opinion about line. I guess that's why their are so many choices.

4# Trilene XL blue for finesse work like 4" wacky worm 8# suffix for crankbaits. Why...I fish the 4# with light tackle for spooky fish in clear water where long casts and subtle presentations are key. 8# mono helps me get better action and more depth= more bites on cranks.

Scott, that is why I use the Power Pro for drop shotting and jigging. That no stretch added sensitivity is great. One thing nice about having multiple spools for the same reel. You can load different lines on each one. Fluorocarbon doesn't stretch much either but Power Pro is tops for that. I use a lot of Trilene XL, more so than any other type.

You and me both. But, I really like the chameleon colored 3# Maxima if I can find it for a good balance between 2# and 4#.

I spooled up a bunch of different reels 2 years ago with different brands of Flurocarbon. Of all the choices out there, for my usage I'm leaning towards Vanish. P-Line has too much memory, and there was one that really seemed to twist badly no matter what I did to untwist it, and no matter what lure I used.

I'll have to look at that #3 Maxima. There is a huge difference between 2 and 4 pound tests. Maybe 3 pound is that happy medium...

With arthritis in my hands, I have trouble tying the 2 and 4 pound stuff.

With spinning reels, using Stren, I have trouble with it coming off the spool in several messes. Not sure what you call that.

Crappy line...

The best way to eliminate that spooling effect is to stetch out the line behind a boat with no terminal tackle on the line. Get the boat moving and let about about half the spool dragging the line through the water. Keep moving and wind in slowly, and there won't be any twist in your mono. Dwight, our dad, and I used to do that every morning before we went casting. Now we are more into braided line.

"MESS" is exactly what you call it.
Someone said to drag it out behind the boat and that is an excellent way to fix it after the fact but heres some tips to avoid it in the first place.
#1 Don't overfill spool #2 Use quality line in the size that matches the specs for the reel your spooling #3 Spool the line on under moderate tension and in the proper rotation..I have found the best way to tell if you're putting it on in the right direction instead of creating line twist by the very act of spooling..is to lay filler spool on the floor with the label up then reel 10-20 times and put slack in your line ..if it starts to twist turn spool over and continue.#4 OR take the tag end of the filler spool and walk it out across the yard the length you're going to spool on and then lay it down..wind on the reel SLOWLY under tension.#5 Never reel against a slipping drag #6 manually close the bail after every cast while quickly looking down at your reel for loops...now is the time to fix that by closing your bail loosen the drag and pulling the line off the spool until the loop clears # Look into Doug Hannons Wave Spin line of spinning reels...very innovative and affordable.

Thanks, I'll try a bunch of these things.

OK Travis; crappy line. What is the best line for 6 pound spinning reels? I prefer tools to work with, not work on.

Dave, I still use stren 4lb line, I don't have any problems with it. I would love to find a date on a spool of line, so I would have a way of telling how long that particular spool had been coiled up. I would think the shorter time, the better. I second the recommendation about closing the bail manually on a spinning reel. I believe that does help. I also don't use the smaller, "pony" spools. I think their smaller diameter lends itself to line twists. When I spool up a reel, I first determine the direction of reel rotation as I turn the handle. Then I lay the fresh spool on the floor so the line comes off in the same direction of rotation as my reel. You don't want to try and put line that comes off in a clockwise direction on a reel turning counter-clockwise, or vice-versa. It works for me.

FFF, great tips. That's the same procedure that I use. With P-Line, I had to keep flipping the spool over because no matter what side was up, I got line twist show up in the line when I dropped the rod tip as I was spooling it. I knew then that it'd cause problems all year, but I had to try it to see how it'd work.

Dave, Trilene XL in 6# test would work for ya. I find the XT keeps more of a memory on spinning reels.

Scott Thanks and heres a tidbit even most expierenced spinning reel owners don't know or have forgotten. The line guide in the corner of the bail is designed (quality ones) around a ball bearing that allows it to spin very freely, and if it doesn't.....well it MUST.

One thing guys can do is run a Q-Tip around the inside of your rod guides. If a strand of it gets caught in the guide, the guide is bad and it'll ruin your line quickly.

Best line I have ever used on my ultralight spinning setup is Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft 4lb test. I swear that stuff breaks closer to 8lb, and has almost no stretch. Trilene XL used to be my go to line and I still highly recommend it, but the hybrid ultra soft has it beat in my opinion.

I use it for everything from bluegill to bass, and it has never let me down. Pretty good abrasion resistance for 4lb line, and it is water / UV resistant so the line easily lasts a full season without getting weak like you see with traditional mono.

Plain old mono I like Trilene XL. I think line preference in many ways is like almost anything else, personal preference and what your dad used or what you've just always used.

As a Walmart fisherman I choose only the best cheap line they have, but I do change it atleast every 5 years.

Hey Gflo...I've never tried yozuri but every other hybrid line I've used tended to "shear" or unravel..do you not have that problem with it?

Hey Findfoolfight,

I think I know what you mean if you are talking about when you open the bail and the line just starts jumping off all over the place as if it were spring loaded.

I DID have this problem when I tried to use the original Yo-Zuri Hybrid line on my spinning gear. It was a disaster. Really bad idea. That stuff is much better suited for baitcasters.

I had a "little" bit of a problem with the 4lb test of the new Yo-Zuri Hybrid line on my shimano sienna 2500 spinning reel initially, but I figured out how to fix it (It wasn't really a problem tho at this point to be honest, but I did notice it).

Basically what I do is about an hour or so before I go fishing I let some really hot water run in the sink and fill it up. Then I take the spool off of my reel that has my line on it and toss it into the sink with the hot water. After about 5-10 minutes I take it out and I am good to go. This pretty much eliminated any minor problems I was having with the line.

I am really happy with the hybrid ultra soft line. It is pretty darn strong, and well worth the hassle to toss the spool in the sink for a few minutes before heading out. I've also used the 10lb test (the diameter is more like a thin 12lb mono in my opinion), and I swear its breaking strength is closer to 16 pounds.

If you can't tell I am a big fan of this fishing line. I have so much confidence in it that I fish 3/16th ounce jigs with moderate weed guards while using the 4lb test. It is the only 4lb test I've used where I can set the hook pretty easily using a light 6 foot graphite rod and not be real concerned about breaking off during the hook set.

As long as the drag is set properly you would be good to go. The line is pretty manageable in my opinion as long as the spool isn't super tiny like you would find on some 500 or even some 1000 series reels. It is definitely worth giving it a try http://www.basspro.com/YoZuri-Hybrid-Ultra-Soft-Fishing-Line/product/10205251/-1644929

I would recommend buying the test rating that is 2lbs lighter than you usually would use because the diameter of the ultra soft runs a little larger, but not by too much. Its really strong for its diameter.

My favorite is P-line florocabon. Ive had great luck with it. Trilene floro. is my next choice.

I am going to try this line on a reel. I noted that 6lb is the lightest strength that BPS sells. I will look around.