Annual Line Stretch Test (Updated 2016)

gizmoguy wrote:

not sure the add link worked right
http://www.bigindianabass.com/big_indiana_bass/the-truth-about-fluorocarbon.html

copy paste this

Great article, it was fun to read it and tap into my inner nerd.

Some of the responses challenging the test are pretty interesting. I think it’s great stuff – thank you!

I like flouro for a leader simply because it’s so abrasion resistant. It seems to be much better than most monos in that category. I noticed that the sinking characteristic of the flouro leader was throwing some of my neutrally weighted stick baits out of whack, though, so I’m trying a mono leader on those rods this year.

But stretch applies to the elastic portion or the material properties ONLY. Plastic or permanent deformation is technically not stretch. That is why floro can claim less stretch. Its yield point is much lower than mono. Yield point is the point that it switches from elasic to plasic deformation. Mono is much more elastic = stretch.
Also the statement about how much force do you realy put on your line is true. We all have had a snag. Lets say 8 lb test. We try to pull it free using the rod. It won’t budge. We pull harder. Still nothing. You get to the point you think you are going to break your rod. Still won’t break. You end up wraping the line around your hand pulling like crazy. Either it pulls free or you finally break your line. You would never pull fighing a fish that hard. With the spring in your rod and stretch in the line you would be pressed to strain your line to the 30% level.

One thing frydogs test drives home for me is the importance of replacing my fluoro leader after getting into a snag that requires me to pull on the line using my hands or by pointing directly at the snagged lure and pulling while holding the spool on the reel so it doesn’t slip.

I think there is definitely an argument for how stretch is viewed and quantified. Ultimately any test needs to mirror how the lines perform on the water.

I have to say after purchasing all these lines for the test, it afforded the opportunity for me to use all of them to some degree while fishing and the tests do seem to mirror the stretch characteristics of each line.

The most defining moment for me with most of these lines were long hook sets, either straight down in deeper water for walleyes or when casting several yards towards shore for bass. Honestly, there’s a bunch of these lines I would not want to try to set the hook again on a smallie 25 yards away in current… way too easy to come unbuttoned, like setting the hook on a bucking bronco using a rubber band for line.

I still prefer braid with a fluorocarbon leader for longer casts and hook sets, but if had to use one of the tested lines as a main line on a regular basis, I was overall impressed with Yo-zuri Hybrid. It’s characteristics didn’t seem to change wet or dry which the test for the most part backs up.

So, I guess I have a little of the real-world experience with these lines too and there definitely is some consistency with the stretch data IMO.

Thanks for posting the test and giving us some stuff to chew on.

mplspug wrote:

Thanks for posting the test and giving us some stuff to chew on.

Thanks, since I don’t live in Florida anymore it gave me something to do over the long cold Minnesota winters…

And thanks to KWP’s graph, I now feel like I have been “published!” If I start getting a big head or talking about myself in 3rd person I’m sure you guys will bring me back down to earth

My main takeaway is that you can wreck a lot of flouro in a hurry if you have a snag, so it may not be a good idea to use it as a main line. Do you agree gizmoguy?

“Also the statement about how much force do you realy put on your line is true. We all have had a snag. Lets say 8 lb test. We try to pull it free using the rod. It won’t budge. We pull harder. Still nothing. You get to the point you think you are going to break your rod. Still won’t break. You end up wraping the line around your hand pulling like crazy. Either it pulls free or you finally break your line. You would never pull fighing a fish that hard. With the spring in your rod and stretch in the line you would be pressed to strain your line to the 30% level.”

I think basically true, but I have lost a few large fish that were at or above the line lb test and the line snapped 5 feet up the line (so it wasn’t a weakness of the knot). I do think line can be pushed and snapped at its limits. Do we set the hook to that limit no – but I know for sure that I didn’t get the hook penetration with BPS or Seaguar fluorocarbon from several yards away and lost fish. To me that was the result of stretch and fish I probably would have caught if using braid or possibly Yo-Zuri.

Thanks for all your work. I now intend to go from 6# FC leader to 10#. I use braid except for slip bobber fishing but even then use FC leader.

Interesting, but as others have said using an 8lb weight may not be a practical “fishing” test of 8lb line – it measures what happens at the line’s breaking point when pulling on a snag or fighting a fish with the drag too tight.

Maybe try this. Using a rod and reel that you would typically use with 8lb line, attach the line to a scale say 40 feet away and measure how much force you can generate with a hook set with mono or FC. Between rod deflection and line stretch it’s going to be WAY less than 8lbs. Then use the amount of force you can generate with a hook set as the weight you use to test line stretch.

Bassn Dan wrote:

Between rod deflection and line stretch it’s going to be WAY less than 8lbs.

For everyone that’s saying this isn’t realistic data… have you ever broken your line on a fish before? If so then this data is pretty spot on. It truly depends on the angler and I get all types. I’ve had guys break 8lb line on a 2lb walleye. If you set the hook like you are in the Bass Masters Classic you can break mono pretty easy.

Frydog your data clearly shows why I like Trilene XT. My lines get pushed to their breaking point regularly, so the fact it can hold up against this abuse is why I’ve had such good luck with it.

Be honest how long did this entire experiment take Thanks for posting the data!

Bassn Dan wrote:

Interesting, but as others have said using an 8lb weight may not be a practical “fishing” test of 8lb line – it measures what happens at the line’s breaking point when pulling on a snag or fighting a fish with the drag too tight.

Maybe try this. Using a rod and reel that you would typically use with 8lb line, attach the line to a scale say 40 feet away and measure how much force you can generate with a hook set with mono or FC. Between rod deflection and line stretch it’s going to be WAY less than 8lbs. Then use the amount of force you can generate with a hook set as the weight you use to test line stretch.

I think Frydog was just looking at stretch under a load…Of course, every application is different. My non-scientific example is when I first tried Seagaur Invx flour. I could literary walk the entire length of my 16′ boat and still not get a snag out. The line would stretch/elongate/deform the entire distance. Not that it is bad line it just stretches a ton before breaking.

KWP, Invizx was one of the first fluorocarbon lines I bought 7 or so years ago and was really pumped to use and see its advantages. Was a big disappointment for me in terms of both stretch and manageability. Thought it was either a bad batch or just my amateur ability. Bought more brands, same results.

So my intention in doing this stretch test was to stop listening to the marketing hype about various lines and truly find a low stretch fluorocarbon – and that’s how the stretch test was born. Test 3-4 lines out per year until I hit 20 lines. I really hoped to find a good low-stretch option, slather the hell out of it with KVD, line grease, butter, whatever so its manageable and have a good overall line.

…Well I’m still searching ~

Joe Scegura wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bassn Dan wrote:</div>
Between rod deflection and line stretch it’s going to be WAY less than 8lbs.

For everyone that’s saying this isn’t realistic data… have you ever broken your line on a fish before? If so then this data is pretty spot on. It truly depends on the angler and I get all types. I’ve had guys break 8lb line on a 2lb walleye. If you set the hook like you are in the Bass Masters Classic you can break mono pretty easy.

Frydog your data clearly shows why I like Trilene XT. My lines get pushed to their breaking point regularly, so the fact it can hold up against this abuse is why I’ve had such good luck with it.

Be honest how long did this entire experiment take Thanks for posting the data!

I think Joe may be politely referring to me when it comes to Type A hook sets. For the record, I’ve dialed back a little on the caffeine since last Fall, might help if you didn’t put us on such big fish all the time too!

The Trilene XT Joe uses as a guide is really tough and low stretch. Its mono so I’m sure it soaks up water and stretches a little more throughout the day but still stretches less than most fluorocarbon – and is much more reliable. The stretch test did push lines to their max, but so many of the knots failed with fluorocarbon, was amazing. And once you stretch flouro hard, or snag it its done. XT retains itself well. So did Yo-Zuri (and soaked up less water).

Yeah, the experiment took a little time but like I said I spread it out over a few years. Tried to keep it simple and it was pretty easy. Maybe I need to take up ice fishing or some other winter hobby… know any good guides?

FryDog62 wrote:

…Well I’m still searching ~

I gave up using flour. on spinning rods years ago and plan on using braid on my baitcasters too.

For my spinning rods I started using Gliss which is technically not a braid because the fibers are extruded. Zero manageability issues and casts about 40% farther than mono. Biggest issues is knots and the best I have found is the 8 wrap double uni. You can pick up a spool at Dick’s Sporting for about $14 to try it so it isn’t a huge investment.

There are some negative online reviews with this stuff and I think most of it is knot related. It isn’t knot friendly because it is so slippery.

I can’t bring myself to put braid on my baicasters. Don’t ask me why, I don’t have an answer. It’s all fluoro.

But all my spinning reels are braid, except my ultralight, which is fluoro. That’s going to change. Mostly because I bobber fish with that one a lot.

Pug, what brand, pound test do you have on your baitcasters?

There’s another dirty little industry secret about flouro. Due to the material composition, FC is weakened by bending – as when tying a knot – far more than mono, providing only up to 77% knot strength vs. 97% knot strength for mono. So, that 10lb test flouro leader is actually more like 7lb test in reality.

Maybe someone can do/publish a knot test on flouro vs. mono sometime, all else being equal??

FryDog62 wrote:

Pug, what brand, pound test do you have on your baitcasters?

Well this is embarrassing. I can only guess at this point. 80% sure its P-Line, but there is a 20% chance it is Vanish. I usually always get 10# be it mono or Fluoro for my baitcasters.

BrianF wrote:

There’s another dirty little industry secret about flouro. Due to the material composition, FC is weakened by bending – as when tying a knot – far more than mono, providing only up to 77% knot strength vs. 97% knot strength for mono. So, that 10lb test flouro leader is actually more like 7lb test in reality.

Maybe someone can do/publish a knot test on flouro vs. mono sometime, all else being equal??

I nominate Frydog!

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I think this is a great test. The problem with it is as follows:

This test only shows the line stretching at it’s maximum lb rating. Monofilament line happens to stretch easily with only light pressure. Fluorocarbon stretches under much higher pressure. This 8lb of stretch won’t be seen while freshwater bass fishing very often.

I would be interested in seeing the stretch at different weights of pressure. Obviously we don’t have to go into the reasons, times, and places each of these lines are conducive. My only issue with fluorocarbon is the price. This is why I’ve been mixing in some hybrid lines or co polymer. I’ve noticed the diameter is higher though and that’s uncomfortable when casting and hearing your line slap the rod a little. So I downsize when using the hybrid lines.

Thanks for this test. I think it’s a great idea, I just think it would be a whole lot more accurate if we could see the amount of stretch per line type at different weights building up to the max of 8lb.

Thanks
Jr

Agreed, there are some differences in the lines. However, I think the main point in what I learned is that the stretch factor between mono and fluorocarbon is much closer than what the line manufacturers want us to believe.