Most times I fish with braid and a fluorocarbon leader so that I get solid hook sets when using plastics and spinnerbaits for smallmouth or even when jigging for walleyes. I like the sensitivity and low stretch of braid to set the hook with confidence. The fluorocarbon leader provides less visibility and a faster sink rate.
However, I do usually have at least one rod set up though without braid and I have been in pursuit of the best all round line for that purpose (I may never get there, but worth trying out different products). For me, one of the biggest factors is finding a line that is sensitive and LOW stretch. I get frustrated either not feeling light bites or worse yet, missing strikes on longer casts because the line is so stretchy.
Its amazing to me at how many line manufacturers tout their product as “low stretch” yet there is very little if any specifications that prove this. I have seen Tackle Tour’s tests (http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfpiintropg2.html) but wanted to test some of my own lines that I personally use.
Okay, its been a long boring winter… so I decided to set up my own test to see what I could find out (far from the sophistication of Berkley’s labs or Steve Pennaz’s “Knot Wars,” but it was helpful to me). I tested nine different 8 pound test lines (which is the size I typically use for plastics, jigging, etc). I used a 12 foot piece of line (I am limited to the height of my vaulted ceiling) and hung an 8 pound weight to see how much each line stretched in inches. Below are the results from least stretch to most stretch. I found the results interesting and a little bit surprising too:
1) Berkley XT (monofilament) – stretched 21 1/4 inches
2) Yozuri Hybrid (co-polymer) – 22 1/8
3) Maxima Treazure (co-polymer) – 24 1/2
4) Berkley XL (monofilament) – 24 3/4
5) Gamma Touch (fluorocarbon) – 29 1/4
6) Gamma Edge (fluorocarbon) – 31 inches*
7) Bass Pro XPS (fluorocarbon) – 31 3/4
8) Seaguar Tatsu (fluorocarbon) – 32 3/4
9) Berkley 100% (fluorocarbon) – 38 3/8
A couple revelations for me:
-I have heard the statement for years that fluorocarbon has less stretch than monofilament. Wow, was I surprised to see these results.
-I was also surprised how low stretch Both Berkely monfilament lines were. I had always liked XT but had moved away from using it in recent years because of my perception other lines would stretch less.
-Two lines that are probably marketed the hardest for being low-stretch are the two co-polymer lines (Yo-Zuri Hybrid and Maxima Treazure) and for the most part lived up to it in this test.
-There is probably some correlation that thicker diameter lines stretch less. Although these were all 8 pound test lines, 3 were a little thicker than the others (Berkley XT, Yo-zuri Hybrid and Gamma Edge) and 2 of them had the lowest stretch.
-Interesting that 2 lines broke during this test. Bass Pro’s XPS broke once but worked the second time. Surprising to me the Gamma Edge measurement of 31 inches is only my estimate as the line snapped just above the knot 3 different times!
So, my conclusion from all this is if I want lower stretch and potentially higher strength, I’ll use either Berkley XT or Yo-zuri Hybrid. If I need a faster sink rate and potentially less visibility, I’ll probably use Gamma Touch fluorocarbon as a leader on braid.
