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Rich ,

I dont want to sound dumb or nothing but heres a question for you .
I have many older fishing rods and for the most part i am using Stren Dura Tuf in 10 to 12 lb test ... with good results too ....

But for my Birthday this year I got a New Fishing Rod .... an AiRRUS Co matrix 457 6'6" MH spinning rod .... I am getting a reel as well but I havent decided which one (it depends on what the store has at the time)

I want to pair a better fishing line with this rod and reel .... what fishing line would you recommend ?

I have looked at a few kinds but they all say they are pretty good ... but I dont want to waste my money or time if you know what i mean ...I have used Trilene XL , Stren Dura Tuf , Cajun Red Lightin and a few others ...

in my opinion the Cajun Red wasnt great at all .... and the Trilene for some reason I have a lot of Breakoffs ... that is why im using the Stren now .... like I said it has been k so far .... but I want something different for the new rod and reel ..... any help you can give would be greatly appreciated ...... thanks in advance ....

oh btw .... if you need to know which reel im looking at so far im impressed with 2 different models .... a Quantum Energy PTi and Pfluegar Supreme .... but again I will have to wait and see what they have ....

thanks

I assume that the Quantum Energy reel that you would be interested in is the size 40 (E40PTi). Here is a link to it in our store. We offer free shipping on this item, and I have also put it on special just for you!

Zebco Quantum Energy PTi E40PTi <- Click here

We don't stock anything made by Pfleuger.

Good luck with your selection!

Sorry for the delay, I was in Europe for about 10 days. They are a lot of good lines out there. My spinning rods are used exlcusively for finesse fishing, so I always use flourocarbon like on my spinning reels, either 8 or 10lb test. I like P-Line, Seguar & Vicious Flourocarbons. You also need to get a large spool diameter reel if you plan to use flouro. I really like Shimano 2500 sized reels for these applications. Either the Symetre or Stradic depending on your price range.

Hope this helps

My friend Gary and I have been discussing line choice lately. In large part due to the tough time he had at Clear Lake getting a good hook set. Gary is no slouch when it comes to bass fishing. I have fished with him many times but he missed more than a limit that day and is blaming the fluorocarbon line he was using. He said it just seemed to stretch way to much. I had a completely different experience that day. I caught my biggest fish of the day on 8 lb P-Line and a 6 foot ugly stick. I didn't have any problem with hook penetration and we both were using Gamakatsu hooks.
This weekend fishing the Delta I broke off what felt like a pretty good fish. I was using twelve pound fluorocarbon. The fish didn't feel large enough to break that line and it didn't feel like he surged or hit any thing. It just went slack and came up empty. Gary is now swearing that it is because of the fluorocarbon line. He is ready to chuck all of it and go back to plain mono. I am not convinced. I think anyone can have a bad day and I probably had an unknown nick in my line Saturday.
I would like to know what you think about the virtues of fluorocarbon as it pertains to abrasion resistance, strength and stretch compared to mono. I think Gary might be basing his decision on one or two bad experiences.

I started using flouro last year, couple things of note, I think you get what you pay for when it comes to flourocarbon for the most part. I have had some bad experiences with Vanish and breaking on hook sets.

This year I have tried P-Line, Vicious & Seaguar and have been very pleased and had no issues with breaking off to speak of. Also, in theory, because fluoro is invisisble you should be able to jump up on line size over what you would normally use for mono.

You do have to be a bit more careful with your knots with fluoro, so take a look at where he is breaking, he may need to change knots or be careful to get is extra wet and pull down evenly.

I would say the stretch is comparable, abrasion resistance is better with fluoro, but mono takes a shock better. I still say Cajun Lightinin' is the toughest non braid that I have used. I fished docks with 20lb Seaguar all day on Sunday, boated 18lbs and never had an issue, had one saw me off after 10 secs, would not matter what I would have used on that one

Hope that answers your questions.
Rich

I spooled the Quantum I got from here with Viscious Ultimate 12 lb test

so far its working Great .... I havent had any Birds Nest to speak of ... thou sometimes a wider loop comes off the reel than I expect ... but no biggie ... just watch before I reel ... if the loop is there (it will hook up on the hook keeper) I take the loop out and im all set to go ....

Well, just how great is it working? I'd like to see something that it has caught!

I have done well on the Vicious as well, have not been good about pictures this year....

This LM is from Todays outing 7/12/07

its not huge but its a keeper LM - 15 inches long



I also got these 2 Crappies ......





the Crappies are of decent size for PA ....

all 3 fish were caught on a Aaron Martens " Scrounger " tipped with a Chartreuse Riverside Grub

Air Temp : was in 64 degrees , Partly Sunny
Caught in about 6 FOW
Water Temp : unsure

Equipment used : the Quantum Energy PTi 40 reel I got from AIG
the line was 12 lb Vicious Ultimate
and my rod is a AiRRUS Co Matrix 457 6' 6" MH

Those are a couple of respectable crappies. Makes me want to throw some in the frying pan. I haven't eaten a crappie since I was a kid.

Thanks for the pics!

As you know, the type of line is dependent so much on not only what you are after but how you are after them. I do much finesse type fishing as well. If you are going to fish mono, this is just my opinion, I am not a Stren fan. I would go with good ole Berkley XL in 6 or 8.
In braids, I like Power Pro. You could go up to 10 pound with it finesse and be just fine. Hope this helps some.

There is wisdom in your words, but I don't have any objections to Stren myself. In clear cold water finesse fishing can be extremely productive and light clear line is the key... OK one of the keys. Bait selection and presentation are also very important.

In theory if you guys used Fluorocarbon you could upsize your line because of the invisibility under water....

If the only reason to use light line vs. heavy line was whether or not one was less visible than the other, I would agree with you.

I would agree that lighter line sometimes gives a lure more action or at least a more natural action, but sometimes heavier line helps. For instance, I think heavier mono gives better action to larger topwaters then lighter line does....

I also heard KVD, prefers line with less stretch for jerkbaits, because too much stretch deadens the erratic action of the bait....