Fishing Line ~ the Vital Link between You and the Fish

A fishing line is what connects you to the fish.

It is one of the cheapest and most important fishing equipment which most anglers take for granted and tends to overlook. It plays an important role in our fishing success like bait presentation, lure casting and most of all the landing of the fish.

There are many different kinds of lines available to anglers. Some are designed for specific applications.

So how to choose the right type of mainline for a particular fishing situation? From my own experience I will say that beginners need to go through much experience with trials and errors choosing the right line most suited to the job at hand.

Anyway, let's take a look at some of the principal types of lines available.

Monofilament

Monofilament by far is the most common used line. Although it has been around for decades it’s still the best choice for most general purposes. It is the cheapest among the lines available for both saltwater and freshwater fishing.

Monofilament can has some stretch when under tension which some anglers found an advantage in handling hard-fighting fish, especially those that are acrobatics. However, the disadvantage is the difficulty in setting the hook properly. It’s best used for beginners because it has less chance of breaking with improper drag-settings and inexperience in fighting and landing a fish.

It is advisable to take good care of your line by rinsing off salt immediately after use before storing in a cool place. And keep it out of sunlight, exposure to sunlight can halve the strength and spoil the line real fast. If you find that your line is discolored with a fine powder coming out of it, it’s fine time you change the line.

Fluorocarbon

Although this type of line is in the market for a long time it is becoming very popular with anglers because it’s near invisible in water. Anglers use it for line-shy fish when you don’t want to spook them.

There are some bad qualities of this particular type of line. It tends to be stiff and much more prone to line memory than monofilament. And stiff line doesn’t cast well and also not so manageable on a spool. This pricey stuff is thicker in diameter and low stretch. But it’s tough and extremely abrasion resistant, and it doesn’t absorb water. Most anglers use this item for leaders.

Braid or Superline

Braid has a high strength to diameter ratio, allowing more line to be spooled. It low stretch provides the angler with a quick contact with the hooked fish. Very thin and limp with no memory, braided fishing line is easy to cast. It cut through tide and wind with ease. Braid is an excellent line for most fishing situations, such as trolling and deep-bottom fishing on a boat. Most saltwater big-game anglers used braid.

Wire

Wire line, which used to be popular for trolling and deep-bottom fishing in strong tides, is now replaced by the popularity of braided fishing line. It’s now used as leaders for toothy-fish.

There are 2 main types: single and multi-strand stainless steel. The single-strand which is cheaper tends to kink easily and break at the point of kinking. Wire when kinked cannot be spliced and needed to be replaced. The multi-strand type of wire is much expensive is the nicest to use.

Fly Line

Most of today’s fly lines are made of nylon. Some are designed to float and others to sink slowly or quickly. They are thick in the middle and tapered at one or both ends. And there are different weights and sizes made to suit the different length and strength of fly rods, because you cast the line which acts as the weight than the bait. With fly fishing always make sure that your line and rod are in balance.

Not all fishing lines are the same. Every brand is different from one another in certain way. Makes certain that the fishing line you bought is of good quality. Buy those that are of established brands, don’t skimp on this vital link, your success and failure on landing your catch depends much on this piece of fishing equipment.

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