Favorite UL line

How small is your rod and how light is your line? It's not about the size of your tackle, but how you work it. Come share your Ultralight and Bait Finesse System (BFS) fishing success here!
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BARRAMANIAC
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by BARRAMANIAC » Wed Jul 31, 2013 10:08 pm

I use 4lb Berkeley fireline exceed in orange .

jim k
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by jim k » Wed Mar 19, 2014 2:57 pm

HOW YOU ALL DOING?
i have been fishing for over 50 years here in pa for trout/panfish/bass.
lately i have all my bass rods with POWER PRO SLICK IN 10/2 PD SIZE IN YELLOW.
the yellow shows up in water.
i use a 6 pd vanish flouro leader on most.

now for my ul trout rod presso 6/6 i use TRILENE XL in flourescent blue 4 pd.
i have tried just about every line that is out and only xl i like most.
seeing line in water for trout is nice.
if i am using any slow presentation i use a 2 or 4 pd vanish floro leader.
for lures i just use the xl tied on direct.
they wont see the blue flourescent line moving .

i dont like floro line on my reel at all,it is springy.
just as leader tied on with a double uni knot about 3 ft only.
green xl is great if you can see your line but i cant if the water is little green so i use blue flourescent

yes new things are coming out but if you want great line and mono go with the xl in 2 or 4 lb.


.

G3Steve
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by G3Steve » Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:23 pm

My vote is for 15lb power pro and 6 or 8lb invizx leader.

Pen3
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Pen3 » Thu Mar 20, 2014 6:27 pm

What lb test do you all consider ultralight? I see lots of 10lb and 8lb being suggested and yes 6lb trilene diameter is 8lb jp test. Even my light power spin rod is only rated 2-6lb jp test line already. I have 3-4lb toray or sunline flouro on all my spinning reels.

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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Thor » Thu Mar 20, 2014 10:24 pm

That is a good question because the lines have blurred now that more quality braids are available, pardon the pun.

Until recently, my ultralight fishing was with 2-4 pound mono and fluorocarbons. I have found very good braids, not perfect but most are rated at 6 pound. These lines change the capacity of spools dramatically. Knots are more critical, leaders are required, drags and rod action are more important and the stuff continues to be overly buoyant. They do have a place. Is 6 pound beyond ultralight classification? Depends on your definition.

PancakeFace22
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by PancakeFace22 » Thu Mar 20, 2014 11:25 pm

I use nothing but Sunline Shooter Metan Invisible in 3lb on my main ultralight, but I have been using my "saltwater" ultralight (JDM Varivas light game rod) more often in the local lakes recently, and I'm liking the braid I have on it.

The braid is a Unitika 6lb test made for night fishing that suspends, and I normally use a 6lb fluoro leader with it since I use that rod for throwing weedless jigs into submerged timber. I used to really dislike braid, but I'm actually enjoying this setup quite a bit. The braid comes in 150m spools, but it has a 75m mark so you can easily fill two reels with one spool.

This is the braid. http://www.plat.co.jp/shop/catalog/prod ... -line.html

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Smead
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Smead » Fri Mar 21, 2014 6:30 am

A purist would most likely say that 4# test is the maximum for ultralight, with 6# being classified as light...#2 being often considered ultra/super ultralight.

Still, I use Sufix in both 4# and 6# sizes and it breaks so over test that it can't be used for IGFA records...it seems that Sufix has a separate life for those IFGA inclined.

Tectan mono us known, on the other hand, for being dead on regarding it's break ratings.

I'm not all that dedicated to being able to haul in an oil tanker successfully on sewing thread...I used the light line to be able to cast small lures; would rather not tire a fish to near death. Given this, the Sufix is rather perfect for me. I'm a believer in small lures working in heavy pressure waters...and very clear water...Also, small to medium fish are fun on the lighter rods and line.

With braids and superlines being so strong in small diameter, I wonder how often a rod gets broken due to using a line rated way higher than the rod is meant to use?

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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Thor » Sat Mar 22, 2014 12:13 am

Given that most on this forum rarely see fish north of 5 pounds, it is highly unlikely that rod breakage is due to braid usage. Had a rod break recently when in the hands of a friend. He thought the 6 pound Tasline was to blame and yes, the fish was about 15 pounds. The fact that he had been sitting on the tip was never a factor, in his mind. That he tips the scales beyond where most needles register also did not contribute, oh well.

Along those same lines, "big" fish are not the reason that reels lose their perceived smoothness. Upper end reels now use high strength aluminum alloys in gear trains, so most freshwater fish have zero chance of damaging most components.

Ranger 619VS
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Ranger 619VS » Sat Mar 22, 2014 4:07 am

Hey guy's


4lb Berkley Crystal Fireline and 6lb vanish leader for all my panfish and light lake and pond fishing. My two stream setups I use 3lb Tectan. Landed fish to 20lb as accidental by catch on Ul.....The line and leader can take it if your leader knot is tied right. I was a diehard mono fisherman till around 2003. Then some new friends from Australia turned me onto light braided line and I have never looked back. No line twist, no stretch, very rarely break the main line. Catch tons of panfish, bass, walleye and trout on it every year.I would love to try some of the better Japanese braids but the cost and lack of 1500 yard spool option
keep me coming back to Crystal. Just my .02 though......


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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by landscraper » Sat Mar 22, 2014 1:33 pm

I think nanofill would be fine for smallmouths. I used 6 lb. nanofill to catch numerous stripers up to 30 inches around lots of rocks. I didn't use backing last year I think I just put some tape around the spool of my stradic 1000. This year I am going to use my new stradic 2500 and I used some backing to help fill the spool.

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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Allsorts » Wed Mar 26, 2014 4:10 pm

Apart from saltwater UL I don't often use braid as so much of my fishing involves tight casts to cover - braids don't feather nicely so harder to control accuracy. Also some of our fish (yellowfish / mini-mahseer) hit so quickly that they break off without stretch in the system. So for small plugs I use Stroft ABR mono in 3kg / 0.16mm which is low diameter, pretty abrasion resistant and handles very nicely. I add 20" of higher diameter as a shock leader - something around 0.25mm - usually FC unless using topwaters in which case I use mono. For SPs I really like 5lb FC (Sunline Sniper) - I've used 4lb YGK FC as well. For SPs at short range (to 40' - I fish a lot out of a kickboat which is really stealthy) I would never choose braid over FC - braid doesn't present SPs as well (granted it has other useful properties like casting distance, strength etc). For stream trout spinning I only use Varivas Super Trout Advanced in Yellow - it really helps for accurate casting as it provides contrast against riverside bush so you can track the lure in the air as snagging JDM minnow trout plugs in a tree (at $12-35.00 a pop) is not really an option. I also run a shockleader in FC as brown's teeth / gill covers / rocks tend to cut skinny line. When I'm chasing catfish on spinners and UL I need to make long casts, deal with twist and potentially big fish so braid is perfect (not fused lines) - any of the JDM 4 or 8x or PP work fine although unwaxed braids seem to manage twist better.

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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by iabass8 » Sun Mar 30, 2014 10:19 am

Stren magnathin 4#. The only real ultra light fishing I do is stream trout though.

Thor
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by Thor » Wed Apr 09, 2014 4:06 am

If you have fished with fly tackle, you are most likely familiar with Stroft tippet material.

If you still like mono, a spool of Stroft GTM should be in your future. This stuff is thin, soft, supple and ties beautiful knots. Packaging is typically German and over the top, spool has a stretch band and comes individually boxed. No concerns about quality control.

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MondayMonkey
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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by MondayMonkey » Wed Apr 09, 2014 4:52 am

I use Tasline All White 6 strand 12lb braid on my UL trout spinning gear and my finesse bass gear. It doesn't seem to qualify as true UL but it's PE 0.4 and the same diameter as 4lb Nanofil. I use too many $10-$20 UL JDM cranks to risk them on 2-4lb breaking strength lines. I'm a chicken that way. Plus many of the areas I fish my UL combos have the potential for 6-10lb trout and 6-8lb bass.

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Re: Favorite UL line

Post by piranha » Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:23 am

sunline castaway .6pe 10lb very light for casting unweighted, lasts a long time and I run anything from 4 to 20lb leaders off it :)

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