What line are you using?

[Chris Roberts]

Is everyone here using Mono for gills?  I've never gone lower than #4 line, but I'm curious what everyone else uses.

I'm currently using BassPro #4 Mono, but have been considering switching to a Fluorocarbon.

[John Sheehan]

2 and  4# test mono for me .2# test is necessary, I feel, for lighter than 32nd oz jigs .I use 64th oz. at times .The 32nd oz. jigs  cast real good on 2# test also .

[Randy Goad]

I almost exclusively fish with the 1/64 ounce Trout Magnet. I use a lot of NanoFil in 1#...2# and 3# test. I love th stuff. I fish 5 days a week 52 weeks a year. No posts by me since joining here as I blew my knee out fishing over 6 weeks ago. It is being replaced on 7 January.  A spool of NanoFil will last me one full fishing year. I do have to add backing as I cut off frayed line and change jigs. I also use a lot of 2# test SOS Line. But the NanoFil is super sensitive. A lot of people report problems with this line and knots. I have never had a problem with it and I catch literally thousands of Gills a year along with about 800 crappie in the 1 to 2 pound range. The 2# test is also used for spring smallmouth fishing and I regularly land Smallies in the 3 to 5 pound range with it. The 1# test is an absolute ball to fish for Gills with using the right rod. I need to add I use a 2# or 3# test fluorocarbon leader with all my NanoFil.

                                                                                                             Regards 

[Tony Livingston]

4 lb Sufix mono in the open water, 2 lb Bionic ice down the hole.

[B. Waldman]

My favorite is either 2.5-3# fluorocarbon (Toray) or 4# NanoFil with a mono/fluoro leader. That said, 4# mono will suffice in many instances, especially if I'm float fishing with shot.

Randy, what knot do you like to use for joining your NanoFil leaders?

[Randy Goad]

I use the simple triple overhand....some call it the surgeons knot. It has never failed me and for me it is the easiest to tie. I have a hard time seeing 2# test line...be it mono or NanoFil.....and have to hold the line just right to see the 1# test NanoFil. But yesterday I put in an order for some of the NanoFil in 1# and 2# test in their new Hi-Vis Chartreuse. I am quite excited about their new color and I can't wait to get my custom made rod form Walt....and a new knee from ST Thomas and get back to fishing.

                                                                                                          Regards

[B. Waldman]

Cool - thanks. I've been using the J-knot mostly, anduse a double line with the lighter Nano. Seems to work well. I will test the surgeon's though. I have the new hi-vis chart. in 4 and 6 lb. and really like it. Was hoping all year that they'd introduce that color in NanoFil. Never really like Fireline, but I did like the chart. color. Now we have the best of both worlds. I'll have to try a lighter version of the Nano this spring. 

[Randy Goad]

I catch a lot of big Smallies on 2# test Nano. It is extremely strong. The 2# test is .002 in diameter. The 1# test is .001 diameter! I tried the 1# on a whim and was catching 9 and 10 inch Gills with no problem. I am surprised how strong that 1# is. Hooked several Smallies in the one pound range and had no problems using it. It can cast a 1/64 jig forever..and cast a 1/25 tungsten jig clean out of sight.

                                                                              Regards

[Chris Roberts]

This is why I have been considering switching to a 2# vs the 4# that I've been using.  There's just always a part of me that wants a heavier string than anything I could possibly be catching on the lure I'm fishing.  And there's been more than one instance where I've caught a good size bass while pan fishing.

[Jason Preslar]

12# Spiderwire xxx super thin and very strong. I use it for general fishin.

[Walt Foreman]

It's not the weight of the fish that breaks a line, Chris, but the pounds of force a fish can exert with a pull.  A one-pound bluegill can break six-pound-test if the angler tries to horse the fish in or has the drag set too tight; but a ten-pound catfish can also be caught on six-pound-test if the angler has the proper equipment and knows how to play fish.  I posted a photo a couple months ago of a ten-pound channel cat I caught on 6-lb.; I had to play it for fifteen minutes, but I landed it without a net.  

My suggestion would be to move up to a better brand of line.  I wouldn't fish with an off-brand, in waters where I know there are big fish, if someone paid me - they're just too unreliable in quality and break strength.  I use nothing but Trilene XL in 4- or 6-lb. for bluegill.  It handles far better than any other line I've used, and is the most dependable in terms of knot and break strength out of the several lines I've tried, and has the smallest diameter for its size of any mono I'm aware of.  I was going to try Sufix on Tony's recommendation but the diameter is .01 more, which is a lot in 6-lb. test; I could see the difference.

I would stay away from braids for bluegill because they're far more visible to the fish - that's why people use mono leaders with them - and most relevantly, if you use a 12-lb. line because it's the same diameter as a 6-lb. mono, and you're fishing with a UL rod, you're using line that's twice as heavy as the heaviest line the rod is rated for, and you run the significant risk of breaking the rod.  

[DAVID L EITUTIS]

VVVVVERY INTERESTING DISCUSSION HERE! I use 4 lb. for most of my panfishing and once in a while go to 6 lb. around the weeds or having to drag fish up on the bank at ponds I fish. My son swears by 6lb. spider wire and uses it for everything including bass. The 4 and 6 I use are Berkley XL . .......

[Chris Roberts]

I will say that I really just do not care for spider wire. My uncle swore by it all the time because he said nothing's going to break my line when I get that monster on.

 

Well he was the guy who always hauled in the fish from the side of the boat...

 

I will say that spider wire for me, doesn't cast nearly as far as a mono does.  And to me, that's the biggest reason I wont use it

 

I will most likely take Walts suggestion here and try Triline since I'll be restringing my rods soon.