Vicious line, anyone try it ??

[Johnny]

Bought a spool of 6# test last year after reading some pretty good sounding reviews, so far my experience hasnt been so great.

Knot strength is so-so, usually takes a couple times to get something tied on without breaking at the knot.

Have noticed it fraying a few times, when reeling line in happen to notice strands that look like you taken a knife and shaved off a sliver and left one end still attatched, only couple inches long.

And today was the deal breaker, lost 2 fish back to back, tied on a beatle spin (took 2 tries before knot held) and a bass about a pound took it, had it to the bank and line broke nearly at the reel, second fish took my bait and only a couple seconds into it the line shot out of the water and into cat tails behind me, broke near the hook.

I keep my drag loose enuff that a decent blue gill will cause it to shreak at the hook set and several times when reeling in, so I cant blame that, and the fish werent big enuff to break 6# test, only thing I can think of is the line, just wundered if y'all had any experience with the Vicious brand of line and what your thoughts are.

Big Thanks.

[carl hendrix]

JOHNNY;;; SEVERAL YEARS AGO;; I ALSO TRIED THE ; VICIOUS LINE;; WAS EXTREMLY DISAPPOINTED WITH IT !!  AND IN ONLY ONE TIME OF TRYING IT !!   THEN;; I GOT SOME;; MR. CRAPPIE LINE; ( I USE 8 POUND TEST ON EVERYTHING )  AND IVE BEEN EXTREMLY HAPPY WITH THIS LINE !   UNTIL I ( FIND ??? ) A BETTER LINE;; IM STAYING WITH THE MR. CRAPPIE LINE !!

[Johnny]

Thanks for the reply, well at least I know better now, may have to find me some Mr Crappie then, been trying to find a lighter weight line that can hold up just in case something with some size bites instead of blue gill, at least I didnt loose an expensive mini crank bait that I nearly tied on.

[Slip Sinker]

Vicous braid, mono or fluorocarbon type? I am assuming by what you are describing it is either mono or fluorocarbon that are giving you problems with knot strength etc because of compression.

I have used the fluorocarbon before as leader material back in the day… it seemed to perform as expected.

I have shopped for the braid but I believe they only carried higher diameter… designed more for bass fish etc.

[Brad Reid]

I've posted elsewhere that I have been using Sufix Nanobraid (not Berkley Nanofil . . . though I like that line, too) in the 2 lbs. test strength. It is 1/1000th inch in diameter, stated this way, appears to convert back to 1.5/1000th inch in diameter from its mm metrics conversions back to inches. Nonetheless, it is extremely fine. And, it comprises Dyneema fibers in a traditional "braided" line but with tighter windings. So far, I have never broken the line under any tensile pressures. When I have gotten tangled up in lily pad stems a few times, I have either pulled the pad loose or I break off the tiny hooks I use. Fish? Bluegills up to close to a pound, some decent sized crappie, bass I guess up to nearly 2 pounds and the hardest fighter, a white bass of pretty good size. None have broken me off.

If I were interested in fishing straight braid, so tiny that it is hard to see in the water, I'd throw this Nanobraid. I plan to stay with the 2 lbs. test. which its manufacturer claims is 3X other similar lines. Not sure what that means but it is definitely a powerful line. One could step up to a slightly larger test strength for some insurance I guess.

If I were fishing fluorocarbon, I'd use a Seaguar product, any of them 4 lbs. test or lower. Tatsu would be the ultimate but very expensive; and, not all of their lines are available down to 4 lbs.

If I were fishing mono/co-polymer lines, I'd use Crappie Magnet's product, and I believe it is actually made by Sufix. Trout Magnet S.O.S. line is available down to 2 lbs.

For me,anyway, I wouldn't even consider using 6 lbs. or greater line for panfish. I use 8 lbs. fluoro leaders on 10 lbs. braid main lines for bass. 

Brad

[John Sheehan]

Johnny are you sure your line isn't be nicked by a burr on either the bail roller of the reel or one of the guides of the rod? That's when I notice line fraying .

[Brad Reid]

Just a quick note that I saw a source for Japanese products and, though I haven't ordered anything from them yet, I like some of the things I see.

A lot of products from the JDM, the Japanese Domestic Market, never make it over here. This is based partly on their (the Japanese) willingness to spend more on really high-end tackle; that, and they seem to have a lot of tackle and gear for lighter fishing than we have here in a more bass-dominated culture.  

So, what caught my attention on this website was the number of really small lines available from big names like Seaguar, lines down to less than #1. There are many listings that show "out of stock" but plenty with inventory.

Google Digitaka for the URL . . . I am not certain what the rules are on this forum regarding posting them. Anyway, it might be a source from some here for high quality line names for bluegills and more.

Brad