Quest Baits Blog

Hi Jamie,
Couldn’t agree more about checking your line before you start fishing. It always amazes me that some anglers will think nothing of spending thousands of pounds on rods and reels etc but then continue using the same spool of line for 12 months or more. It’s no good having all the best kit if your line is not up to the job!
It is also something i see a fair bit in river fishing especially when i used to fish on places like the middle Severn. The amount of times i have heard people say they have got broke off on say 8 or 10lb line is quite ridiculous. If their lines were in good condition and knots etc were sound then their ‘lightish’ rods would have broken first. This was always one of my ‘bugbears’ when fishing that area as the amount of times i caught barbel with other peoples rigs in was simply unnacceptable and really unfair on the fish.
I have used many lines over the years, Bayer, Sylcast, Maxima and Berkley. For about the last 7 or 8 years i have been using Gold Labels Pro Gold. I first started using it (in the 8lbs b.s.) on the river Teme and was really impressed by its strength and abrasion resistance whilst dealing with barbel in what could be pretty snaggy conditions. I now use it in 10 and 12lb B.S for nearly all my carp and barbel fishing. On numerous occasions i have landed good barbel that have snagged me up in unknown snags, and upon netting the fish have found the mainline ‘frayed’ but it has still been strong enough to land the fish. This sort of thing really builds your confidence in a product.
Another thing with the Pro-Gold is that you can tell ‘when it is on the way out’ has it loses its shine/colour and goes really dull. This is the time to bin it.
I am sure we all use different lines, as its all about confidence. It would be interesting to know what everybody else uses.

Cheers,
Pat

IF YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR LINE EVERY WEEK YOU ARE USING THE WRONG LINE.
I totally agree that line condition is very important. I used to use big game, but a couple of years ago I tried Shimano catana. What a revelation, the line is brilliant, it cast like silk, has wonderful abrasion resistance and has a smaller diameter than most of its competitors. 12lb catana breaks at 18lb with a Palomar knot. At present I wouldn’t use any other line even if it were free, I even use it for hook lengths. When I used big game I used to change it on average about every 3 months (before that I used maxima and changed it about every week), but with catana I don’t change it very often as it doesn’t appear to deteriorate like other lines. All I do is feel the line for nicks and abrasions when reeling in. I test the line regularly for lost of strength, but unless the line is damaged I can never detect any. To save money I reverse the line on the reels when I think its getting a bit tatty. Providing line is in good condition I see little point in changing it. I tend to change my line about once a year, but monitor its condition every time I go fishing and carry a spare spool of line just in case.

I was being a bit tongue in cheek earlier. The point is that changing your line will depend on the type of water and make of line. Check your line regularly and change it when necessary. From Roy’s comment above it appears that Shimano make two great lines. Can you still buy technium? When I used maxima it went from full strength to cotton in a blink of an eye and had to be changed very regularly. Shimano Catana does not do this.

Jim

Ramblings

Just adding to Shaun’s comment, always choose a reliable knot that you find easy to tie. Knots that you find difficult to tie will be impossible with wet cold hands. Don’t cut the tag end too short as this can cause losses. Always test knots before fishing. I find that knots can weaken if the same end rig is left on between sessions. This could be due to a small amount of water trapped within the knot. Check it or regrete it. When testing line strength there can be a huge difference between dry and wet strength. To really test the breaking strain of your set up tie up a rig and leave it in water over night and then test its strength.
Line wise we all have our favourites that we have learnt to trust over time and only change if there is a reason.

Jim

Just to throw the spanner into the works and confuse the situation even more I will add another couple of facts here which could just help your line twist problems Jamie with the old TSS front drag baitrunner reels.

Several years ago whilst spending a lot of time fishing at Murphy’s pit in Leicester I used to carry two different rod set ups around with me (the car was in your swim with you).

One was a set of 2 3/4lb rods with SS3000 reels and the other was a set of 2 1/4lb rods with standard Shimano Bait Runner reels. The particular swim being fished would dictate the rod set up used.

It’s going back a long while now but at the time I used Pro Gold line on one set of reels and Synergy on the other set (can’t remember which way round but this is pretty irrelevant for the point I am going to make).

I liked both lines at the time but they only performed properly on the reels they were on. Both gave all sorts of twisting problems if I tried to use them on the other reels. Very much a case of having to find the line to suit the reel.

All I could put this down to at the time was the Shimano having the no-twist line rollers fitted and the Daiwa SS3000’s having standard rollers.

The way the line is loaded is oh so important too. Different makes of line are loaded differently at factory level. We also need to not only match the best line to the reel but also experiment with the best way to load it.

Gets very confusing doesn’t it?

Fortunately for 25 years of my working life I was surrounded by many different makes of line which made carrying out my own experiments a little easier than it would for the general public.

Unfortunately if you want the very best out of your line you need to help it to perform to its best. Find the right knot, find the right reel and make sure you load it correctly. Whos said fishing was a simple art form. Ah, I remember – it was that bloke who is always getting tangles and un-explained line breakages!

Have a good day.

Best fishes
Shaun