# why does fishing line go bad?



## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

question for yall. why does nylon fish line rot? i store my rods/reels in the basement, out of the light. 99% of the time, i dont even come close to using more than 100 feet of line on the reel, it just sits there never seeing the light of day, but when the line goes bad, the whole spool goes bad. i dont think it is sunlight related, just age. nylon rope doesnt go bad over the years and years, but a spool of line will last only a couple of years at best. do they add stuff to rope that they cant add to line? is there anything one can do to prevent the deterioration?

just a puzzler that came to me because i had to re-spool a reel today.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Water, abraision, stretch/tension and temperature are all pretty tough on line when you consider how thin it is. It dosen't take much to wear it out. UV degradation may come into play over the long run but the other factors are bigger players IMHO.

I change line every year, sometimes every other year. It just depends...


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

I wish I could do that. I've re-spooled at least 3 times, so far this year. :|


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

LOAH said:


> I wish I could do that. I've re-spooled at least 3 times, so far this year. :|


You probably fish three times as much as I do in a year too!  You using that Wal*Mart stuff?


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## PBH (Nov 7, 2007)

LOAH said:


> I wish I could do that. I've re-spooled at least 3 times, so far this year. :|


You need to buy better line the first time!

Seriously -- check the line before you buy it. Just because it's on the shelf in the store doesn't mean it's good line. It might be rotten before you spool your reel.


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## orvis1 (Sep 7, 2007)

LOAH said:


> I wish I could do that. I've re-spooled at least 3 times, so far this year. :|


I have been taught to respool after every 4 trips.... At $15 bucks a spool and fishing every weekend it is adding up. I might look into one of those monster spools of the line I use.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

I respool about every 4-5 trips. I am kinda anal about it. I fish light line with light lures so any abrasion can be really bad. 20 plus inch trout on 4 pound is hard on it. :mrgreen: New line casts better and further, is less visible, doesnt break as easily. Plus the p line I use is 9 dollars for 300 yards so its 3 dollars every 4-5 trips. No biggie.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... .jsp.form1


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## Kingfisher (Jul 25, 2008)

ya, abrasion, uv, etc - all make sense. but why does the line on the spool go bad that isnt that exposed? and as pbh said and i have experienced - you can get it bad right from the store... i just find it a bit perplexing


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

Kingfisher said:


> ya, abrasion, uv, etc - all make sense. but why does the line on the spool go bad that isnt that exposed? and as pbh said and i have experienced -* you can get it bad right from the store... i just find it a bit perplexing*


 Stren bought at K-Mart is the worstest stuff to buy, it's weak and doesn't last too long. I've always figured it might be the way it is stored or/and shipped being exposed to extreme heat and cold conditions. Maybe it's my imagination, but Sportsman or Cabela's seems to move the stuff quicker so I always think I'm getting a 'fresher' product.

btw...Super Sears at Jordan Landing still has some Stren, Spiderwire and whatever at a true 70% off. Stren cost me $1.50 for 330 yards, I just hope it's not from some K-Mart warehouse.


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## cfarnwide (Sep 10, 2007)

.45 said:


> Super Sears at Jordan Landing still has some Stren, Spiderwire and whatever at a true 70% off. Stren cost me $1.50 for 330 yards, I just hope it's not from some K-Mart warehouse.


Thanks for that info! I'll be stopping there this weekend.


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## cheech (Sep 25, 2007)

Here's what I do.

I fish a lot of braid. It will last almost forever, and with a uni to uni knot to a fluoro leader, it is awesome.

I have other rods (dropshot, crankbait) that I don't fish braid with. I usually fill half the spool with the trilene big game or some cheap crap that will never see a fish. Then tie a blood knot or another uni to uni to the good stuff, and then spool the rest of the spool with about 50 to 75 yards of the good line. That way you are only using about half as much line each time you respool.

Fluoro is expensive, but a great alternative is a hybrid line. I have been using Yo Zuri hybrid with pretty good success on baitcasters. If I use mono, I'm using Sufix elite for the finesse stuff, and siege for the gnarly work. Sufix is about $8 for 330 yards.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

PBH said:


> You need to buy better line the first time!


It's not bad line, I just run out of it! :lol:

Snip snip here, snip snip there...

That's what keeps adding up. Changing lures (yeah I use other stuff besides the BF  ), losing lures, hanging up on stuff...

Ugh! I stopped buying small spools quite awhile ago.

BTW- Cabela's Pro Line is pretty tough line at 4lbs. No complaints. It's held up to some serious abuse and some good sized fish. I also like DAM 6lb. I think it might actually be thinner than the Cabela's 4 and it's pretty tough. Makes a good leader/tippet for sinking fly line.


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## brookieguy1 (Oct 14, 2008)

You get what you pay for. Real fishermen use P-Line! P for "perfect".


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

P for *POP!* when it breaks while you're setting the hook.

Well, maybe my experience with P-Line was due to a bad spool on a shelf. Meh?


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## brookieguy1 (Oct 14, 2008)

Must've been a freak occurence, LOAH. Give it one more chance, just one more.


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

LOAH said:


> P for *POP!* when it breaks while you're setting the hook.
> 
> Well, maybe my experience with P-Line was due to a bad spool on a shelf. Meh?


I've heard that from a couple people now. I have yet to get a bad spool of flouroclear. Maybe i'm lucky? Plus if the drags loose it cant pop..  The Stradic likes it and its been tested a few times now.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

Yeah, that's the thing. It popped on a semi-soft drag. SEVERAL TIMES. After it happened at the Berry twice in the same trip, I said forget it.

I won't use too loose of a drag though. Gotta have a firm set, plus it'll keep unraveling faster than the line can jump out and we end up in a big fat nasty tangle.

As far as having line go bad because of exposure, I'm a believer. I've even had an Ugly Stik snap at the tip from sitting in the car under slight tension.


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## 71nova (Jan 9, 2008)

I don't like p-line either. I started using berkely flouro when I started using flouro line. I caught more fish consistantly, then I heard all the good stuff about p-line. tried it. Caught less fish than just regular mono. don't use it anymore. I find that my line last alot longer if I spool it on my reel properly. If you have a casting reel, you need to put the spool you are taking from on a stick or something so it comes into your reel naturally rather than twisting on. If you have a spinning reel you should lay your spool flat on the ground so it winds back onto you reel the same way. I hope that makes sense.


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## TungHeadDropper (Mar 19, 2008)

Nylon (monfilament) fishing line ABSORBS water. This helps break down the line much faster than a fluorocarbon line, even when stored carefully to avoid dirt, uv light and other degrading factors. When you spool up 150 yards, you may only use the first 30 yards, but the water that comes to the spool contacts ALL the line on the spool. Ruining the 100 or so yards that has never been used can be avoided by doing as Cheech recommended, and using braid to fill the spool MOST of the way (this lasts for ever), and then "topping-off" with 40-50 yards of monofilament or fluorocarbon. If you don't like the idea of paying 15-20 bucks for 200 yards of fluorocarbon, do as Cheech recommended and use a Fluorocarbon COATED line such as Yo-Zuri Hybrid or P-Line Fluoroclear. They usually only cost a buck or 2 more than monofilament. These "hybrid" lines don't neccessarily give you the "invisibility" or other benefits of pure fluorocarbon, but they do add abrasion resistance and will not absorb water, at least until the coating has wore off.


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## LOAH (Sep 29, 2007)

71nova said:


> I find that my line last alot longer if I spool it on my reel properly. If you have a casting reel, you need to put the spool you are taking from on a stick or something so it comes into your reel naturally rather than twisting on. *If you have a spinning reel you should lay your spool flat on the ground so it winds back onto you reel the same way. I hope that makes sense.*


Absolutely. What I like to do is grab a shoe box or a dish that will fit the spool and then it just spins freely inside, allowing the line to peel off naturally.


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## Leaky (Sep 11, 2007)

I'll tell you what I have just started doing. After spooling my line on my spinning reel and when i go on my first trip,shortly after spooling, I let all my newly spooled line out behind me with *no weight*, and reel it all back on letting all the twist, if any, untwist. What do ya think?


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Leaky said:


> I'll tell you what I have just started doing. After spooling my line on my spinning reel and when i go on my first trip,shortly after spooling, I let all my newly spooled line out behind me with *no weight*, and reel it all back on letting all the twist, if any, untwist. What do ya think?


This is a great idea. The first time I saw it was in AK when the captain spooled a rod. I have done it at the berry behind a boat.


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Nor-tah said:


> Leaky said:
> 
> 
> > I'll tell you what I have just started doing. After spooling my line on my spinning reel and when i go on my first trip,shortly after spooling, I let all my newly spooled line out behind me with *no weight*, and reel it all back on letting all the twist, if any, untwist. What do ya think?
> ...


 No reason not to do that every time you go- also how many spool on their own line or go have soemwhere like Sportsman do it for you ?


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