When to throw away old line?

[First Bite]

Awhile back I purchased some 250yd spools of 25 & 30# pound Maxima UG line that I use for fishing for Fall Chinook and was wondering if I should chuck the old stuff and fill up my spool with fresh line. At what point do you serious fisher people consider line to be "old" and throw it out?

[Oakie Drifter]

Heres two schools of thought:
1) My saltydog fathers way. Never throw away old line, someday you can use it for fishing. Never put new line on reel unless you get spooled. My father was the saltiest of dogs for fishing. He caught more fish than anyone I could ever know.

2) My way. I change or put on new line every year. All my reels get new line whether they need it or not. Kinda like the way I do my smoke detector batteries in the house, once a year. I havent lost a fish from a line breaking yet, but then neither did my father ha ha ha.....

3) Great question, would love to hear other opinions on this one!

[Swami]

Stlhdr, sun is the killer on monofilament line. I use weights to check lb test. And I can usually tell buy the color change in the line. Another thing is I don't always change my whole reel with new line, remove half of the old line and tie the new to the old to file the spool.

Mark, I like Bev and Swami's ways. Here's another 2 schools of thought: throw out the old line when 1- It doesn't get any more laughs. 2- the girls don't respond to it anymore. I know - Bev fishes a lot and does fine changing it once a year. But some hard core fishers that fish over 200 days a year and driftfish often in some snaggy water might need to change quite often. I used to. Now I just put on fresh line at the beginning of each season (fall 'nooks, winter steelhead, spring 'nooks, and summer steelhead), even though I only fish once or twice a week. Better safe than sorry I figure . After letting the line dry some, I keep my line in dark cool garage closets for longer life. - RT

[This message has been edited by RT (edited 08-31-2000).]

[Salmonator]

I haven't had the need to change lines due to any other reason than the amount on the spool getting too low. I always go through the first 10 feet or so before each trip to check for abrasions or compressions and cutting off accordingly. This usually amounts to changing line out two times a year per reel for me. Or you can use O.Mykiss's method and wait 'till the mildew on the braided line turns the third shade of green then replace... Sal

[This message has been edited by Salmonator (edited 08-31-2000).]

[Trick]

I'm glad this question came up. I was cleaning out my shed today, before the rains hit and I came across a couple spools of Maxima Chameleon. It is still in the original packaging and to be honest I can't remember buying it. That probally makes it at least 3 or more years old. The shed has no windows and the line was kept in total darkness. The line looks brand new. Would any of you use it or would you round file it?

[Grant Scheele]

For Salmon I like using the braided TUFF line. I was sold on the idea that it wasn't affected by the sunshine therefore I could rationalize the expense. Wrong! Twice I have tried to stretch it into a second season and both times I lost fish. Now I change before the beginning of the Fall Chinook season. My fear of not changing your line would be that if you didn't, Murphys law would have you hooking the largest fish of your life. I have hooked big fish on questionable line and it does add a tremendous amount of excitement to the fight.

Salmonator, I am going to let that comment go but if you do it again I am going to tell everyone about how you use blue Stren that breaks at the reel when you are snagged. Don't try to tell me that the stuff doesn't do that as I have seen it happen to you! Sounded like a shotgun went off. But for now I will take the high road.

[Salmonator]

Blue stren??? Whose boat have you been sneaking a peek into. Obviously not mine...

[Pilar]

And then there is tuffline. I have several rigs strung with many yards of 80# we use for Big Daddy, Halibut and bottom fish. Most of this stuff is 12 cent a yard and I hate to throw it away. Since it really packs in, a reel can hold 300 - 400 yds ($30 to $50). How much of that line gets wear? Maybe the first 100 yds!

I get two years out of it by cutting the really dirty last 50 feet or so off and blood splicing on a backing line like 80# dacron. Fill the reel up and then fill another reel of the same type and size with this line. What you have then is a full reel and the unused fresh end ready to go. If you don't have two of whatever reel, tackle stores will part with empty line spools for free. Use a bolt and a drill motor and wind the line on spools until it is turned around on the reel.

Anything to save a buck and wear the gear out before turfing it! The bend is your friend!

[Jeffhead]

On my downrigger/heavy salmon rods I change out the line before the fall runs start to come through, usually that is early July. I will load them up and will usually strip off about 10 - 20 feet of line and retie every couple of times I go out. The line I use for that is 25# Trilene Big Game. On the silver/steelhead rods I use hi vis yellow Ande 10# and will probably respool every 2 - 3 trips, depending on how many snagups and breakoffs I have gotten. Not to say that the fish are breakin' me off, I haven't lost a fish due to mainline breakage from the Ande. I use the yellow cause I like to boondog the rivers.
Good luck and tight lines, Jeff

[smilesforu]

As a youngen I learned some valuable lessons when I used bad line. I broke 17.... thats right 17 summer steelhead off in a row. Of course every time I broke one off I caught hell for putting my thumb down.... WEll I didn't. I was using the cheap line that sat under the sun in the backporch. Mono does not like sun or heat which the backporch had both elements. After a 4# fish broke me off while I had no thumb near the reel and exceptionally loose drag. I bought some new line for my reel (I was 13 so I didn't have any money and tried to cut corners). The next day I caught my first steelhead!! The second one of the day filled my limit. My brother was also able to catch his limit that day...Hey MOM we done good.

Now I replace at any sign of a potential problem.
Faded line indicates wear, nicks, Heat or the drying effect the saltwater has on line if left unwashed. Since I normally use a sliding lead, this adds to the wear on my main line and frequently need to cut the first 10-15 feet off. This front end of the line gets the wear of the rocks and the lead sliding along it, so I keep a close eye on it.

I store my spare line in a brown paper bag at room temp. Not sure if flourescent lights have a effect on the line, but I know the plastic protectors we put around them at work deteriorate, so be safe and protect it. I don't have any problem with my line strength after storing a couple years. I buy the large size spools of line to economize. If I do wonder about my line strength I tie up a line and break test it to see if it has deteriorated. You will know it if it has. It will break so easy you will run to the store to get new.
I have bought old tackle boxes that came with brand new line still sealed that had to be thrown away. If in doubt test the line breaking strength.

tshickam
I would test the line to see how hard it is to break. If it looks sun bleached in any way throw it out!!
Tight Lines

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Marty M
Steelheader.net

[THE REEL HEY_YALL]

I think changing your lines also has to do with what type of fishing you are doing. I bank fish, so I make a bazillion casts (exaggerated a tad). I change my line as line memory starts to set in, thus affecting my castability. When I am fishing for the Kings, I like to use 15# Izorline Platinum. This stuff is great! Thanks to my guide buddy for turning me onto to this stuff. I do not fish with anything else now. I haven't lost a fish yet using it. But I have a nice pocketbook, so I respool usually the Friday night before fishing on Sat. and Sun. Buy in bulk, as it helps in cost. I have broken too many rods with non-mono lines, although they were great for sensitivity. The line just doesn't stretch, and causes too much stress on the rod. Plus, alot of that braided stuff is even more photo-sensitive than mono. I know that is the case with spiderwire and some other crappy lines.

roll tide.