Fighting a fish w/ power pro/fireline

TH · 12-28-2001, 09:03 AM

I have a few thoughts to ponder.
I like to use power pro or firleine on my drift rods/float rods for a few reasons.
1) I like the no stretch .. you feel everything.
2) we you get hung up you only loose your leader.
3) it casts very well.
4) I fish chinook and steelies during the same month (Dec.) and if I hook either I am ok.
5) Power pro/firelien line last all seaon unlike mono that I find myself changing on a bi-weekely basis.

My concerns have always been the extra stress that the no stretch power pro/fireline put on your leaders. and when fighting a fish the only strech is in your leader (mono) material. I have thought about jumping up to a 14# Vanish type leader???
I like a loose drag and seem to rely on my educated thumb... ??? more than I do on my drag.
Any thought?

I have lost very few fish in the last four year(I can count on one hand) that have broken the leaders maybe my thoughts are wasted and this is a mute point?
DO you do anything special when fighting a fish with no strtch line?

Here is a pic of a wild hen I caught on the SF of the Coquille Wednesday...

Thumper · 12-28-2001, 09:29 AM

I too love Power Pro, but I have lost a few fish by yanking too hard on the set. With Vanish it is even worse --- that stuff doesn't seem to handle shocks very well. I have dumped all my spools of Vanish into the trash and feel much better about it. Back to Maxima!

NAUTI-NOTIONS · 12-28-2001, 09:50 AM

I use power pro on all my rods 80# for gators and 10# for everything else. i love working with this stuff. the only problem I've encountered is pulling plugs, i tie direct to the snap and they can be hell on hardwear. a number of time this fall i've had my hooks straighten out like a needle. i've even gone to gamma's and on the wild guys they seem to have enough power even after 10-15 min. battle are still able to yank the curve right out of the hook. overall the knot stenght is outstanding. the no memory is also a plus. its so small in dia. that 150 yards on a spool looks almost insane. took heat for most of this year from my buds who are now converting over... i love being right...

TH · 12-28-2001, 12:45 PM

Thanks FM2 the only rods in my boat are TH Rods.. sorry for the shipping delays on your rod.. :depressed: I feel bad..

I like the power pro.. for me steelhead fishing comes down to two things.. being able to make good accurate casts and being able to pick up a subtle bite.. that's why I use the power pro.

While fishing w/ dad and my uncle Wed. I noticed that when they got hung up it took a huge amount of power to break the 10# leaders.. due to the stretch in their mono... but with my power pro all I had to do was point the rod tip towards the snag and popp.. it broke... My thoughts eventually (I am slow to think as I am on a 2 week vacation) :grin: turned to how much stress is placed on the leaders while using power pro..
I guess as long as I am aware of these added stress I will continue to have good sucess.

I love catching wild "snow bellies" in Dec... a little taste of what is in store! :grin: :grin: :grin: ;D

Paranoid · 12-28-2001, 01:02 PM

I attempted spiderwire and powerpro in the #30 class. I lost several fish during the hookset while drift fishing. Never lost one while pulling plugs. Works great for sturgeon and trolling. I won't use it again for drifting.

Jim · 12-28-2001, 03:26 PM

Para,
Not that you will go back, which in my opinion is a shame but anyone else. You need to either loosen up your drag or learn to set the hook with just your wrist! I broke line of 5 hooksets my first day using braided line...

Now if you all want to tie the best knot for braided line make sure you go to:
www.tie-master.com

Buy that tool!! It is awesome...for any of you heading to the Puyallup Sportsmans show later in January come introduce yourself at the Auburn Sports and Marine Booth...I will be there doing my pro staff duties with Power Pro and Frabill Nets. Hopefully Berkeley will provide a line/knot tester and we will have fun tying and breaking knots and line!!

Jim

Paranoid · 12-28-2001, 04:02 PM

Jim- O.K. I'm game. I am going up right now and buy some 30lb Powerpro. I will try it tomorrow and try not to cross their eyes like I usually do. The problem is that when I use the 12lb Ultragreen I can hammer a hookset and it is usually very solid. If I "drive" the hook in while using the braid it should be fine. I hope I get the chance to try it. If I do, I hope I have the self dicipline to ease up. I will let you know. Thanks for tip!...DB

Snagly · 12-28-2001, 04:15 PM

TH, that's a beaut of a chrome hen as well as a very nice hatchery buck you posted on another thread. Since you're the guy who has convinced me to spool Fireline on some of my steelhead reels, I'm relieved to read that your question is more of a hypothetical one since you haven't been losing fish you've hooked up on Power Pro. Let's start with the basics. Gel spun polyethylene (GSP) is what all the braided lines are made of. Depending on the weave, the stretch could be as much as 7% (a guess). The minimum is 3.6%. Wet mono is 20-25% so that's quite a difference.

If you are fishing a short main line (maybe fishing creeks), you are more likely to break your leader as there's less stretch possible.

My general advice is to fish the longest mono leader you can, subject to still being able to cast it if you're using a swivel. Every extra foot of mono puts 2.4-3" additional stretch (and shock absorption) into your overall "system".

After much experimentation, here's how I'm setting up the braid for springtime in Alaska:

1. 20lb Fireline main line

2. An 8' topshot of 15lb Maxima Chameleon. Join this to the Fireline using a simple knot:

a) Take a single strand of Fireline and Maxima, and wrap the Fireline around the Maxima 20 times.

b) Take the intertwined line and leader, and make an overhand knot. Before tightening pass the tag end of the intertwined line through the knot another three times (making four turns in all). (This is effectively a quadruple surgeon's knot.)

c) Spit on the knot and carefully pull tight. Make certain that the Fireline snugs up tightly and that the finished knot doesn't have any loose coils poking out of it. If it does, re-tie.

This knot will break at 12-16lbs of pull.

3. Tie the 15lb Maxima Chameleon to the swivel and fish a normal length 10lb leader in your favorite brand. (If you want to fish 12lb leader, then move up to 20lb Maxima Chameleon for your topshot.)

In this manner you accomplish the following:

a) Much more stretch in your system
b) Better abrasion resistance in the Maxima than the Fireline (not necessarily true with PowerPro, I'm told)
c) Less visible main line to fish
d) Easier to grab the mono topshot than braid
e) SHOULD break at the leader when snagged (as long as the topshot isn't nicked)
f) Maintains most of the improved feel gained by fishing braid.

I have to emphasize that this system has NOT been proven on a steelhead river! I've been fishing with it at a local barramundi pay pond in Singapore. So far, so good. :smile:

Bob Barthlow · 12-28-2001, 08:41 PM

Bumper-CHROME try running a 24" to a 48" shock leader of 20# coho or maxima etc, and maybe back off your drag a smidge when pulling plugs.... :grin:

MasterCaster · 12-28-2001, 09:47 PM

I have a question? Does braided line "burn" mono if you get tangled up with another fisherman using mono? I have been fishing many places and when someone comes down with braided line the other fishermen start complaining about if they hook a fish and it runs into the braided line it will "burn" it and break the fish off? Is this true? I would luv to and have been considering using braided lines but have not because of the "burning" thoughts. Should I only use them when I have enough room that others will not come in contact with mine? thanx for your help :smile: Jon

Paranoid · 12-28-2001, 10:54 PM

I am not sure if it "burns" mono but this past year I hooked plugs with a couple of other guys at the Wind River and ALWAYS came out on top of the tug-of-war contest. I was using 60lb Spiderwire.

Snapshot · 12-28-2001, 11:11 PM

I filled two reels last night at GI Joes with Power pro. Both are bor pulling plugs. I fished today with a friend for a couple hours and use his bobber and jig rod and reel. It had a braided line and cast and handled very well. I will set up a spinning reel with it also, because he showed me how well it handled his 11 lb. hen today on the Clack. His lines float and i like that feature as you don't have the current pulling on the line as much.
Keith, I will email that picture to you but I cannot figure out how to reduce it to the right size. Maybe you can give me an idea on that process.

Fish only bite wet hooks"

FM2 · 12-28-2001, 11:56 PM

Nice fish Travis, did you catch that on a TH rod :grin:

After reading many posts the past few months regarding the new braided lines I decided to try some (this ole dog is still teachable). I spooled my casting reel with #20 power pro and also my new jig spinning reel. The #20 has the same diameter as #6 mono and like BC says, it's hard to believe there is 150 yards of line on my reel. I don't have alot of experience yet with this but the couple of times I have casted it, it really feels nice and flies a long distance. I use a Lami IM700 rod and I can really feel everything coming from the line and rod to my reel so hopefully I will have more hook ups.

I am also trying Tuff Line on one of my plug rods and regular mono on the other. I want to see if either one out performs the other. So this is my transition year and am looking forward to the new experiences.

dummy · 12-29-2001, 07:37 AM

th i have found that i set the hook to hard and break my leader. but when i calm down it works great. i also use stren florocarbon i think it is the best it is realy hard the only thing i have found is that when tying your knots give it a couple of extra wraps. but now i have a question will it cut through my fugi guides if they are not titanium.

here is a couple of steelies that i got on 20lb fireline and 8lb stren last weeken.

Snapshot · 12-29-2001, 12:20 PM

Dummy, I don't think your a dummie with a couple beatiful fish like these. Nice picture and background too. I have switched to power pro but have not hooked a fish on it so I cannot help with the hookset info. Keep those fish pictures coming, I fish more through the ifish site than on the rivers.

*Fish only bit wet Hooks*

FISHFINDER · 12-29-2001, 12:44 PM

TH,

I have been using fireline or similar super lines on all of my rods for several years now and have only ran into one problem. I fish for steelhead on a small river that sometimes finds me fishing with as little as 8-10' of line out. I have recently broken my 10# maxima leader on the hookset while fishing so close. I will be jumping up to 12# leader and try not to set the hook as hard in this condition. I have yet to jerk a hook out or break the leader on more common steelhead situations with more line out. I think the bend of the rod takes a lot of the shock out in that situation.

I love the stuff for everything else though. It's ultra-sensitive and outlasts mono 10-1.

Hope this helps,
Dave