What line can I count on?

Lovestafish · 06-22-2003, 07:04 AM

I'm so frustrated - while fishing for halibut, I've had 80 lb. 'Tuf - line' (the moss green fusion kind) on my rod break on me twice now this year! I understand that all equipment has it's limits, but still, you'd think that a "premium" line would put up a better fight! I'm keeping the drag loose, try not to horse the fish in, let 'em run if they wanna run & hope they get tired before I do! I know there are other kinds/brands of line out there; Spectra, Pro Line, Fireline.. Can anybody PLEASE shed some light here & help me to avoid this in the future (ike maybe next week?) Thanks, LTF

Sea Jypzee · 06-22-2003, 07:07 AM

LTF - The only line I use on any of my reels is PowerPro. I've never had a fish break off of it. It's much smaller diameter than regular monofilament, so can get much more on a reel as well.

crabbait · 06-22-2003, 07:12 AM

I had steelhead break 50lb moss green Tuf while plunking or the CR. I think it has something to do with the attempt to color the spectra and UV resistance (a guess). Never had a problem in years of use with the black and white Tuf and I know the 80lb white Tuf line does oversized sturgeon just fine. I have also heard (secondhand, unconfirmed) that the Power-pro has/had problems with UV resistance in the green color.

My suggestion: Dump the green! Go with any of the others.

Lovestafish · 06-22-2003, 07:13 AM

Thanks, I've heard it's pretty good line. Are there any special knot requirements? I've been using the double palamor knot & have heard they'll slip... Also, what pound test do you run for halibut? I really appreciate the info!

Sea Jypzee · 06-22-2003, 07:15 AM

I use 100lb PowerPro for my Halibut and Tuna reels. Yes, many regular knots will slip with it, so you have to be careful. Usually you can get a little flyer that shows what knots work where you get the line. I don't recall the exact knot names, sorry.

Sea Jypzee · 06-22-2003, 07:17 AM

CrabBait - I've had no problems with PowerPro as far as UV resistance goes. I've been using it on my reels for at least 3 years now.

Lovestafish · 06-22-2003, 07:21 AM

Thanks to you both - one thing I was told is that the green line is a "fusion" line & the others are braided. I thought (incorrectly it seems) that the green line was both braided & somehow fused. Are the tuf - lines that are not green braided lines, & not fused?

Uglygreen · 06-22-2003, 08:12 AM

Super braids in the salt.

Nice for going way down deep. But here is the problem. The line gets saturated with saltwater while fishing. Once it dries - microscopic salt crystals grow inside the spooled line on the reel. Little salt crystals are very sharp and abrasive, and they cut at the line on a microscopic level. Any superbraid wont last long in the salt. The first time it drys in the line or on the reel you lose strength. And simply rinsing the outside of a reel of spooled line with freshwater when you get home wont help you all that much. Do a test - save a bit of your superbraid line new from the store. Then use the superbraid in salt. Test the used in salt line versus the never used in salt line and the used in salt line will probably be 60-80% of the new.

Dont know a good awnser for this. I have gone back to mono for thsi reason on all my saltwater stuff.

UG

Salmonator · 06-22-2003, 09:02 AM

I spooled up 4 321's with 80lb tuff+ (white) last year and fished them for halibut 3 times and tuna once. We only made it out for hali's once this year but almost lost gear (rods and reels) and personnel trying to break the stuff off on snags. 5 years ago I filled 4 charter specials with the same and used them on oversizers several times with many trips to the salt thrown in. I still have some of that original tuff+ on some of my bobber rods and it seems as strong as it always was. On the other hand, I tried some of the cabelas rip-cord in 50lb test and right out of the box the stuff would break like 20lb mono. I'm guessing it was a bad batch and I suppose that at some time all manufacturers put out some sub-par stuff

[ 06-22-2003, 02:52 PM: Message edited by: Salmonator ]

Robalo Bill · 06-22-2003, 12:55 PM

Tuf Line

I've bought the large bulk spools 30-80#. I have used this line for the past 10 years. Lessons learned: the pure white doesn't break down like the colored lines..the black&white just has a blk tracer no added strength. I still have my halibut poles with the 80# on from 1993no breaks...Remember to add life to your gear rinse with fine spray of fresh water after a warm soapy sponging. I use the uni knot for joining line to line and the spider hitch for a terminal loop. I've had no problems since switching to the white line, post use wash and the 2 knots mentioned.

Good Luck

crabbait · 06-22-2003, 05:24 PM

The black in the black and white is Dacron. It is supposed to help with break strength when the line is suddenly brought from slack to near breaking.

I have used the same spool of Tuf black and white line in tidewater for five years. Many days of saltwater with no fresh water washdown and have noticed no discernable loss of line strength. I must have dull salt crystals! The 40lb Maxima always breaks before the main line.

CrazyFish · 06-22-2003, 06:28 PM

Lovestafish

I spooled a reel with 80# Tuffline XP this year and haven't had a problem with it yet, however a friend of mine spooled with the same and it started to fray on his first trip out. He took the reel back and found out that his wasn't the only complaint with that particular spool of line.

I believe that just like anything else it is possible to get a bad batch.

Hook-up · 06-22-2003, 06:46 PM

We have used the white and the white with black 80# tuff line for 5+ years for everything from tuna, halibut, oversize sturgeon, etc... and have not had any problems. While bottom fishing we often use 40-60# mono leader and for the lead dropper on halibut (to get more gear back). We have used the boat to pull snags loose more than once as the stuff is almost unbreakable.
I have never used the green stuff, but did have a horrible time with the 50# white tuff line plus when I first used it. I tried all kinds of knots, and continued to break the stuff. I thought it was because of the waxy stuff they use on the tuff line plus. Someone finally asked if I had checked my guides for nicks. Well guess what I found? A groove in my tip, and the next 3 guides from the top of the pole also had slight grooves in them. This was an ugly stick 7'6" one piece back bouncer type rod. At first I could not figure out how that would cause it to break at different places. After thinking about it a bit I figured that if I set the hook and it did not break at that time, it may have weakened it only to break at that spot at a later time. So check your guides closely as it was not very noticeable at all. I also found some interesting things during my knot trials. If interested let me know.
So, don't throw out the tuff line it works great.

Uglygreen · 06-22-2003, 07:04 PM

Well the saltwater big game fishers would disagree. I have seen several articles describing the salt abraision on superbraids and will try to find and post a link. Of course it probably makes a bigger difference when fishing for big tuna, marlin, etc... than 50 lb halibut and salmon.

I was not happy with the superbraid I had on my saltwater reels. After about half the season the 50 lb tuff line would break at about 20 lbs. I'm gonna stick with the mono.

UG

Salmonator · 06-22-2003, 09:37 PM

UG, after the experience I had with 50lb cabelas superbraid I would never use any 50lb again. As thin as it is I'll be there is a smaller margin of error out of the factory as far as breaking strength goes. When it comes right down to it I never tie superline straight to a lure anyways (tuna was one exception) so there is really no reason outside of reel capacity to go any less than 80lb unless you're talking steelhead. At least I don't think there is?

[ 06-22-2003, 10:40 PM: Message edited by: Salmonator ]