We have come a long way since Izaak Walton (1653 for his The Compleat Angler tome) and the use of long strands of horsehair (tail) knotted together for fishing line.
Today, we have more line choices than seats at a ballpark (well, almost), with the big battle between monofilament and the new generation of gel spun braids that first entered the market about 12-15 years ago. With better manufacturing methods and new line lubricants, gel spun polyester/polyurethane lines are competing well.
“Way up” is how Tony Tochterman of Tochterman?s describes his gel spun sales. Charley Ebersberger of Angler?s in Annapolis seconds this, noting that gel spun use accounts for about 25 percent of his spinning line sales. Industry spokesmen opine that gel spuns for spinning might be 50 percent of that line market now.
Initially, gel spuns ? braids with a very low stretch factor and high strength/diameter ratio ? were seen as niche lines. Maybe they still are. They were and are great for trolling, since the smaller diameter allows deeper trolling with less bellying of the line on lengthy trolls or boat turns.
The low stretch factor makes them great for increased sensitivity when fishing soft plastics, jigs and bait. Their high strength/diameter ratio makes them excellent for flipping and pitching brush for bass or fishing any tough structure.
That high strength can lead to thoughts of just cranking down the drag to jerk a lure or hook out of heavy structure. Often, the result is that gears and other innerds of a light reel go south, with the snagged lure still snagged. These lines are tough!
Pros recommend a “puller” ? a short length of thick dowel or broom handle around which you can wrap line to pull a lure free. This protects the rod and reel and, yes, your hands from these abrasive braids.
Knots are a potentially weak area, but new glues help. Local expert and former Sunpapers outdoors columnist Lefty Kreh, coauthor of a popular fishing knots book and working on a new knot text, suggests Loctite 406. This cyanoacrylate glue cements braid fibers to make for 100 percent strength of the Palomar knot suggested for these lines.
One consideration is the higher cost of gel spuns ? about double or more that of premium mono for identical length spools. But then fishermen will do or pay anything ? almost ? to get that edge to hook that fish.
Me? I?m using both line types on all kinds of tackle. Monos are great, but gel spuns are definitely worth looking at despite the higher cost.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally-known sportsman and award-winning writer on hunting, fishing and the outdoors, and he has more than 20 books to his credit. He can be reached at [email protected].
