fireline

[bullitt]

My main problems with fireline have mostly been discussed here. Digging in, slipping on the spool, etc. I have always tied a palomar with it, so no problems there.
The real issue I had was that it wore a groove in the line roller of a spinning reel, and the fact that it would fray easily and then break. If it damages any more equipment, it's gone.
BTW, bite me, PD!

[lcostley]

As with any line; mono or superline, spinning reels are prone to line burn on the roller arm. It is the repeated rubbing of line on the arm, and the fact that only 2 reels that I know of, have a metal roller arm that would prevent this.

All superlines will fray, it is the nature of the beast. The advantage is the longevity of this line Vs. a mono. You can get a season out of FireLine, mono is good for about a few fishing trips.

As far as it breaking easily, that has not been a problem.

Bullitt, if you want to fish with me, or just meet up sometime, I will show you everything I know about FireLine. I might even show you a few tricks on using it as well. But you will be sworn to secrecy on any tricks I show you.

CW, I am not going to be down for the next meeting/wing thing. I am leaving on Thrusday for Minnesota again, then I am in Iowa at out HQ for a week. I have a few of those FireLine bulk spools, so I guess we need to talk....lol.

[powerdive]

MWG, will Stealth fray? Reason I ask, if it's slick and round, and not prone to fraying, perhaps it won't ice up so readily once decent weather returns...???

[lcostley]

Stealth will fray, as will any braid. It is a fiberous material.

[coyotewhacker]

Great...I love conversations with people who have big bulk spools of Fireline. Berkley should be paying me a regular check as much as I say nice things about Fireline. My only complaint has been that it is prone to fraying and breakage when the air temp is down below 28 degrees or so. Ice forms in the line guides and the thin sharp edges wear on the line causing it to fray. Of course, normal people are home in bed asleep when this happens to me, but it is something that we watch closely in January and February when the (sometimes) spring prespawning run in upper Bull Shoals starts. That's really the only situation I have found where mono will outperform Fireline. And if you dip the rod in the water before each retrieve, you can alleviate most of the icing. We have fished down there when the reels would literally overfill the spools from ice buildup on the lines so bad that we had to call it quits and come in....when the temps top out at 20 degrees or so, nothing is going to thaw out. BB and I put five or six rigs (each) out of commission one day like that.
Bullitt....I thought the pros told you to lose those Zebco 202 Snoopy reels if you were going to keep up the walleye fishing.....

[lcostley]

we need to get together over a few beers and discuss line and the such. My line geek abilites are immense...lol

[powerdivehome]

MWG, don't let CW get ALL your 10/4...I'd love to jump into that discussion too!

[powerdivehome]

Hey bumps2, WELCOME BACK!!! Been wondering where you got off to...

[lcostley]

Thursday night before Norfolk....line, bait, and beer discussion in my room.

[walleyesrus]

I'll be there

[bullitt]

CW, thou shalt not badmouth Snoop!! The Red Baron will shoot the Express full of holes if you are not careful!
I won't be at the tourney, but the line discussion sounds very interesting.
I got along with the fireline pretty well over the weekend. I do like the way it lets a bait run deeper.

What kind of knot do you guys tie w/leadcore? I put a small swivel and then a fireline leader on, but the leadcore was really tough to get tied. Maybe I need to use a soldering iron!

[coyotewhacker]

Funny you should ask about tying leadcore to leader....I asked that very question while fishing with Johnnie Candle. He ties a single half hitch knot in the end of the leadcore and clips off the tag end so that there is a little "ball" on the line...easily slips through the rod guides. He then uses a Uni-knot to tie the mono leader to the lead core. There may be other ways, but his sure is slick.
I also noticed that when he was longlining Fireline, he did not use Zebco reels....they were considerably larger and had more line capacity than your 202's, and had a lever to take the reel in and out of gear instead of the push button.
They had Scheel's logos instead of Snoopy stickers. Pretty nice reels they were, too. Mr. Candle had half a dozen or so of them in the boat rigged up, and I noticed another case of them in the room, so he must really like them. Either he likes them a lot, or they have a higher failure rate than porcupine condoms.... CW will go with the "he likes them" theory. Stuff that doesn't work is not around very long at their level of competition.
Sorry you won't make the Norfork tournament.....I will be out of pocket the last half of June, so neither will I.
The two day tourney in July is starting to look like a real good one...got all kinds of flatlanders joining up to come take our money. I say "BRING IT ON"......Team Table Rock will be out there giving it our best shot. BTW, on the evening before the tourney actually starts, a whole bunch of the competitors like to have dinner at this bar and barbecue place just south of Stockton....lots of strategy discussions, disinformation, etc. going on. The food is good, the beer is cold, and it's your own fault if you believe a word you hear in there.