The Diamond Geezer

Is this still one of the World's Top Ten Monos? _______________ Multi-nylon copolymer mono Superb castability Top Ten in abrasion resistance High Tenacity Super shock-load strength due to good stretch Their words, not mine .... so has anybody heard of it or used it? Are we missing-out? DG

quote: Originally posted by Steve Burke: Talking of lab tests, did you find any details on the memory/suppleness of various monos that we discussed a while back? Limpness/Suppleness/Lack of Spool Memory/Wet castability A touch of the déjà vu here, Steve, because when I checked my notes, I found that I had posted a reply ages ago .. obviously you didn't see/read it At no extra cost vis à vis my Invoice, I will post the bar-chart of the extracted lab test data .. later ... SEE BELOW now..meanwhile .. ... for the same BS ..... apart from 100% HPPE braids and fusion lines which have very little intrinsic memory and very good wet castability, of 16 modern or updated nylon and copolymer monos, reassuringly Stren EasyCast more than lives up to its name; Berkley Trilene Big Game, with its other virtues, is pretty good too. So, if you don't need high tenacity, but you do need true abrasion resistance as well as lack of memory, I'd personally go for Stren Easy Cast .... it does exactly what its name implies ____________ DG ........ [ 26. May 2004, 08:16 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: Bullet XT is on the 12lb test data you sent me! Yup, so is/was ESP, Catana etc etc ... what I was asking was whether anyone on here has actually used it for fishing DG

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: Nope - still on the Catana although I'm planning on replacing that with 15lb ESP in the near future. If you have any data as to how this line compares to ESP I'd be interested to see it! Me neither. May have to shell-out and get some and give it to my mate to test in the lab. I read Jim Gibbinson's review ... like the curate's egg, if you ask me .. plus he likes to invent his own test methods and pre-test conditioning methods when there are ISO methods already established DG

Good plan .... I'm going to get my mate inthe States to get some 12 / 15 /20 lb BS from BassPro and to send me some as a gift Then we'll have loads to test DG

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: Tell you what - you buy it for the lab test and I'll field test what's left! Never had you down as a tight-wad!

</font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Steve Burke: Do you have any lab test results on abrasion resistance of various braids? I'd certainly like to try out in the field any braid that you can recommend. I’d be particularly interested in any with high abrasion resistance compared with diameter. </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">BRAIDS : relative (lack of) wet abrasion resistance Firstly I should emphasise a couple of factors and facts .. nevermind the unsubstantiated and unsubstantiatable claims .... (a) when it comes to AR, there's no substitute for diameter, so if you're talking about high tenacity braids and/or fusion lines, it's NO CONTEST compared with a half-decent modern nylon or copolymer mono. Here is a bar chart extract of just one series of back-to-back wet abrasion tests carried-out by an internationally-accredited (ISO) laboratory. I can't give you specific names because I don't have that authority to release them by the company who paid (lots!) for the tests to be done .. _______________ and ( the word braid is like the word mono in that they are meaningless unless you specify the artificial (or natural) fibres from which they are woven (braided). and © Fusion lines based on HPPE have marginally better wet abrasion resistance than a comparable HPPE braid, but, as you can see from the above bar-chart, neither can hold a candle to the high-AR monos The most common modern braids are based on HPPE (Spectra or Dyneema) and are braided by only a few companies throughout the world Some marketing companies have coatings added allegedly to improve castability or abrasion resistance, and others have some polyester filaments inter-woven with the HPPE fibres to make the resultant hybrid braid sink. One of the best hybrid braids is Masons Tiger Braid So if you want a braid with abrasion resistance comparable with a mono, you'll have to choose something like Kryston's hooklength braids, and these are not designed for, and are too thick diameter-wise and too expensive to be used as a mainline. I think also, you have to ask yourself, if you're lure-fishing with a 15 lb braid and on the look-out for some lovely mega-perch, whether you actually do really need true abrasion resistance! It's not like bait fishing after all. And then there's the cost factor .. unless you're a cadging tackle-tart. Braids tend to be much more epxensive than monos, because of the cost of HPPE and the slow braiding process etc. .. and that's before the cost of the marketing hype is added Personally, if I'm lure-fishing for perch, I use a proper HPPE braid e.g. TUF-Line from Western Filament, _________ ........ also available in green. and if I'm bait-fishing e.g. for pike, or carp or barbel or tench, where I really do need true abrasion resistance, I use Drennan ESP, Sufix Tritanium or Synergy, Shimano Catana (Thanks to Rob Ward! ), Diawa Sensor or, for extra castability .. Stren Easy Cast, coated with a line lube Where do I send my Invoice, Steve ? DG

quote: Originally posted by Steve Burke: Talking of lab tests, did you find any details on the memory/suppleness of various monos that we discussed a while back? Limpness/Suppleness/Lack of Spool Memory/Wet castability A touch of the déjà vu here, Steve, because when I checked my notes, I found that I had posted a reply ages ago .. obviously you didn't see/read it At no extra vis a vis my Invoice, I will post the bar-chart of the extracted lab test data .. later ..meanwhile .. ... for the same BS ..... apart from 100% HPPE braids and fusion lines which have very little intrinsic memory and very good wet castability, of 16 modern or updated nylon and copolymer monos, reassuringly Stren EasyCast more than lives up to its name; Berkley Trilene Big Game, with its other virtues, is pretty good too. So, if you don't need high tenacity, but you do need true abrasion resistance as well as lack of memory, I'd personally go for Stren Easy Cast .... it does exactly what its name implies ____________ DG [ 23. May 2004, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: Agreed - it's got me interested though! Rob Thanks for the link to that supplier .. 1000 yards of 15 lb. BS for $19.99 ... i.e. £11.17 .. plus VAT, duty and P&P ... say 18 quid ... gotta be worth a try? Go on ..you know you want to ... then you can let me have some to put through a pukka lab DG

</font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Steve Burke: I've tried a number of braids over the years. One that didn't perform at all well I seem to recall was Corastrong. Also one I definitely remember not lasting well was Leeda's Outcast. Yes, I know that Poledark has recommended Outcast for his type of fishing! </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">DG: Thanks for that, Steve .... oh, and I think you'll find that Den The Poledark has moved-on from Outcast braid {see here) </font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Steve Burke: I suspect the reason is that I use braid in lighter breaking strains than other anglers as I may need to cast light lures a long way - Wingham is a big water and I've always an eye open for a big perch. It's with these thin braids that there appears to be an abrasion resistance problem on new gravel pits that have sharp bars. Eventually erosion and silt deposition as the pits mature should solve at least part of this problem. The Bullet Braid I was using was the 15lb b.s. However, as I pointed out in my review, this does appear to be under-rated. Jim Gibbinson did some bench on Bullet Braid and found its abrasion resistance was even as good as Quicksilver and superior to the other braids he tried. However, these weren’t lab tests. </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">DG: Right .. I understand ... and yup, I read Jim G's reviews of Bullet XT mono and braid ... sadly, a strange mixture of some pukka lab tests, a bit of wooly waffle, more than a tad of arrogance ..... and some of his test methods which, considering the existence of European Standards for such tests (e.g. pre-conditioning the line in water etc), seem rather odd and unnecessary to me. Oh, and the same goes for his carborundum-paper test for abrasion resistance ... he should take a leaf out of Dave Barham's book! To my mind, this DIY testing mainly comes down to meanness with money on the part of the mega-minting marketing companies .... happy to take our money, but not happy to spend any/much of their tax-allowable expenditure on pukka independent lab test to EN/ISO standards to ensure that their products and claims comply with legal requirements. I still laugh about a certain tackle marketing company (whom you know well!) who were seriously plugging the abrasion-restance of their mono based on tests which involved rubbing the dry line over the edge of a table, house-brick etc ... give me a break :mad: </font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Steve Burke: DG, perhaps you can help here? Do you have any lab test results on abrasion resistance of various braids? I'd certainly like to try out in the field any braid that you can recommend. I’d be particularly interested in any with high abrasion resistance compared with diameter. </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> DG: Yup, but for some equally good if not better data, see Dave Barham's pukka lab tests .... right here on AN ..... Dave Barham's pukka line lab tests For the time-being, what I can re-assert is that BS for BS (not diam for diam), no HPPE (Spectra or Dyneema) braid comes close to a half-decent nylon or copolymer mono in terms of the current test standard used for abrasion resistance ... and in a while, I'll insert a bar-graph, below .. </font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Steve Burke: Talking of lab tests, did you find any details on the memory/suppleness of various monos that we discussed a while back? </font><hr /> <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">DG: .. oh yes .. thanks for reminding me ... I did find a load of data that included that, but I've got to extract it from the rest ... when I get a moment ... and, from memory, the tests were done with both wet and dry line, which I thought was rather good.

quote: Originally posted by Anthony: Just got back from a carp session with a story of a strange capture. Deciding to recast, I began to reel in my 18mm hair-rigged pineapple boilie. When approx 20 yards from the bank, WHACK! something takes the boilie on the retrieve. After a short fight I land a........4lb 9oz zander. Is this a first for AN? Sunday i'm going spinning for carp. In a word Yes ... a zed on a boilie .... never heard of that before. Of course, pike will grab most things including a £400 bait-boat loaded with a makerel and dripping with injected oils . .... and yup, carp and tench, and bream will all take spinners ... nowt new there ... but zeds on boilies?! .. could be the new method for the nest Season Nice one DG

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: Diameters Pound Test Diameter (mm) Diameter (in) Average Breaking Strength 4 lb .235 .009 10.1 6 lb .263 .010 12.3 8 lb .283 .011 15.4 10 lb .308 .012 16.8 12 lb .338 .013 20.3 15 lb .405 .016 24.9 20 lb .438 .017 28.4 25 lb .475 .019 33.5 30 lb .573 .023 40.8 Rob I guess that these are claimed figures rather than ones from independent results. More importantly I'm interested in the wet-knot strength of it, and which knot to use, bearing in-mind the probs with 100% fluorocarbon monos YoZuri say "HYBRID will retain 100% of its dry knot and tensile strength even after a full day of fishing. " ... WOW! ... so that's handy then .. just as long as you keep your line out of the water and rain etc DG [ 21. May 2004, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

</font> <font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by awaaar: look here[ <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yup, got that URL thanks. What I was really asking is "Has anybody actually used Yo-Zuri Hybrid mono? :confused: DG

Nash Bullet BRAID - Steve Burke's review I've been reading with interest, Steve Burke's review of Nash Bullet BRAID ... HERE[/b] In it Steve says, among other things, "However one of the disadvantages is braid’s poor resistance to abrasion. It’s usually way inferior to nylon in this respect – despite what many suppliers claim! My own gravel pits at Wingham are full of bars and flints, and as a result no braid has lasted more than a few months before needing replacement – and some only one trip! That is until now. In fact, I’m still using the same spools of Bullet Braid as I started with in the autumn, and so I’m certainly impressed! Could Steve please give some details of all these other braids that have needed replacing within a few months? Also, does anyone-else have experience of this braid? ___________________ Steve also goes-on to say ".... for lure-fishing on snaggy waters Bullet Braid is the best line I’ve used to date. " Steve .. compared with which other braids? ".... Because it’s been aimed at the carp market lure-anglers seem to have missed it so far. " Not sure that is or was entirely true, Steve ... the price is/was more than a tad on the high side viz. ................"200 metre spools cost £19.95 and 350 metre spools £34.99. " After all, Sufix Herculine ( Gardner Tackle , formerly via Relum) is/was aimed at carp anglers but is widely used by the cognoscenti of lure-anglers _________ In my view, the fact that both braids are aimed at carp anglers is one reason why they're over-priced! :mad: DG

quote: Originally posted by zappagod: How many times do you use the same hooklengths? How many times and for how long do you use yours then ? :confused: DG

Rob, please see my Posts on a) Nash Bullet XT mono & Yo-Zuri fluoro/nylon hybrid mono DG

Nash Bullet XT mono ___________ Anyone used this mono for at least a season? :confused: Bouquets? :mad: Brickbats? Any feedback much appreciated .. Cheers D :cool: G [ 21. May 2004, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Rob Ward: How do you get to your PMs? Without having a new one in your InBox? quote: Originally posted by Chris Plumb: Click on my profile. C. No, not your profile, Chris .. ... the my profile hyperlink, below and to the left of Post A Reply/ Post New Topic etc., top rhs of the page ________________ DG [ 21. May 2004, 12:25 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by J.K: I'm lucky enough to have finished my exams by June 16th and my Mom is taking the day off just for me and taking me down to the Avon for a fishing session with me p.s My Mom is a very good fisherwoman .. LOL ...so no jokes please C :cool: :cool: L DG [ 20. May 2004, 08:47 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

quote: Originally posted by Paul_D: As far as knot lubrication goes, I remember Spindle bringing up this subject and to which I replied that I had read an article which dismissed wetting a knot with saliva as not very efficient due to its viscosity. Well, I wonder if that article was based on any pukka back-to-back tests? I'd guess not. Personally I'd say that saliva is good because it has some of nature's best surfactants (wetting agents). quote: Originally posted by Paul_D: As far as knot lubrication goes, I remember Spindle bringing up this subject and to which I replied that I had read an article which ... recommended immersing the untightened knot in water (i.e. the river) before tightening. Water is OK and plentiful. but you can also use (i.e. take a little bottle with you) diluted washing-up liquid, or shampoo ... or pukka line-lube quote: Originally posted by Paul_D: .. immersing the untightened knot in water before tightening. This is something I now try to do wherever practical....Gets cold in the Winter though. A drop from your flask of coffee will do once it's cooled a tad, but don't waste any whisky. DG [ 20. May 2004, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

Virgins' Fish-in I note from Leon's Subject Title and from the position of the apostrophe, we are talking more than one virgin here! Need I say more?! DG

quote: Originally posted by Paul_D: D.G. What are your views on the Palomar then? It's a knot I've every confidence in for use with mono and so simple to tie. Well, Paul, The Palomar is a good knot, and easy to tie too but according to some back-to-back wet knot strength test data that I have (somewhere!), I well remember that the knotless-knot beat the Palomar for %age of original tested line BS retained in the wet knot tests ... not by a lot, but by enough to be significant .. to me, anyway, as the Chairman of the Fishing Line Fetish Association So I use the Palomar for everyday stuff and the knotless for tying to hooks. Den The Poledark's also a big fan of the Knotless and he tests his tackle & knots for BS too. so that's another reason I rate the Knotless for that specific use. That said if, like Rob & me (sometimes! ... usually for tying to swivel-eyes because they've got a bigger internal diameter than hook-eyes), you tie the Palomar using the line doubled-over, you end-up with a knot that's on a par with the best, provided you wet the knot very very thoroughly before pulling it tight. In my opinion, this is why a lotta folks get problems .. simply because they don't wet their knots before tightening them. DG P.S. I'll try to find the wet knot strength data over the weekend and post it next week if I find it ... very interesting reading ... from memory another very simple knot that performed well in the tests, with mono, was the Trilene Knot. [ 20. May 2004, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: The Diamond Geezer ]

Yo-Zuri Fluoro/Nylon Hybrid Mono Has anyone used this hybrid mono from Yo-Zuri which is a combination of PVDF (fluorocarbon) and nylon, and which is supposed to have most of the virtues of both fluoro and nylon, but fewer of the vices?! ______________ Cheers DG

quote: Originally posted by Nik: dig a big hole, add water Shows how much you know! I put fish in mine as well as water!

quote: Originally posted by edd: wot im doing at the mo is getting all the information i can then seeing if its feasable 4 me 2 do u r wastng yr time.spend yr £s on mor cred 4 yr fone