Clear main lines (recommendations)

[Cartman]

Hi all,

Having recently been convinced of the

merits of using a clear main line,I was

wondering if anybody had any comments or

experience they would be willing to pass

on.I have been thinking about buying some

Berkley Trilene or Berkley XT Clear.but

am open to any recomendations.It needs to

be strong and reliable,as it will be used

to try to prise some Barbel out of rivers!

Any help will be much appreciated.

[Andy Macfarlane]

Im not sure but I generally find clear lines at the cheap end of the scale because they are cheaper to produce.I also find that once wet they become highly reflective in sunshine and suddenly become VERY visable.Clear lines also suffer from light damage right down to the core of the spool and have found they suffer the worst from that powdery deposit associated with age/perishing/abrasion.There may well be some good ones but to be honest I have never really found much difference in the colour of a line.Unless you are fishing for suspicious fish like Carp I wouldnt worry too much about line colour.

[Nightwing]

Both are fine lines, but do differ a bit. XL is a limper line, tends to cast better. It also a bit thinner per given test rating. XT is marketed as a more abbrasion resistant line, but is a bit thicker. I prefer XL.

I have not seen what the previous poster mentiond about clear vs colored line, as far as UV break down(which is what the white powder is). Lines of a given material, be they clear or colored, will suffer the same amount of UV damage, based on what they are made of. This damage is not inhibited by any dye in the line materail. Clear line does show yellowing with age, but the same damage is occouring in colored line, you just cannot see it.

Clear lines do sometimes have the "prism" effect, which can make them show up rather brightly in water, but by the same token, colored lines can show up very visably as well under some circumstances, so its a wash there.

Myself, I prefer light green, or clear, depending on water conditions.

[chesters1]

theres different colour lines? blimey i thought me modern arms stuff was okay , you`l be telling me that using the same 200yds for 5 years is old fashioned next !

[phonebush]

Catman,

Curious, what "merits" were you convinced of?

Simply a marketing question from my point. Fish vision is generally thought to be restricted to light refraction. (Lets not start the vision thing again). Could you be persuaded away from clear? Actually manufacturing flaws are more visible in clear and clear is indeed cheeper. Also a marketing issue. Anglers who buy clear line (inexpensive) usually don't look for line flaws.

Phone

[DCB]

I use brightly coloured lines with clear mono or fluorocarbon leaders for two main reasons:

The coloured line helps to follow the fish,

and

Less line bites - I believe the fish steer round the coloured stuff.

DCB

[Allan]

I use Insight GR60 clear, I cannot fault it. It is a tad expensive, but you get what you pay for a first class line.

[Guest Fred Guttfield]

Cartman,

 

A while back a mate gave me some Pro Bass Shop Excel line. Its clear, limp, robust and ties well. Probably the best all round line Ive used. Definitely on for the barbel! Give it a go!

[Cartman]

Fred,that`s the stuff that Trefor West told me

to get.You don`t happen to know who stocks it

do you? I certainly can`t find it in my neck of

the woods (Lancashire).

[Newt]

Cartman - as far as I know only Bass Pro Shops sell their line. You can order on the web though and they are great with international ordering. Expect to pay around £1 for each $1 since you will have to pay shipping, VAT, etc.

 

If you use a credit card, they will automatically to the currency conversion for you at the day's rate.

 

http://www.basspro.com

 

Also, if you want any gear from Cabelas they are rock solid and I don't know of anyone who has had problems with ordering from any of them.

 

I routinely get gear from both and have several times gotten Bass Pro to bill me in the US and ship the gear to the UK. No problems.

 

http://www.cabelas.com

 

[ 14 April 2002, 02:02 AM: Message edited by: Newt ]