Over the past several years, I have been on the watch for any little
product or gizmo, that would give me an "edge" in my conquest
for that "Trophy Striper". I have tried all sorts of rods, reels,
hooks, jigs, poppers, swimmers, plugs (add infinitum), looking for something
that will substantially improve the performance of my fishing tackle. I
can now tell you all that the magic talisman has been discovered. The secret
to long casting and positive hookup power can be found in the new "Spectra
fiber" Super braided fishing lines.
You might say that these braided lines are nothing new. In fact, many of these products have been on the market for over 10 years and in this respect, you would be correct. Spiderwire, one of the original "Super Lines" had made it's mark on the freshwater crowd in the early '90's. Indeed, these lines were found to be the "Vunderkinde" of the conventional casting crowd. I had experimented with these early products and I had found that when used with spinning gear in the surf, their advantages were outweighed by their drawbacks. Some of these earlier products have been known to be unmanageable in a surfcasting environment. Despite their extreme castability, these lines had a tendency to form atrocious wind knots and tangles. In some cases, I found that a whole outing could be ruined by an inclination to pull great globs of line off the spool of my spinning reels in the middle of a cast. With their extremely thin profile (20 lb test Spiderwire is equal in diameter to 6 lb mono), these lines could cut your fingers quicker than spit. Gloves and finger protection was a must. Never try to cut this stuff (or any super line) with your teeth or you will find an incisor in your palm! If you were so unlucky to get a tangle in the middle of your guides, you would have to cut off and re-tie, just to get back into the action. Another fault of these early products was that they were found to be tough on tackle. I had seen deep furrows etched into my $20 Fugi guides, and Van Staal roller bearings after as little as a months worth of steady casting. Sounds bad, hum.....?
Let me get something straight. I did find that there were quite definite advantages in several of these "Superbraids". For one thing, they were very thin and supple. No memory (as you would expect to find with monofiliments) can be found in these lines. Put simply, they can cast forever. I found that I would outcast my buddies by as much as 80 feet on a regular basis! That is the difference between hooking a lunker, and watching, in many circumstances. Another positive benefit was the fact that there was no stretch to the line. It took a slight flip of the wrist to hook the spookiest of fish, and when hooked, you would have superior control over the beast. In fact, these lines were preferred in many applications, especially when applied to bucktail jigging. When using these jigs, every little nuance, every rock, bump or touch could be transmitted to the rod tip. So for these reasons, I persevered in using these early products, but continued to keep a watch for the next generation of super braids....................
I finally found a decent product in Berkley "Fireline". Tuf Line Plus is Cabella's answer to Fireline, but at a much reduced cost. They are essentially the same. This is a type of "Fusion" braid where the line is heated so the fibers become fused together to some degree. This process removes many (but not all) of the flaws found in the earlier incarnations. I found the fusion lines had less of a tendency to tangle. Also these lines retained a quality of stiffness (for a while) which is highly sought after as far as casting and manipulation (knotting and tying) are concerned. But alas, all was not roses. The wind could still wreak havoc if the caster was not ever vigilant to the amount of tension applied when retrieving these lines. Also noticed, was a inclination to fray. It seems these lines would start to come apart or get "hairy" after only a few outings. This was disconcerting due to the cost of these lines, which was on average, about $20 for 150 yds. However, I continued to endure, and I became quite adept at using this stuff. Before long, The secret was out... my buddies were using braided superlines and they were also having good results. The fusing aspect of these products seemed to solve the problem of guide and roller wear, but those nasty penchants for knotting and tangling were still ever present. The worst aspects to these fused lines were their poor abrasion characteristics when fish fought into the rocks and the fact that they seemed to "come apart" rather quickly. I had lost quite a few big fish when my line came in contact with the reef, or the teeth of a wayward Bluefish. I found changing line every week becomes rather costly..........
So what was to come of my relentless search for
the "perfect" superline? Well, let me tell you... Just a few weeks
ago, I had the great opportunity to be introduced to Lou Truppi, who has
held some of the most impressive light tackle fly-fishing records to date.
It seems that Lou is the manufacturer's rep. for L n T Associates,
distributors of many of my favorite tackle products here on the
East Coast. Among Lou's products are Shamano, G. Loomis and last
but not least, a new product called Power Pro Enhanced Body Technology
micro filament line. In our conversations, Lou asked me if I was satisfied
with the superline he saw on my reel. I began to expound the pro's and con's
of this line, and in hearing this, Lou explained his new product to me,
and gave me a sample spool. This has become one of those pivotal moments...
the "Oh Boy!" of the year. Lou asked me to try Power Pro
and let him know what I thought.
Power Pro, which is manufactured by Innovative Textiles, Inc. Is by far the best superline I have ever used. I have found it to have superior qualities that surpass those of the competition. Most of the bad qualities which I had described in the above passages have been eliminated from Power Pro line. I was impressed to find that Power Pro line at 30 lb test, was half the diameter of Berkley Fireline at 20 lb test, which had been my secret weapon for 2 years now. This new product brings with it many advantages over the older versions of braided Spectra. The most noticeable difference is that Power Pro shows no inclination to break down and fray, as do other superlines. Lou informed me that I could well expect this sample spool of line to last me the season. I must admit that I was skeptical about this point, but after 8 weeks of use, I have noticed little change in the look or feel of this line. The line still retains its beautiful, round and supple texture and has not been degraded. It is quite possible to cast a1&1/2 oz. Bucktail over 100 yds on a regular basis! Lou told me that many of these characteristics may be attributed to Innovative Textiles,Inc. new machinery which has revolutionized the braided line industry. Lou explains that no other manufacturer has the ability to create such a tight circular braid. The fact that 30 lb test has a smaller diameter (and tighter weave) than the competitions may be credited to this technique. I have also found that the abrasion characteristics of Power Pro are quite good. I have taken several bass in the twenty pound class with this product to date. Hookups were automatic due to the absence of any stretch. These fish were landed with a great deal of authority. Also absent was any tendency to create wind knots. I have been fishing in 20 knot head winds and found no faults with Power Pro. In short, this line is the line to use if distance, sensitivity, high strength and durability is what you seek.
What minor faults there are, may be said in general for all the braided lines. The fact that these lines are extremely thin makes them very likely to cut into fingers and hands. Do not try to pull these lines free of snags by wrapping them around your hand! Use a stick, or tighten up your drag to create the force needed to break free. Take care to grab your leader, not the line, when landing fish. Always use protection on your casting finger! I fish exclusively with neoprene gloves that have leather fingers and palms to avoid getting cut. As always, make sure the first several turns on the retrieve are tight to the spool and if the line looks loose, I cast and real in quickly to tighten the wraps.
Knotting Power Pro, as well as other braids, is best when a Palomar
knot is used at the terminal end. It is not
necessary to load your entire spool with super braided lines. The first
125 yrds. of casting line is all that is needed. Joining dissimilar lines
can be done with an Uni knot splice. If a large difference in diameter is
present between the two lines, I would recommend that you place at least
200 yrds. of Power Pro on your spool, to keep this splice from catching
your line as you cast. Super glue can be used on the knots if you feel you
will be hooking Moby Dick. Always carry a very sharp pair of mini scissors,
or knife to cut braided lines. Anything else is literally "pulling
teeth".
The greatest problem with using Power Pro that I have found to date is that it is difficult to find a distributor who retails it! I am hoping that this product will become so popular that everyone will want carry it. For now, I know that Causeway Tackle, as well as Altenkirch's have it in stock. Cabella's Saltwater catalog has the best price that I have seen so far, though it is hard to find in amounts over 500 yrds. in moss green color. If you are a distributor, give L n T Associates a call at (610)759-6611. I'm sure they would be glad to hear from you.
So there you are, the attributes of the new braided lines at your service! If super long casts and positive hookups are your goals, than these lines are for you!