Fireline has got me frustrated!!

[dingbat]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

Yup. And dingbat fishes for fish the size of a small car (from his posts I assume this) and I don't fish for stuff the size of Moby ****'s brother! So the additional points of failure don't get consideration from me- never been an issue.

Yes, we catch big fish (Big fish at last weekends Striper tournament was #55.2 ) but we often do so using the same, if not lighter tackle than the FW bass fisherman use. As an example, my jigging rod is a G. Loomis 6'6", 10-17 lb Med-hvy rod with a 360 Penn Slammer reel spooled with #10 Sufix Performance braid. It's not unusual to find yourself in a situation where the fish is 5X heavier than your line classification and thus the attention to details.

Many pros claim, however, that they jig fish with light braid and no leader and don't have any less bites. I haven't heard anything about how often they retie....

Locally, it?s been proven time and time again that inshore fish rarely have a preference if you use a leader with braid or not. The only reason why I use a leader is to make tying baits easier and protection from the razor sharp gill plates of a Striper. The larger diameter of the mono gives you a bit more protection should the line rub up against the gill plate during fight.

Braided connections are not an issue once you know which knots to use with it. Most the braid connections on my terminal tackle only gets retied once or twice a season.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

I thought I'd update this thread in case anybody cares.

Today I snagged a tree with my fireline and I had to cut the line because I was afraid I was going to break the rod trying to pull it free. Appearantly the fireline just needed to be worn in, as I have zero issues with my line now.

I think I might try the spool of 4 lb fireline that I originally had problems with. I wonder how many lures I will lose during the break in period on that??

This stuff casts a mile, which is great for shore fishing.

 

[whofan]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

I tried them all and come to conclude that I hope plain ole Mono is available as long as I`m alive.

 

[Steelhd]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

The trick is the 10 turns. Once through the eye, then 10 turns. Make sure the line is wet before pulling the knot down.

For a Uni with braid go twice through the eye then 10 to 12 turns.

FWIW I much prefer PowerPro over Fireline.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

I tried the FireLine last year as well.

1st couple of casts I wasn't happy, You could see the coil in the line.
I thought the same thing, Just needs to work in... Over the past week last year I spent more time removing the snarl from my reel then fishing..

I pulled it off and put on the standard stren line.
I called up the customer support on the fire line to pick their brains and complain. They told me it will eventually come in to the way it should.

I did find before I took it off about every 20 casts or so, I had to switch to a Musky bait to put tension on the line. Then it would work good. I dunno.. Perhaps I got old line.

 

[Rscardina]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

line breaks at the knot..(in my experience) was due to the actual hook eyelet itself..

Did you recently pick up new hooks? (not talking about the spinner baits and such)..but worm??

I have the exact line you have and even picked up the braid..I love it for the strength but becasue it cuts so easy i started having issues as well. After sratching my head and wanting to snap rods in half i remembered i picked up a box of new hooks.. all of the eye's on the hooks were not fully closed and the line was sliding and pinching when the fish pulled..snapping off almost instantly.

not saying this is your problem but it happened to me..i would reel up and the see the entire knot with a break below...frustrating!

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

I tried the FireLine last year as well.

1st couple of casts I wasn't happy, You could see the coil in the line.
I thought the same thing, Just needs to work in... Over the past week last year I spent more time removing the snarl from my reel then fishing..

I pulled it off and put on the standard stren line.
I called up the customer support on the fire line to pick their brains and complain. They told me it will eventually come in to the way it should.

I did find before I took it off about every 20 casts or so, I had to switch to a Musky bait to put tension on the line. Then it would work good. I dunno.. Perhaps I got old line.

Sounds like you are using a baitcaster. I pretty much only use a spinning reel, and I don't think I would use the fireline on a baitcaster either.

 

[freeisforme]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

I've been using almost nothing but Fireline since it first came out almost 20 years ago and I use it on both spinning and casting reels.
The only knot that works, and this goes for Fireline, not any of the braided lines, is the Palomar knot. All others will fail sooner or later. If I have to tie to mono, I use a Uni to Uni knot as the Fireline tends to cut the loop of mono on an Albright knot.
It does require some break in, but I've never had any issues with break offs with Fireline. I have had break off issues with some early Power Pro which is why I went back to Fireline. I find it's one of the most abrasion resistant lines out there, I've got a few reels still spooled with the original Fireline from the early 1990's which still catch fish, the line is gray or white now and all fuzzy looking but still strong. I use mostly 20lb for saltwater and 8 pound for freshwater but have a few spooled up with 4lb on UL outfits.
When fishing heavy cover or around rocks I fish heavier, go to a heavier line that can cut through the brush better and take more abuse.

When it comes to hook sets, when using any super line, you usually don't need to set the hook nearly as hard as with mono, but even so, I've never had the line break, whether when setting the hook or casting. I just spooled up one of my Stradic 2500 reels with new Fireline clear in 8lb test, I got a spoon snagged in what turned out to be a length of cable and an anchor, once I realized it was a snag, I drifted over to the point of the snag, wrapped the length of the Fireline around a wood dowel and pulled, with intention of either breaking off the line or pulling the hook. No such luck, I soon found myself with a length of 5/8" steel cable in hand which was attached to a lost mooring anchor far too heavy to lift. The hook had found it's way through the cable, and had two points buried in it. I lost no line, tied a float onto the cable and called it in for removal, and went on fishing, with the same line all day catching several nice fish with no issues. I had some concern that the line had been overstressed, but it worked fine. There was no sign of damage to the line. A new treble hook and all was well again.

 

[Fisher freak]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

i use a knot taught to me buy a family member and have never had it slip i have actually had my still fishing rig go before the knot. its is as fallows: once through the eye four times around the main line tag end through the loop above the eye and then trough the loop just maid by putting the tag end through the loop above the eye, wet and pull tight. by the way does anybody know what it is called?

 

[j_martin]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

That's an improved clinch knot.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

Something that I found very important with all super lines is the condition and style of bail roller on a spinning reel as well as the type of line guide on a levelwind reel. Older, bushing type or plain style line guides often do not track the line well, and many if seized up will burn or fray many super lines.
Spectra, Dyneema, or any other super line is tough stuff but it's all a derived from nylon to some degree. Meaning, it melts just like nylon or any other line. Most abrasion damage is from heat not actually abrasion. We found years ago that tackle such as sliding sinkers, plastic sinker slides, and some slip floats would damage the line when the fish runs in that heat builds up at the connection.

The only knot that works for terminal tackle with Fireline so far is a palomar knot, and connecting it to mono is always a bit tricky. The larger diameters work better this way than do the super thin lines. Original Fireline and Fireline Crystal are not braids, and can't be tied as such. One practice that does still hold valuable to some degree is the use of super glue to secure a knot.

Myself, I prefer Fireline to all others but since it's not available in as many sizes as braid, I find myself still using both. When Fireline came out years ago, I and most others I fish with soon dropped mono and began fishing nothing but. The early braided lines also did little to sway fisherman away from Fireline.

I can't say I've ever associated Fireline with mystery break offs, I thought that was Power Pro's territory?

 

[scipper77]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

Well, this thread has certainly picked up a second wind. I don't have an explanation for my break-offs or for why they stopped but I can tell you what I think was going on.

You can just feel how stiff and rough the line was when brand new. And now that it's been used enough the coating is partially stripped off. The line is smoother and less stiff. If I cast a lure really far, the line that was buried in the spool still feels like the new line did.

It is possible that If I was tying a better knot the condition of the line would be less of a factor but I don't think so as I tried multiple knots and the break-offs were the same for all.

I want to try the 4 lb. line that I originally had issues with and see if it will break in. If it does I will report back. I think I will throw a bunch of my worst lures so when I have multiple break-offs with the 4 lb. I can write it off as cleaning out my tackle box.

 

[Fisher freak]

Re: Fireline has got me frustrated!!

Thanks j martin is it popular and what are its ups and downs if you know any.