Home Forums Fishing Freshwater Powerpro,Tuff line, fireline.

Just returned from Kitimat BC.
PIles of Chum and the tail end of Chinook fishing.
We came back with our legal limits, and had lots of fun with the catch and release. All fast river fishing, drift fishing with spin and glos.
Used 3 braids.
Fireline: 30 lbs test on a spinning reel. Got terribly frayed and ratty looking on the rocks, in no time.Discarded it the first day.

Tuff line: 50 lbs on my Abu Garcia 7000. test Did most of our work with it. I liked it but it is a bit on the limp side, and can give birds nest if the reel is not properly adjusted. Very strong line, casts very well, incredible knot strength.

At the end of the trip I switched to Power pro. 50 lbs test on my Abu Garcia 7000. Casts incredibly well, none of the tuff line limpness, but does not have the knot strength of tuff line.
I use the palomar and improved clinch knots to connect my hooks and line or my line to the 3 way swivels. My leaders are 40 lbs. maxima mono. On two snags I broke the 50 lbs. powerpro, instead of the 40 lbs leaders.
Also 50 lbs, is a bit thin and when hauling a big one in it tends to dig in. I will try 65 lbs next.
I also used a Shimano baitcaster 700. Very smoooth, but the handle is too far offset on the side making it very hard to hold the works steady when retrieving. Retrieving becomes a wrenching movement. Also it is a heavy pig. Not the best for when you do a lot of casting.Too bad. It be a good reel to use from a boat. I still prefer my Abu Garcia 7000.
I like to hear from some of you regarding their experiences with the above braids and what they regard as their favourite big salmon reel.
Thanks.

Thanks for the report...

I havent used powerpro, ive always been happy with tuff-line myself. I use heavier line - 65lb, so the limpness isnt so bad and the line doesnt dig into the spool. I havent tried drifting the heavy braid much, but i dont really driftfish for chinook very often.

For river fishing for chinook, i usually backbounce bait or run bait under a float. I mostly use abu 5501's with 65 lb tuff-line, and i have one 6501 with 80 lb tuff. Mostly i like the smaller reels because they fit in my hand better. If you use braid they still hold plenty of line for river fishing. I agree on the heavy mono leaders, i run 40lb maaxima too.

The fireline was not frayed it was just getting boke in! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Seriously I know what you mean about the fireline getting fuzzy but I can tell you that it does not seem to lessen the breaking strength. I have some on a few rods that has been on there for at least two years, maybe longer. It all looks like a big sewing thread but I have yet to break off any fish. Even big stripers. As I said in the other post, I feel Fireline gets better with age. The fuzziness I think is just what happens when the stuff gets broken in and limbers up.

I'm not familiar with power pro but it sounds like good stuff. Is it a braid as well? Who sells it?

X-VERMINATOR

I have used Berkley Whiplash, Tuff Line XP, Tuff line Plus, Power Pro, Fire line, and have yet to use the new braided Stren.

The Fire Line that I used was a fusion Line. That is different than braid. And it did seem too get fuzzy. But work well.

Out of all the Braids that I have used The Berkley was the strongest and had the best knot strength followed by the Tuff line XP, Tuff Line Plus, than Power Pro, and all line was 50lbs. Except the Fire Line Which was 10lbs. that I use on Kokanee

xverminator,
yes the fireline started looking very fuzzy indeed. Fuzzy is probably the better term rather then frayed.
Powerpro is a relative new braid on the market. Cabellas markets it as a superbraid. Whatever that means. It casts very nice, and is very, very thin. Go to www.caballa and check under fishing lines. They give comparisons in thickness to mono too.

I've used mostly Power Pro in sizes from 20 to 200 on a dozen reels for six years.....I find that all of the superbraids require different knots than mono.....for terminal tackle connection, I double my line and tie a uniknot of five turns or more.....be sure to wet the line when pulling tight as the melting point is very low.....I do not get good knot strength from palomar knots or a spider hitch.....

Thanks Vern,
I will try your uni-knot with double line and 5 turns.

Do a web search for spectra fishing lines, and you'll get some good links on knotting them. There is a place in New Zealand that did a bit of testing, and found that running the braided line inside braided dacron on the knot allows near 100% knot strength. I ran my 80# power pro through 80# dacron on my halibut rod, and haven't had any problems with knot failure.

The power pro does get fuzzy when running against another braided line.

I am currently using 6lb fireline for trout. It does get fuzzy, but I haven't had problems with it. It's the first time I have used braided line and now I'm hooked on it. No memory is a big plus and it is stronger than monofilament.
My dad recently put power pro line on his reel I think I'll get that with 4lb test next. I fish brooks and streams so there aren't huge trout. I did , however, have a big rainbow that snapped my line when I made the mistake of lifting it out of the water without using my hands.

I still like mono. Have used it without any problems for over 45 years. I find no need to spend 4 or 5 times the amount on line when I can get by on mono. And I like having stretch in a line, it helps as a shock absorber especially when a large fish is getting close to being netted. The high tech lines have some benifits but with that comes other problems I don't have to deal with now.

I remember when the first high tech line came out, a Cofilament line. What a piece of garbage that was.

CaptBob
I could not agree more... I will not allow folks to bring their own reels aboard if they have the thin lines simply because of the danger. Had one palm cut clean to the bone when a guy grabbed the line on a modest halibut and it sounded. It cut so deep so fast he could not get away from it.

I also lose more gear with the other lines because there is no shock absorber in there. While a static test may show the high test strengths, a quick accelerated shock breaks the stuff every time.

Give me Maxima in 50#, 35# and 17# and I can do anything in AK saltwater.
art

I love the braid on my Halibut Rods........... I fish deep for 'but, and I like to feel my Jig thumping the bottom in 400+ feet of water. I use the very heavy rope like line, so cutting isn't that big of a problem like with the smaller diameter braids.

I prefer Mono for Salmon. The shock absorber seems to work out... But I have heard of increaced hook-ups when trolling using braid. I'll get back with you boys at the end of the summer and tell you what I like for salmon after I spend a little bit more time on the water with braid.

MB
The mark of a good captain is "How shallow can he find fish?" Looking at 400' for halibut is just plain foolish where I roam. I intend to go much deeper this year in search of serious blackcod quantities... but that is only because I have to... and not for halibut.

My best halibut tend to come from 30-100' of water. More often the shallow end of the range.

There is something to be said for feeling the bumps, but Maxima is plenty stiff enough for me...
art

I've been using Power Pro on my float rods for several years now and love the stuff. I normally run a sliding set-up and use a 2-3 foot leader of mono. By using 20-pound Power Pro I rarely lose my rigging if I happen to break off.

Mark

Paradise is a long ways from where you roam.......... I had a friend from Kodiak who moved to Sitka. He told me the biggest difference between the fishing in Kodiak and SE AK is that the big Halibut are substantially deeper in SE.

Where I come from, the mark of a good captain is someone who can constistantly catch fish. Mooching the bottom in 200ft for kings or bumping the bottom in 400' for Halibut will produce results, when others go home empty.

Mark,

Welcome to the campfire....

My favorite 'but haunts are sub 100' also. Same goes my favorite Ling' outcroppings.

In those pursuits,I'm geared lighter than most folks and do all of that business with 25lb Chameleon and my favorite rod is a 1pc 8' BBR964C Loomis wearing a 6500C. That combo will hurt big fish,though I don't play around when looking to boat Good 'Uns. I'm a believer in both a harpoon and dumping a mag from a S&W 422 into the noggins of victims.

I dig mono in those pursuits.

Now streamside,for dainty presentations,there are some real benefits to the inherent attributes found in a GOOD braid.

For flinging light tackle,braid operates in a seperate realm. Nothing can touch it. The zero memory,is never a bad thing.

Braid has come a lonnggggggggg ways and the current crop warrants a test drive IMHO,for the above applications. It's abrasion resistance has really improved and the 20lb Buck Steelie that I lucked into landing a coupla weeks ago,truly cemented the merits of braid into my thick skull.

Upon hookup,he went for the sky and lind wrapped himself amidship in mid current. I was at the mercy of my 8lb Chameleon leader aboard the XtraLight 10'6" Fenwick and leaned on him as hard as I dared,but he was sideways to me and had the reigns. Eventually,he fluttered downstream,to my side of the creek and went for more air. He wrapped some over hanging brush and siwashed an exposed nugget to boot. While taking line via the siwash,I deeply fretted the braid puking. To my absolute amazement,the 15lb PowerPro held fast and I slowly began to gain control of the situation. I had to wade nut deep in my work duds,to get around a point that jutted between he and I and then managed to break the offending limbs and clean up the siwash around the rock. He again took air and shook the line wrap and I was back in the driver's seat with control granted via the beak direct drive.

There is NO way I shoulda laid eyes upon him,let alone my mitts and the braid was absolutely the key to that positive outcome.

Prior braided offerings woulda snapped upon initial contact with the rock. I ran 50' of braid around it like an Oregon block and never stranded even a portion and have caught 30+ fish since,less pulling that section out of action.

I REALLY dig the braid for Steelhead and when used in conjunction with a long rod and 8lb mono leader,one can really put the brakes on healthy specimens without rolling the dice.

The Torture Test will be the 50 Coho days of early Fall,when bait restrictions are lifted. I'll bump leaders to 25lb Chameleon and drive 3/0 Gammies aboard 40lb PowerPro affixed to the Loomis 11'4" STFR1363S and a Shimano coffee grinder. I'll drive various other Drift Rods wearing casting reels,as they are my preference for finite fish control.

Never thought I'd see the day that braids worked for me,but things do change and often for the better.

I'd not wanna be a fish...................(grin)

Mark,

Good to see you here.

Saying your tackle is enthusiastically endorsed by the Paradise Crew,would be gross understatement.

Your gear is without peer..................

Good to see you over here Mark! I met you at OSU a few years ago when you came to a club meeting and talked to us about jig fishing.

For over ten years I stuck with mono even when my buddies started using braid. My thoughts of if it isn't broke then why fix it mentality changed when I spooled up with 20-pound Power Pro. The stuff casts like a dream and for float fishing it's the cat's meow. I still use straight mono occasionally for summer steelhead but even then I typically run Power Pro as my mainline with a mono leader. It's like the best of both worlds since I get the floating line aspects of braid and the stretch of mono.

Master Bonzi, Big Stick & Sean D

Thanks for the welcome guys. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mark