4, 6 or 8pd

[Richo]

G`Day fellas,

Question to ponder before I knock off for the day. What weight line do you use and why??. and have you tried heavier or lighter??. and what makes you like the one you have on.??. We all know 4pd yellow is probably a favourite of most. But why??.... I know of a couple of guys who use 6pd minimum. Your input would be valued.

Cheers

Richo:confused:

[pete s]

i use 6lb smoke because i'd heard a few unfavourable things about the fluoro.....breakages etc. i dont know first hand if its true or not but i wasnt willing to take the risk.

the reason i use 6lb is because where i fish there is about a rod length between pylons, and when you hook up you need a bit of grunt to bring them in. also i was just beginning the whole bream on lure thing and needed some "insurance" to overcome my lack of skill.

next fireline i buy will probably be 4lb though, coz i now know what fireline is capable of and that 4lb doesnt break at 4lb:)

cheers pete

[Heaney]

I use the 4lb in yellow, i dont see why the colour difference would make the line more or less likley to suffer breakages as it is mearly an ink mixed into the outer coating that protects the main fibres - i could be wrong, correct me if i am:).

I find that if im getting busted up regulary i upgrade the strength of the trace so that ill stay connected if i get dragged into snag e.c.t which usually allows me to get them out eventually, fingers crossed.:(

Have tried the heavier line ( 6lb) and i didnt notice any major differences, maybe a slight reduction in sensestivity

[Dave W]

I'm pretty sure someone did a test on what 4 and 6 pound Fireline actually break at.

I was told that 4lb breaks around 11lb and 6lb breaks around 9lb:eek:

I'll stick with the 4lb whether it's true or not - or I could buy some 6 pound and test them myself:rolleyes: Any excuse to buy more tackle:D

Cheers,

[mike_mad_fisho]

gday
thats seems a bit weird dave that 6lb breaks lower than 4lb , that cant be right but i hopefully should recieve my order of atomic softies and 6lb smoke fireline this week i am at the letter box everday waiting cause i have waited 4 weeks as they did not have the amex instaled when i orded.
thanks michael

[Bream Master]

Mike,

Are you Kevin's son ????

I was just trying to find your order when the penny dropped.

Warren.

[Matt]

Usually 6lb in the Fleuro Yellow, the diameter difference between it and the 4lb is negligable and you never know when that extra few Lbs breaking strain will come in handy (thinks Jewfish:D ).

I use the yellow for visiblity reasons, when thos finicky Bream tap at the lure when it is wafting down it can sometimes be difficult to see with Smoke, particularly in early morning/late evening sessions.

Cheers
Matt

[stonefish]

You old blokes must be going blind.
I use 6lb smoke fireline and don't think I could bring myself any lower, getting slapped enough as it is around the pylons and ya never know when a mulloway will jump on the end. Always Hope.

Need some new mono though, ran out of 6kg supaflex, did pretty good in the comps. Not a fan of the powerline, seems to break to easy, could just be me.

Cheers
Pete

[madsurfe]

Hi Pete

yeah :p this old boy is goin' blind I should have got those reading glasses instead of putting the health fund cheque towards the polaroids. I use 4lb Flouro cos' I just can't see the smoke coloured line through my Bolles regardless of the time of day. Now I did have a preference for 6lb until an emergency change of spool happened during a hot bite. I had to throw the 4lb on and I immediately noticed the increased sensitivity. You see it was good testing as the fish were there and I had already had success on the 6lb. Thus a direct comparison was excuted and I just noticed even tinier taps on the jig (Petes Fav) which is no longer a secret. It's my fav too but I am rather partial to a Bloodworm Squidy. I always grab the 4lb by default and the 6lb is my backup. In fact I have a very large spool of the 6lb smoke fireline that has barely been touched.

Now as a matter of interest I just did some testing on 4lb Berkley Trilene SensiThin a 50cm length with a lure loop at each end and I tensioned it with my Berkley digital scale which reads in 10th's of lbs. Result is that it pinged at 5.8lbs thats pretty good as far as I'm concerned and I'll be trialing it as a leader.

So Pete maybe keep it in mind next time you pickup some mono.

Hey Guys.
I have found that 6pound is noticeably stronger. One of my fishing partners has 6 pound, while i use four pound. He pulled on both lines and the 4 pound broke before he was bleeding, while the 6 pound was causing a large amount of pain and was not broken by hand. Funnily enough, my 4 pound was brand new, and the 6 pound was quite old!:rolleyes:
Although this is in no way an accurate approach, it was enough for me to believe that the 6 pound is noticeably stronger.
Tight Lines Boys and Gals

[Richo]

I really think it comes down to how its been looked after. I had MadFish spend a couple of minutes trying to break 4pd in Albany- and that was when locking both ends as well. He nearly had a heart Attack trying.... and failed.... But then again any fireline thats been part of a birds nest of mine breaks real easy after being unknotted. But 4pd is easier to manage than 6pd as is with 8pd. Each to there own, and depends where exactly your fishing....

Cheers

Richo:p

[Bear]

I use the 8lb smoke with good success. So far no hassles.

I know a few guys switch down as they were worried about lure action etc.

Has any one had problems??

[chris_lemess]

Geez Bear that's heavy stuff! I used 6 and now use 4 because it makes casting light stuff a whole lot easier. I find 8 is probably unnecessary unless you use the setup for many purposes regularly. Do you have a spare spool to load with 4 or 6?

Chris

[mike_mad_fisho]

gday warren
yes i am kevins son but i was the one who wrote most of the letters as my dad was in new zealand i cant wait till they arrive
they hopefully schould come this week i think as u rang and left a message and said that u sent them on the friday.
thanks michael

[madsurfe]

Hi Bear

as I said above:

'I did have a preference for 6lb until an emergency change of spool happened during a hot bite. I had to throw the 4lb on and I immediately noticed the increased sensitivity.'

I noticed that using Mims setup with 8lb fireline killed a couple of metres off a full length cast. working in close it really didn't matter and lure control was still good with less sensitivity.

[Bear]

I used the 8lb when I fished with you at Albany and it didn't seem to make any difference. I do have a spare spool with 6lb green though just in case.

[madsurfe]

Hey Bear

I think the more fiddling and testing you do the more sensitive you become with your tackle :p this sounds more like sex education for a snag.

back to the fishin' eg: I was fishing 6lb smoke fireline straight to the jig and lure but got more hits with a fine leader ... so that's what I fish with now and as you can see most of us fiddle...fiddle...fiddle 'til were happy then change again when our success rate starts to drop

[Bream Master]

Guys, the main advantage of the 4lb is the extra casting distance and the sensitivity. Whilst casting distance may be a minimal advantage when fishing close to structure, it sure helps when the wind kicks up. It blew like hell where we were on Sunday at the comp, but I could still cast an oargee a reasonable distance even straight into the breeze.

I also hooked a good size (approx 55-60cm) soapie on the 4 lb and landed it without any drama.

Pete, is it old Powerline that you've been breaking because I have used it for about 12 months now and find it excellent. The spool I'm currently using is about 6 months old and still going strong. One thing I have found is make sure your knot is very tight as any slippage will cut through the super soft line. It's small diameter and soft texture make it excellent for a leader. It's great to tie as well which is handy when your retying a new lure on at 6.30am and your hands are cold...

When you compare it to the tiny spools of Berkley leader it's very cost effective as well.

Warren.

[Ravin]

I use 4 pound Fireline in smoke myself for the casting distance mainly as I fish a lot of shallow fairly open water. I agree with Dave W one hundred percent on his comments about 4 pound fireline being a higher breaking strain then 6 as well. I saw some tested in Sydney when I was there & 4 pound actually broke at 11 pounds & the 6 broke between 8 & 9 pounds. Sounds strange I know but I have heard of other tests showing the same results. Maybe someone here would have access to a line tester & post some results ?

[kevinnugent59]

Originally posted by Bear
I used the 8lb when I fished with you at Albany and it didn't seem to make any difference. I do have a spare spool with 6lb green though just in case.

Hi Bear,

I was going through some old threads (just buying some Fireline and wanted the check the advice on breaking strain) and I came across your message dated 3 months ago.

Given the extra experience and comps since then, have you changed from 8lb yet, or have you stuck with it?

Kevin