Line To Deal With Zebra Mussels

[Bluebasser86]

They aren't going to go away and now that several of the lakes around me have them I need to figure out what lines everyone is using to fish around them? It's amazing how fast they shear up mono and fluoro. I was fishing a jig across a piece of angle iron support on a dock (hard on line as it is I know) but I got 3 bites and each time I set the hook it was like setting the hook across a razor blade. Crankbaits that touched bottom like they should had to be retied every 10 casts or so. So what line/tricks is everyone using to deal with them or is it just unavoidable?

[Hi Salenity]

I think they need to call them Razor clams instead of Zebra Mussels. Last time we went to Melvin Peter spooled a reel with Nano. That was a huge failure. LOL.

I wonder about Tatsu, doesn't it have a harder outer "shell" I have it on one of my jig rods but I don't fish a jig alot there.

[Bluebasser86]

I think they need to call them Razor clams instead of Zebra Mussels. Last time we went to Melvin Peter spooled a reel with Nano. That was a huge failure. LOL.

I wonder about Tatsu, doesn't it have a harder outer "shell" I have it on one of my jig rods but I don't fish a jig alot there.

I was fishing Nano on one of my spinning rods but not on the bottom so that wasn't a problem. I don't know about Tatsu, I don't have that kind of money to drop on line

[tholmes]

I'm not sure there is a line that will stand up to zebra mussels. When I fish a lake that's infested, I check my line (Trilene Big Game) often and re-tie a lot.

Tatsu may do better, but like bluebasser, I'm not likely to drop ~$50 for a 200 yd. spool of 12 lb. line just to find out.

Tom

[webertime]

Up on Champlain (often more Zebra Mussels than water), I use Orvis Mirage 0x leader material which is ~8-10lb diameter with 16.5lb rated strength. The stuff is really hard and wears very well. http://www.orvis.com/store/product.aspx?pf_id=1Y28

I use it with 30-50lb braid main lines.

From my understanding of "main line" and "leader" Fluorocarbon, main line has to be made softer (for managability and is not as abraision resistant) so leader material may buy you a few more fish/casts.

Other oldtimers up here throw everything on 17-20lb mono (Siege/XT). They think enough material will be left after dragging over the Mussels that at least they'll get their lures back and that line is cheap.

All that being said when we pull up to a spot with Zebras we bascially get ready to re-tie before the first cast.

[new2BC4bass]

100 lb. fluoro?

[J Francho]

P-Line CXX X-tra Tough. Get a big bottle of KVD L&L. You'll need it.

[tomustang]

Regardless you'll need the KVD lube the way things are going

[Hi Salenity]

Has anyone tried Seaguar AbrazX?

[Hi Salenity]

Just so some people can see what we are dealing with the crank on the left was brand new and only fished for 30 minutes?

I wish the camera was able to capture the rest of the nicks in the line but I think you should be able to see at least one nick.

[J Francho]

Yep, You can see it in the nose of the bigger bait here:

[BobP]

Yes, you might want to try some saltwater fluorocarbon leader material. It won't handle worth a darn on any reel but it's much tougher, denser than any fluoro line and so it's good for leaders.

[Dwight Hottle]

Try a spool of maxima ultragreen. I use it for leader material with braid. You do have to check your line & retie when it gets nicked.

[iabass8]

I fish the Mississippi so zebra muscles are everywhere. Tarsus is good for jigs. I don't use cxx anymore but it was easily the most abrasion resistant for everything. The drought has helped with the infestation so I'm using red label for cranks. I won the tarsus so I'm using it for jigs and trite with no breakoffs yet. Not sure what I'm going to use after it runs out. Stuff is pricey

[iabass8]

Auto correct is stupid. Tarsus is tatsu.

[new2BC4bass]

Auto correct is stupid. Tarsus is tatsu.

I have the same problem. Unfortunately auto correct has no idea if you are using the right word. Tarsus is spelled correctly. However, it isn't fishing line!

[Bluebasser86]

Thanks for the help guys. I hadn't thought about CXX, that stuff is a pain to fish with because of the memory but I guess it's better to deal with memory than constant breakoffs I'll be dealing with otherwise. You're right about the line conditioner J, it's a must to fish with that line.

Dwight I almost bought some Maxima yesterday because I know that stuff is tough and fishes on spinning gear very nicely, I may have to give that a try this week.

[SirSnookalot]

Yes, you might want to try some saltwater fluorocarbon leader material. It won't handle worth a darn on any reel but it's much tougher, denser than any fluoro line and so it's good for leaders.

I don't think saltwater fc leader is the answer. We have barnacles and coral here, very sharp stuff, the only thing that will stand up is a wire leader. 40-60# leaders get cut off in an eyeblink on barnacles, quite true the conditions are different here, but the results can be the same. Getting cut off is just something you have to deal with.

[iabass8]

Pline cxx didnt give me any issues as long as it was trested with a conditioner. The stuff does have a lot of memory and would be flat out awful without line and lure.

[kickerfish1]

I know a few guys that really like sunline shooter and torray superhard when fishing around zebra mussells. I don't have any experience personally with zebra mussels so I am of no help there. Both of the above lines are very tough and low stretch but spendy!

[J Francho]

I don't think saltwater fc leader is the answer. We have barnacles and coral here, very sharp stuff, the only thing that will stand up is a wire leader. 40-60# leaders get cut off in an eyeblink on barnacles, quite true the conditions are different here, but the results can be the same. Getting cut off is just something you have to deal with.

Fluoro leader like TripleFish, CFX and Seaguar aren't super abrasion resistant, but they hold up very well if they get a nick, unlike some of the softer reel fill lines. I willl say, Toray, BPS XPS, and Berkley 100% have all proven pretty durable in reaction bait use. I even had a nice 5ish fish wrap on an zebe encrusted steel pylon, and while more than four feet of the line was munched about 8 yards up from the bait, I was able to get the fish in. If I was using nylon mono, thst fish would have been gone.

Surprisingly, braid in heavier diameters has proven itself to me. I think the remaining fibers and carriers might give you a bit of insurance. Not my favorite, though.