nanofil

[ranger7717]

I still see nanofil around and I'm wondering if anyone uses it...I tried it when it came out and even though it does cast a mile, it seemed to snap off pretty easy . was that just me...maybe my knot choice or fishing style ?

[kcdinkerz]

I had problems with the knot slipping, a double Palomar fixed that. Then the line began to look like it was frayed after a few weeks of fishing I got scared and removed it but didn't really have problems with it snapping.

[jignfule]

The line had real tendency to fray. After a couple years and a few too many break offs I quit buying it.

[Felix77]

Had simiarr problems to those mentioned above.  Went back to PowerPro super slick after that.

[Bluebasser86]

I never had any issues with it and really liked the stuff. It's very limited in what it can be used for, but what it's good for it does extremely well. 

[blckshirt98]

Nanofil is horrible.  It'll work fine for a season but then you might start seeing some weird things happen like the line breaking on casts and hooksets for no reason.  This happened to me three times on the same outing, nothing wrong with any guides or rod, fishing the same spots I do with my other setups.  I stripped off all of my nanofil and went back to normal braid.

[ranger7717]

that's exactly what i'm talking about blck....,.... i really did like it besides that - and true with the limited use, but i new that when i bought it - i probably thinking a light presentation.

[Gilbone]

20 $ for line i think is crazy all my friends use it and i use 3 $ triline and works just as good too much for line i think.

[blckshirt98]

19 hours ago, ranger7717 said:

that's exactly what i'm talking about blck....,.... i really did like it besides that - and true with the limited use, but i new that when i bought it - i probably thinking a light presentation.

My breaks didn't occur at knots either, they were in random places in the line and they were clean breaks with no fraying, almost like the line was cut with a pair of scissors.

[roadwarrior]

I don't know about the heavier tests, but Academy was giving away #4 for $3 and change, so I bought two spools. The line broke by hand finishing a knot which I repeated several times. I never fished the line.

[Steveo-1969]

I used a spool of 10# Nanofil a couple years ago on a spinning rod and experienced the excessive fraying others are describing.  I won't use it again.

[cbass12]

Amazing that so many people have problems with it, I've got nothing bad to say about it. I only use it for the ned rig and always with a floro leader. The leader helps with some of the breakage issues I imagine, because we fish some lakes with a lot of zebra mussels and I haven't had it break more than a couple times. I use a modified albright knot and it's very solid with the nanofil.

[ww2farmer]

It's terrible. I have tried it in 10lb on my bass spinning rods, 4lb test on my ice rods, and open water UL panfish set up, it has the durability of wet toilet paper. 

[Master Bait'r]

It's finicky stuff.  I used to swear by it until my spools got some age and started to fall apart.   It's extremely communicative but it frays easily, is a bit stiff and crinkly and I find Gliss to be better in every way except slack line shock transmission.  Gliss is more like braid but impossibly smooth, and Nanofil now feels like plastic cable to me.  I doubt I will ever go back.  

[Mothercanucker]

Nanofil was created for spinning and light finesse applications and it does excel in that area. Loved it for drop shotting but that was about it. It snaps off on heavier lures and hook setting. Definitely can't use the palomar like mentioned above. No abrasion resistance either. Again its for finesse and definitely not crankbait or spinnerbait etc...

[faygo1979]

i ran 17 pound all last year and really liked it.  for me it was as strong as any braid and i pulled in a number of pike on it with out issues.  Now i fish weedy lakes with out timber or rocks so i could not test the abrasion resistance of it.

[MickD]

I have experienced some of the issues as others, and it is very finicky as to which knots work well.  So I just went back to 10-15 Suffix and Power Pro braid and don't have to deal with the issues.  I see issues with Nanofil, but no advantages.

[aquaholik]

Nanofil has a terrible knot strength and knots are very finicky. And yes, it does fray very easily. Line to leader knots are horrible. Tie 8lbs Nanofil to 12 lbs mono leader and you can probably break it with 6lbs of force. Now add the fraying which weakens the line and "mysterious" breakoff are not so mysterious any more.

BUT, Nanofil FG knot to mono or fluorocarbon leader and the line becomes dependable again. No mysterious breakoff on the hookset and no lost fish due to broken or snapped line.

But the big problem is tying the FG knot with Nanofil. It's superslick and wiry and not soft like most braid. Soft braid grips and bites down on the mono or fluorocarbon very easily with the FG knot. To get Nanofil in the 6-14 lbs test to grip thin mono like 6-15 lbs mono is very difficult. In fact 12lbs Nanofil to 12lbs mono is almost impossible. I had a hard time getting 14lbs mono to bite down on 14lbs Suffix Siege. The only way it will work is if I run the length of Nanofil around a wooden chopstick a dozen time to strip it of it's slickness. Even then, it takes at least 14 turns on the FG and a very careful pulling of the knot to make sure it grips. Forget about 6lbs Nanofil to 6lbs mono. Virtually impossible with FG Knot and will snap in your hand if you use a uni knot.

The only place Nanofil shines is in saltwater where the smallest leader use is 15lbs and the typical size leader is 20-25lbs. No problem getting the FG knot to form with larger diameter leader.

So why use Nanofil? Got kids? Soft braid tip wraps easily unless you are careful with spooling and retrieving. Nanofil is kids proof. It's stiff and wiry so there is virtually no problem with windknots and tip wrap. It's like a super slick Fireline.

I've personally tested the FG knots on Nanofil and it will break 50% higher than the labeled strength. No more 6lbs breaking at 4 lbs after you tie a knot. Now 6 breaks at about 9lbs when new and at least 6lbs when slightly frayed. 10-12 lbs Nanofil on saltwater fish? I can comfortably set the drag at 4lbs and not worried about breakoff.

We typically can manhandle 20-25lbs black drum around bridge pilings with 12lbs Nanofil. Personally for bass fishing in the backyard pond, I love 12lbs Nanofil on the Alpha Ito throwing weightless zoom. Really great slack line sensitivity.

For other saltwater application, I put the 14lbs line on a Sol and pitch shrimps on a jighead behind bridge pilings and lock the drag down to 5lbs and just pull the sheepshead from bridge pilings.

 

[Paul Roberts]

On 2/1/2016 at 4:35 PM, aquaholik said:

Really great slack line sensitivity:

aquaholik, tell me about this. Does Nanofil have more mass than braids?

As to a better grip with the FG, possibly roughing the surface of the mono with very fine sandpaper might help? I'd probably add some CA glue as well.

[aquaholik]

On 2/3/2016 at 11:10 AM, Paul Roberts said:

aquaholik, tell me about this. Does Nanofil have more mass than braids?

As to a better grip with the FG, possibly roughing the surface of the mono with very fine sandpaper might help? I'd probably add some CA glue as well.

I don't think so. And even if it does initially, Nanofil does not absorb water whatsoever. Regular braid does absorb water so Nanofil will be lighter on the spool when you are fishing.

Nanofil, loses it's slick coating after 20 or 30 trips. By then, FG knots will be easier to tie. I don't use super glue at all since I have no faith in it. I pull all FG knot after one half hitch glove tight. If it holds, it won't slip a millimeter. Nanofil will turn from white to translucent in an FG knot.