Best Copolymer/hybrid fishing line?

[PatrickMc]

hey guys, I'm gonna be picking up some line for my baitcaster soon and I started a forum about which fluoro and the response was petty much to not buy any if you're not willing to spend a lot. So, I decided I'm gonna go with some type of fluoro-hybrid/copolymer line. What brand do you guys suggest? And also should I get line conditioner? Should I use mono backing? Are there any certain/different ways that I have to spool my baitcaster with when I put this line on?

Thanks so much!

[j bab]

P line CXX

[Big Swimbait]

Hi Seas Grand Slam Select - best line for my money in 50 years of fishing - plus it's inexpensive.

[Choporoz]

Yo-Zuri plus KVD Line & Lure Lube.  Match made in fishing line heaven

[new2BC4bass]

Lots of good lines.  Lots of opinions on which is the best.  I definitely would suggest a line conditioner for some brands.  If you plan on using a heavy line then I'd suggest a line conditioner regardless of brand.  The heavier the line the stiffer it is going to be.  Right now I have a couple 3000 yd. spools of Silver Thread AN40 a fellow member recommended plus I have some 6# Excalibur on a finesse reel for testing.  However, there are several others I want to try.  A few are Izorline XXX and Platinum, CXX, McCoy Mean Green, Maxima Ultragreen, Gamma High Performance, Y-Zuri plus the previously mentioned Grand Slam Select.  A couple may not be as popular or well known as some, but I read good things about all of them.  Only way to pick a favorite is to try several.  Mine may not be yours.  Which is great for all of us.

 

[Further North]

I've been using Lake Fork Fluorohybrid FH the last couple of years (mostly as leader material) and am quite happy with it.

[Bluebasser86]

I like Pline Xtra strong or C21 depending on what I'm doing. 

[fishnkamp]

I have been using a Berkley Line Station for years This is a $20 dollar tool. It allows me to hold the reel secure and hold the new spool of line steady under tension. It is sold lots of places but look here so you see what I am speaking of. http://www.cabelas.com/product/fishing/fishing-line/line-winders-strippers-tools|/pc/104793480/c/104719680/sc/103939380/berkley-reg-line-winder/17

I do the exact same thing with every reel I own. I spool 1/2 the reel with 14 pound Stren Original Clear Blue mono or Bass Pro Shops Excel 14 pound mono. It costs less than 3 cents a yard to fill a reel with either one of these lines. I save money first, and second it allows me to tie it onto the arbor good and tight thus avoiding line slippage. If I fill it carefully, then I will  get a nice smooth bed for the braid, copoly or fluoro to lay on top of. Since the 14 pound test went on tight ,there is little chance the main line will dig into it.  If I ever make a terrible mess with the main line (and we all have had that happen at some time) or decide to change the type of line on the reel, it only takes 1/2 of a spool worth of line to be replaced. This cuts the cost of spooling a reel down a bunch. The typical low profile baitcaster holds 120 yards of line. So 60 yards of the mono would cost less than $2.00.  Power Pro Braid would cost you $17.00 for a 150 yard spool.  Using my method it would spool two reels. So  filling one reel would cost less than $11.00 counting the cost of the mono.   If you chose one of the most expensive Fluorocarbon lines on the market, like Tatsu from Seagar, a 200 yard spool of 20 pound test will cost $50.  Using my method that line cost 25 cents a yard.   You would need 60 yards of line at 25 cents a yard for a total of $15.00 so it would cost less than $18 to fill 1 reel and you would have enough for 2 more reels. Just for comparison, let's say you spool the entire reel with Tatsu, it would cost you $50 for the 200 yard spool and you would use $30 of that on one reel.  If you do not want to spend the $50 bucks, you could prefill the mono and see if any fishing stores near you sold the Tatsu in bulk. You could pay to have your reel filled and pay for only that amount of line.

Now if you want a copoly suggestion, I like P Line FloroClear. It is a fluoro coated copolymer line. In straight  fluorocarbon line Halo. It is really strong and abrasion resistant. Do not go way overboard on this line. 6 or 8 pound test is the max on a spinning reel, 10 pound for lots of mid depth lures and 17 pound max for deep jigs and carolina rig type stuff. You will not be able to bite down and cut 10 pound test line with your teeth, it breaks closer to 18 pounds.  It does have a bit of memory, so use some line conditioner and if you spool it on a spinning reel, drop the spool in some hot water for a few minutes. It helps.

[ChrisD46]

For #30 lb. braid on a bait cast reel try using #6 ~ #8 lb. Zebco brand mono from WM and filling 1/2 your spool as usual . This provides an even tighter , smoother backing for the thin braid to be spooled on top of . *If done as I suggest and spooling both the mono backing and the braid tightly with KVD Line Conditioner  - using #20 lb. braid can become a good , useable option on a bait cast reel !

[doyle8218]

10 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Yo-Zuri plus KVD Line & Lure Lube.  Match made in fishing line heaven

My choice also.

[roadwarrior]

1 minute ago, doyle8218 said:

My choice also.

Mine, too!

[PatrickMc]

Thanks for the input guys! What lb test do you suggest I use?

Thanks!

[fishnkamp]

What type of lures will you be throwing and what is the rod specs?  Line size will depend a bunch on what you are doing. For an all around line I would throw maybe 12 pound Fluoroclear or 12 to 14 pound Halo. If this is a rod for spinnerbaits and chatterbaits and lightweight plastics I would go with 10 to12 pound, for jerkbaits, crankbaits or rattle traps maybe 10 pound, and for jigs, carolina rigs and heavier weighted plastics 14 or 17 pound test copoly or fluorocarbon. On braid i do not choose by pound test but rather if I were going to throw jigs I would pick a braid that was the same diameter as the 14 to 17 pound copoly or fluoro. 

[PatrickMc]

I'm throwing on a 6'8" Medium St. Croix Rage Rod. I'm pretty much doing everything but heavy cover/frogging stuff

[Choporoz]

Yo Zuri 8 or 10...a little heavier, if you might throw a lot of jigs or heavierTexas/Carolina stuff

 

[An Outdoor Guy]

When you say "best" everyone sees "favorite" I'm sure you have heard that before but there really is no proof on which line is "best" just "favorites"

Any of the above mentioned are really good lines BUT the MOST important thing is to look at the line DIAMETER. who cares if you have 12lb test that breaks at 50lbs when the diameter is the size of a winch cable ya know?

[JustJames]

Buy Yozuri Hybrid #6 or #8 and forget about anything else. It is cheap and work quite well for all purpose fishing type unless you fish in very nasty stuff.

[bigfruits]

another vote for Yozuri and KVD l&l. I wouldn't bother with mono backing as Yozuri is economical.

 

[MassYak85]

On 8/28/2016 at 7:49 AM, doyle8218 said:

My choice also.

same

[The Fisher]

I have used Silver Thread AN40 for years when I don't use fluorocarbon on a bait caster. In addition, if you use a spinning reel for drop shot or finesse this stuff is fantastic. It's very thin and I have never, and I mean it, never had a line twist problem. It is also very abrasion resistant. I use 6# on the spinners and 8# on baitcaster.  http://www.lurenet.com/silver-thread-an40-filler-spools