Line

[ronaultmtd]

I went to my local Dick's Sporting Goods store the other day to buy new line for my conventional Abu 6500 C3 reels- the choices were staggering...PLine florocarbon coated copolomer, Three different superline braids, including the new 832 at $34 a spool...plain old mono and, of course, the newest Stren florocarbon. In the past, I used mostly Berkley Trielene mono.

So what is the consensus on lines used to fish for stripers out of kayaks in the Chesapeake Bay? Is there any such thing? I figured I would try something new- I bought a spool of PLine (20#) and a spool of Stren Florocarbon (15#) to try on each of my two 6500 C3 reels- I'll see which I like best based on casting, strength of knots, etc.

I had Power Pro 30# braid before but found the extra strength made hangups difficult to breakoff, especially from a kayak- Anything less than 30# test is too thin for casting reels and requires way too much capacity unless you use monofiliment backing and just top fill the reel.

[Grilled]

i use 17lb suffix mono on my casting reels and 20lb fireline on pretty much anything else. im not a big fan of braid, tried it before and didnt really like.

you should be fine using 15-20lb mono for the bay.

[surfdog]

i mainly use fireline crystal on my yak rods in either 14 0r 20#. i use power pro on surf rods. i havent used mono except for backing in years. tried a freinds setup with mono and it felt like fishing with rubber band line with all the streach, i like the sensitivity that braid has with no streach and use flurocarbon leader. it might be more for a spool but it can be used a lot longer. just my .02

[ictalurus]

You can get away with 10lb or 15lb PowerPro unless you're livelining the pilings at the Bay Bridge. I've only ever had two break offs that were unintentional and didn't involve a backlash, and both were immediately after fishing a bluefish blitz (check the last 10-20ft of line frequently). I use 17lb Sufix Siege mono for a leader for most things (bottom fishing, topwater, redfish/flounder) or 20lb or 30lb Triplefish fluoro for jigging for stripers. I like the fluoro because it doesn't stretch and transmits more info for feeling subtle bites.

Also, switching to braid pretty much ended my twist problems on my spinning reels, and I think it's easier to pick out of baitcasters because it doesn't get crimped/stretched like mono.

[Redfish12]

For mono I use HiSeas Quattro or Berkley Big Game. HiSeas in 12lb test is incredible and I use it when fishing in places with lots of snags so that I don't have to worry about retying a leader. I have some in 30lb test for use around pilings and for tying leaders for bottom fishing, it worked well for tog too. The big game I use in 20lb for live bait fishing, although I had a lot of break-offs around the pilings last year. I'll use it till it's gone then respool with hiseas!

Everything else is 15-30lb powerpro for the most part.

[BigYellowYak]

I like power pro for super small braid like 8# test 2# diameter

For larger pound test (15-20) on casting or spinning I like Stren braid. It is softer.

I use spiderwire for trolling because it is cheaper than the other brands, the stiffness doesn't bother me when trolling