OkobojiEagle

Having never used any Rage Tail product, I'm curious as to how this bait differs from other grubs? oe

As mentioned, the line is slippery and knots do slip easily. I've been fishing 10lb joined with a fluoro leader using a 5 wrap up and 5 wrap down Albert knot that is lightly basted with a small amount of Loctite super glue. The same knot has held for several trips. oe

Hatrix... Duck! I tried to keep the arithmetic simple in my example. I apologize for pitching it over your head. oe

Marketing information must be read carefully! NanoFil fishes LIKE a monofilament. It certainly looks and feels more mono-like than any other PE line I've handled, BUT it's actually many, many ridiculously thin dyneema fibers bundled together and MOLECULARLY LINKED. What I'm interested in knowing: what's the difference between molecularly linked; fused; bonded; or glued? Hey, it's all good... just give me a flame green color! oe

As Canga points out, not everybody will fall in love with this line, but then what line is there that everyone loves? I've been using a spool of 10lb NanoFil for a couple of weeks now and have mixed opinions about it. I'm casting noticeably farther than I am with 10lb Fireline and sensitivity and strength come pretty close to 10lb Fireline. I find it behaves very well on the spinning reel spool and haven't found the slinky effect mentioned by Canga. While very round off the filler spool, it does flatten some with use and mine held a twisted profile on the last several feet of line after I spent an hour fishing an in-line spinner. The twisted profile lessened some during the next outing. It is very, very slick and knots are more difficult to tie effectively, but leaving a 3/8" tag on my palomar and Alberto knots worked reasonably well as my expectations were for smallmouth fishing not stripers or musky. I did find a light coating of super glue added some security to the Alberto. The white color is my biggest complaint about it, as I'm unable to see this line in the glare of the water. I've ordered a spool of hi-vis 10lb Sufix 832 to compare side by side with my spool of NanoFil. In a couple more weeks I may have more to write. oe

It doesn't bother me to be a little "old school". oe

...and if you do get spooled to the backing knot I feel alot better knowing the backing is a decent braid rather than an old mono. Uni knots work for me in this situation. I do leave a 3/8" to 1/2" tag on all braided knot ends. It gives just a little more security if the braided line should slip just a little (and it sometimes does). Unlike nylon or fluoro mono the braid tag ends have no effect going through the guides or being fished in weeds. oe

I believe spooling less braid on your reel wastes more braid. Consider spooling 60yds of a 120yd filler spool of braid. Dispose of 1ft of braid each time you re-tie. After re-tying 90 lures (90ft of line) you have 30yds of braid remaining on your spool and a long cast will reach the backing knot so you dispose of the remaining 30yds of braid and spool the 2nd 60yds of braid onto your reel and repeat. After using the 2nd 1/2 of the filler spool you will have used 60yds of the braid and disposed of 60yds of the braid. If you fill your reel with the entire 120yds of braid you will re-tie 270 times before you reach the backing knot on a long cast disposing of 30yds but using 90yds of the filler spool. Adding backing will be necessary to keep the reel spool full as you use up the braid. oe

Take your pick with the heads... it's about the technique, not the tackle. oe

Different formulas for different purposes. An improved clinch knot with two wraps around the hook eye is a Trilene knot. oe

While many people will split a new spool of braid and use it on two reels, I don't consider this conserving the braided line. Consider: Split 120yds of braid and spool on the 60yds with backing. Retie 90 times using 1 foot of braided line each time. At 30yds of remaining braid you decide you are casting to the backing knot and need to replace the braid. You discard 30yds of braid x2 for both reels originally spooled. You've discarded a total of 60yds from the original 120yd filler spool. If you had spooled the entire 120yds of braid onto one reel you would still be replacing the line when you reached 30yds, but now are discarding only 30yds of the original filler spool and are using an additional 30yds. You will have to add backing as the spool of braid is used. If you use the discarded braid as backing for the next filler spool you probably won't be bothered by the backing knot as soon and will use even more of the braid before you re-spool. You may choose different numbers to fit into the equation but the concept remains the same, using the entire spool of braid on only one reel will double the original cost to spool your reels but will save you up to 25% over the life of that spool of braid. oe

When Berkley colors it hi-vis flame green I'll be trying it on my spinning rigs. oe

Having two reel spools is helpful in determining how much mono to use as backing. Spool the Fireline onto your spare spool first then complete filling it with the mono backing. Fill it as you prefer then spool it onto the second spool to use. If you are going to use a leader choose whatever brand and diameter is right for the presentation you are fishing. Remember, you are now fishing the leader and the Fireline has become backing. oe

John... rod ratings are, at best, approximate descriptions. Language varies by both geography and generation. I think I'd enjoy the experience of an afternoon on the water with you. I wish a good day to you Sir. oe

John... no rod change necessary as all of my hooks/trebles are barbless. A softer action aids a deeper bend in the rod which helps keep a flying smallie buttoned. I appreciate the action even more fishing from my float tube and canoe where my mobility is more limited than it is from my boat. I'll have to yield to your experience catching bass on paper as all of mine have been caught in the water. oe

Yes I did. oe

or slightly slower as the barbless treble penetrates more easily than a barbed treble when the rod loads and playing a barbless crank often is enhanced with a softer (slower) action. oe

What rod action would you use fishing cranks with barbless hooks? oe

... or remove them with a file during the winter. oe

The top side of a top water bait is for me to see. I want it visible to my eyes so that I can see the action I'm giving it. Your reference to your top water bait being a "reaction bait" puzzles me. "Reactions" I see from bass are those of avoidance and flight. In most circumstances I see (excluding nest protecting behavior) when a bass stalks and attacks a bait such as a top water it is purposefully attempting to feed on it. oe

Welcome to enlightenment, Nate. oe

They are all too fast for my taste as a crankbait reel, but good luck in finding many current reels with a slower ratio. oe

It's been a few years since I've had an urge to buy a new fishing rod, however all of the rods I currently use whether spinning or bait casting have the full cork grip sanded to an elongated hour-glass shape much like a split-grip but with cork covering the entire length. As mentioned above, hand placement is more comfortable when casting and gripping the rod with wet hands when fishing from my float tube is also more comfortable. I've removed all but 3/4" of the foregrip on each of my spinning rods as well. Ergonomics over asthetics. oe

nylon or fluoro... Trilene knot Dyneema or Spectra... Palomar oe

John... I've gotten a little off the original question of the post. If you'd like to continue this discussion about fused lines we could take it out of this thread. PM me and we'll chat. oe