N.Y. Yankee

Everyone has their own reasons why they like or dislike something. I hover in the fishing, traditional archery and traditional blackpowder worlds and I can tell you, you as 100 guys about any given product, 33 will say it's total crap, 33 will say it's the best thing ever made, 33 will say I use both with no problems and the last guy will say I don't do surveys. Everyone's circumstances are a little bit different. I like braids as the main line, usually with a mono or Flouro leader. I love a good mono on the several spincast I and my family use (don't laugh, there are several really good spincast reels out there). I only use flouro as a leader. I tie Uni to Uni leader knot and do not have problems. I like a bit longer leaders, 10-12 feet so I have extra like to retie with.

Is there a place where I can send a big bag (gallon Zip Loc) of used line for recycling? My local stores dont have a drop box.

Does anyone offer removable stick on labels to put on a rod to record the specs of the line that is on it? Or should I just use some tape?

Sorry guys, I wrote they were Berkley branded. NOPE. They are Rapala branded. I changed it in my OP. Anyway, get some. Another thing I like about them is the fit my big fat fingers well. Can't say that for a lot of craft dept scissors.

I dont fish every weekend so they probably last me a lot longer.

Walmart sells a small pair of scissors in the fishing section with the Rapala brand on them meant for cutting super lines, I believe. These things are the best line cutters made since braid was invented! Am I coming late to the party or are they the best kept secret I've seen in a long time? They are 3 or 4 dollars each, I think I've bought 10 pair now. I've given away 4 or 5 and I have a pair in every box I own and my trout vest. They have finely serrated blades that grip and cut whatever it is, braid, mono, flouro, plastic, cloth, feathers etc. Just wondering why I never heard of them until I tried one?

Nice

I understand the basic concept but what are the differences and how do you use each one?

Looking at some online reviews of different lines for fun. I find it humorous that no matter what line you look at, you will see reviews ranging from "Greatest stuff I've ever used, I recommend it!" to "Worst crap I've ever tried! Had to throw away 3 brand new spools!" Other than this forum. Do you check gear reviews online or just try it for yourself to find out? I am mostly resigned to just coming here for the answers. I know anyone can write whatever they want on the internet, I get it, but every single thing is like that ?

One year, My wife and I joined her family on a vacation in the Adirondacks. One afternoon 4 of us guys decided we would check out a lake a few miles away, her Dad drove his big Chrysler and we had all our gear in the trunk. After fishing for a while, we decided to move to another spot. We all put our rods, assembled and rigged, in the trunk hanging out and though we'd just tie down the lid. The lid was down, Dad starts to move the car and the lid comes up. He decides to "pull up" to a spot so we can fix the lid. He steps on the gas a bit and the lid comes down, hard. Like a guillotine, it chopps ALL of our rods off about 2/3 of the way up. Just chopped them right off. He felt terrible and offered to buy us all new rods but I happened to have a wall full of rods I was wanting to find new homes for anyway. I was able to talk him "down from the ledge" so to speak. I was happy to give my father in law and 2 Bro in law another rod. I convinced them they were doing me a favor too! I'll never forget that one!

Im going to look into the newest braids out there and see how they are recommended. My guides are all ceramic type so I'm thinking it should be OK but wanted to ask about it. I like my older rods.

So I'm thinking about switching all or most of my spinning rods to braid and add mono or flouro leader when needed. Ive been told that on older rods, the braid will tear up my guides because they are not made for it but there may be a certain kind of braid I can use that is not so aggressive. As you can tell, I dont use braid much so is any of this true? I dont fish every weekend so can I get away with this or what do you recomend?

I'm getting the idea now.?

When do you prefer one over the other?

What is/was the oldest monofilament you used that was still usable? What mono degraded earlier than you expected. I have a fair amount that has been in storage for a few years, in Rubbermaid boxes in relatively temp controlled room. Doing some testing on it, it seems fine. Gonna try it this year and see.

The Yucatan knot looks very interesting. I tried it a couple of times and seems easier to me as I have trouble fumbling with knots like the Blood Knot.

I 've not searched much yet. I was wondering if there is a good casting reel that will cast light lures well such as Mepps spinners and smaller plugs like original Rapala's and such and lines like 4,6,8 pound mono, 10 pound braid with a mono leader on a 6 or 6.5 foot light action rod. I fish mostly smaller waters now and target trout, panfish, smallies and some smaller largemouths. I have other casting rods for bigger lures and heavier lines but now I mostly swing lures across creeks and rivers. Not much distance casting. I like the compactness and speed of a casting reel over a spinning reel. I have been using mostly spin casters but they have their own issues. Just thought a good baitcaster would be ideal.

Lookin' good guys, thanks!

A fly rod may not always be the best choice but if you tie into a good smallie or even a relatively small largemouth on a 4-5 wt rod and a 4x tippet, you will have an experience! One you will want to do again real soon. Keep in mind if you have some trees to deal with, a longer rod can actually be a benefit rather than a hindrance. It helps you reach out and over things as well as roll cast much easier. There are other ways of getting your fly to the fish than always just back-casting.

Somehow, I had the idea that the standard Palomar would slip with braid and needed to be tied a special way? What did I miss?

Which is the best knot for tying braid directly to the lure or hook?

Yep! it's the Yucatan knot alright.

For tying mono or flouro leader to braid. Tie a Surgeon's Loop in the braid. Cross the mono and braid in an X. Wrap the braid 10 times around the mono and open up the loop. Pass the tag of the mono through the loop and pull braid down until you have a small closed loop and then drop the mono tag. Lube the knot and continue to pull the braid tight. When it cinches tight, the tag of mono comes out at a right angle. Clip the tag closely. This results in a very small knot that is strong, easy and fast to tie, and passes through the tip top easily. Have you used this knot? Do you like it? What is the real name of this knot? Thanks for reading this!

I have a strong aversion to putting line or my dirty fingers in or near my mouth when fishing, but I want to lube my knots when I tie on or splice. Would a light smear of Chapstick cause the knot to slip? I have heard of fly fishermen doing this. I have not tried it yet.

So this is an old thread but here is a good story for you. I take my youngest niece fishing once in a while. We were on a river with some largemouth in it, casting spinners and catching a few. She cast a large Rooster Tail tied on with a Palomar knot and put it in a tree limb well out over the water. After trying everything I knew, the lure was still there. I said Im going to have to break it off. She had a Zebco 202 that I had filled with original Stren 10 lb green. I pulled with the rod. Stopped so as not to damage that. grabbed the line and pulled. Slipped through my hands. Wrapped the line around my hands and pulled. Really pulled. My hand began to hurt. I wrapped my right hand with my fishing towel and wrapped the line around that. This time I took off walking back into the grass, away from the water. Now I really put my weight into it. We're pulling on about 30-40 yards of line. The limb was bending severely and I thought, good, Ill just break it off. Nope. Too tough. Now I had to break this line. It was a personal goal now. Wary of getting line in the face, I backed up more and gave it everything I had and then a bit more. POW!!! It sounded like someone shot a .38 revolver 10 feet from my face! Of course I stumbled backward but stayed upright. I looked up to see the line fall away and watch the lure drop into the river! So I learned 3 things. 1, Sometimes you just got to give a stuck lure some slack. 2, The Palomar knot is a great knot for mono! And 3, in that situation, at that time, with that knot, and the way I was pulling on it, original Stren can be some incredibly tough line. For $5.89 a spool, and it's in every store you can go to, that's the one I'm going with! Learn to tie strong knots, keep your lures out of the trees and you will be fine. Stren and Trilene has been around a long time. A LONG time. There is a good reason for that. At that price (as of 12-13-19) you can afford to change it out once in a while.