Berkley Nanofil Fishing Line

[David Dalton]

I tried the 0.06 Nanofil last night when trotting on the Wandle. Casting was very easy, and it floated well, which helped when mending the line.

Not so sure about it as a hooklength material though. After a few trots I noticed that some fibres were unravelling from the main body of the line, near the hook. I could be that it has a low abrasion resistance. I think its also quite conspicuous in the water. I tried dunking some Nanofil into a glass of water, and I could see it more easily than 0.128mm Drennan Double Strength, even though that was thicker.

[barbelboi]

I have never used the line, however from the general feedback from people that have, and Berkley's own description, it appears that it's maybe best used for what it was made for i.e easier distance casting with light lures for bass.
Jerry

"Our longest casting line! Anglers will experience exceptional casting distance and accuracy allowing them to cover more water and Catch More Fish!
Zero stretch means superb sensitivity. Now you can feel everything from the lightest pickups to the jarring strikes.
With an incredibly high strength/diameter ratio, this is the thinnest Berkley line yet meaning you can go lighter than ever before.
Zero memory virtually eliminates line tangles, which means you spend less time untangling lines and more time fishing".

[sam vimes]

Originally Posted by barbelboi

I have never used the line, however from the general feedback from people that have, and Berkley's own description, it appears that it's maybe best used for what it was made for i.e easier distance casting with light lures for bass.
Jerry

Jerry,
if you took the original USA-centric marketing from the oft admired PowerPro braid, you may well say the same thing. However, UK and European anglers saw potential advantages for certain applications and gave it a try, despite all the "made for lure fishing" US marketing. Nanofil is no different. That's not to say that it'll work for every scenario, for every angler or even be any good at all after a reasonable evaluation period. If no one tries we'll never know. If the marketing gumph for every product was taken at absolute face value then I seriously doubt that any European coarse angler would have ever tried braid.

Go to the Berkley UK website and it says something quite different anyway.

"Minimum diameter but with superior strength
Direct contact to lures and bait
Immediate hook sets & no stretch
25-30% further casting ability with no more effort
Many applications for spinning/match/feeder/trotting
The ultimate bass, trout, sea trout spinning braid"

Berkley - Lines - Uni-Filament - NANOFIL

[barbelboi]

You're obviously reasonably impressed Sam but I haven't heard much from others to encourage me to pay £17+ for a 'maybe' line for anything other than lure fishing. I think I'll treat it like a new edition of M/S Windows and bide my time. The bit I cut and pasted was from their website too and they introduce it as the ultimate spinning reel fishing line.
Jerry
Berkley® NanoFil | Berkley Fishing

[sam vimes]

Originally Posted by barbelboi

You're obviously reasonably impressed Sam but I haven't heard much from others to encourage me to pay £17+ for a 'maybe' line for anything other than lure fishing. I think I'll treat it like a new edition of M/S Windows and bide my time.

I don't blame you in the least. I'm still undecided about the stuff, just reporting as I see it so far. i.e. it floats or not, it's thin etc. No definitive statements from me that it's "the answer" to anything. Reality is that it's probably not, particularly at the prices you mention. As it is I didn't pay more than £15 inc P+P. It was just a punt on something that looked promising by someone that has found a fairly recent liking for some of the attributes of braid.

Originally Posted by barbelboi

The bit I cut and pasted was from their website too and they introduce it as the ultimate spinning reel fishing line.
Jerry
Berkley® NanoFil | Berkley Fishing

Indeed, all I was trying to point out was the differences between the Berkley US website and the (Pure Fishing) Berkley EU/UK site. There's no chance that the US site would say it was suitable for stick float fishing. That wouldn't sell many spools of the stuff Stateside. On either site it's just marketing waffle.

[blackstar]

Been using it for about six months now. I love it and I haven't anything negative to say about it. Other than the problems posted earlier about tying knots and my poor eyesight!

It may be a little pricey for some but for somebody like moi who has used berkley braids for a few years it's similarly priced.

Spooled up my Marco Cortesi Mk II yesterday and did four hours trotting with it. No negative comments about it. It performed really well. Peeled of the reel effortlessly, no tangles, floated well, and kept me in direct control of the float.

Fully support the comments about Microsoft products. I never install or upgrade a Microsoft product until others have tested it for at least six months!

[boots_n_braces]

bump for an interesting old thread, ive been looking at getting some nanofil recently nad just wondering how those who have been using are getting on now?
Hows the abrasion resistance holding up? and anyone using it for feeder work rather than relativley line safe float work?

Thanks in advance
harry

[Windy]

Updating this thread a trifle.

Just had three days off without being immediately shanghaied by the other half to do some tiling / painting / gardening etc....

First time in ages to do a bit of consistent and back to back fishing and testing of stuff.

Had three lines to test as hooklinks, Stren Microfuse (3lb / 0.10mm), Berkley Nanofil (4lb / 0.10mm) and PowerFlow (5lb/ 0.06mm).

Tested using all three back to back as hook lengths with both light float and light ledger fishing, bit of simple silver fishing. No huge fish in the lake, occasional tench up to three pounds and a couple of five pound carp or so but mainly Rudd / Roach of the 8 oz - 1 1/4lb stamp and Crucians up to 2lbs. Fishing very simply with maggots, casters, bread and (rarely) (as I have never been lucky with the stuff) sweetcorn.

Following a number of break offs / inexplicable line breaks with both the Microfuse and Nanofil I decided to do some static tests on the dining room table using a digital scale to test knot strength / breaking strain.
So the other half definitely isn't speaking to me now.
Result .

Conclusions: Microfuse and Nanofil are both absolute buggers to try and knot. Nanofil even worse than Microfuse. Forget your half blood, grinner or uni knots. They simply pull through under stress. Knotless knot / Domhoff ? Ditto - tho the Dom was slightly better than the KK and could be used to attach a spade end. Palomar ? Nope.

If you try to tie a loop in either using any knot you like - and I have tried them all, even going as far as the fiendishly difficult Bimini Hitch - then prepare to watch both of them cut through themselves at ridiculously low tensions. Like 14 ounces or so.

To be fair, Nanofil does come with a label on the spool with a fold out section giving the only two knots that actually do work with it. The first is the Nanofil knot - yeah, right. This miracle is nothing more than our old friend the Palomar BUT with the line passed not just once but twice through itself to form the overhand loop. This does certainly hold, but still compromises breaking strain. the 4lb line never did better than 2lb 140z, more usually breaking at or before 2lbs.

Secondly the Albright knot for joining line to line. Fine if you are putting it on the spool, but it's not really a knot you would appreciate trying to use on the riverbank to attach your hooklink to mainline.

My answer was to use a size 24 microswivel at the end of the mainline and then attach the hooklength to it. Unfortunately a moment's thought will show that you can't do this with a Palomar, whether single or double. You have to detach the swivel from the mainline, tie the doubled palomar, passing the swivel through, then re-attach the mainline to the swivel. A real faff tying two knots every time instead of one. And if your knots aren't absolutely perfectly tied then believe me Microfuse and Nanofil will crack off forthwith without giving you a by your leave.

Both Microfuse and Nanofil claim to be invisible to fish in use in the water. Frankly I can't see it. If you follow what I mean. Both are as white as chalk and opaque. When put in the water they stay white as chalk and opaque. Plus which Stren Microfuse also makes a big deal out of its ability to flouresce in daylight or under a blacklight at night. How this adds up to either of them being invisible to fish entirely passes me by.

You may have noticed that I haven't said anything about the Powerpro. Simple reason. It simply won every test category going without missing a beat.

It is the thinnest of the three lines. By quite a margin, pound for pound vs. breaking strain. That said I do not possess a micrometer, so have had to take the manufacturers dimension claims at face value.

Powerpro knots easily and well with almost all of the standard knots (sorry half blood, your day is done). Not only that, when tested to destruction it's knotted breaking point was consistently in the range of 5 - 6 lbs. Time after time after time. That's 100%+.

Plus which Powerpro did not at any stage suffer from unexpected crack offs or breakages.

Very simply Powerpro kicked the ass of these supposedly new and superior "advanced" superlines.

Anyone want to buy some modestly second hand spools of Microfuse or Nanofil.....

[sam vimes]

Windy,
your results don't surprise me one jot. However, may I ask why you are using braids/fused filaments intended as mainlines for hooklinks?

[Windy]

Originally Posted by sam vimes

Windy,
your results don't surprise me one jot. However, may I ask why you are using braids/fused filaments intended as mainlines for hooklinks?

I have already long since made the complete transfer from Mono to braided mainlines.

Happy enough using mono hooklinks, but the fact remains that they are three times as thick and physically and visibly bloody obvious by comparison to the mainline.

So always looking for an update / upgrade / improvement in terms of hooklink.

Tried the flourocarbon band wagon, unconvinced. Poor knotting and vulnerable to necking and cracking off. Not a new phenomenon, look back into the days of gut and guttie looped flies. Plus ca change.

Now that Powerpro is available in strengths as low as 5lb at that diameter I think my needs are close to being answered.

If they come up with 2 and 3lb transparent Powerpro then watch me beat a path to their door.