Line survey

Total Sea Fishing mag has a bench test on different lines this month.

The guy started off with a box of line which had been in his loft for two years - it looked ok, but he found it had HALF the knot strength of the same line new.

The range of 15lb monos he tested ranged from 0.33 to 0.39mm diameter and average break between 16 and 20lb.

Have you tried Iron Silk yet Chris ? it is superb.

About 3 years ago, after buying yet another 'wonder' hook link mono that turned out to be rubbish, I decided to build a line tester that would give me repeatable results. All lines were tested un-knotted & dry with six tests on each sample. Virtually every line I tested differed from the makers claims. The hi tec lines were nearly always thicker than claimed (sometimes by as much as 30% or so)but usually around the claimed BS & the standard mono's were nearly always stronger than claimed - some 3lb lines breaking at over 5lb. I tested all the accumulated odd spools of line that I had - including the freebies that had been given away with the comics. I also tested some brand new lines that had been purchased recently. During these tests I noticed that some lines (from different manufacturers)that looked similar, were apparently the same line, although having different diameters & breaking strains from those printed on the spools. I was intending to do some more testing on brand new lines but abandoned the idea due to the cost. The final results (from about 30 spools of line and about 10 or 12 different makers)Were graded by comparing measured breaking strain with measured diameter. Generally lines from the same manufacturer had a similar score throughout the range tested but some were wildly varied. One manufacturer had line of the same diameter labelled as different BS. The two lines that I had the most spools of (Tectan & Daiwa Shinobi) scored pretty well considering that they were all old stuff that I'd had around for years. Some of the brand new lines fell far short of claims. The most surprising of the lot was a spool of 2.2lb Bayer Perlon at least 10 years old that scored very highly. The main conclusion drawn was that the Dam Tectan that I'd used until it became virtually unobtainable would probably have scored best of all if I'd had some new spools to test. I have sinced turned from match style fishing to return to my old love of Pike fishing so much of the data is now of little interest to me. However, just lately I've been considering upgrading the rig to enable me to test much stronger lines/traces/swivels etc..................

Barry Kneller
a.k.a 'the Essex Anorak'

PS - If Graham could stand the possible re-percussions from Makers/suppliers I'll publish the tests on FM - alternatively if anyone is interested in knowing the actual results, contact me at bkba09515@blueyonder.co.uk & I'll pass 'em on.

I'm sure Graham would be delighted to receive the results along with a description of the test equipment.
(and saying which lines were very similar)

Barry, providing your tests are accurate and unbiased, and your reports are honest (and I have no reason to doubt otherwise) I don't care if there are any repercussions.

FISHINGmagic will be delighted to publish your finding - whatever they are.

Bring it on!

Ok Graham, the data is in the form of spreadsheets - can I cut & paste them into the normal reply box or should I mail them to you as enclosures & let you put them into a suitable format for publication.

Send them to me as email attachments and I'll put them (or at least the info in one form or another) on the site as a feature article.

Ok, I'll get 'em to you later - off to work now.

Over the years I have, like most anglers, tried new lines as they come on the market. They are very much like washing powder always claiming to be better than those previously available. Going on the claims built up over this time you could be forgiven for thinking that modern line is almost indestuctible. Well call me old fashioned but I always return to Maxima. It works for me.

Kevan

Kevan I am of like mind but the Ironsilk is really something else.

Kevan,

I fall into the same camp as you. I would be lost without my Maxima. It does everything I want it to do. I even use it for delicate pole rigs as it goes down to 1lb bs. I've got miles of the stuff in the garage that has been there several years, and it still seems OK. You can fling out two ounce feeders 60 yards all day with the stuff, and I think that the fact that it is low tech and thick makes it all the more durable. Here's to many more years' availability!

Dave, please expand - does it float and is it really a lot less stretchy..?