Launch of Gamma Molecularly Altered Lines

[pons]

I have just done a very scientific test ./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

A spool each of Korum 6lb,and Gamma 6lb.

Grabbing abouta foot of each in turn,they both stretch a little,similar amounts I reckon.

The Gamma looks thicker to the eye,and is slightly stiffer,and has a quoted diameter of .25mm.

The Korum looks thinner,is more flexible,and has a quoted dia of .23mm.

For me the fleuro is specifically useful for its weight for pinning line to the bottom,and the visibility factor of trying to hide line or making hooklinks harder to see in clear water.

The conventional mono sits better on the spool ,casts better ,and is thinner for its given breaking strain .

As to whichever is better for abrasion I know not,but I know the Korum stuff is as tough as boots from the odd time a fish has run me into a snag and we have had a heavy ho !,coming back still with fish on ,but ala a bit Fray Bentos.

A similar experience,after a prolonged fight with a huge,and I mean huge French Carp ,using the Gamma as a heavy leader,20lb,saw me lose the fish to a hook pull near the net,but the line in remarkably good order.

So I guess they are both good,but I am no scientist or use fancy methods for testing,just actual fishing experience.

Put it this way they both are used with equalmeasures of confidence as required.

Pons

 

[j fish]

well i'm glad we got that sorted

 

[Green Drake]

“The 2lb is great as floatfishing line,strong as anything…”“The 2 lb breaking strain version failed to snap even when it became caught in branches”Totally meaningless statements. If it is rated at 2lb BS then it should break at or near to two pounds. If it “failed to snap” the line is not correctly rated. It’s like saying a two pound bag of Sainsbury’s sugar weighs more than a two pound bag from Tesco.

Let’s have some sensible critiques please.

 

[Gary Newman]

Not totally meaningless, if you get caught up in branches with many lines they snap at the slightest pressure due to being wrapped around a branch causing stangualtion and/or abrasiveness on the line. The Gamma line seemed far more resiliant to this than others I've used, but obviously it isn't indestructible.
As to the comment about getting it free, yes i do, but if i didn't think it was any good it wouldn't get anywhere near my reels, as losing a big fish isn't worth it just for the sake of plugging some line.
I've been particularly impressed with the fluorocarbon main line, using on the Thames to bank barbel into double-figures and a few carp.
I also used the 17 lb line out in Morocco where it was very rocky and only had one cut-off all week.
The one thing i have noticed is that it seems to rough up quite easily, but testing it after this showed no noticeable loss in strength as a result.
I'm not really that into indoor tests, preferring to use it out on the bank in a real fishing situation.

The company that makes Gamma is huge and fishing line is just a sideline, the technology actually comes from making tennis racket strings and millions and millions of dollars have been spent developing it.

 

[ChrisM (ACA)]

From all the positive reviews I'd consider spooling up with some. Some have mentioned it is expensive, how much does it cost? (for both the varieties)

 

[Gary Newman]

Not sure Chris, think the fluoro is fairly expensive, but it is all relative. People spend a fortune on bait and then moan because a certain hook or line is a bit more expensive, even if it might help them put an extra fish or two on the bank.
I'm off out to India on Thursday mahseer fishing so will be giving the 25 and 40 lb breaking strains a real good go then.

 

[ChrisM (ACA)]

Good luck on the Mahseer front, good mate of mine (Jeff Young, ex Radio1) has been a couple of times and had a 107lb'er on his first trip. Someone from their party had one that pulled the needle roud to 118lb, just 2lb shy of the world record.... if only that fish had eaten a bigger brekky! Anyhow, having just paid £20 per spool for some Fox Illusion shows that I'm either a) a mug or b) willing to try summat that might put an extra fish on the bank.

 

[Ravelling Tangler]

" .

Pons - "It has a fair amount of stretch,so is user freindly."

Brendon - "due to being no stretch in the line"

But to be fair, Brendon also say he hasn't tried it yet.

.

I believe it's impossible to make a polymer or co-polymer without any stretch and even those who say it has little stretch, when you test it you find 10% or more in it. I don't mind that and I don't mind manufacturers boasting about fine diameters or greater breaking strains, but this marketting world is full of puff (exagerations not limp-wristers) and it's hard to know what's what.

I just received a spool of Korum, 5lbs and .20mm. That's about what I expect. When I see a .15mm line with a breaking strain of 7lbs (not this Gamma stuff) warning bells ring!

A set standard is what I would like, every line measured identically to everone elses. "

=====================================================

There is one line I've come across which is noticeably low stretch : Diamond Illusion (by Momoi) from Rok-Max of Truro; it is low stretch both at low loading and when near to being broken (which, of course, is what loading most manufacturers say % stretch at)

However just like braid you have to treat it gently - no sudden, exagerrated strikes and so on. I reckon that is something that is inseparable from low stretch.

Also I think the lightest b.s. it comes in is "8lb" (label , really about 10-12lb) about 0.25mm

 

[Gary Newman]

Cheers Chris,
These days it would be nice to catch one half that size, very few big ones left, I'm up in the Himalayas and on the Ganges though so you never know what you're going to hook.
In general you do get what you pay for. I haven't used the Fox Illusion myself but have heard good reports on it, the Gamma stuff seems to knot very well (I tend to use a palomar) which is one worry I'd always had with fluorocarbons I'd used in the past.
I'm not going to claim it has made a huge difference to my fishing, but I am totally confident in it and in some situations it performs better than other lines I've used in the past.

 

[ChrisM (ACA)]

very few big ones left
why is that?

I think they were on the cauvery (I have a copy of his home video that he shot - 'A beginners guide to Mahseer fishing' quite informative.

I haven't used the Fox Illusion myself but have heard good reports on it

I've spooled up, but haven't used it yet, it is 'springier' than I was lead to believe, speaking to someone at Leslies, they slated it and recommend the latest version of X-Line.

 

[Gary Newman]

Chris,
I also fish the Cauvery but over the last four years very few big fish have been caught, and the ones that are tend to be repeat captures (one of the big ones is blind in one eye).
The river has been ruined a bit by water abstraction for Bangalore and Mysore, the introduction of several hundred crocodiles from a nature reserve, and problems with poaching away from the controlled areas especially with dynamite. I don't think it will ever return to how it was and mahseer could become endangered ina few years if they're not careful.

Haven't used X-LIne but from my experience all proper fluorocarbons are fairly springy anyway. To be honest, many of them probably come from the same factory anyway.
Gamma actually make their own line, their main business is tennis racket strings and they make them for lots of companies, so they have all the technology in place for fishing lines as well..