in the cabelas catalog it says iron silk has a stretch of 20%
I take it this means that if I have 20 feet of line out that it will stretch 4 feet upon hookset
is this correct ??

doesn't that seem like alot of stretch ?

rebs

I have only used mine once so far. A couple of weeks ago I was jigging spoons with Ripcord and i had a jig on my Ironsilk. It did seem to stretch some, but that may because I was used to spooning with the Ripcord? I plan on using it with Airplane jigs and other Pike plastics this winter to test it, before I put it on any other reels.

TTT

I've been told that "regular" mono has a stretch factor of about 30%. Assuming that's true, then the Iron Silk would certainly be an improvement. For trolling applications, frankly I want the stretch of mono. For jigging/rigging, I want zero stretch.

There's no way mono or ANY line has 20 to 30 percent line stretch. Can you stretch it with your hands 6-10 inches when holding your hands 30 inches apart? I fish through the ice in 8ft. of water in a darkhouse. I see the whole, live picture of the bite and the hook set. When I set the hook, moving the rod a foot directly upward, taking the bend into consideration, the fishes head jerks upward about the same distance as I jerk. Personally, based on what I have seen and experienced, there are more positives with using mono than the non-stretch lines. If nothing else....mono and the minute stretch it offers, allows for human error and reel malfunction when fighting a fish, especially by the boat or on a short line.

I agree with steve 100%. with no slack in the line, stretch etc, it would be impossible for a walleye to inhale a live bait rig. If your feeding habits depending on "suction" 90% of the time what would you want your meal tied to?

Fishguy are you saying a walleye can strech a mono line with just its suction? Hmmm with no disrespect could you please explane this.
Thanks

Monofilament line, pulled between two immovable objects (like your hands pulling in opposite directions) could easily stretch the line 20%-30%. There's no question I could take a 30" piece of mono and stretch it further by another 6 inches or so.

Put me down for questioning/disbelieving the 20% to 30% line stretch factor. Line 100 feet out will stretch to 130 feet, I DONT THINK SO. Them factory line boys must have an equation they use that we common fishermen don't understand. Man, that would be like fishing with a rubber snubber. And if the truth be known. I fish with braided lines for one reason only. The diametor versus the pound test. Casting 8 pound diametor line while having 30 pound breaking strength, is hard to beat. Otherwise, I'd be a tried and true mono-man. Still use mono for 90% of my trolling though.

I don't know what % mono stretches but when I was working a charter boat for a buddy we used to show customers just how hard they needed to set the hook with the following demonstration. Take a trolling rod set up as you would use it. Attach a spoon, MINUS HOOK !!!!!. One individual walks 50-100 yards (whatever you normally set back your lines) away with the rod and the other holds the lure (NO HOOKS !!!) between two fingers. It is very difficult if not impossible to pull the lure from the person's hand. This also demonstrates why hooks need to be so sharp.

eyedoktr,

I agree with the amount of stretch you are talking about. I'm not sure that the 20%-%30 isn't the amount it will stretch until it breaks. How little braid stretches is also amazing. I learned this while spooling trolling reels in the field by my house (long story). If you try the "spoon-in-hand" trick with braid, be ready to duck!;)

Tim

look in cabelas spring 2003 catalog at the iron silk line and it says 20% stretch as if to state that is better than other mono line

if you tie the end of your line to an object that won't move pull on it and see how far it stretches befor breaking

I have snaged bottom in a drifting boat and let me say the boat drifted aways befor the line stopped stretching and broke

I believe flourocarbon has less stretch than mono

rebs

Rebs.
Excuse the expression, but I guess I have to cut both you and Tom (mich) some slack:-).

After thinking of the many times I have stretched line to impossible stresses on snags, maybe I'd go with the 20% mark. Just seemed to out of wack, when you think that 100 feet of line could be stretched to 130 feet though.

I think where we all kinda loose perspective, is with the (load up) factor of the line. Taking into consideration the length of line out, the forgivness or cusion in any particular rod, few lines ever meet or exceede their true test levels when up agains't any fish. Thus, it never gives you the true idea at exactly where or how far it stretches before breaking. Only when immovable objects come up agains't unstoppable forces, Like Tom (mich) said, can we get a true assessment. I humbley change my first opinion. But only by 10%:-).

I will try to help with what they mean by line stretch. When testing line one of the tests they do is tensil strength of line. They perform this by placing a know length of virgin line in an Instrom machine and pulling the line until the line breaks. With this machine they calculate ultimate strength of the line. During this pull test they also calculate the enlongation of the line before actual breakage of the line occurs. This is called line stretch. So to say if you have 100' of line out it can stretch to 120'....yes but it is going to be near ultimate strength of the line and break very close to it. Now this does not mean that your line always stretches 20 % before it breaks. You may have nicks or line degradation that is going affect your ultimate strength of your line.
Hope this helps with this subject.

yes and no, remember the coiled lindy rig snells years ago, that was designed to build in slack/stretch. The stiffer the rod and tighter the line the more fish your gonna miss--especially jigging. make any sense?

I believe that fireline is the ultimate line so far.The sensitivity and low stretch make for a real positive hookset.For trolling crankbaits or any kind of artificial you get more depth because of extremly thin diameter of fireline vs mono.I have respooled with fireline for almost every fishing situation.Mono is obsolete,with the possible exception of saltwater trolling for very large fish where line stretch might be an advantage in fighting a fish.Even in this scenario you would miss many hookups because of line stretch.