What line is best

[Prairie Eyes]

I need to respool my reels. Until I can pick up some linecounter reels, I'm using baitcasting reels to both livebait fish and pull plugs. What is the best all-purpose line I can use? I've been looking into the Power Pro lines, but what lb test line is best in that brand? 10, 15, 20? I suppose you might as well take advantage of going to a 15-20 lb, as the diameter is so small, but just curious...

Thx
JB

[REW]

F ill your reels with line that is sized to hold the fish you expect to catch.
10 lb line will hold most fish in most waters.
If you have abrasive mussells, or snaggy bottoms, then mayby 15 or 20 would work for you.

No reason to go any heavier than necessary.

Take care
REW

[skeeter]

I use fireline on most of my rods due to the number of zebra mussels in Saginaw Bay. Even use it on my ice fishing poles. :) Skeeter

[Unregistered]

i like the berkley xt , and use their floro for leaders :)

[lund115]

I use 10 lb crystal fireline on all my rods. Great all purpose line.

[Unregistered]

I use Power Pro, Tuffline XP and Fireline. I like them all for summer fishing, but do not use the XP or Power Pro for icefishing at all. Fireline seems to stay quite a bit more ice free than the "braid" style lines

[vlad]

Stick with P-lines; they treat me the best

[walfshmn]

I use fireline for all tyoes of fishing for walleye. Mostly 14 lb. but 6 to 10lb for jigging and drop shot.

[walleyedmike]

There is a new Ripcord braided line at Cabela's that is color coded like leadcore, every 10 yds. is a different color. Not the ideal solution, but until you can get linecounters, you may want to give it some thought.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat600395&id=0043855121493a&navCount=1&podId=0043855&parentId=cat600395&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=8IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat600395&hasJS=true

[Lundy]

I use 10lb xt on my line counter & level wind reels

[coryb1980]

I run Power Pro 20 on everything that I do not cast... I run power pro 15 on my crankbait casting pole, fireline 10 on my jig pole(pitching and vert) and trilene XT 8lb on my slip bobber pole.
I'm happy with all my setups, although I've been thinking about swithing to a mono for crankbait trolling rods. Once in awhile I rip mouths out and loose fish.... I think the strechy mono would solve that problem. But I really like the fact that I can run 20lb Power Pro, almost never loose a crank and still be able to get down.

[Manxfishing]

Run the XT 10 pound mono
It's cheap, works and the dive curves are for 10 mono

I've tried most of it, spent allot of money at the same time
Keeping it simple works

[mcdee]

$ 24.00 for Fireline ? Went back to XT MONO $ 4.00 ? Still catching !!!

[Adam Bomb]

For my big water applications i use 10# Berkley XT or Big Game and 15# Power Pro.

I use the mono for my board rods because its easier on the releases and it holds better in them as well. I generally run in-lines and harnesses off the boards, but do run cranks, disks/spoons off of them as well.

When i run BB's off the boat, i switch to braid because it gets down fast with minimal blow back. And with the minimal blow back it makes it easy to keep fish that come on the boards from getting into them. Rarely do i have to clear that rod. The other times i use braid are when i need to get reasonably deep(30'+) and are running dipseys or deep diving cranks. Other than that, i stick to the mono.

[SouthAltaHunter]

Has anybody used Berkley Iron Silk. I just bought some and used it. Really feels great on a baitcaster, but I have heard mixed reviews about it.

[Sportdog unlogged]

I really like Berkley Ironsilk but thought that they no longer make it. As a good all purpose line I don't think that you can beat it. It casts very well on my baitcasters and seems to hold up well. I purchased a ton of it when I got it on an end of the year sale in 8, 10, 12, and 14 pound test. I would suggest that you get the 12 pound for overall use. You can always add a flourocarbon leader if you want a more stealthy approach. If I couldn't find the Ironsilk I would opt for Berkley XT. That is what I used to use. It is stiffer than the Ironsilk but is a tough line for trolling and OK for casting. The XL casts well but has too much stretch to suit me. Good luck with your choice.

[Seedtree]

On my baitcaster/line counter reels I use 10 lb Berkley XT in a flourescent green color. I like the high visibility of the line in use, and the 10 lb mono makes the use of the "Precision Trolling" charts a direct read.

I believe the mono stretch is desirable when trolling cranks at higher speeds for bigger fish. The stretch of the line helps prevent hook tear out, and is a little more forgiving if you don't actually see the hit of the fish. You'll very rarely jerk a 10+ LB fish to an instant 3 MPH or so using small treble hooks. Stretch (and a properly set drag) helps.

The mono is a bit easier to use with some planer boards and snap weights as well. No need to upgrade or use tricks to get the release to hold and release properly.

My .02s.

[walleyewillie]

I use power pro #20 for riggin and varied mono for jigs.My friend catches as many fish as anyone I know on #12 ANDE.:howdy:

[no1son]

I like braid best on levelwind reels. You can certainly transfer the line from the casting reels to the line counter reels after you get them and not treat this spoolup as a throw away investment; so this is probably the way I would go: 20 # yellow PowerPro. IOW spool the casters for the eventual trolling. 20 # Power Pro will still cast pretty well, too.

In the meantime get one of those line counters that clamp on the rod, not so much for fishing with but for eventually spooling the line counters with identical amounts of backing and main fishing line. Simply clamp it on in reverse and spool the line through it onto the new reels to get them filled with identical amounts. A lot of guys I know take a 300 yard spool and split it between three reels over enough 15 pound test mono backing to get a filled spool in the end. If you will need more than 100 yards out for trolling or you are only getting two line counter reels, split the spool two ways instead of three. You only need enough super braid to cover your fishing needs, not necessarily to completely fill the reel all by itself.