Spiderwire or Fireline?

[lottagray]

I am getting ready to put new line on all of my Daiwa counter reels. I usually fish the Cntral Basin of Lake Erie with Dipsy's and Planerboards. Which line is the better choice, money aside, and should I consider pound test or line diameter as the primary guiding factor?

[Gilligan]

I'm not sure what your water depths are there but I fish the east basin and with the extreeme depths fireline is essential. The fireline may seem pricey but the stuff lasts forever. I am running the 14# test, trolling off planer boards.

[Y-Knot]

My personal choice would be the Spiderwire. I have used it exclusively for the past six years and have no complaints. I troll the Central Basin of Lake Erie as well as Lake Ontario. My planer boards and dipseys are used every day on both lakes. This is what I do for a living and replacing lures, dipseys, and other assorted terminal gear takes money out of my pocket. It doesn't make sence to try to get by with cheap line. It will only cost you in the end. I don't want to try to explain to a client that I'm sorry that he lost the fish of a lifetime because I wanted to save a couple bucks on line. You get what you pay for. Good luck

[Gilligan]

I don't quite understand your comment on the cheap line. My experiences with fireline it is anything but. I have broke off my 14# test fireline maybe 4 or 5 times in same amount of years. Two of those were on 4' muskys. I normally straighten hooks out on lures rather than break the line. I fished last summer on Ontario charter that runs lots of fireline and it serves them well. My understanding on fireline is that it's as tough as Spiderwire and easier to tie knots and easier on rod guides. My $.02

[JOHN]

WAY TO GO GILLIGAN! Both superlines are expensive and serve a place on the water. If I was a client and Fireline snaped I would not think the charter Capt. was using cheap stuff. I would hope the strike of a pike or musky did the damage. I have fished Spiderwire before for bass and it worked great on hook sets worm fishing, super sensivtive and no strech. This year I will try Fireline to troll with and have confidence it too will do the job. For the cost of them both, they better be good! My $.02 worth!

[Drift'r]

I do like the Fireling, I have never used the Spiderwire. I was wondering is anyone has used the TUFFline. I read that is is Spectrum (same as Spiderwire).What is this line like comparable to Fire & Spider?
Drift'r

[cisco]

For Dipsys and boards, why don't you go with Whiplash? It's made from the same stuff Fireline is, but is braided and tougher. I've used it trouble-free for two years (which is all it's been on the market, I think). Good luck.

[ETT]

Sometimes I just don't get it. Someone askes a straight forward question. It is answered by a very knowledgable and experienced fisherman (in this case Y Knot) a guy who makes his livelyhood fishing. And instead of listening to it or disagreeing with it we take issue with his choice of word "cheap". OK maybe he should have said "lesser expensive" but SO WHAT. Fireline costs less that Spiderwire is there any point in pounding a guy when his central point is correct. You guys make me wonder why bother some times. Frank Kittrick (Y Knot) and Bruce Dzuro (Dead Eye) spend more time one the water,and work harder finding their own fish, than any 2 Charter Chaptains I know of. They don't need to share their knowledge and information here. They do it out of the goodness of their heart to try and help anyone smart enought to listen. Keep finding fault and takeing issue with them and they will quite. It is that simple!!!Is that what you want???
I'm sorry but I guess it has built up to a point where I needed to vent.
This board is a great opportunity for those of us that want learn, and those that are willing to share. I guess it is also a great opportunity for those that are jealous and need to pitch.
Hey Frank, thanks for the info, and keep it comeing.
Now my 2 cents worth: Spiderwire is a Spectra fiber line, Fireline is Micro Dyneema. The fireline will frey and wear ALOT faster than any spectra fiber line. In heavier test it does last longer, but it probably lasts only about 1/4 the time that Spiderwire (or any spectra fiber line will last) So for Dipsys it is no contest: the spectra fiber lines are best.
Now beat me up I'm getting so I like it!!!!
Gilligan and John, I'm not really that upset with you, I just had to get it off my chest.

[Gilligan]

LAST EDITED ON Mar-05-00 AT 10:58AM (CST)[p]Unless Y-Not made a mistake as to where he posted his message he was responding to me not the origional poster, that is why I responded. It won't be me beating you up, I don't do that and am rather tired of that happening here and WC not stopping it. I was not rude or disrespectful to Y-Not, just felt that he discredited the value of fireline. I actually hoped he would post back concerning whether the spider wire was indeed detrimental to the guides and if it were enough of a factor in his decisions using spider wire. I fished off Buc-Aroo Charters on Lake Ontario last season and they used fireline on several of the 9 or 10 rods they ran and they were sold on the stuff. So are quite a few of the charters that I've spoke to where I fish in the East basin. From posts I see here from pro's and others as well as my personal sucess with fireline it will probably be on my reels a long time. As I said, if the post was to the guy with the ? and not me I would not have responded, and I may have responded differently if he would have addressed the problems or supposed problems of spider wire and explained how to work around them rather than say it's stronger and the other stuff is cheap. I need input from Y-Not and others like him, I certainly don't consider myself even near his level in fishing expertise, but I want to hear him tell how to deal with the problem not just say it's better.

[Bob Leeds]

Fireline is the way to go.It will not break unless you get a toothy critter and it gets cut.It will save you money in the long run!

[ETT]

Gilligan, I appreciate your responce, and thank you for allowing me to "get it off my chest", without unduely upsetting you. I hope I was not rude or disrespectful either. If I was I appologize. I can tell you that he has no problem with spiderwire groving guides. The use he puts on his rods running 100 plus trips a year, is equal to multi years of use for a sport fisherman, and he has no guide problems. We ran the some dipsy rods on our boat for 6 years running dipsys with Spiderwire on them (and averaging 45 days a season) = 270 days of fishing, and had no problem with slotting either. These are aluminum oxide guides on 45 dollar rods.
Y Knot buys new rods and reels for his boat every year, and sells the ones from last year. My opinion is that the guide grooving issue is a non issue. Of course that depends on how dirty the water is and how much girt it carries to the guides. The nastiness issue is one that we all need to control within ourselves, and I won't hold WC responsible for users comments. This should not be a kindergarden class where teacher must watch constantly. Use whatever you like, but be advised, I honestly think you will not (can not) find anyone with more experience with Dipsys then Frank. They are his #1 presentation and he is a thinking man's fisherman.
Again thank you for letting me blow, and good luck. Your friend (I hope) Jim Stedke

[Kevin L.]

Within the subject of trolling I'd say the SpiderWire would be a good choice. If I were to need to use it to cast with....it sucks. For those situations I use the "Fireline" so that I still get the strength, stretch control but also get a smoother line that runs the ferules better.

Just my opinion....

[Boatnut]

Why not use both? I use Cabela's ripcord 30/8 on my dipsey rods and 14/6 fireline on my planerboard rods.
just a thought.
Mike(boatnut)

[ETT]

Boatnut, My opinions in favor of Spectra fiber lines are ONLY FOR DIPSYS. I also prefer Fireline on the boards, although I only use it when it is neccessary. Mono is so much easier, it is my first choice

[Bob Z]

OK, Got to get in on this one. For the last four years I have used 10/4 Fireline trolling Erie. I use both in-line boards and big boards. This year I bought 20/5 Cabela's RipCord. No problems with Fireline and RipCord is not cheaper - just trying something different. I had a good exchange with ETT a month or so ago on mono versus Fireline.
Here is the fun part. I am leaving in three weeks for the East Cape of the Baja peninsula. For light duty shallow fishing I am takeing spinning gear rated for 20 lb. test loaded with the Ripcord. Shallow fishing is Dorado, Jacks, and various reef fish. Lots of trolling and some casting. Going to give the 20/5 Ripcord a good work out for a full week. Some ones got to do it!

[bob oh]

ETT,
I am not disagreeing with you, I don't like smarty
answers either, but I don't think posters should not be able to question or disagree with a post just becasue it was written by a guide or "pro". I think disagreements should be handled for what they are - disagreements, I don't think anyone has all the answers. Fireline at $12.99 per 125 yards doesn't seem like cheap line to me. I don't think Y-Not ment to disparage Fireline, but maybe he did and I thought Gilligan was reasonable in his response to Y-Not's post.
Bob

[Gunga Din]

No one mentioned PowerPro. I spooled up a couple trolling rods with it recently and must say that I really like it. I usually buy Fireline, because that's what our local shop caries. Spiderwire is tough to come by out here, and I was surprised to find they had PowerPro. I've never seen Whiplash--not even in Cabela's or BassPro! So I tend to buy what's locally available.

[Neal/Co]

Who makes Power Pro? I have never seen it anywhere. Is it it like Fireline?