MONOFILAMENT, SUPERLINES, FLUOROCARBONS...

Superlines
Original no-stretch or low-stretch superlines were gel-spun polyethylene braids made from Spectra or other space-age fibers. They boasted high tensile strength and minimal stretch, combined durability and performance, and possessed diameters a fraction of the thickness of equivalent mono lines. Sounds like the best of all worlds, especially where light line finesse presentations excel for fussy fish. But the initial claims triggering I-can’t-wait-to-try-it sales did not result in the abandonment of traditional monofilament line. Braided superlines weren’t necessarily too good to be true; instead, they required much more adaptation than most anglers expected.

The braiding technology used to weave superlines was slow and expensive: $20 for a 100-yard spool wasn’t unusual. Lines proved so thin that knots were difficult to tie.

Many knots failed; anglers generally accepted the palomar knot as most effective. With superline’s minor inherent stretch, anglers using traditional rod tip movements overworked lures and broke line or ripped the hook from a fish’s mouth on the hookset. Skinny lines also buried into casting reel spools on the hookset or became caught behind revolving spools that had been designed to accommodate thicker diameter lines.

In effect, braided superlines required adjustment and a period of orientation to use properly. Many anglers who tried braided superlines experienced various difficulties and returned to mono because it offered them a better all-around blend of fishable properties.

Fused superlines entered the market in mid-1995. They’re a bit thicker than the original braided superlines, but much easier to handle. Formed by fusing a bundle of super fibers rather than braiding them, fused lines are cheaper and quicker to manufacture, and they behave more like monofilament.

Most knots are easy to tie, and the line feels and acts like thin mono instead of some unfamiliar and intimidating fibrous braid. Yet there’s very little stretch—perhaps 3 percent, compared to 20 percent with monofilament—which puts performance back in the super category.

In essence, you’re dealing with a hybrid product that teams some of the best features of both. Not problem free, but certainly more familiar and less imposing to use. Fused superline offers a faster learning curve for achieving an acceptable level of comfort and confidence. Use a softer rod, a more subtle rod tip motion, and a looser drag setting to move up to super performance.

Among fused superlines, SpiderWire Fusion and Berkley FireLine dominated the early introductions of mid-1995. Walleye anglers initially applied the new fused superlines to big water trolling and deep water applications with noteworthy success. Clearly, fused superlines helped rejuvenate confidence in the entire spectrum of superlines, leading anglers to experiment with other applications.

If you’re going to try superlines, begin with one of the fused ones—they’re easier to handle. Then, for ultrafinesse and ultrathin technology, try a superbraid.

Braid Evolution
The superbraids, composed of thin polyethylene fibers with much stronger strength-to-thickness ratios than nylon monofilaments, are available in original sleeve-like (hollow), and flat versions like Berkley’s Gorilla Braid, or fused versions like FireLine. A lot of fishermen are still asking, “Why have both?” and, “Which should I buy?”

Fused lines were developed to satisfy the demand for a braid that fishes more like mono and doesn’t unbraid as easily. Fused lines tend to be less shock resistant and slightly weaker.

All this, yet some of the best anglers we know still contend they could fish without difficulty today with the same premium lines they used in 1980—say, with Berkley XL or original Stren. On the other hand, some of the best anglers we know fish braids about 80 percent of the time. There’s little question the fishing world has moved a long way toward solving many of the specific problems anglers face in dealing with the common problem of connecting directly to the fish. Superlines definitely require anglers to make adjustments, but the lines allow you to accomplish things you can’t do with mono.