It's been a long while since I've done any work on lines. Was happy to have the opportunity to field test a new line, and surprised with the results.
A braid that behaves itself.
I field tested the new P-Line Teflon Coated Braid. The timing was good as I had been using an uncoated dyneema braid this fall and had issues with rod tip wrap, and of course the inevitable backlash. If it happened to me once during a trip, it would happen to my boat guests half dozen times or more. Between unwinding line off the rod tips, and plucking out knots on the reel, it cost a significant amount of time out of the water. The 'cheap' stuff caused frustration, and it cost lost opportunities to catch more fish. Guess how I feel now about the bargain stuff? Or just let me tell you how I feel about this new braid...it's awesome!
***Stand out characteristics highlighted with asterisks***
Out of the Box
My 50lb line was the diameter of most 8lb mono. The line itself was a very tight woven, round line. Now that I know how much trouble a dead limp line causes I was happy to see it had some body to it. The teflon coating is readily apparent when you run the line through you fingers. I spooled my Curado 201E7 reel, and rigged up to float fish eggs. A second rod was set up for a novice angler to use for casting spinners.
I could tell it would be easy to work with as far as knots went. No special treatment needed.
On the Water
I expected the last 8 to 10 feet to lose some coating because adjusting a slip knot and bobber is hard on a line. I've had other braids turn me off due to how their coats flaked off. Not so with this line. I actually think a little bit of break in helped keep my slip knot in place. The weave remained pretty tight. Color retention was excellent.
***Casting; I wasn't thinking this line would make any difference in casting distance. It does. And being able to get a delicate bait out a little farther without ripping it off the hook (like salmon eggs) really helps. Duh, it's coated with Teflon.
***Noise? With some braids there's a weird zzZZzzZZzz sound that comes off the guides when the line is being reeled in under tension. With P Line TCB I didn't hear a thing. I don't know about other people but the sound of braid cutting across my guides makes my skin crawl.
***Rod tip wrap: after so far 16 hours of casting I've not had to unwind a rod tip wrap once. It might not seem like such a big deal but if I have each of three rods out of the water for 5 minutes each hour to deal with line wrap, and we fish for 4 hours, that's a whole hour of fishing missed. During a good bite that's the difference between a good day, and limits of salmon.
***Backlash: very minimal, especially compared with the very limp braids I had been using this Fall. This issue is the bane of my existence when I have new people in the boat. I had a first time bait caster in the boat and though she managed to back lash my reel, it was an easy line to pick loose and get back to fishing. And for me? Don't recall seeing more then an occasional small loop of line.
***Strength for diameter: Could a line be too strong? With a 20 lb P Line CXX leader, and 50 lb P Line TCB braid, I almost managed to take down a 20 ft tall dead piece of standing timber. I wasn't use to how far the line would cast and put my bobber right into that tree. A 4/0 Gammy Hook will easily straighten out before either the leader or braid would break.
Anything that keeps my gear in the water is going to get a recommend rating from me. All the strength you expect from a braid without the fear that each cast might bring disaster. And you'll do your casual fishing friends a favor as well and cut down their frustration levels by spooling up.
Tight lines. Vhawk
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