Line selection

[Fossil Fish]

In anticipation of soft water season (I don't ice fish -yet) I bought a new rod for myself yesterday, the 7' Pflueger Trion. I have my other rod, a 1 year old Shakespeare spooled with 10lb mono, but was thinking something different for the Trion. Any recommendations from you more experienced folks is greatly appreciated. I'd like to be able to use it for a variety of things such as Pike, Walleye, Carp, Trout, Cats and anything else I can find. Thanks in advance.

[zippyFX]

First thing I would check is the reel is speced for gauge accordingly.

Pike and walleye I would recommend a 20 lb braid with a fluoro leader (40lb for pike, 10 lb for walleye);

For cat and carp I would recommend a 40-50 lb braid; The cats you get probably won't be that big but it will help you cast heavier weights... As you can see by musky baits post 40 lb carp are a possibility in TO. Check the rod rating to ensure you can cast weight and handle the fish.

[OldTimer]

Examine the spinning rod's shaft above the handle - labelling there should mention a suggested range of line strengths. It's wise not to vary a major amount from this range........ but you can a bit.

The reel manual or perhaps labelling on its spool will show how much line of a certain strength mono it takes to fill it.............. Note that I said mono.

The fish you mentioned for the most part can be of fair size - (I took trout to mean Rainbows or Browns)................unlike panfish and most bass.

Because of bigger quarry - Perhaps you might wish to go up a notch in strength while at the same time reducing line diameter by trying out some braided line. You get more strength - but casting distance does not erode (and can increase) due to the much smaller and more supple braided material. On the down side you will need to be more efficient in your knots, and perhaps get into using fluoro leaders. Because of its much greater strength and friction you must also be cautious of line cuts on your hands should you try yanking on it should you snag up.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[Fossil Fish]

The rod is labelled for 6-12lb and is medium action. The reel gives amounts for 8/10/12lb mono. I was thinking about trying braid, it's just the strength I haven't a clue about. Also,is color important if I use a fluoro leader. I should also say that most of my fishing will be done in Lake Simcoe, but I will gladly travel around a 150km radius of Keswick. I also make a few fossil hunting trips/year to Arkona, and while I've never tried it, the Ausable River is right there as well.

[MichaelAngelo]

You've got the Trion combo? MuskieBait's trusty steed. He should pipe in and mention the sheer variety of what he's caught with his so far . That combo with 8lb mono will get you very far, in Ontario and beyond.


Depends on what you're doing, but for most of my Ontario fishing last year I used a 7' medium-heavy rod with 20lb braid. The rod has since been donated to the Atlantic Ocean, but I'm looking for a replacement. I much enjoyed the extra power the medium-heavy rod provided when I was fishing around weeds, less tiring to pull free. I also lost A LOT less tackle because I was pulling on 20lb line instead of 8lb line when I snagged up.

Now that I've been spoiled with braid, it's tough going back to fishing mono. With braid I loose less tackle, can cast further, can feel the bottom nuances better, and can pull free from weeds/snags without feeling like I'm pulling on a rubber band.

[MikeH]

I have been really impressed with the NanoFil hybrid line. You do have to learn a new knot to use it, as it is too slick for normal knots, but aside from that it has performed really well.

It wont horse a perch out of the weeds like 80lb braid, but sometimes you just have to live life on the edge....

[zippyFX]

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  The rod is labelled for 6-12lb and is medium action.

Some of the larger fish you mentioned may tax this rod. As might fighting the weeds. Bigger fish and tough conditions may call for a different rod.

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  The reel gives amounts for 8/10/12lb mono. I was thinking about trying braid, it's just the strength I haven't a clue about.

I tend to look at line diameter of the reel to select size. A spool with a minimum of 8lbs mono you should be looking at 30lbs or greater (I think 20 should be OK, atleast I have gotten away with it). A maximum of 12lb mono would take you upto 50lb braid. Mind you a hard fighting 20lb carp may challenge that reel.

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  Also,is color important if I use a fluoro leader.

I tend to stick to green out of preference. The importance of using fluro increases with the clarity of the water. The murkier the water the more likely you may be able to go with braid alone. I have never fished the locations you mentioned so I can't comment.

[OldTimer]

(04-08-2014 02:55 PM)zippyFX Wrote:  

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  The rod is labelled for 6-12lb and is medium action.

Some of the larger fish you mentioned may tax this rod. As might fighting the weeds. Bigger fish and tough conditions may call for a different rod.

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  The reel gives amounts for 8/10/12lb mono. I was thinking about trying braid, it's just the strength I haven't a clue about.

I tend to look at line diameter of the reel to select size. A spool with a minimum of 8lbs mono you should be looking at 30lbs or greater (I think 20 should be OK, atleast I have gotten away with it). A maximum of 12lb mono would take you upto 50lb braid. Mind you a hard fighting 20lb carp may challenge that reel.

(04-07-2014 05:57 PM)Fossil Fish Wrote:  Also,is color important if I use a fluoro leader.

I tend to stick to green out of preference. The importance of using fluro increases with the clarity of the water. The murkier the water the more likely you may be able to go with braid alone. I have never fished the locations you mentioned so I can't comment.

Wow............... 30# on a 8# class rig............ and 50# on a 12#.

Break many rods or blowout many spools?


**

BTW FossilFish............. I'm sorta old school and have always used mono on my spinning reels/rods.

Cheers,

OldTimer

[MuskieBait]

I love the older Trion combo. I had it since 1998...sometime back when I was in Grade 10 or 11...and now I'm 31...it is a long time ago!

It had caught a LOT of fish...everything under the sun here plus more. Pike, walleye, bass, steelhead, even salmon on the odd occasion, carp here and there...and yes, even some saltwater duty too.

Comparing mine to yours (combo), your reel is a bit of an upgrade. Bearing numbers are the same, but your reel has an a machined aluminum (good strength) double anodized (corrosion resistant) spool and an aluminum handle (doesn't say anodized...but still, aluminum in general is more corrosion resistant). Multi-disk stainless steel washers (corrosion resistant) and oiled felt washers (smooth) is a good sensitive drag...as long as you don't dunk the reel in water too often (water gums up the oil). Once in a while, you may need to clear the drag and remove the loose felt fibres...or else the oil/felt gunk will eventually gum up the drag and make it stick. It is easy to clean though...but do not try to rub the felt washer vigorously since you can tear them.

The rod is a bit of a toss up for me. My combo has an IM-8 rod vs. your IM-6 rod (more graphite fibres for IM-8 vs. IM-6) so lightness and sensitivity is a bit less with the IM-6. The rod also switched from Fuji aluminum oxide guides to stainless steel guides. Aluminum oxide is a type of ceramic and prone to cracking if mistreated...but mine had never failed me. Stainless steel guides are more corrosion resistant and does not crack, but once I had braided line cut grooves into a stainless steel guide on an icefishing rod. Maybe it was just a cheap guide or a defect. The split cork grip is new for your rod. The split grip makes the rod lighter (less cork material on the butt end)...but for my need and preference, I like a full grip. I find that sometimes the split grip makes the rod imbalanced at the reel seat unless you use some extra weight on the butt end...but with a combo like this, usually the rod and reel are matched to make the combo pretty balanced.

I'm looking at info online and the 7' rod is matched with a fairly big reel (10lb/280yd). This is a 4000 size reel. The reel offers 12lb of drag...which is strangely a bit overpowered for the 6-12lb rod...although...sometimes the rating is not so much for line strength, but more about line diameter that will allow the rod to cast at its best. Thicker line may not cast as well with this rod. Saying that, the rod may be able to tolerate heavier line than stated. It depends on the rod rating. In your case, it is a medium rod...which is why I find the reel to be overpowered for the rod. It's still OK to use heavier line...just remember that your rod is not as stout to sustain the full drag pressure and line strength of heavy braid...so set the drag properly and you'll be OK. For most part, freshwater fish rarely needs more than 5lb of drag pressure...even with hard running fish like salmon or carp. If you have enough line capacity and room for the fish to run, freshwater fish will generally tire before it runs off with your 300 yards of line. So just be patient, let the fish run around, and let it tire itself out. Remember...300 yards is 3 football field. Even for humans, if you sprint full out pulling a 30lb weight behind for 300 yards, you'll tire too. For a fish swimming full out on its first run with 5lb of drag pressure plus rod pressure from a properly bent rod, it will tire before reaching even 200 yards.

Saying that, I would suggest, for your intended targets, 30lb braided line is a decent choice. The 30lb braid has similar diameter to 8lb mono but it is still limper than most mono. The stronger line will give you more leeway for bigger fish such as salmon, carp and catfish. But the lime braid will allow you good sensitivity to fish for walleye and bass. Your reel should fit an entire spool of 300 yards of 30lb braid. I would suggest either to put electrical tape on the spool first before you start putting the braid onto the reel, or spool on a few wraps of 10lb mono onto the reel before you connect the mono to braid and spool on the braid. Braids tend to slip and not grip well on the spool so you need something to help the braid grip.

[zippyFX]

(04-08-2014 04:00 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  Wow............... 30# on a 8# class rig............ and 50# on a 12#.

Break many rods or blowout many spools?

I never said I actually use it to catch fish that big It just turns out that is the line weight for braid equivalent for mono. It's overkill no doubt about it but after improving my knots I have found that I have lost a lot less tackle with my move to braid.

My general purpose reels are spooled with 10-20lb braid depending on the size of the reel (down from 30lb braid)

My bigger reels are spooled with 50lb braid (allows for good casts with heavy weights and pulling out of the rocky snags in the Ottawa river without loosing tackle).

I should add that my ultralight are rigged with 6lb fluro (except that reel that was given me multiple coil issues which I am trying a more supple 6lb mono)