Muskie Lines

Muskie Lines – Super braids, Co-Poloymer, Kevlar – So What’s New? by James Smith
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Ah the good ol’ days! I remember the black Dacron lines, then they came out with a camouflaged line that changed color every foot or so. I have to admit that I still have an old Pfluger Rocket reel with that camouflaged line still on it. That was my first muskie reel. Later monofilament was discovered and so began the revolution in fishing lines. Along in the early 90’s we started seeing the “Super-Lines”, then Co-Poloymer lines, and then Spectra Fiber lines. Today we have thinner, stronger, and more abrasion resistant lines to select from. So where do we start?

I have five muskie rods and six muskie reels. Each year I try to restring my reels with some new line and experiment with it to see what results I get and how I like it. Now, I want to admit that I probably don’t fish as much as many of you do, and certainly not as much as I would like to, so I save my one year old lines. Here is how I save them; I take the line off the reel and wind it backwards, I start with the unused reel spool end going on first so that the terminal line ends up on the spool last. The next time I wind it onto a reel the “front” end of the line that has had all the previous use goes on the reel first leaving the back or unused end on the top, so it is like having new line to start all over with. This way I can get twice as much use out of a spool of line.

Next, I wrap rubber or plastic electrical tape around the spool barrel (core) so that the line does not slip. You can also use a small piece of double backed cellophane tape. The issue here is that many of us use ABU Garcia reels and there is no hole in the spool to attach your line. With a lot of these newer lines they do not bind up well on the spool barrel and will turn or slip. Your reel manufacturers recommend tying some monofilament line on your spool barrel first then attaching your new line. Either way will work if done properly. For your information there is a web site for ABU Garcia that will give you some great tips on obtaining greater casting distances, reel tips, rod tips, what line works best with ABU Garcia reels, etc. It would be well worth taking a look at this site.

Now you’re ready to spool your new line on your reel. It is best to have someone else to assist you here by providing some tension while your reeling the line on. Next, I would check your rod guides with a dry cotton Q-Tip to see if there are any rough spots in the guide loops. If so you’ll do yourself a favor by replacing that or those guides. You do not need any frayed line when you’re out muskie fishing.

Some of the problems that we had with the older lines were that some of the lines were not round. This was one of the causes of the lines cutting into itself on the spool when pulled tight. This was also caused by the thinner line. The solution is use heavier line. If you were used to using 20-pound line, now you can go to almost an 80# line and still maintain the same diameter (thickness) as your older 20# line. Second the newer lines are now round and don’t tend to pack down as much.

Another problem was the knots you used to have to use. These “Spectra” based lines were pretty much all the same. The problem here was that the lines were very “slick” smooth and your usual knots were not holding. The reason for these “slick” lines was that they were aerodynamically less resistant and therefore cast greater distances. But, then you had to lean how to tie double line knots like the Palomar or double improved Clinch Knot. To be perfectly safe some of us would glue our knots with super glue Today’s newer lines have roughened up their outer coatings and now you can go back to your standard knots like the Uni-knot or Clinch Knots. These lines will still cast an ol’ muskie lure a country mile.

These new lines have very little stretch so when you set your hook there is the possibility of snapping a rod tip. This may also happened in your normal casting routine. Occasionally you might snap a lure off and may not get over to it in time to retrieve it. Today’s newer lines have addressed that issue and have added a slight amount of stretch in their lines.

Now you have new line on your reel and are ready to hit the water. If you are unfamiliar with the term “Professional Over Run” it is just a more respectable way of talking about your typical backlash. A tool you might find useful in removing a bad backlash is one of your wife’s crochet hooks. Pick a size or even a couple of sizes that fit your line size and keep them in your tackle box. They’re great for picking those backlashes out. The newer lines will teach you patience. These lines will give you some wonderful professional over runs. It is best to have a back-up rod ready to go and leave your backlash to the evening after you come off the water or during the heat of the day when nothing is biting to work them out. It will take you some time, so be patient. Do not cut your line or attempt to cut the backlash out. Maintain your patience and work it out.

A couple of weeks ago my fishing partner Joe Keebaugh and his wife were fishing with Lynda and I on my boat and Marilyn got a professional over run. Joe had some 30# Power Pro line on his reel. Joe worked on attempting to pick this backlash out, then gave it to his wife Marilyn to work on for a while, and then I took over. After about a half an hour I finally was successful in getting it all out, but needless to say it was a good one.

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