Best small test braid? Fireline? 2025

wasabi_VA reply :

I spend most my fishing time on some small area lakes that have poor growth rates, thus I have to be happy with smaller fish. For that reason I generally use

ultralight gear and only need 4 to 6 lb. test. My first foray into braided lines was Fireline crystal in 4 and 6 lb. test and that stuff really impressed me. In fact I didn't need to replace the line for several seasons it held up so well.

Now it's time to respool and Fireline has jumped way, way up in price from what my older spools are marked. But it performed well so am willing to pay a premium to respool, maybe I will luck out and find a store near here that does spool fills cheaper than buying my own bulk spool. Anyway, anything newer/better than Fireline in the light diameter category?

Choporoz reply :

I used 12# test Gliss on a number of spinning rods all last year and love it.

fishnkamp reply :

I love the original FireLine on all my spinning reels. I use a lot of other braid on my baitcasters, but I do the exact same thing on all of these reels to save money. Most baitcasters hold 150 yards of line. That is way way more line than you will ever need in most cases. So hear is my tip I buy a spool of 14 pound test Stren Original mono ( the clear blue stuff. I fill the reel 1/2 way up with the mono, the tie my braid on using a double uni knot. That leaves me with 75 yards of braid and a mono backing that I practically never change. The 330 yard spool of mono costs like $8 and a yard of line costs pennies. Your 125 yard spool of braid will now fill two reels cutting your cost in half. The mono also adds the benefit that it can be tied tight to the spool and will not spin like the braid often does when tied directly to the spool.

thinkingredneck reply :

I use fireline on my UL spinning rods. I like it a lot. Caught it on sale at DSG, so I bought it. Once I find something I like I become pretty brand loyal. Unless there is a great sale! I use Power Pro on my BC.

roadwarrior reply :

#10 Smackdown

http://www.seaguar.com/freshwater/braid.html

Pro Logcatcher reply :

^^ This. I have 30 pound test Seaguar smackdown on one of my baitcasters for frogs and I love it! Got it for 20 dollars when Gander Mtn was going out of business.

fishwizzard reply :

In addition to thin mono, I have found that plumbing tape works pretty well to take up space on a spinning reel. I was spooling a new reel one evening and found that I didn't have any thin mono on hand, but I did have an old roll of plumbers tape. I took the spool off and wrapped the tape as carefully as I could until the spool was about half full. When I tied the braid on top it bit deeply into the tape and does not feel like it is going anywhere. I only have a few trips on it, but at $1.50 a roll, the tape will back two small reels and still have enough left over to replace my shower head a dozen times.

J Francho reply :

If you're happy with Fireline Crystal, stick with it. You already know what to expect, and it has performed well for you. I used for a few years, 14# for trout, and I liked it.

Team9nine reply :

Stick with the 4-6# Fireline if that's what you like. It will handle about anything. If you want to try something else, I can personally vouch for 3# and 5# PowerPro microline. I use it a ton. No sense in looking beyond those options IMO.

aquaholik reply :

No need to change, 4# fireline has great knot strength, with or without leader. It is slightly stiffer when new but that's good or bad depending on your preference.

Bass Turd reply :

You can reverse the line on the spool and put the end that is on the bottom on top. Tie the end to a tree and walk out all the line. Add some mono on the bottom if you need to fill out the spool from line if you broke some off over time. Go back to the tree and tie that end to the spool or the mono if you went with that and reel it in. Wala... New spool of line to last several more years.

Paul Roberts reply :

Gliss, or J-Braid (X8) are two I've used. Both are excellent.

I must say I don't understand Fireline. It's thick for break strength and stiff out of the box. Maybe I haven't given it a fair shot, bc I take it off... bc... I just don't get it.

wasabi_VA reply :

Is it truly thicker than other similar products?

Yumeya reply :

I always go by diameter over pound ratings.

Check sufix for example...

U.S. vs international pound ratings

https://www.rapala.com/sufix/braid/832-advanced-superline/832-advanced-superlineandreg/832+Advanced+Superline.html

https://sufix.fishing/products/832-advanced-superline

wasabi_VA reply :

I'm having a problem finding more info on this Power Pro microline in 3 and 5 lb. test...?

Team9nine reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 8:29 AM, wasabi_VA said:

I'm having a problem finding more info on this Power Pro microline in 3 and 5 lb. test...?

It looks like they might have discontinued the "microline" line, sort of. That part of the PP website says 'page doesn't exist', but if you look up available line sizes you'll see 3, 4 and 5 lb. still listed. However, going to Bass Pro or American Legacy shows 5lb. as the lightest available. 5lb. PP is what I use for most of my Ned rigging and other light line finesse bassin'. I used 3lb. primarily for panfish, and 8lb. for heavier cover/larger finesse baits like shakey and Slider fishing.

wasabi_VA reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 9:05 AM, Team9nine said:

It looks like they might have discontinued the "microline" line, sort of. That part of the PP website says 'page doesn't exist', but if you look up available line sizes you'll see 3, 4 and 5 lb. still listed. However, going to Bass Pro or American Legacy shows 5lb. as the lightest available. 5lb. PP is what I use for most of my Ned rigging and other light line finesse bassin'. I used 3lb. primarily for panfish, and 8lb. for heavier cover/larger finesse baits like shakey and Slider fishing.

Is what Bass Pro lists the microline, or just regular PP? Isn't their regular line still considered a "micro" line? Hard to tell what's what the way they list it.

WRB reply :

Fins Windtamer comes in 4 lb to 50 lb in 4 colors and is very quite line going through guides plus it doesn't wind knot and color fast doesn't bleed or fade. 6 lb is .005 dia.

Tom

Team9nine reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 9:15 AM, wasabi_VA said:

Is what Bass Pro lists the microline, or just regular PP? Isn't their regular line still considered a "micro" line? Hard to tell what's what the way they list it.

Technically, I believe only the 3 and 4lb. lines were considered "microline." I believe they added those 2 lighter pound tests to their lineup back in 2010. Before that, 5lb. line was the lightest they made, and is still in the lineup. Don't think they were made any different physically. I'm guessing they have probably dropped them due to low sales volume since it seems like most anglers prefer to go overkill on their braid selection and match line diameters instead.

aquaholik reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 7:53 AM, wasabi_VA said:

Is it truly thicker than other similar products?

If you compare actual breaking strength, it is not. Compare 10 lbs Fireline Crystal to 30 lbs Seaguar smackdown. Both have the same diameter, and both have the same actual breaking strength. In fact, I did a video on youtube showing the PR knot strength of Fireline Crystal 10 lbs to exceed 30lbs. 30 lbs Seaguar Smackdown actual break strength is 31 lbs. It is a hair thicker than most 10 lbs braid(which by the way breaks around 25-30 lbs depending on which brand) and is about one lb stronger.

Don't think that Seaguar Smackdown 30 lbs is three times stronger than most 10 lbs braid. And 4lbs fireline has an actual break strength of 11-12 lbs. That's the same as Seaguar Smackdown in 10 lbs. It's all marketing guys.

craww reply :

X2 on 5lb Power Pro...Its cheap, casts great, strong....zero complaints

QUAKEnSHAKE reply :

This line strength is nice but knot strength is more important. Take 30# smackdown and fishnfool knot Palomar knot and sdj knot it will break in the low 20-22# range. Now 20# pp super8slick with same knots will hold to 25-26# range. Both Dia the same .009 but pps8s is quieter and costs less, ftw

Preytorien reply :

I have fallen in love with YGK G-Soul X8 Upgrade. I use the 14lb and it’s like casting with spider silk

FrankN209 reply :

On 1/10/2018 at 9:05 AM, Choporoz said:

I used 12# test Gliss on a number of spinning rods all last year and love it.

Gliss for sure and I use 15lb Smackdown also.

Crestliner2008 reply :

Another vote here for sticking with Fireline Crystal. I have it on about a half doz. reels in various tests. Has always performed fine for me. I really believe it is probably the most underrated line product out there.

ChrisD46 reply :

On 1/11/2018 at 9:05 AM, Team9nine said:

It looks like they might have discontinued the "microline" line, sort of. That part of the PP website says 'page doesn't exist', but if you look up available line sizes you'll see 3, 4 and 5 lb. still listed. However, going to Bass Pro or American Legacy shows 5lb. as the lightest available. 5lb. PP is what I use for most of my Ned rigging and other light line finesse bassin'. I used 3lb. primarily for panfish, and 8lb. for heavier cover/larger finesse baits like shakey and Slider fishing.

Altough I have not used the PP in #3 lb. - #5 lb. I do see it at places on-line (google is your friend) ... *For a non - braid or FC , I have been experimenting with Spiderwire Ultracast Ultimate Mono in #6 lb. test : It's very thin , strong and has low stretch - it's similar to FC without the line twist / handling issues .

Team9nine reply :

On 1/13/2018 at 6:44 AM, ChrisD46 said:

Altough I have not used the PP in #3 lb. - #5 lb. I do see it at places on-line (google is your friend) ... *For a non - braid or FC , I have been experimenting with Spiderwire Ultracast Ultimate Mono in #6 lb. test : It's very thin , strong and has low stretch - it's similar to FC without the line twist / handling issues .

Not that I need more, as I have a decent bit left, but did you actually click on the links to take you to the page to purchase the line, because every page I visited regardless of vendor either didn't exist or showed item as 'out of stock' or 'unavailable.'

HookRz reply :

Suffix Nano-Braid. Great stuff. I use it 6# test on down. Regular old PP for heavier.

5095

Best small test braid? Fireline? 2025

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