picking the right line

[Ruben Frank]

Hi guys,

just got myself a Stella 18000k and am now looking for the right line. Was thinking 100lb (is this PE8 as I'm a bit confused here)... solid or hollow, that's the big question.

I've only fished hollow core lines by Jerry Brown up tip now, splicing a loop at the end and using wind on leaders. I want to start using the PR and/or FG knot (aren't these the same basically?) in the future though. Can this be done with a hollow line too? I've been told that the hollow line is lighter and thus aids for casting distance, is this true?

Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks a lot!

Cheers
Ruben

[Lucas Nixon]

Hi Ruben,

Mate I think it's more about personal preference really and what your confident with.

I fish solid as I always have and am confident with it.

In terms of PE rating for JB 100lb braid it is my understanding that this braid is generally 0.55 mm diameter so therefore it would fit in closer to PE 12 than PE 10 as PE 12 lines are 0.57 mm diameter.

It gets a bit confusing really and I may be way off but attached is a pic of the mm guide used to convert diameter to PE rating on lb rated braid.

Cheers,

[Trevor Skinner]

Ruben,

The PE rating of a line is related to its diameter not its breaking strain so as an example PE6 lines will be about .40mm in diameter but may vary quite widely in claimed breaking strain, anywhere from say 75lb to 90b. PE8 would typically be 100b to 115lb(ish). I believe the PE rating system itself came from the traditional Japanese way of categorizing silk. Over the years as lines have developed and improved the average breaking strain of any given PE rating has increased.Once upon a time a rule of thumb was the you multiplied the PE rating by 10 to determine the breaking strain of the line in pounds, as you can see, that doesn't work any more.

The American brands, like Jerry Brown, advertise the claimed breaking strain of the braid rather than the diameter of the line, as the Japanese do. What makes it even more complicated is that the actual breaking strain of the American lines is often much greater, on average, than the stated breaking strains.

Lots of pros and cons, hollow versus solid braid. If you do a search on this site you'll get a pretty comprehensive run down on those. I'm not sure why you'd want to knot hollow given that you can splice it but maybe one of our members who uses hollow can answer that.

Regards,


Trevor   

   

[Rory McPherson]

The PR knot and Fg knot are different but achieve the same thing ie a almost 100% strength and a low profile to go through the guides easily , it can be tied with hollow or solid braid no problems .

[Ruben Frank]

Think I'm gonna stick with the PF knot for my jigging work with PE line and will give the hollow plus twisty leader a try on the topwater popping/stickbait rods.

[Courtland Babcock]

The "fishing" difference of hollow versus solid to me is negligible. I use 100% hollow lines all the way down to #40 and up to #130. I uses both Jerry Brown and Power Pro Hollow Ace. The bottom 75% of my spools is the recommended line for that spool/reel. I will change out the casting portion with a splice based on what I am fishing for or for any special circumstances, i.e., heavy reef or maximum casting. The bottom 75% rarely sees the water and therefore has not been changed in years, literally.

This system saves me money on extra spools and replacing solid lines when they get too shallow in the spool. I use a cordless drill and have extra 100 yard spools of hollow for that top 25%. I never really have to worry about having the right line....

Works for me.