How to choose fishing line

Choosing line does not start with the line. First you know what you fish with and how, and only then does it become clear which thread belongs here. The commonest mistake is going stronger where you should go thinner.

Tackle first, line second

A rod has a rating — the range of weight it works with. A reel has a spool of a given capacity. Both numbers narrow the choice before the fish does. Line stronger than the tackle does not save it, it breaks it: on a snag what gives way is not the line but the more expensive part.

The second limit is the reel drag. It has to give before the line reaches its limit, or the margin of strength does no work at all.

Thinner is not weaker, it is further

Thinner line casts further, holds less water in a current and sinks a lure faster. In clear water it is also less visible. So in calm conditions thinner wins, not stronger.

You go thicker for a specific reason: snags, rock, mussel beds, predator teeth or a long cast with a heavy feeder. No reason, no case for going coarser.

How much to load

Fill the spool almost level with the lip, leaving a millimetre or two. The reason is physical: line leaves the spool in coils over the lip, and the closer it sits to the edge the less it rubs. An underfilled spool shortens the cast; an overfilled one throws loops.

If you have less line than the spool holds, put backing underneath — cheaper line or cord. The capacity is printed on the spool itself, as a diameter and a length.

Winter changes the rules

In frost nylon stiffens and holds its coils harder than it does in summer. Braid behaves differently: it soaks up water and freezes in the rod rings, icing them together.

So in winter light tackle more often carries thin nylon or fluorocarbon, and braid is kept for where sensitivity is unavoidable, with the rings treated before you set out.

Which line for which method

Where sensitivity at range matters — jigging, long-range spinning, feeder — braided line does the work: it passes a touch through without delay. Where cushioning matters — carp fishing, float tackle, fishing a fine hook — monofilament is the better fit.

Where the fish are wary or the water is clear, a length of fluorocarbon is added to the main line — leaders have their own subsection here.

Three mistakes that cost fish

The first is buying a margin of strength instead of checking the knot. The second is putting braid where stretch is needed and tearing the hook out on the strike. The third is not changing line for years: it ages whether you fish or not.