Walleye rod line?

Last year I used 4 lb Pline Fluoroclear on a 36 inch Perch Sweetheart blank.

On Red I missed a lot of fish that seemed to bite hard.

This year I used 6 lb Fluoroclear and even though the bite was off when we were up there I landed a much higher percentage of fish that bit. I’m thinking the line stretch of 4 lb combined with a lighter rod wasn’t sinking hooks in as deep as the 6 lb was capable of.

Unless the water is very clear and the fish are ultra finicky I don’t know that going to 4 lb is necessary for walleyes. If it was I’d probably use a heavier main line with a 4 lb fluoro leader.

The Fluoroclear behaved well on a size 500 Sienna.

Tucker

Bass Thumb wrote:

Good comparisons to try. For now, I’m still sticking with the 4# Yo Zuri Hybrid as my <em class=”ido-tag-em”>walleye favorite. That’s why I got a one-pound spool of it a couple years back. Yesterday, I tried it side by side with the newer Sufix Advanced 6# mono that’s so highly touted on here. They were both on full-sized spinning reels (2500 Shimano).

It was my first time trying the Sufix. It’s good line, and I can see why people like it. However the 4# Hybrid was much more limber and felt more appropriate for the situation, despite the 4# Hybrid being listed at 0.235mm and the 6# Advanced only slightly larger at 0.010″/0.254mm. The Advanced just ‘felt’ larger and stiffer, like a bit of overkill for 1/8oz spoons, mid-sized Slab Raps, and such. Feeling the lines side by side left me with much doubt about the manufacturer-listed diameters.

I yanked a 25″ walleye out of the hole with the #6 Advanced after playing it very little, and had little concern the line would break. Not sure if I need that. Much like with bass fishing, I’m not going to throw jigs on 20# fluoro when 15# will get the job done.

I’d like to try the Advanced 4# next to compare with 4# Hybrid. I’ll likely do a 6# vs 6# comparison this winter. Might have to throw that Stroft in the mix as well.

I have been a user of Yo Zuri Hybrid 4# and 6# test for years from since the line’s inception.

The Stroft GTM line is kind of stiff. Originally it’s a fly line tippet material or something to that effect.

Like everything, use it and see what actual results yield. So for myself it’s not like a one or two time field test and then making a definitive answer even though one can get really good feel what how it works. It’s like multiple tryouts, a year or two or so later, then coming with final results. If it’s only used in ice fishing conditions, I use it both on inside heated shack to outside hole hoping. Lures from anywhere 1/64 oz to 1/2 oz. Although most lures I use are 1/16 oz to 1/8 oz.

When I typically do line to line comparison, I try to get exact set ups. Rod, reel, lures.

Deuces wrote:

Still don’t forget the biggest mark I’ve seen on mille lacs one year on a bobber rod, 4# test, you see that big plop of the bobber, slightly sitting lower in the water, and then start tailing away. Right after sunset, catching eyes all the way up to, big sucker on. Go to set hook and snap.

Was fairly aggressive with hookset, too big of weight on end of rod, to much force going other way. Will never use just 4# test in waters you know will have big fish again.

One manufacturer’s 4# test can be very different than what’s produced by another manufacturer or even by another line-up from the same brand. Take Sufix Ice Magic vs Sufix Advanced in the same pound test. The Advanced is thicker, stiffer, and stronger. Same goes for Berkley Trilene XL vs XT. The XT is thicker, stiffer, and stronger.

I’d agree than a soft monofilament in 4# is too weak for most walleye fishing – think Trilene XL or Sufix Ice Magic — but a copolymer like the ones we’re discussing in 4# is a whole different line capable of different things.

Deuces wrote:

Bass thumb, been using Advanced in some open water this winter, when it’s real cold out and new line it will coil up a lil. I went to the parking lot, casted it out several times and it really straightened out nicely. I have 4#-6# pline on my ice stuff now and know Advanced will perform just as well with possibly less stretch.

I’ll stretch my lines if they need it, sometimes my tossing a spoon across the ice. I’ll pretty commonly do it with panfishing setups when I’m using really light jigs and expect light bites. I just run the line between my fingers to warm it up and stretch it a tiny bit.