Heres a slightly less disturbing question about fish than the one on the home page. What exactly does the weight(4lb, 6lb, 25lb) of a fishing line measure. Even 4lb takes a pretty good pull to break it, which seems like a heck of a lot more than 4 pounds of tension. Or is it just an illusion since the stuff is so hard to get a grasp on, and really does break at 4 pounds.
Get a scale, tie the line on and pull till itbreaks. YOu will find that it breaks a little under the advertised weight. This is because knots weaken the line. I did this with a bunch of different brands, trying different knots one year.
If it seems like the line is a lot stronger when you are playing the fish, IT is because you are using the pole which acts as a shock absorber. It is harder to generate the number of pounds necesary to break the line.
Trust me, if it took more than 4 lbd to break the 4lb test, they would label it differently. They want to make the line as thin and strong as possible. THis is why fly tippet is measured both by weight and diameter.
An apparent dissent: not too long ago, the In-Fisherman revealed that several fishing line companies were using stronger-than-spec fishing line in their monofilament lines. This was because the new, strong materials they were using were more susceptible to abrasion on rocks and underwater cover. Therefore, linemakers felt compelled to use a thicker, and therefore stronger, gauge of line per weight class.
Also, I’ve seen a video where Paul Elias demonstrates that the Trilene knot can, in fact, resist stress better than the line itself (yes, I did rent a Paul Elias fishing video; yes, I am a pathetic loser).
But how is it that the respected Mr. Zambezi and I can differ so widely on the same subject? Easy. He’s talking about fly fishing tackle, and I’m talking about spin/bait casting tackle. The world is still harmonious.
Actually, I was relying on some tests that I did about 15 years ago. At the time Stren was all the rage and we did not have Fire line and Spyder line and all of that fancy stuff. If you throw that in the mix, it probably gets a little complicated. I will admit that I am woefully behind the times when it comes to spin and bait casting line technology. Line has gotten thinner and stronger.
When it comes to tippet for fly line, what you sees is what you gets. I don’t use htose other kinds of tackle very often.
However, I would dreally love to see the study on the trilene knot not compromising line strength. I Used thta know over and over again and was still losing 2 out of 12 pounds in strength. I cant imagine how a knot could not weaken the line.
Bottom line, there is no FDA for line weight.
Fishing line comes in several grades. IIRC The only lines that are guaranteed to break even close to the spec poundage are specialized (and fairly expensive) IGFA (International Game Fish Association - http://www.igfa.org/) certified lines used by fisherman (mostly salt water) seeking IGFA recognition for new records on specific test lines. Standard consumer grade monofilament or the new high strength braided lines generally break well beyond the specified line strength, sometimes up to 2X to 3X+ the stated line strength.
My daughter did a science project a few years ago measuring monofilment line strength. After testing the lines for real measured break strength vs package claims she decided to label the project title as “A Fishy Tale” for obvious reasons.