Mystery Line Weight!!!

[MoparKevUk]

So you buy a combo and they make a big song and dance about it being "spooled with line!!".

Nowhere on the packaging is the line class that it's spooled with classified!! I assume it will be poor quality stuff on the sort of combo in my tight price range. Seems a waste of everybodies time as I'll have to take it off and spool it with a known strength line.....

It's a Shakespeare XterraBW70 combo. 7' medium 5-10kg rod. Reel is XT60fau with capacities of 14lb/255yds, 17lb/230yds, 20lb/190yds. The line is red:dry: $42 at KMart. Gonna load it with 20lb line and get me a shark....

[Do$tylz]

mate you can do a sorta test on the line strength yourself. Just tie some weights to the end and see the weights the line can pick up without breaking.... a bit of a crude test, but you'll at least get an idea and might not have to buy more line

[shortie]

the experience ive had is the line is usually at the high end of the rod rating on these package deals

[Feral]

I agree with shortie - Usually jarvis walker 20lb!

[MoparKevUk]

Thanks for the replies.

Some tech Q's!!

When I'm snagged with 12lb leader/trace and 6lb line, maybe about 20yds out it takes way more than 6lb of grunt to snap it off. I think this is due to the poundage strain being taken up by the line stretch. So how is the line factory tested? EG, for 10lb line, would it be a yd of line snapping at 10lb weight. And how do you factor in the knots holding this weight as knots only retain a percentage of the original line's strength. Is there a knot that is used that retains 100%+ for test purposes? Get yer thinking hats on!!

[jeff f]

most nylon lines break nowhere near thier stated breaking strain and are only roughly tested in the factory

the stated breaking strain is actually the minimum weight

that it will break at

pre-test mono is guaranteed to break at or slightly before the stated weight and is used in gamefishing for claiming line class records

and braid is allover the place the ratings on braid is thickness not breaking strain

10lbs braid is the thickness of 10lbs mono but will break at 30+lbs

gopod properly tied knots like a uni or half blood will return around 90% of your breaking strain

[MoparKevUk]

Good Stuff.

Being technically minded I would be most interested in the precise procedure employed by factories testing line for both recreational and competition fishing. IE what length of line is used for testing, drop test, stretch test etc. I think I'll do some testing with a 1yd length of line and see how I go. I'll also test some known line of 12lb and 6lb to see how they go. I'll be testing mono and fluoro 6lb, bet the fluoro tests higher than rated cos of the stretchy-ness (might as well use some techo talk!! )