Choosing a fishing line for your reel

   Choosing the right fishing line is the most important item for a fisherman. It is very important in how your bait and lures are presented to your fish and once you hook a fish, will you be able to land the fish? Most fishermen do not know about the types of fishing line available to them. Understanding and knowing what the different fishing line will do, and choosing the right line for the type of fishing you will be doing .

   There is no one type of fishing line that will do everything you want. You need to think about the type of fish and how big they get where you are going. Then you need to think about what you need the line to do for you. Each line will be different in the breaking point, how much stretch and how strong it is.

   There is one type of line that is  probably the most used by anglers, the Monofilament line. This  fishing line are usually inexpensive. Remember cheaper is not always the best. If you use a monofilament line do not pick the least expensive, move up to a better line and you will be happier with the fishing line. Usually if you pick a brand name you recognize and pick a little more expensive line it will serve you better in castingand knot strength.

   Another type of fishing line is the braided line. This type is not used much anymore. I doesn't have as good a strength as monofilament and has very little stretch. Still, there are some fishermen that like the softness and believe that improves there catch. Now there is what they call the microfilament lines, braid line has improved greatly. They cast better now and there strength has improved. Lures dive deeper and quicker with microlines. Saltwater fishermen use most of the braided  line. They are used for backing on fly fishing reels and as backing for mono line on reels.

   Another type is the fluorocarbon line. This fishing line is practically invisible and it does not break down as easily because of sunlight or other things. It does not absorb water either.

   We started using fluorocarbon line mostly in saltwater and for fly fishing. We found out you could catch more fish by using it because of its low visibility. You do need to be more careful and show more attention with this type. This line is heavier and you may have a little trouble using it on light rods and if used in a casting reel you may have to adjust the reel.

Choosing a fishing reel

  Choosing a fishing reel can be confusing because there are so many to choose from. Most of the time you will purchase your fishing rod and fishing reel together as a package. Then all you have to do is decide what type of fishing you are going to do and buy the set and go fishing.

   I did this for a lot of years and was happy until I decided to buy a new reel because one of the reels broke that came with the set I bought. I want to move up in quality a notch or two to what come with the sets. I bought a spinning reel that had a finger catch on it so all you had to do is hook your finger around the line and pull back on the lever and that pull the bail back so you could cast, I didn't have to flip the bail with my other hand. I thought that was awesome.   

   Now picking out a reel for my grandchildren was easy. I bought them all closed face fishing  reels. They are a lot easier for them to operate at first, they only have one thing to do and that is push down the button. Now know when to let off the button is very important but you will have to coach them on that. This usually take practicing at home before you go fishing. As each one get good with that reel I move them up to a regular spinning reel. When they get good with that fishing reel I will move them to casting reels.

   When I purchased my first bait casting reel I purchased the rod and reel separately. Choosing the rod wasn't hard but picking out the right fishing reel was more difficult. I had to try them out to see if they could be adjusted easily and if it balanced well with my fishing pole. Once I figured that out using it was fun. With a casting reel, the better you get the more you can back off on the brake a little the more experienced you get and the farther you can cast with it.

   When I bought my first fly fishing outfit I just went for a medium price range sent and thought that was okay until that reel feel apart. I went to the sporting good store and boy did I get a lesson on fly fishing reels. Will the salesperson must have done a good job because I bought a much higher priced fishing reel than what I was going to buy. I am pleased I did.