Hi guys,
Just like the titles says, I read several things in the forum but I couldn't figure out for the life of me what do people usually recommend or use as an all purpose line when you first start out. I plan on getting the ugly stik spinning reel combo at Walmart for $50 but so clueless on what line or spec I need for it.
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by Namdastunna
What will you be fishing for? Line will vary a lot if you’re mainly doing trout, or bass, or catfish, etc
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by Physalia-Physalis
Hard to go wrong with 8-12lb mono as a starter. You can do a bit of everything with it and you can get 750 yards for under $2. If you want something heavier I'd still probably cap it at 20 lb for the time being.
I wouldn't worry too much about line choice just yet, if you're an absolute beginner you're not going to notice or care about the differences much. Price per yard & test is probably gonna be the biggest deciding factor for now.
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by SoapyTarantula
Look at the spool on the reel and it will tell you what lb test line it is rated for. Something like 8-200, 10-150, 12-110... that's 200 ft of 8lb test line for example. I'd probably just start with mono, it's got some flex to it so it's somewhat forgiving, has a fairly low visibility in the water, and is cheap. Berkley Trilene Big Game is super cheap and holds up well, Stren Original isn't bad either. If you're targeting bigger fish in murkier water, go with the higher number. Smaller fish in clearer water go with the lower. If you don't really know, go with the middle number, it's not going to make a huge difference.
Once you get into it, braided line is the other main option on spinning gear. It's thinner, stronger, and has no flex so it's a bit more sensitive and casts a hair farther with less wind resistance. It's more expensive and a bit less forgiving though, and in clearer water you might need to use a fluoro on mono leader... I wouldn't start there. I dislike fluoro mainline on a spinning reel, thought it's almost all I use on a baitcaster. The way it spools up on spinning gear can be a real pain and it can develop some "memory" worse than the other two.
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by aRushinTroll
What's considered the middle number? Someone mentioned 8-12 so should I go with 10 lb as a start? I have no idea what I will be fishing. Some of my friends are taking me fishing next week just to try things out.
How much line do you put on a reel at any given time? My friend said to get 20-30, which now I have learned is 30 ft of 20 lb line. Is 30 ft too little? Or maybe it's 30 yard. . .
Anyways, thank YOU and everyone else for your QUICK responses. Really appreciate the love!
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by Namdastunna
You'll have to look on your reel and see what is listed when you get it. A smaller panfish/trout reel will probably be in the 4 to 8 pound range, mid size all purpose reel is probably around 8 to12, and a larger reel will be more in the 14 to 20lb range. I would aim to fill the spool until there's about an 1/8th of an inch of metal/plastic still showing. Overfilling can cause some nasty tangles.
I bet your friend means 20 to 30lb line, most reels are going to hold at a least 100yards of whatever they're rated for unless you're putting super heavy (which will also be thicker) line on them than they're rated for, which ussually is not ideal. If you're fishing for huge castfish or fishing in salt water you might need to go that high, but if you're fishing for bass/catfish etc in fresh something around 10lbs should be fine. If you're fishing tons of weeds and cover then braid can be more useful since it's narrower in diameter so you could put 20lb braid on a reel intended for 10lb mono, but I wouldn't worry about it to start.
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by aRushinTroll
I have found 10-12 pound mono to be the most versatile line I have.
It's not so thick it will scare off most fish, but thick enough for shore fishing in saltwater or freshwater. If you hit something big keep the drag reasonable and tire the fish out.
The only freshwater thing you can't do with it is trout. I'd get a very small spool of 4lb test for trout if it's a thing you see yourself fishing for, tie a barrel swivel to the 10-12lb test, and then tie the 4lb to that(so the lighter line connects to the hook).
Don't cheap out on line. It's a huge point of failure. Line and hooks are more important than rods and reels in my opinion, and the price difference isn't huge between the best and the worst.
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by RandomPantsAppear
Trilene 12 Lb. mono XL (extra limp hahaha) Not as stiff so it doesn't have a lot of memory in the line. Then you can start expanding out to different types and strengths. 12 Lb. allows you to fish for most anything.
A (real) (pun intended ) good all purpose line is 6-8 lb braid I have caught everything from pan fish to pike on it and haven't had any problems with it breaking or the fish seeing it.
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