I just bought a new Shimano Curado to drift fish for steelhead on the Snoqualmie. Any advice on what pound test and what brand of line to buy and why? Thanks. Marc

10lb main line w/8-6 leader. fish are a little spooked by the heavier lines


[This message has been edited by wille17 (edited 10-29-1999).]

With winter-time conditions and flows already here, I'd run 10 main, 10 leader.

For a casting reel, you can't beat maxima ultra green

I use 10/10 Maxima

12#/10# Maxima Ultra Green here! I go 12 because I like to run spoons and a couple of extra pounds helps. I have not found that fish shy away from it when you are running hardware. Besides I would rather bust a leader than a main line every time!

Tight lines,

Crayfin

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i use izorline platnium in 12# and use stren magnathin in 8-10# for leader. the izorline is a copolymer thus smaller in diameter and thus can get more on the reel. i have found it to have good abrasion resistance too. i have used ultragreen in the past and it is good line but i prefer the smaller diameter stuff. stay away from the chameleon though. too stiff for most baitcasters.

Marc,

I'll try this agian. for some reason allot of my replys havn't been getting posted I don't know why but I'll just try agian and see if it works this time. As I've mentioned in the past I have a Curado and love it. I think the key thing with deciding what size of line to use is matching it with the rod that you will be using it on. I fish a 10'6" Lamiglass that is rated at 8#-12# line. I have been fishing 12# ultra green for salmon but I think I'm going to drop to 10# when I start fishing the steellies. I normally run 10# leaders for salmon but for steelies I am concerned with water visabilities more when I'm choosing my leaders I probably won't run over a 8# leader and will probably try to use the 6# more this year. I don't think it takes a heavy line to land a big fish. with the right rod a 50lb king can be landed on 8# line.just remember the heavyer the line the more drag it will cause with the curent. I do more drift fishing for steelies that's why I'm thinking of changing to 10# mane line. I have seen guys run line from 8# all the way to 15#+ on the Curado. the chamilian is a little stiffer and I would shy away from putting it on a bait caster. Allso if a person is fishing faster or more open water a little heavyer line might be necasary for holding a fish from going back to the ocean. Don't get me wrong I am a SPORT fisherman. I like the fight and if it takes me alittle longer to land a fish because I won't muscle a fish in that's to bad. I don't understand why some one will spend all the money to go out and hook a big fish just to put the screws to it and winch it in. that's not fishing. why bother with all the gear just get a flag pole put a rope on it and when ya get one just lift it up and flop it on the bank so you can "feed the family". o.k. off my soap box! anyway I hope that was of some help to ya. just put a line on that matches yer pole and the water that you will be fishing and if yer not happy then play around untill you find the right notch that catches you fish.


dcrzfitter

No offense to dcrzfiter, but I've seen a lot of people "release" dead or dying wild steelhead after using too light a line/rod combo. Especially stillwater flyfishing, but it also happens with bait and hardware in rivers. No amount of reviving is going to bring a fish back after a certain point. Balance the fun of the fight with the need to get wild fish in before they're belly up. Six pound test is too light for fishing over mixed wild/hatchery steelhead unless you're really good. dcrzfitter may be, I'm probably not, and if you're asking this question you're probably not either.Stinkfoot

This is to Oscar---do you have problems with Izor line "keeping"? I think it is great stuff if it is new, but it doesnt seems to hold up very well or have much life once it is on your reel? Just asking--the stuff is AWESOME for leader!!

Stinkfoot,

Yes I do agree that it important to not over play I fish that is going to be released. But I allso think that with lighter gear it doesn't have the same affect of pulling harder on a fish for long lengths of time and just letting it run time after time just to winch it in. DO you understand what I mean it doesn't require as much energy to fight a noodle rod as a heavy rod but yes to little and the fish does need to be about dead before it is landed. I allso think that a fish will have more energy left when landed from a boat moving with the fish rather than winched in to a bank.

I am a die hard bankie. I run 20-20 because I never know where I may catch the next one. I need the extra holding power in the brush or to keep the fish from leaving the hole. I fish lots of gin clear conditions and have no problems with the fish being line shy with the heavier line. I use 15-12 in the summer. It is not practical to take a landing net fishing so I rely on the line to get the fish to the beach in thick cover. It is usually not the line that keeps fish off the hooks. By the way I use ande green. It is very tough line and can take drift fishing abuse. I have used izor, maxima and stren. Can't beat ande for the price.

to crayfin,
so far i haven't had any problems with the stuff deteriorating and not holding up. so far being the operative word. for a smaller diameter and soft line it does develop a memory in about 6 months. the stuff on my reel needs to be replaced shortly as it is a year old and has a serious memory! i have had problems with mccoys and g-line breaking at the main line rather than the leader!

Any thoughts about Gamigatsu line? Copolimer 14 has the same diamiter as 10lb. mono. Thanks. Marc

Gama copoly is my favorite line for spinning gear, which I use primarily during the low water summer months. Its soft, thin diameter, so behaves a lot better on spinning reels, but its still pretty strong. I even use it for leader material during the summer.

But comparing it to Maxima is like comparing apples and oranges. Maxima and the other thicker, stiffer lines are just way stronger than the stated test and I haven't found the need to go thin diameter on casting gear.

I haven't used the heavier tests in Gama; be interesting to compare line strengths and diameters.

I recomend Maxima ultra green 12lb for your main line and maxima ultra green for leaders in 8 to 10 lb test, depending on water clarity. After trying other brands of line I always go back to maxima. Here is a list of some lines NOT to use.... Izorline, It ust plain sucks. Stren..too mch stretch and no abrasion resistance. Most copolymer lines dont hold up to drift fishing. Never use a braided super line for drift fishing, that stuff is bad news for the river if you break off a long section.
Good luck and enjoy your Curado, they are an excellent reel. I own 3 the only thing I can see that you need to do maintance wise is replace the drag washers evry other year or sooner if you catch lots of fish.

Marc I am on my 17th season on the snoqualmie. If your planning on fishing natives on this river I would recomend nothing less than 12lb maxima ultra green, these fish will tear you up if you are not careful.

WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT USING A LIGHTER LEADER THAN YOUR MAIN LINE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT A LINE FROM A SWIVEL TO THE HOOK OR FROM A SWIVEL TO A WEIGHT ANY INFO WOULD AS I'M TRYING TO IMPROVE MY STEELHEADING.THANKS

First off, I'd like to give my .02... I use nothing but Izor for casting... 15/15.. I even fish that in the summer, with a 12 leader... Spinning, I really have been quite impressed with the Ande 8lb. On my 6'6" shimano spinning rod, I have landed several 30+ lb kings on the Elwah, believe it or not, it really happened =) Gamakatsu, at least the 20 that I tried last year, casted really nice, very smooth and soft line, but broke way too easy.. I found that if I managed to snag up, I would lose it every time. Maxima has always seemed to cast ok, but again, always seemed to break easier than Izor. I do however, know that after probably 250-300 fishing hours, if you still have enough line on to fish, is stretched out, and doesn't have near the strength. It's Ford vs. Chevy... Everyone is going to view things differently, and other people are going to stick with something that performs good once!

Tom

I've always liked maxima ultragreen. Tryed gamakatsu becuase it is thin,but it seemed to break too easy. The new line I'm trying is Berkley Vanish. It is fluorocarbon,nice and thin and they say it sinks instead of floating like nylon or copolymer line. So far it has performed very well.

I have always liked 12# RiverLine for the main and lighter leader depending on the conditions. I am having a hard time finding it anymore, does anybody know about this? It will do well running plugs or drifting and it's strong. Anybody know where I can buy this stuff?