I've seen a lot of discussion on this BB about line preferences for different reels and fishing preferences, but I haven't seen anyone mention what kind of line they use specifically for pulling plugs.

I just bought a couple of the 5500's to use on my plug rods, but I'm not sure what to load them with. Can I get some advice on line brand, type, and weight? Is Fireline good for plugging? Other than visibility to the oarsman, what are the pros and cons of the green or purple lines I've seen? Do you run different line for winter vs summer steelies?

Thanks in advance for your input...

Seadeep,

I have experienced a lot of trial and error in buying different kinds of fishing line trying to find the absolute very best. I always seem to go back to the one I started on: McCoy's mean green is awesome stuff, they are a company out of Washington and they make great line. Try 12# McCoy's pulling plugs or drift fishing sometime for steelhead. You will be amazed at how strong that stuff is. I use 15# McCoy's for Chinook and have landed several over 30 pounds. The line that has caught my eye lately is the new Gamakatsu line. I have not tried it yet but I am curious if anyone else on this BB has?

I have tried the new G line in 12# and it is to me very weak.In my opinion don't waste your money. I use Ande 12# for steelhead and I like it just fine. I will try Mc Coy line for salmon Thanks.

I saw the word 'Fireline' and remembered I owe the bulletin board some feedback on how this line drift fishes for steelhead. But first, a word on plugging with gelspun polyethylene (Fireline, Gorilla Braid, etc) and/ or Spectra (Spiderwire) lines. One of the best plug pullers I know has switched entirely to braids because can tell by the way the rods are working exactly what the plugs are doing. Remember, braid has 2% stretch vs. 20-25% stretch for mono. If you have the plugs running right, you can watch the rod tip and know exactly what's going on (which is useful if your clients are numbnuts like me and sometimes are barely quick enough to grab the rod before it flies out of the boat). This guy uses neutral colours (browns) and ties directly to the snap (a double uniknot works well, as does doubling over the line and tying a 5-6 wrap clinch knot but test your own knots with hand scales as different people have different experiences). An alternative is to use the bright colours, cut a Vee in a fat-tipped permanent magic marker in brown, black, green (whatever) and colour the last 10 feet of the braid. The colour wears off after a while, but you simply re-apply the marker.

With the limber plug rods people use for salmon and steelhead, you can get away without using a leader. If you fish a shorter, stiffer rod (e.g. for Northerns or Muskies or in the salt) then you'll need a leader or else the shock of the strike will often cause a break-off. I fish in Australia a lot for swamp critters, and the guides pointed out to me that even a 4 foot mono shock leader puts an extra 1 foot of cushion (stretch) into the equation, and you need that cushion if you're trolling and a big fish hits the lure at speed and keeps going. There's no reason you can't put a 7 foot mono leader on the end of a swivel and tie the mono to your snap. Saves colouring the line, gives you lots of stretch and doesn't detract too much from the great feel you get from backtrolling with braid.

I drift fished 14lb Fireline (yellow) for about a day and a half. Caught a bunch of fish, but soon stripped off the line and spooled up with Maxima Ultragreen 10 and 12 lb. (Maxima UG is great line by the way: breaks heavy, very good shock resistance and resiliency, good abrasion resistance and excellent knot strength. Bad points are it's very thick for its test and it's expensive.)There were a couple of reasons why I gave up on Fireline:

1. The knots joining the 14lb Fireline to my 10 lb Maxima Chameleon leader were pulling out at about 8-9 lbs. Didn't cost me any fish, but I lost confidence in the system.

2. I was often fishing with only 30 feet of line out. With 15 feet of that leader (I was fishing clear water and didn't want to spook the fish -- they are floating fly line shy -- with that yellow line), I wasn't getting appreciably less drag in the drifts, or an improved feel.

3. When the fly snagged and I broke off, re-tying on the stream with numb fingers was a mother of a task: first a Spiderhitch in the Fireline, then an improved Albright to join the Fireline to the mono (and if you're really obsessive, you then superglue the improved Albright -- if you can get the glue out of the tube in 38 degree weather).

None of the above would keep me from using Fireline to pull plugs, however. I'd simply tie directly to a #7 barrel swivel, use a mono leader and put that Hotshot in the water.

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I happen to have Gamakatsu 10# on one reel & 12# on another. I haven't noticed it to be weak at all. Caught an 18# chinook on the Klick last fall. Pulled him up and out of the fast water below me. I'll keep using it until I get unfavorable results. Good luck. Ric

Does anyone fish Izorline monofilament or have an opinions on its quality?

All my plug rods are spooled with maxima fibreglow in 12lb test, with a 3or 4 ft section of chameleon blood notted to the end. I have not noticed any decrease in the number of fish hooked, be it in clear, or off colored water. What this line allows me to do is know exactly where my plugs are, and where I need to put 'em. I don't like to go any heavier than 12lb as I think it hinders the action.
Good luck with whatever line you try....

Plug rods spooled with briaded line, swivel, and a 6 foot section of 12# maxima UG. Seems to work very well.

I second the motion on the 12# maxima fiber glo with the maxiam chameleon leader. Works well- easy to see, good knot strength, high abrasion resistance.

I've run 12# Green Izorline on my steelie pluggin rods for the last two years, and absolutely love the stuff. It's got the same durability as Maxima without the extra diameter, allowing me to stuff more line on a reel. I've also found that the green color lights up in direct sunlight/glare situations, whereas some of the pink lines seem to disappear under the same
conditions.

I also run it on my float sticks, allowing my peeps to see the belly of line I'm always barking about. Maxima is great line, I've just had great results with the Izorline as well.

Robbo, where do you get your Izorline? I haven't been able to find it anywhere in the Seattle area. I understand it runs about half the price of Maxima.

Auburn sports & Marine carries Izorline.

Sorry, I have to disagree with the assessment of Izorline ... I gave it a whirl and found it to be OK out of the box ... the two things I noticed right away: 1) after stretching ... say busting off on a snag by pulling it free ... the remaing lines was very unstable, often breaking in any old place at much lower force than initally seen and 2) poor abraision resistance ... especially on the rocky coastal rivers. Personally, what do I run??? Steelhead: 12 lb. Fibreglow ... WA fall salmon and first run fishing here in AK: 25 lb. Fibreglow ... second-run king fishing here in AK: 40 pound Fibreglow ... guess which line I like??

Fishkis, here's an even more comprehensive and more recent exchange on fishing line than the post on line for spinning rigs. As you can see, guiding heavyweights such as Bob and Robbo (among other credible types) also weigh in with their views.

I think that Robbo's gone off the green stuff since he made that post due to poor breaking strength after it's been repeatedly stressed, but still claims that he can't see the Maxima Fiberglo in the daylight on his plug rods.

Robbo, here's a tip: tilt your head forward and take the bottle of Yukon Jack out of your mouth for improved vision.

Belated congrats on your wedding, too. (If need be I can send you the plans for the rod-rack w/ bed carpentry plans to help break in the new bride.)

Be easy on Robbo. He just got hitched, and besides, he's been foundered on setups since he witnessed the Chuck N Duck at the Zipper. It's all my fault. He wasn't drinking out of the Yukon Jack bottle when I hooked up with him this spring. He had an I.V in his left wrist. It kept getting hung up in the brush and snow drifts while we were tooling down the river. Hopefully after the swelling goes down, his eyes will improve.

Fishlips, you can get your Izorline at Outdoor Empourim thats in Seattle. I have used it and I have to agree with THE BIG ONE abrassion resistance was what i found also.

Snagly my post did not specified what type pole or reel, because I wanted to see what you all would says. Im always trying to learn as much as I can, and all the knowledge we share makes us better then average fishermen. Thanks.