TUF Line XP Alternative to PowerPro

Courtesy Amazon.com

I have been using TUF Line XP braided fishing line this year instead of Power Pro. It's less expensive than Power Pro at times when buying 1,200 or 1,500 yards to spool up multiple reels.

Aerospace technololgy has been utilized to produce this high performance fishing line. Tension Lock Technology TUF Line XP is produced under high tensions allowing more compaction of the fibers during the finishing process. This line is more compact, smaller in diameter, packs better on reels, offers better knot performance, casts farther, reduces rod tip wraps, and has higher abrasion resistance. Available in green, red, yellow and white.

Amazon currently has 1,200 yards for $118. Power Pro typically sells for about $150 on Amazon although it's occasionally available for less. They also have 2,500 yards for $173, which I think is a real bargain. That's enough to spool up 8 or 9 reels, which for me is 3 or 4 years worth of carp fishing.

In my experience braided line does not deteriorate with age like monofilament does, so it does not bother me at all to stock pile some extra line.

Berkley Trilene Big Game vs. Braided Fishing Line

Here's an update to my testing of Trilene Big Game monofilament compared to Power Pro braided fishing line.

I've been fishing with 50 lb. braided fishing line for two seasons of carp fishing. I've had success with it and developed strong confidence in the braid. Between snags, boaters running over my lines, and general wear I've gone through 1,200+ yds. of line this year. Priced at $24.99 per 300 yds. I've spent more than $100 on fishing line so far.

In July I picked up 900 yds. of Trilene Big Game 15 lb. for $3.97 on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods. My thought at the time was to experiment with the possibility of saving money with monofilament compared to braid. I'll add that I would have preferred to buy 20# Big Game, but they did not have any available.

Quote from my blog post in July:

"Let's see...should I spend $100 on fishing line or $3.97? That one's easy...if it the performance is similar."

As year two winds down, I'm ready to report on my results for the testing here on my local Michigan lakes. Specifically my goal was to validate whether or not I can justify the extra expense for the braided line going forward.



Power Pro priced for $27.99 locally

Trilene Big Game purchased for $3.97 locally.

My testing started with several sessions in late summer at Ford Lake in Ypsilanti. The Big Game performed o.k. at Ford Lake and I landed a few carp in the 12# to 14# range.

As the year continued and bigger fish moved into the lagoon I fish near Lake Erie it provided a better opportunity to see how the Big Game would hold up. For the past three sessions I've hooked a lot of carp on the mono. I've landed carp in the 12# to 22# range on the monofilament during those sessions.

To be completely honest, I wanted to Big Game to match up well with the Power Pro so I could save some money. But in my personal experience the Big Game falls short for carp fishing compared to the Power Pro.

The biggest disappointment I had with the Big Game was a snapped line while trying to land the biggest carp I've hooked all year long. The line didn't fail at the knot and the failure wasn't caused by an abrasion. The line was over-taxed with a big carp and the carp was more than 15# monofilament could handle under extreme conditions. Yesterday I lost another smaller carp in the 10# range from another line break. Maybe 20# Big Game would have been more appropriate for big Michigan carp, but I didn't have 20# available.

For full disclosure I have broken Power Pro during the casting process due my own mental mistake and one other time several months ago while fighting a fish, but I suspect that time was due to an abrasion and not due to the size of the fish.

I am not a professional fisherman, so someone with more skills than I may have had better luck with the monofilament. For me the choice of monofilament vs. braid comes down to my own personal confidence in the line. With a new personal best on the line I don't want to worry about the line failing and losing the fish. I want to feel good about my chances of landing "the big one" and for me that means I'll be sticking with 50# braid.

I have a tip for those who find Power Pro more expensive than you think it could be. There are alternative braids that will work equally as well for carp or catfish fishing.

2014 Carp Fishing Season is Winding Down

It's been a good year of carp fishing for me. I started targeting carp last year and caught a few. This year I fine tuned my approach and caught 100. As I reflect back on what might have made the year even better, I hope to improve my skills next year and catch a few more.

By any measure catching 100 anything is pretty good, but I could have caught many, many more. I didn't count the ones that got away, but if I had landed all the fish I lost due to hook pulls I'd have easily caught 50 more fish this year (maybe 75 or 80 more).

I like using braided line. It gives me a lot of confidence. But I wonder if the things that make braid a good option for carp fishing, also contributes to the hook pulls? Compared to monofilament line, braid has little to no "give". I suspect that creates a tendency toward pulling the hook. I have consciously tried to focus on being gentle when fighting the fish, but I get excited. I always start with the drag very loose and then tighten it gradually as I fight the fish.

There are still some good weeks left for carp fishing in October, but this winter I need to do some studying to help refine my technique and increase my landing percentage.

My fishing line of choice

Even better though, I can work on loosing fewer fish in the weeks that remain. You never now...the next fish I lose may be a new personal best. It could be the elusive small mouth buffalo that I can't seem to catch, another mirror, or a coveted 30 pounder!

Braided Fishing Line or Monofilament

For as long as I can remember, I have used Stren brand fishing line when fishing for bluegill, crappie, and bass. So when I decided to try carp fishing last summer I purchased the heaviest Stren fishing line I could find locally, which happened to be a 300 yard roll of 14 pound test monofilament at K-Mart.



Photo credit: Amazon.com

That worked fine for my first few trips to local carp fishing spots at Ford Lake, Belleville Lake and the Huron River near Ann Arbor. But as my familiarity with carp fishing increased and I actually started getting bites, runs and landing a few carp in the 10 - 12 pound range I decided a change was in order.

For every carp I landed, I probably had at least 2 or 3 break offs. I had a very good trip to Ann Arbor where I was catching carp left and right, but my day would have been so much better if I had landed the ones which broke off before I got them to the bank.

I suspected my knots were the weak point at first, but after concentrating on tying the Palomar knot with purpose I realized that I wasn't losing fish to weak knots. I was losing them to abrasions and snags. Fish are actually pretty smart once they are hooked. They head to the nearest available cover in an attempt to "get away" and that usually takes them over some rough patches hidden to the eye. Submerged tree branches, tree stumps, rocks, boulders, concrete, etc. are likely candidates depending on the body of water. Many of those submerged obstacles are covered with zebra mussels, which will slice through monofilament fishing line like butter.

A fishing buddy suggested that I try spooling my reels with Power Pro braided fishing line to remedy the problem. I headed to Dick's Sporting Goods and purchased 300 yards of 50 pound line.



Photo credit: Amazon.com

It's available in the "slick" or the standard.

Photo credit: Amazon.com

I loaded two my reels with braided line and left one with the monofilament as a test comparison. Since that time I have had a lot fewer break offs and lost fish. I can't say it's entirely a result of the braided line though because I have caught an equal amount of fish on the inexpensive monofilament.

It could be that now I have a little more experience fighting the carp, my skills have improved, and I'm not "man handling" the fish as much causing stress on the line and contributing to the breaks myself.

At any rate, the braided line hasn't hurt anything either. In fact, over the winter I am going to spool my reels with some fresh Power Pro. I found it on sale yesterday for a buy one, get one 50% off at Dick's. They only had two packets of the green 50 pound left on the shelf or I would have picked up a few more packs. I'll stick to the standard stuff for now.

And I'll offer this disclaimer for anyone who reads this and feels that I am endorsing one brand over another...My personal best common carp (17.0 pounds) was actually caught on monofilament. It's the fish in the header photo at the top of this blog page.

Here's a picture of another nice fish I caught at the Detroit River in October; also on monofilament.

Detroit River common carp