3lb or 4lb for trout?

[InspectaDekz]

I use 4# p-line fluoroclear but I switched to 2# p-line fluoroclear this season. Works like champ

[phishin phool]

I have struggled with this for a long time and from my experience its 2 lb Izor or Maxima. With Maxima getting the nod for castability. Izor is great too. I use 3 lb Maxima on my drop shop rod for the extra hook set power. I have friends who use 4 lb and catch lots of fish too but in my experience 2 lb out fishes 4. Also I have tried PLine and couldn't stand it, too much memory and just seemed like junk to me. But that is my opinion

[Poxy Boggards]

I've tried maxima as well, and it does not have a memory issue (Very Limp Line), but in my tests the breaking strength of maxima was not nearly as good as P-Line or Izor.

For me it's 4#. When I go to a pay lake I expect that at some point in my trip I will be fighting a fish that could break 2# easily, and I'd rather get a few less bites on the whole rather then bringing a knife to a gun fight when I hook into a toad.

To each his own I say, but I still stand by the 4# P-Line.

[bchbum54]

2lb izor havnt had any problems yet

It's the best way to go. You wouldn't believe how strong izor 2lb is. I grew up using Ande but it has a lot more memory, especially if it has been sitting around from 1 season to the other. I have multiple trout setups and I primarily fish my mini jig set up so I don't always get around to changing all of my other rods out.

[vanillagurilla]

2lb izor, many fish over 10lbs and no problems.

[Ultralight]

Note that the term 2 lbs is really a misnomer. One manufacturer's 2 lbs line may be as thick as another's 3 lbs or more. Another manufacturer's 4 lbs may be as thin as yet a fourth manufacturer's 4 lbs. So I do not gauge a line rating by its claimed rating but by its actual diameter.

In the end, the fish doesn't care about what is on the label, but it cares about visibility - is the line detectable? And does it matter?

So I much prefer to gauge a line by its diameter and actual breaking strength.

In my tests, Tectan has the thinnest diameter for the breaking strength. Noticeably stronger than Maxima for example. However, it is also a brighter green than Maxima and may be more visible in particular water.

In short, I much prefer to rate line by their actual diameter. A $15 digital caliper will help gauge this all day long.

I've landed a couple of 7 1/2 lbs trout that did long runs, and then went into weeds with 2 lbs so I'm fairly confident that 2 lbs land me more fish overall when accounting for bite rates and breakoffs - as long as I have a top quality drag.

UL

[vanillagurilla]

Tectan stopped making there line like they use to, I used to use the 2.4lb Tectan premium plus and it was super thin but broke at exactly 2.4lbs. I think izor xxx 2lb is a great mix of diameter and strength breaking close to 3.5. Another line I like is pline floroclear because its thin diameter and very limp so you can cast jigs further but the trade off is that its not nearly as strong as izor.

[Ultralight]

Hmm, did not know that. I still have a good supply of Tectan and got some as recent as a few months ago. The 3.1 lbs Tectan is as thin as 2 lbs Maxima or thinner if I remember correctly.

UL

Tectan stopped making there line like they use to, I used to use the 2.4lb Tectan premium plus and it was super thin but broke at exactly 2.4lbs. I think izor xxx 2lb is a great mix of diameter and strength breaking close to 3.5. Another line I like is pline floroclear because its thin diameter and very limp so you can cast jigs further but the trade off is that its not nearly as strong as izor.

[fishincrave]

I usually use 2 lb for jigging / worming. 4lb for bait and N/C and 6 to 8 lb for trolling for trout .. All on Izor xxx ..


Sean

[reservoir dog]

4lb test...unless you wanna fish like a poacher with 20lb test on a surf rod.