Expo Unveils Latest Line Of Fishing Line

New low-stretch, high-strength nylon monofilament lines were the highlight of fishing’s biggest show-and-tell.

At the 40th annual International Sportfishing Expo last month in Las Vegas, two major companies unveiled lines designed to fill the gap between standard, stretchy monofilaments and the new superlines with almost no stretch.

Most nylon monofilaments have from 20-35 percent stretch, while the braided and fused super lines have from 1-3 percent stretch. Stren’s new Sensor line is a monofilament that has around 10 percent stretch.

“It gives you the benefits of the super lines without the negatives,” said Stren’s Mike Fine. “It is almost as sensitive as super lines, but it has better abrasion resistance and better knot strength.”

Spiderwire’s new Super Mono is also a low-stretch monofilament, “the most technically advanced monofilament in the industry,” according to that company’s John Morlan.

Steve Pennaz, executive director of the North American Fishing Club and editor of North American Fisherman magazine, said the new lines look very promising.

“Too much stretch is a bad thing, but none can be a problem for some fishermen because, for a generation that grew up with monofilament, fishing with stretch is built into their technique. These new products are very fisherman-friendly,” said Pennaz.

The Castaic Soft Bait Company, a new company at the Expo, had perhaps the most consistently busy booth at the ASA Show. Its baits are both large and imitative, and there are three lures in its line - a rainbow trout, a sunfish and a gizzard shad.

The baits feature a hard plastic head with a “hinged” soft plastic body. The finish is extremely lifelike and the lure’s swimming action is almost exactly like the fish they are designed to imitate.

Big baits continue emerge in the trend to cash in on the enormous success of the A.C. Plug, which - according to Bart Crabb, author of “The Quest for the World Record Bass” - has caught more huge largemouth bass since its introduction in 1992 than any lure in history.

High end, supreme quality baitcast and spinning reels continue to grow as a market segment. Ten years ago, no one in the industry would have believed that bass fishermen would spend $200 for a baitcasting reel or $100 for a spinning reel, yet, there is a proliferation of both types of products.