I keep my line in the refrigerator to slow down the decomposition of the plastic fishing line. Plastic is after all a petroleum product in the process of decay and sped up by heat, thus shortening the life of a fishing line. I had taken a trip to the Rocky River and did not have my fly rod, had left it at my Dad's house 30 miles away in the opposite direction. Usually I'll take along a spin rod as well for tossing hardware. First cast nailed a huge buck and the line snapped. I hadn't thought of testing it beforehand because it was not even a year old and had kept it cool. I did not have any other line with me that morning and lost five before I just decided to watch Ron reel em in and pounded some beers. Ironically he had used that same Cabella's brand, Excel as tippet and lost a fish. When I got back I pulled all my line out and tested them for rot. Some of these spools have been in the fridge for years. Some were just fine, but the other's same problem.
Here's the line that didn't make the cut and had to throw out. Not even strong enough to make a child's bead necklace! But the worst was the Bass Pro Shops (Cabella's) Excel, which is probably the worst fishing line I have ever used. I had just restrung my Dad's rod with it and had to redo it with a new hybrid type of 8 lbs. line I've been using the past month. Decent knot strength. Got a stretch like mono, but invisibility like fluorocarbon. Casting is smooth, but it did have some memory, which if not worked out will cause a bird nest. But the true test is will it hold up in the fridge for a couple years? Instead of throwing my old spools out when there's not enough left to fill a bale I'm going to keep them in far depths of my refrigerator next to my 10 rolls of undeveloped C41 camera film I still haven't gotten around to developing until a year or two have past and then I'll give it the rot test and either add it to the good or bad list.
Here's the line I'm using at present in river, 8 lbs. Trilene Sensation. Spring walleye season is just around the corner so I'll give it the lake water test, which tends to rot fluorocarbon so quickly that I have stopped using it altogether.
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