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A fishing line is any flexible, high-tensile cord used in
angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...
to tether and pull in
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
, in conjunction with at least one
hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...
. Fishing lines are usually pulled by and stored in a reel, but can also be retrieved by hand, with a fixed attachment to the end of a rod, or via a motorized
trolling In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a internet forum, forum, a chat room, an Multiplayer video game, online video game) or who performs similar be ...
outrigger An outrigger is a projecting structure on a boat, with specific meaning depending on types of vessel. Outriggers may also refer to legs on a wheeled vehicle that are folded out when it needs stabilization, for example on a crane that lifts he ...
. Fishing lines generally resemble a long, ultra-thin
rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...
, with important attributes including length, thickness, material and build. Other factors relevant to certain fishing practice include breaking strength, knot strength, UV resistance, castability, limpness, stretch, memory, abrasion resistance and visibility. Traditional fishing lines are made of
silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
, while most modern lines are made from synthetic
polymer A polymer () is a chemical substance, substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeat unit, repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their br ...
s such as
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
,
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
or polyvinylidene fluoride ("fluorocarbon") and may come in monofilament or braided ( multifilament) forms.


Terminology

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
with a hook-and-line setup is called
angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...
. Fish are caught when one is drawn by the bait/ lure dressed on the hook into swallowing it in whole, causing in the hook (usually
barb Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...
ed) piercing the
soft tissue Soft tissue connective tissue, connects and surrounds or supports internal organs and bones, and includes muscle, tendons, ligaments, Adipose tissue, fat, fibrous tissue, Lymphatic vessel, lymph and blood vessels, fasciae, and synovial membranes.� ...
s and anchoring into the mouthparts, gullet or
gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...
, resulting in the fish becoming firmly tethered to the line. Another more primitive method is to use a straight
gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...
, which is buried longitudinally in the bait such that it would be swallowed end first, and the tension along the line would fix it cross-wise in the fish's stomach or gullet and so the capture would be assured. Once the fish is hooked, the line can then pull it towards the angler and eventually fetch it out of the water (known as "landing" the fish). Heavier fish can be difficult to retrieve by only dragging the line (as it might overwhelm and snap the line) and might need to be landed via additionally using a hand net (a.k.a. landing net) or a hooked pole called a gaff.
Trolling In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a internet forum, forum, a chat room, an Multiplayer video game, online video game) or who performs similar be ...
is a technique where one or more lines, each with at least one hooked fishing lure at the end, is dragged through the water, which mimick schooling forage fish. Trolling from a moving boat is used in both big-game and
commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...
as a method of catching large open-water species such as
tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...
and marlin (which are instinctively drawn to schoolers), and can also be used when angling in freshwater as a way to catch
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
,
northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
, muskellunge and
walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...
. The technique allows anglers to cover a large body of water in a short time without having to cast and retrieve lures constantly. Longline fishing and trotlining are commercial fishing technique that uses many secondary lines with baited hooks hanging perpendicularly from a single main line. Snagging is a fishing technique where a large, sharp grappling hook is used to pierce the fish externally in the body instead of inside the fish's mouth, and is therefore ''not'' the same as angling. Generally, a large open-gaped treble hook with a heavy sinker is cast into a river containing a large amount of fish (such as
salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...
) and is quickly jerked and reeled in, which gives the snag hook a gaff-like "clawing" motion that can spear its sharp points past the scales and skin and deep into the body. Modern technologies such as underwater cameras are sometimes used to help improve the timing of snagging. Due to the mutilating nature of this technique (where the fish are typically too deeply injured to be released alive), snagging is frequently deemed an unethical and illegal method, and some snagging practitioners have added procedures to disguise the snagging practice, such as adding baits or jerking the line using a fishing rod, to make it look like angling.


Sections

Traditionally, only a single thread of line is used to connect the hook with the rod and reel. However, most modern angling setups use at least two sections of line (typically the mainline and the leader) joined with a bend knot (such as the famously named fisherman's knot). Occasionally a
swivel A swivel is a connection that allows the connected object, such as a swivel gun, gun, swivel chair, chair, Caster, swivel caster, or an anchor rode to rotate horizontally or vertically. Swivel designs A common design for a swivel is a cylindr ...
might be used to join the lines and reduce the bait/lure spinning due to the inherent line twisting from a fixed-spool reel. A typical modern angling setup can include the following line sections: * Backing is the rearmost section of the fishing line and typically used only to "pad up" the spool of the
fishing reel A fishing reel is a hand-crank (mechanism), cranked reel used in angling to wind and stow fishing line, typically mounted onto a fishing rod, but may also be used on compound bows or crossbows to retrieve tethered arrows when bowfishing. Modern ...
, in order to prevent unwanted slippage between the mainline and the (usually metallic and well polished) spool surface, increase the effective radius of the spooled line and hence the retrieval speed (i.e.
inch The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...
es per turn), and to shorten the "jump" distance during line release in spinning reels. The backing can also act as a line reserve in case a powerful fish that manages to overpower the drag mechanism of the reel and stretch out the entire length of the mainline. * Mainline is the main section of the fishing line, and the portion that primarily interacts with the rod, line guides and reel. This is the section that handles most of the
tensile stress In continuum mechanics, stress is a physical quantity that describes forces present during deformation. For example, an object being pulled apart, such as a stretched elastic band, is subject to ''tensile'' stress and may undergo elongati ...
when retrieving the line. * Leader is the frontmost section of the fishing line that is attached to the hook/lure, and the portion that most likely will be in actual physical contact with the fish. Many larger, feistier target fish warrants a strong mainline, which might make it too thick to thread through the eye of the hook, thus necessitating a thinner line to "lead" into the hook (hence the name). Leader lines usually use high-
specific strength The specific strength is a material's (or muscle's) strength (force per unit area at failure) divided by its density. It is also known as the strength-to-weight ratio or strength/weight ratio or strength-to-mass ratio. In fiber or textile applic ...
material with clear colors and water-like
refractive indices In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is the ratio of the apparent speed of light in the air or vacuum to the speed in the medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refrac ...
(thus harder for the fish to spot it) such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, commonly called "
fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...
"), or even
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
/
titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
wires to reduce breakage due to abrasion damage or fish biting. The leader line can also serve as a sacrificial device, as having a leader rated at a designated breaking strength ''less'' than that of the rod and mainline helps to cap the transferred stress and protect those more costly gears/tackles from overloading and breaking (similar to how a fuse protects a circuitry), which will minimize loss and cost of repairs/replacements if the fish manages to overpower the angler's gear setup. * Tippet or trace is used occasionally in
fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
, and serves as a secondary leader that thread to the much smaller and delicate fly hooks.


History


Early lines

Leonard Mascall, in his book from 1596 titled "A Booke of fishing with Hooke and Line, and of all other instruments thereunto belonging". followed in many ways after Dame Juliana Berners, has an excerpt establishing silk worms in the area of England at that time: ... ... And another excerpt explaining compiling a silk leader-line for a catgut fly-line. So back then there was silk and horse hair used for angling. As written in 1667 by
Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...
, the fishing lines in his time were made from catgut. Later, silk fishing lines were used around 1724.


Modern lines

Modern fishing lines intended for spinning, spin cast, or bait casting reels are almost entirely made from artificial substances, including
nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
(typically 610 or 612), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, also called fluorocarbon),
polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
, Dacron and
UHMWPE Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE, UHMW) is a subset of the thermoplastic polyethylene. Also known as high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE), it has extremely long chains, with a molecular mass typically between 2 and 6 million amu. The l ...
(Honeywell's Spectra or Dyneema). The most common type is '' monofilament'', made of a single strand. Fishermen often use monofilament because of its buoyant characteristics and its ability to stretch under load. The line stretch has advantages, such as damping the force when setting the hook and when fighting strong fish. On very far distances the damping may become a disadvantage. Recently, other alternatives to standard nylon monofilament lines have been introduced made of copolymers or fluorocarbon, or a combination of the two materials. Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of the
fluoropolymer A fluoropolymer is a fluorocarbon-based polymer with multiple carbon–fluorine bonds. It is characterized by a high resistance to solvents, acids, and bases. The best known fluoropolymer is polytetrafluoroethylene under the brand name "Teflon, ...
PVDF and it is valued for its
refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is the ratio of the apparent speed of light in the air or vacuum to the speed in the medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refrac ...
, which is similar to that of water, making it less visible to fish. Fluorocarbon is also a denser material, and therefore, is not nearly as buoyant as monofilament. Anglers often utilize fluorocarbon when they need their baits to stay closer to the bottom without the use of heavy sinkers. There are also
braided fishing line Braided line was one of the earliest types of fishing line, and in its modern incarnations it is still very popular in some situations because of its high knot strength, lack of stretch, and great overall power in relation to its diameter. Back ...
s, ''cofilament'' and ''thermally fused'' lines, also known as "superlines" for their small diameter, lack of stretch, and great strength relative to standard nylon monofilament lines. Braided, thermally fused, and chemically fused varieties of " superlines" are now readily available.


Specialty lines

''Fly lines'' consist of a tough braided or monofilament core, wrapped in a thick waterproof plastic sheath, often of
polyvinyl chloride Polyvinyl chloride (alternatively: poly(vinyl chloride), colloquial: vinyl or polyvinyl; abbreviated: PVC) is the world's third-most widely produced synthetic polymer of plastic (after polyethylene and polypropylene). About 40 million tons of ...
(PVC). In the case of floating fly lines, the PVC sheath is usually embedded with many "microballoons", or air bubbles, and may also be impregnated with silicone or other lubricants to give buoyancy and reduce wear. In order to fill up the reel spool and ensure an adequate reserve in case of a run by a powerful fish, fly lines are usually attached to a secondary line at the butt section, called backing. Fly line backing is usually composed of braided dacron or gelspun monofilaments. All fly lines are equipped with a leader of monofilament or fluorocarbon fishing line, usually (but not always) tapered in diameter, and referred to by the "X-size" (0X, 2X, 4X, etc.) of its final tip section, or tippet. Tippet size is usually between 0X and 8X, where 0X is the thickest diameter, and 8X is the thinnest. There are exceptions to this, and tippet sizes do exist outside of the 0X–8X parameter. ''Tenkara lines'' are special lines used for the fixed-line fishing method of tenkara. Traditionally these are furled lines the same length as the tenkara rod. Although original to Japan, these lines are similar to the British tradition of furled leader. They consist of several strands being twisted together in decreasing numbers toward the tip of the line, thus creating a taper that allows the line to cast the fly. It serves the same purpose as the fly-line, to propel a fly forward. They may be tied of various materials, but most commonly are made of monofilament. ''Wire lines'' are frequently used as leaders to prevent the fishing line from being severed by toothy fish. Usually braided from several metal strands, wire lines may be made of
stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
,
titanium Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
, or a combination of metal alloys coated with plastic. Stainless-steel line leaders provide: * bite protection – it is extremely hard for fish to cut the steel wire, regardless of jaw and teeth strength and sharpness, * abrasion resistance – sharp rocks and objects can damage other lines, while steel wire can cut through most of the materials, * single-wire (single-strand) leaders are not as flexible as multi-strand steel wire, but are extremely strong and tough, * multi-strand steel wire leaders are very flexible, but are somewhat more abrasive and more damage-prone than single-strand wires. Titanium fishing leaders are actually titanium–nickel alloys that have several very important features: * titanium leader lines are very flexible, regardless of whether they are single- or multi-strand lines/wires, * these lines are very elastic – they can stretch up to 10% without permanent damage to the line itself – perfect for hook setting, * these lines are knottable just as nylon monofilament lines, * surface is rather hard and abrasion-resistant – great for fishing toothy fish, * titanium wire is corrosion-resistant and can last for a long time, even surpassing stainless-steel wires, * due to the strength and elasticity, titanium wires are almost entirely kink-proof. Copper, monel and
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
-core fishing lines are used as heavy trolling main lines, usually followed with fluorocarbon line near the lure or bait with fishing swivel between the lines. Due to their high density, these fishing lines sink rapidly in water and require less line for achieving desired trolling depth. On the other hand, these lines are relatively thick for desired strength, especially when compared with braided fishing lines and often require reels with larger spools.


Environmental impact

Discarded monofilament fishing line takes up to 600 years to decompose. There have been several types of biodegradable fishing lines developed to minimize the impact on the environment.Bird, Lev
Environmentally-Friendly Biodegradable Fishing Line
''chum-bucket.com'' Retrieved March 15, 2017


See also

* Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene *
Braided fishing line Braided line was one of the earliest types of fishing line, and in its modern incarnations it is still very popular in some situations because of its high knot strength, lack of stretch, and great overall power in relation to its diameter. Back ...
*
Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
*
Fish hook A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called an angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish mouth (angling) or, more rarely, by i ...
*
Fluorocarbon Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often have distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Several fluorocarbons and their derivatives are ...
*
Fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...
* Monofilament line *
Multifilament fishing line Multifilament line, also referred to as ''The Super Lines'', is a type of fishing line. It is a braided line which is made up of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), a specialty polyethylene polymer that makes an extremely thin line ...


External links

*Fishing line: How its mad

*Fishing line: How to put line on spinning ree


References

{{fisheries and fishing Fishing equipment