Nylon Advantage

During a recent fishing trip with some friends the question of fishing lines was raised. More specifically, why anyone would fish with nylon line given the advantages of braided lines. A reasonable question given that we were fishing with soft plastics where the advantages of braid well and truly come to the fore. But upon further discussion, I realised that this particular friend of mine didn’t really understand the advantages of nylon fishing line in other applications.

Given the rise of soft plastic fishing and more recently jigging, it’s understandable that some people would think that nylon fishing lines have had their day. But in reality, there are still times where nylon beats braid hands dwn.

In order to understand which applications suit nylon over braid, you must first understand the characteristics of both types of lines.

Without getting too technical, braided lines differ from nylon lines in 2 key ways. Firstly, braided lines have virtually no stretch, meaning that when a fish is hooked and pulling away, the line itself is not stretching and the fish is feeling the full effect of the reels drag almost instantly. Nylon line however does stretch, and depending on how much line you have out, it can stretch a considerable amount.

The second key area of difference is in abrasion resistance. Braided lines are thinner, with very little abrasion resistance, whereas nylon line tends to be thicker and less prone to breakage as a result of being dragged over rough surfaces such as gill plates, rocks or reefy outcrops.

Whilst the shortcomings of a lack of abrasion resistance in braided lines can be overcome to an extend by the use of a heavier, tougher leader material (often nylon line, but more commonly flurocarbon), there are applications where the toughness and extra stretch of nylon is invaluable.

One such example is game fishing, particularly when using lighter lines. Here the amount of stretch offered by nylon gives the advantage of acting as a shock absorber, allowing the line to stretch without breaking, or pulling the hooks from the fishes mouth. The increased diameter of nylon line is also adventageous in these circumstances as it creates more drag as the fish pulls it through the water, causing the fish to tire more quickly.

Another situation where nylon is considered superior to braid is in live bait fishing, or bottom bashing for large reef species such as Red Emperor. These heavy weight, hard hitting fish do not require finesse to get them to hook up, so the extra sensitivity offered by low stretch braid is of no real advantage. They do however run hard back towards structure when hooked, structure such as rocks or reefy outcrops which would quickly spell disaster for braid. The extra stretch of nylon also makes it harder for fish to throw the hooks because the line will tend to ‘give’ a little rather than pulling the hooks out of the fishes mouth.

Of course these are just some of the many advantages of nylon fishing lines. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that braids are the best type of lines for all occasions. Keep in mind the advantages of nylon lines for reef, bait and game fishing and you’re sure to land more fish than you lose.