Crystal vs smoke fireline

[tunaticer]

G'day fellas,

Time is nearing for replacing the fireline on some of my reels. I intend to buy a 1100 spool as im sick and tired of offcuts and remnants.

My question is apart from the colour what is the difference between crystal and smoke coloured firelines?

Is there a difference in tying ability or thickness or stiffness?

All my reels currently run smoke and I am happy with how it performs.

What braids work well on small overheads (tld5) and baitcasters (calcutta 200)?

Jack.

[Tetsuo]

From what I hear the crystal is superior, dont know why

[ENGIBEER]

Hi tunaticer,

I've got my SP rig spooled with 4lb crystal and I've had no troubles with it at all. It is essentially the same as regular fireline except that the fibres used in manufacture a semi transparent.

The transparent aspect of this line may be of benefit in clear, shallow water on spooky fish.

Although I have heard different, to me it casts the same and seems to have the same knot characteristics as regular fireline.

The only thing that may be a problem is that it only goes to 20lb.

Regarding braid for your baitcasters etc. I have used bionic braid for a fair while and I can't fault it.

Cheers
ENGIBEER

[ffejsmada]

Jack, Apart from colour, I don't know what the difference between the 2 is, but,
I can tell you that I had some horrible experiences with Crystal.
I don't know why but I had wind knots, tangles, bustoffs etc, I thought it was sh!t.
I then went to Fireline smoke and love the stuff! Same reel, same everything, can't explain it, but I know I will never use crystal again.

A bloke at the tackle store told me that Crystal breaks at its rated strain whereas other Firelines break at a higher poundage than rated. This could be possible as I had heaps of problems with the sh!t.

I've found the only problem with smoke is its lack of visibility when using light jigheads etc.


For your small baitcasters and overheads, I reckon Nitlon is the best by a mile.
Nice and round, supple, good stuff.

Nitlon for overheads and baitcasters, Fireline for threadlines for me.

Cheers Jeff.

[Horse]

Jack

I have had some 8lb Crystal on my main Snapper SP outfit. It has landed a lot of Snapps, Spotties and small Tuna. It still looks like new. It certainly breaks way above stated as does most Fireline

I would go with a true braid like Fins for a baitcaster

Cheers

Neil

[BARRAkid]

yep for you tld5 and calcutta i would go bionic first and if you dont like that finns then nitlon

barrakid

[chief 1]

get crystal,that's what my mate has and it is excellent,i'm gonna get some soon

[Tailortaker]

I have smoke on two outfits and love it. Had no problems what so ever
Cheers TT

[loophole]

not much difference betwwen smoke and crystal except crystal is a lil bit thineer dia to mee anyway. and is a semi transperent but only goes up to 20lb.

[Tetsuo]

I guess this shows it all comes down to personal preference. I would definately say crystal breaks WAY above its stated strain. I use it in 2lb and have pulled an old tyre out of the mud with it when snagged. Couldnt believe it! Everyone fishes differently but for me, I wouldn't consider any fireline over two pound. It is too stiff. On the flip side I hate Nitlon in the light end because it air knots (I'm told its great in the 10lb and over though).

[LIVE_2_FiSH]

Im pretty sure someone told me at BCF one time that the crystal fireline is a rounder line, whereas the normal fireline is flatter. He claimed that the crystal had better knot tying strength because it was a round line compared to the flatter standard fireline.

[Scott nthQld]

I use both crystal and smoke fireline, I find the smoke colour to be a little stiffer, but have not noticed any other differences in performance. I use the crystal on 2 thread line reels, in 4, 6 and 14lb, and have one overhead spooled with smoke in 20lb. I would probably go with crystal as its a bit softer and easier to tie knots with, but that would be the only reason, I can't fault either.

[alleycat]

Yes crystal is rounder than normal fireline and another big difference is that you can trust it, when i used normal fireline every 3rd spool was faulty and wouldnt hold a knot no matter what i tied, since ive started using crystal ive had not one bad spool, if you can find better then buy it but for the money and dependabillity i use crystal.

[Keechie]

i have used both the pink and the crystal i currently have 2 reels with the crystal and one with the pink personally there is no fifference except the colour. i just pay the extra as insurance and saves respooling the fireline every 3 months or less which i have found with normal fireline.

regards,
keechie