Looking to buy a pressie for a Carp mad Cousin. His Dad mentioned that he could do with some new fishing line.

He needs apx. 1000m of the stuff and I know its not cheap to buy, he is using 6-8lb line at the moment.

He fishes local Carp pools and his PB best carp is 17.5lbs if that helps?

Can anyone give me pointers as to which brand of line would be worth looking to buy for him.

Many Thanks.

opps, just a thought, this might be the "what tyre" question of fishing 😉

Daiwa Sensor
Gardner GR60 or GT80

good, reliable and cheap

suggest 300m spools as the cheaper option as there is no need to put 1000m on a reel. Most reels will not hold more than 300m anyway.

Look at Berkley Fireline

I do a bit of sea fishing and braided line is always the best, im assuming same for carp fishing?

Hi Ski,

I used to work for Fishtec, who are the main suppliers of the TFG brand in the UK.

TFG (Total Fishing Gear, owned by Matt Hayes of Discovery Real Time fame) make some absolutely cracking lines. DO NOT be put off by the fact that it's not a well-known brand. I was one of the product testers on both their "Redmist" and "Gunsmoke" carp lines. I went to the Nash Resort in the south of France (ask your cousin – he'll know it) for a week to test them, and caught carp up to 40lb using 15lb mainline.

http://www.nashresorts.com – My picture is on there with a 36lb carp caught on TFG Gunsmoke line in September 2007.

I didn't suffer any problems with the line whatsoever and I would wholeheartedly recommend it (no, I don't work for, or get paid by Fishtec any more!).

Check out http://www.fishtec.co.uk . The Redmist line is cracking value but is not to everyone's taste (the red colour seems to put people off, although it has been proven to have absolutely no effect on the fish).

You could also look at Fox, Daiwa, or Nash lines too. If your cousin is going after fish up to around the 20-25lb mark, then 12lb line should be more than capable. Hope this helps matey. Email me if you need any more info about anything 🙂

Wow, thanks for all the replys & for all the advice.

Will go surfing now for prices with some of the info above, thanks again

suggest 300m spools as the cheaper option as there is no need to put 1000m on a reel. Most reels will not hold more than 300m anyway.

you're obviously NOT a carp angler as the OP requested.. or you would be aware that most modern carp anglers habitually use a multiple rod/reel set-up.

Buy him a bulk spool of 50lb PowerPro and he'll never need to replace his line again!

Yunki is right to say that 300yds wouldn't go far – I put at least 200 yds on each spool (big pit reels, 3-rod set up). Carpers should be able to cast 100yds with a balanced set up, and a bolting carp can easily cover 50yds before you even pick the rod up, so you need plently of line.

If PowerPro is too rich for your tastes, or if he fishes waters that ban braided mainlines, I'd also recomment Daiwa Sensor. Bulk spools are good value and it's a top quality, robust line that doesn't seem to deteriorate as quickly as others.

Never got on with Berkley, or Fox Soft Steel etc – over priced and damage easily.

Never got on with Berkley, or Fox Soft Steel etc – over priced and damage easily.

Agree with you there, Shibboleth – I used Fox SS Camo on one of my rods over in France and it was much more 'brittle' than the other lines I used.

I think ZaskarCarbon says all I'd say – my PB is 27lb and I've never used anymore than 12lb line.

I used to use Maxima which I'm sure is terribly out of date with whats avaiable these days, been a few years since I spent a day at a lake.

Why would you want 50lb line? I have never used anything greater than 15lb and have bagged 44lb carp in France no problem on the stuff.

I think the heaviest line I ever used was about 16lb.

(anyone want to buy my carp gear – must have about £2K's worth of rods, reels, bivvy, bags, alarms etc. Don't seem myself getting the chance to get fishing anytime in the next few years what with kids, bikes etc…

I guess I ought to get off my backside and get it inventoried and onto ebay / one of the fishing forums.)

Daiwa Sensor is a fine option.

Another favourite of mine is Maxima.

I'm not / wasn't a bivvy boy, but I match fished at commercials etc, PB of 17.5lbs btw, athough I doubt my tatics would go down well with a carper – it was caught on pole at a Place in Oxfordshire as part of a good ton+ in a 5hr match 😀

Braid is a no go on a lot of waters adn 50lb line is just fekkin stupid for freshwater fishing in the UK.

Shibboleth – Member
….and a bolting carp can easily cover 50yds before you even pick the rod up, so you need plently of line.

Once you drag yer ass out of the bivvy, put down the beer and stub out the blunt, maybe 😆 😉

Dimmadan – Member
Why would you want 50lb line? I have never used anything greater than 15lb and have bagged 44lb carp in France no problem on the stuff.

Braided lines are far lower diametre than equivalent monos, so 50lb PowerPro is probably similar in diametre to 10lb mono. Using 15lb braid – which would be as thin as 2lb mono could cause horrific injuries to a fish thrashing round in the net.

And anyway, why would you use weaker line when strong, thin line is available??? Is it that outmoded belief that light tackle makes you more of a sportsman? Because as far as I'm concerned, leaving hooks in fish, or cracking off and leaving bated rigs in the water is just plain dangerous.

I went over to braid for lure fishing for pike about 10-12 years ago, then started using it for long range drifter work and realised that its qualites – zero stretch, strength, longevity – make it a much safer, more sensible and cost effective main line.

suggest 300m spools as the cheaper option as there is no need to put 1000m on a reel. Most reels will not hold more than 300m anyway.this is good advice

you're obviously NOT a carp angler as the OP requested.. or you would be aware that most modern carp anglers habitually use a multiple rod/reel set-up. and all the thick ones have every real with the same line.

and you sir must stop and think before you comment, most carp anglers that are on the boil, will not always start with 3 rods that all have the same real line.

ive fished with many of the countries top carp lads and most make line decision based on what distance is needed for the cast,what size lead they will need to make that cast,and weather a shock leader is a better option.then most will start to think about what the bottom layer of the lake is like .is it clay,, does it contain pebbles is there dying weed, rotting leaves.and so on…

imo i would by the tfg line as its fantastic stuff. but you could buy 2x300m spools of 12lb line and 1x300m spool of 14lb line there fore giving you a much better spectrum for fishing.

Using 15lb braid – which would be as thin as 2lb mono could cause horrific injuries to a fish thrashing round in the net……. utter crap. .why would it. braid and mono offer no difference in strength when there not put under pressure,and as the fish is in the net, your line should not be tort, and your bait runner engaged, so you can freely pull of line.a net big enough for the fish to thrash around in comfortably might help.

I went over to braid for lure fishing for pike about 10-12 years ago, then started using it for long range drifter work and realised that its qualites – zero stretch, strength, longevity – make it a much safer, more sensible and cost effective main line.

and that is where it shines, there is nothing compared to braid when pike fishing with lures spoons or jerk baits. but this is down to being able to impart action on your lures due to your braid having no stretch.but braid does have its short comings,its not the best caster when the wind picks up.and is a right pain to undo when you get a knot or overcast on a multiplier.

when i used to fish for" team milo" in france we as a team lost count the amount of times carp lads had struck on braid and cut through another carp that was feeding next to it. 50lb braid when tort does tend to have that cheese wire property and for a carp angler to not use a shock leader of line would be foolish.

and dont get me started on the amount of times ive seen pike anglers chuck 8 to 14oz sized mackerel and lamprey baits to the horizon only for them to crack of on the cast,leaving a baited set of trebbles in the lake for a poor pike to find..or those pikers who try to cast under the local nearside tree get it wrong and leave a mackerel hanging for all the birds to get stuck on as it slowly rots away.or the pikers who think its ok to just sneak a quick live bait on when no ones looking.

as you may of guessed ive spent years on my life fishing and seen it all carpers and pikers. and in the last few years the barbel and big chub brigade.

Shibboleth – Member
….and a bolting carp can easily cover 50yds before you even pick the rod up, so you need plently of line.

Once you drag yer ass out of the bivvy, put down the beer and stub out the blunt, maybe lol.

Nash bullet working for me atm

woffle what have you got? I spend almost as much money on fishing gear as I do bikes.

Oh and second Daiwa Sensor (Korda Adrenaline has banked me a couple of long distance 30's recently though as well)