FAITH in FUSION LINES
SpiderLine and FireLine
by Peter "PJ" Horsnail

Some lure anglers, and I'm one of them, still put their faith in Fusion lines rather than Braids or Monos. I think that Fusion lines have most of the advantages of true woven braids but behave much more like my traditional nylon monos without any of their disadvantages. On the other hand, some lure anglers seem to have a dislike of fusion lines - each to their own preferences!

Made of Polythene
Fusion lines are made from the same type of polythene micro-fibres as braids but instead of being woven into a braid, the fibres are coated with a very thin layer of resin, a sort of sleeve.

Fusion lines used to be cheaper than braids which is one of the main reasons that I originally tried them out. They're much more expensive than monos though. Nowadays Fusion lines are about the same price as Braids e.g. £25 for 300 m of 80 lb B.S. The Fusion lines that I mainly use are SpiderLine Fusion and Berkley Fireline; they used to be from different companies but now Berkley have bought Mitchell and with it, Spiderwire !

Fewer problems with Fusions
I've read so many different claims about lines, braids, monos, fusions etc., that I sometimes find that it's difficult to know exactly who and what to believe! Initially I tried Braids but I had one or two problems with tangles and knots in the early so I tried a Fusion line instead and I didn't have nearly so many problems, so I've stuck with them for some of my fishing with lures and jerkbaits etc. I should say that I also use braids for my lure fishing as well as fusion lines, probably about 50% of the time, depending on the venue and lure size etc.

I use anything up to 100 lb BS Fusion lines and even at that strength they're still fairly thin. I kicked off with Fireline as it was one of the first Fusion lines on the market and I got on with it like a house on fire.

Low Stretch
I like the low stretch of Fusion lines because it puts me in more direct contact with my lures and my pike and other predators. Until I tried Fusion lines, I hadn't realised just how much sag and stretch you get with nylon monos especially when you're fishing at a distance.

About Abrasion!
I've read all about this abrasion resistance business or lack of rather, and what I have noticed with Fusion lines is that the coating can wear off quite quickly and this exposes the tiny fibres inside and the line gets a hairy look about it. This can't be good and it bothers me a bit. I check the first couple of yards just before I tie on my trace and I cut off any sections that are starting to look a bit dodgy.

Correct Knots
Also with Fusion lines you have to be very careful about which knots you use. If I'm not quite sure, I always use the ones recommended on the box or spool e.g. Trilene, Palomar and Grinner. Other knots can slip or break at a lower BS than they should. Also I always wet the Fusion line really well before pulling my knots tight.

Then came SpiderLine Fusion !
After Fireline I tried this SpiderLine Fusion mainly because it had come down in price a lot. According to the manufacturers' bumf, Fireline is made from Micro Dyneema and SpiderWire is made from Spectra. Dyneema and Spectra are brand names of two types of high performance polythene micro-fibres from different manufacturers. I think that they are fairly similar, but naturally one manufacturer is always claiming to be better than the other.

Of the two I think that on balance I prefer SpiderLine Fusion for my jerkbait fishing with lures well over 3 or 4 oz and I use Fireline for smaller lures. I've been using them for quite a while now and I've got faith in them both! Peter "PJ" Horsnail

Nick's Notes: An interesting if slightly contentious article because some lure anglers have moved away from fusion lines presumably to braids, or back to monos, but it's interesting to see that fusion lines still have a following out there - as PJ says, each to their own.

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