A discovery about ancient line

[HarveysMinnow]

In my younger days, I fished almost exclusively with either a fly rod or an ultralight spinning combo . Why? It was partly that I didn’t know any better and partly because I didn’t have access to any public fishing areas that produced large bass. I rarely used a line stronger than 4# and while fishing in small farm ponds (the 2-3 acre range), I sometimes had great fun landing that 2# bass on 4# line. But mainly I was after the saucer-sized bluegill that thrived in these environments and I usually used 2# line for them. Live grasshoppers or crickets worked real well.

My ‘go to’ reel back then was my Mitchell 308 and I kept 4# Stren monofilament on one spool, and 2# Stren on the other. While rummaging in my old fishing stuff recently, I found the spare spool for this reel, and it was still wound with 2# Stren on which I had written the date of install … June 16, 1969.

Although this 41 yr old line seemed a bit more brittle than I remembered, it was intact, so I decided to test its approximate breaking strength using my digital fish scale. I tied the line to a small hook with a Palomar knot and attached the scale. To my total amazement, this line broke consistently at about 1 lb 12 oz. It didn’t break at the knot but farther back near the reel spool.

So, what does this tell us? For one thing, I don't throw things away very often. Another point is that Stren was making damn fine line back then, and it must have had great chemical stability. The other noteworthy thing was that this line had not degraded a great deal in all that time. Of course, it had been stored in the dark at a relatively constant temperature for most of that time. I’m assuming this monofiliment was a type of nylon, as most spinning lines were back then. Having worked with polymers, I know that sunlight is one of the worst enemies to many polymers, So maybe a lesson to be learned here is that we should store our spare lines in the dark. I’m also tempted (if I can get my old 308 reel working) to wet this line and see if it has any abrasion resistance left. It may fall apart on the first cast.

Any comments or opinions?

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[walkeraviator]

that sounds like a really cool find.... i did this once with some reloads my dad loaded in teh mid 70's... still fired with pinpoint precision and reliability thanks to good storage.

You should try a shock test on teh line as well. Just a pulling tension is only half the story when fishing... Think about the shock that happens when you set the hook on a a slightly slack line. You should figure out a way to test THAT strength as well. Then you should consider sending this info to Stren and let em know your story.


And then you should go try and catch a Gill or two on it and send us pictures...

[BigBassin144]

For one, Stren used to make great line. It was all my dad used for years. Who knows what happened...

Second, storing the line a temperature controlled, dark space will help preserve it. Nylon lines deteriorate with exposure to both heat and UV light. However, it may have retained it strength, it will (like you said it is) be much more brittle.

Another thing I've found with old nylon lines is that when used (or in my case, removed from a reel) they will leave behind a powdery residue on anything it has consistent contact with (guides, line guide on the reel, even fingers).

BB

[Abbeysdad]

Nylon lasts a very long time, especially if not exposed to excessive heat and/or sunlight. Think of all the plastic nylon things in our world that last a very long time.
Nylon monofilament will maintain it's properties, but typically looses some strength over time as the molecular alignment established in the drawing process slides back some.
The white powder is either monomer or slight amounts of zink sterate used in the extrusion process as a powder lubricant (helps to prevent sticking in the feed section of the screw).