Is Spectra Fishing Line Always
Better Than Nylon Line?

Spectra fishing line, along with Dyneema fishing line, is one of the new braid lines becoming the line material of choice for many fishing applications.

So Spectra and Dyneema are pretty much the same, right?

Well no, not exactly. Although both Spectra and Dyneema are HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) fibres, in some circles Spectra is said to be of a slightly ‘higher quality’ than Dyneema, particularly in terms of its abrasion resistance.

But there's another train of thought that says that Spectra fishing lines are less consistent in quality.

Dyneema is made in Europe, Spectra in the USA. Could this be significant ...?

Either way, Spectra line is good stuff, but how does it compare with the best of nylon monofilament lines?

In its favour ...

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• It has near zero stretch, which is great for bite detection.

• Its near zero stretch enables the angler to control lure action when jigging and spinning.

• It has an amazing strength/diameter ratio which means you can get an awful lot of it on the reel.

• Its small diameter enables it to fly through the air with ease, for prodigious distance casting.

• Its small diameter enables it to cut through the water better than mono, allowing deeper trolling and faster deep-drop jigging.

• Spectra line has no reel memory whatsoever.

Not so good ...

• Spectra line is so thin and hard it can cut fingers to the bone. Be careful!

• It can be similarly hard on rod guides. Use it only on rods with roller guides or rings intended for use with braid lines.

• Its near-zero stretch means that it has no shock absorbing properties what so ever. It's hard on the angler's arms and shoulders, and on the fish's mouth too.

• All braid line can be very visible in the water, particularly when seen from below and silhouetted against the sky.

• Only a few knots will work in braid lines - have a look at these braided fishing line knots to learn how to tie the ones that will.

• Spectra doesn't cast well from baitcast reels. Its small diameter lets it squeeze between the underlying coils, resulting a short cast if you're lucky and a birdsnest and a crack-off if you're not! A fixed spool reel is a much better tool for casting braid lines like Spectra.

• And yes, you've guessed it - it's expensive!