The best fishing line for Alaska in 2019 was put to the test by Fish Alaska staff all summer to bring you our favorite fishing line no matter where and how you fish in Alaska.
From braid to monofilament, fluorocarbon to spectra, leader to tippet, and spey line to Skagit tips, we’ve compiled our favorite fishing line here for you.
This is the best fishing line for 2019
| P-Line Halo Fluorocarbon Co-Fluoride Fishing Line p-line.com This new line is a blend of different fluorocarbon crystals to blend the characteristics of the different types of fluorocarbon to produce a line with the best combination of strength, sensitivity, and castability. We used 6-pound-test as a main line when fishing for trout and were impressed. The line holds knots nicely, casts well, and transmits bites. We also used the 30-pound-test as salmon leader and loved the toughness, abrasion resistance, and invisibility. It sinks quickly, making for a good leader material for bottom-hugging salmon. |
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| Izorline FluoroCarbon Leader izorline.com Izorline FluoroCarbon is one of the best fluorocarbon leader materials on the market. It ties great knots, has excellent abrasion resistance, and is super clear. It’s available in a very wide range of sizes—from 2-pound-test all the way up to 300-pound-test. Our tester used 25-pound-test for Chinook fishing with eggs under a bobber, and he used 40-pound-test for herring mooching leaders. He landed numerous kings with both and says Izorline is the real deal. |
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| Cortland Master Braid cortlandline.com We used 30-pound-test to catch all five species of salmon and it worked well. It’s quiet in the rod guides and casts smoothly. It doesn’t tip wrap like some braids and the color remained consistent throughout multiple trips. We tried the moss-green color; Cortland offers many colors, spool sizes, and pound-tests from 8- to 200. |
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| Cortland Compact Float Fly-Fishing Line cortlandline.com We tested the 9/10 model and were impressed. We used it to throw weighted flies to coho in places where there wasn’t much room for a backcast. It really loads quickly and line shoots easily with little false casting. The 350-grain, 100-foot fishing line is comprised of a 3-foot front taper, 20-foot body, 3-foot back taper, 13-foot step, and 61 feet of running line. |
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| RIO InTouch Big Nasty WF6F LumiLux rioproducts.com The InTouch Big Nasty is a floating, glow-in-the-dark fly line. In the daytime it just looks white, but in twilight, it’s much more visible than other fly lines. The line features a short, powerful front taper that has no problem casting weighted streamers and large terrestrial patterns, and is heavier than the industry standard to load modern rods quickly. The fishing line is built on RIO’s ultra-low stretch ConnectCore for the minimum of stretch and the maximum in performance, and features RIO’s XS and AgentX technologies, as well as welded loops on both ends. |
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| RIO InTouch Skagit Max Game Changer rioproducts.com The InTouch Skagit Max Game Changer is a multi-density Skagit head that cuts through surface currents enabling a deeper, straighter, and slower swing than you’d get with an all-floating Skagit head. The seamless transitions between densities results in a smooth-casting fishing line with excellent turnover for big flies and sink tips. It’s available in three different options to fish depth ranges from near surface, to depths of 4- to 8 feet (F/H/I/S3), and to depths of 8- to 12 feet (F/I/S3/S5). This last one is money for all you king swingers. It’s available in grain weights from 450- through 725 grains. Our tester used the 525-grain with a 10-foot section of T-11 attached and commented that this head definitely swings slower and deeper compared to all-floating heads with the same T-11 tip and fly. |
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| Berkley x5 Braid berkley-fishing.com This 5-strand braid fishing line is tough, casts nicely, holds knots, and doesn’t stretch. We tested the 8-pound-test low-vis green on trout and char, and it worked well. It comes in a range of sizes. It’s available in tests from 8- to 80-pound and also in a crystal color. |
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