Early lines Leonard Mascall, in his book from 1596 titled "A Booke of fishing with Hooke and Line, and of all other instruments thereunto belonging". followed in many ways after Dame Juliana Berners, has an excerpt establishing silk worms in the area of England at that time: ... ... And another excerpt explaining compiling a silk leader-line for a catgut fly-line. So back then there was silk and horse hair used for angling. As written in 1667 by
Samuel Pepys, the fishing lines in his time were made from
catgut. Later, silk fishing lines were used around 1724.
Modern lines Modern fishing lines intended for spinning, spin cast, or bait casting reels are almost entirely made from artificial substances, including
nylon (typically 610 or 612),
polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF, also called fluorocarbon),
polyethylene,
Dacron and
UHMWPE (Honeywell's
Spectra or
Dyneema). The most common type is
monofilament, made of a single strand. Fishermen often use monofilament because of its buoyant characteristics and its ability to stretch under load. The line stretch has advantages, such as damping the force when setting the hook and when fighting strong fish. On very far distances the damping may become a disadvantage. Recently, other alternatives to standard nylon monofilament lines have been introduced made of copolymers or fluorocarbon, or a combination of the two materials. Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of the
fluoropolymer PVDF and it is valued for its
refractive index, which is similar to that of water, making it less visible to fish. Fluorocarbon is also a denser material, and therefore, is not nearly as buoyant as monofilament. Anglers often utilize fluorocarbon when they need their baits to stay closer to the bottom without the use of heavy sinkers. There are also
braided fishing lines,
cofilament and
thermally fused lines, also known as "superlines" for their small diameter, lack of stretch, and great strength relative to standard nylon monofilament lines. Braided, thermally fused, and chemically fused varieties of "
superlines" are now readily available.
Specialty lines Fly lines consist of a tough braided or monofilament core, wrapped in a thick waterproof plastic sheath, often of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In the case of floating fly lines, the PVC sheath is usually embedded with many "microballoons", or air bubbles, and may also be impregnated with silicone or other lubricants to give buoyancy and reduce wear. In order to fill up the reel spool and ensure an adequate reserve in case of a run by a powerful fish, fly lines are usually attached to a secondary line at the butt section, called backing. Fly line backing is usually composed of braided dacron or gelspun monofilaments. All fly lines are equipped with a leader of monofilament or fluorocarbon fishing line, usually (but not always) tapered in diameter, and referred to by the "X-size" (0X, 2X, 4X, etc.) of its final tip section, or tippet. Tippet size is usually between 0X and 8X, where 0X is the thickest diameter, and 8X is the thinnest. There are exceptions to this, and tippet sizes do exist outside of the 0X–8X parameter.
Tenkara lines are special lines used for the fixed-line fishing method of tenkara. Traditionally these are furled lines the same length as the tenkara rod. Although original to Japan, these lines are similar to the British tradition of
furled leader. They consist of several strands being twisted together in decreasing numbers toward the tip of the line, thus creating a taper that allows the line to cast the fly. It serves the same purpose as the fly-line, to propel a fly forward. They may be tied of various materials, but most commonly are made of monofilament.
Wire lines are frequently used as leaders to prevent the fishing line from being severed by toothy fish. Usually braided from several metal strands, wire lines may be made of
stainless steel,
titanium, or a combination of metal alloys coated with plastic.
Stainless-steel line leaders provide: • bite protection – it is extremely hard for fish to cut the steel wire, regardless of jaw and teeth strength and sharpness, • abrasion resistance – sharp rocks and objects can damage other lines, while steel wire can cut through most of the materials, • single-wire (single-strand) leaders are not as flexible as multi-strand steel wire, but are extremely strong and tough, • multi-strand steel wire leaders are very flexible, but are somewhat more abrasive and more damage-prone than single-strand wires.
Titanium fishing leaders are actually titanium–nickel alloys that have several very important features: • titanium leader lines are very flexible, regardless of whether they are single- or multi-strand lines/wires, • these lines are very elastic – they can stretch up to 10% without permanent damage to the line itself – perfect for hook setting, • these lines are knottable just as nylon monofilament lines, • surface is rather hard and abrasion-resistant – great for fishing toothy fish, • titanium wire is corrosion-resistant and can last for a long time, even surpassing stainless-steel wires, • due to the strength and elasticity, titanium wires are almost entirely kink-proof.
Copper,
monel and
lead-core fishing lines are used as heavy trolling main lines, usually followed with fluorocarbon line near the lure or bait with
fishing swivel between the lines. Due to their high density, these fishing lines sink rapidly in water and require less line for achieving desired trolling depth. On the other hand, these lines are relatively thick for desired strength, especially when compared with braided fishing lines and often require reels with larger spools. ==Environmental impact==