What To Look For
Berkley Fireline Braid fishing line is available in varying pound tests, but freshwater anglers will concentrate on those lying between the 2- and 15-lb. range depending on the fish targeted. Fireline Braid will work well for crappie and perch that school in and around brush piles. Bass and pike that hide in the thick weeds will fall victim to this line. Fireline Braid is much smoother than most braided lines, casts better and resists knotting up in high wind. This line works well when flipping lures on baitcasters. Its greatest asset, besides its superior superline strength, is its sensitivity to biting fish. Low visibility once in the water is another great feature of Berkley Fireline Braid fishing line. This line comes on 110- and 300-yard spools.
Common Pitfalls
Like all superlines, Fireline Braid is not the easiest line to tie knots in. This line will cut through your hands on those occasions when you fail to exercise care when trying to extricate a lure or hook from a snag. The biggest drawback for Berkley Fireline Braid, though, is its high cost.
Where To Buy
This brand of fishing line is available in most bait and tackle shops but not always on the shelves in stores such as Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods. It is readily available online from a number of sites, including Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops, Tackle Warehouse and the Berkley website.
Cost
For the lower pound tests of this line you will pay around $18 to $20 in 2009 for a 110-yard spool. The 300-yard spool runs between $38 and $40 per spool. Berkley offers a 1,500-yard spool of this line for about $175 for the 3-lb. through 12-lb. test and $192 for the 14- and 15-lb. version.
Comparison Shopping
Other braided fishing lines have qualities similar to Fireline Braid in terms of its sensitive nature to bites and its strength, but they cannot match it in important ways. Most braided lines will at some point cut into the spool of the reel and erode rod guides. Fireline Braid, however, will not do this. On a windy day, Fireline Braid will not tangle and knot up as other braided lines tend to. The cost of Berkley Fireline Braid exceeds that of most other kinds of braided lines. For example, it costs nearly twice as much as Spiderwire Stealth. Nevertheless, the durability of this line, along with how it differs from most braided lines, makes it worth the extra money.
