How to Measure Fishing Line Strength

How to Measure Fishing Line Strength

Flickr/stiina

Fishermen are famous for being fanatical about their gear, taking great care in the selection and setup of their rods, lures, and baits. Fishing line is also a big part of the equation. If you are looking to verify for yourself the claims made by manufacturers of fishing lines regarding the breaking strength of their products, run this test.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:
  • Vise
  • Round metal pipe
  • Medical tape
  • Sturdy metal roller brush handle
  • Padded roller brush
  • Digital scale with hook
  • Fishing line
Step 1
Wrap the metal pipe with two or three layers of medical tape. Secure the pipe in a vise.
Step 2
Cut a 6- to 8-foot piece of fishing line and wrap it around the pipe several times so that when pulling force is applied it will not slip. This is preferable to tying a knot, because in that case the test would be skewed by knot strength. Of course, you can later use knots and test knot strength with this same setup.
Step 3
Wrap the other end of the line around the padded roller brush in the same way that you wrapped the pipe. Place the padded roller brush onto the roller handle, and hook the digital scale to the handle.
Step 4
Have a helper ready with a pencil and paper to record results. Hold the digital scale and begin to pull it directly away from the vise.
Step 5
Watch the digital scale and call out the increasing readings as you apply more force. Record the highest reading displayed by the scale prior to the line breaking, and you have your tested line breaking strength.

Article Written By Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith began writing for Demand Studios in May of 2009 and has since written over 1400 articles for them. He also writes for "The College Baseball Newsletter." He attended the University of New Mexico, and has more than 25 years of experience in the business world.

Write for Trails.com
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