I can understand that about line diameter but because of my age I'm still old school and go by breaking strain but I can see the difference you mean between real lines and mono used for pole rigs.still thanks for being so informative lads👍

Sorry, but something that never needed to be changed! And to prove the point, they still add the breaking strain, just in smaller print, at least on the preston ranges of line. That's all ive bought since returning to fishing. But swapping those out in hooklengths for Guru products.

For me coming back to fishing after a 20+ year break, a couple of years ago. I was utterly confused >.< I still go back to breaking strain, but slowly getting used to diameters now

I always talk in diameters as it’s easier to compare set ups between different anglers using different brands. Also generally (some exceptions) the diameter is more accurate than the actual breaking strains (versus stated) from my tests. Did I miss the bit when Andy told us why we use diameter, not sure he answered the question, it’s just what we all do nowadays isn’t a reason. The irony is that he is a big fan of the Preston pre tied commercial hooks which are all tied on Reflo power which is 0.02-0.03 understated!

Are you boys doing the diameters on rod and line work as well for us that have not succumbed to the pole? Great advice as always Mr May 👍👍

I still use breaking strain as a guide as different makes have different breaking strains for the same diameter. I do tend to stick with one make of line or I could get confused.I just use stronger mainline than the hook length which keeps it simple for an old git like me.

Great video andy

Understand what you’re saying but if you buy pre-tied hooks you don’t always know what line has been used so the breaking strain does help as a guide, for instance the Preston 14 have a breaking strain on over 7lb, at 0.19, so if I used 0.20 or 0.21 for the rig, unless I get the right brand/type of line I could find myself with rig line having a lower breaking strain than the hook length.

It’s surprising how many people think you need to use a line which has a breaking strain the same or bigger than the fish they try to catch.

They tried to fix something that wasn't broken. Diameters to strength can vary wildly between brands too, so why aren't they specifying the brand too? At the end of the day, if you're using a high quality line there is nothing wrong with referring to the line strength, as it's likely to be a low diameter anyway.

All you've done is confirm that it's easier to work in bs rather than diameter. You don't have to consider material (mono/fluro/braid), hi tec or stretch.

Is there a maximum difference you would have between main and hook length I use .14 main and .10 hook length for the Canal do you think .8 in the cold months would make a difference