Getting a Line on Fishing Tackle Records
by Herb Allen
The late Dr. Frank Cogdell, the man who developed Stren Fishing Line for DuPont in 1939, taught me more about line in 30 minutes than I could learn in 30 days by conventional means.
I've always been a bit confused, for example, about the difference between "class line" and "pound-test" line.
"Pound-test is designed so that it breaks at a load not less than its designated strength," Cogdell told me during a visit to the American Fishing Tackle Manufacturer's Association (AFTMA) show in Dallas. "A 12-pound-test line should break at not more than 12 pounds."
The vast majority of line being sold today, he pointed out, is pound-test, but class line is the one used by anglers seeking IGFA records.
Dr. Cogdell went on to say that whether a fish line is sold as a pound-test line or as world-record class line--and what pound test it is given--depends solely on how the manufacturer chooses to label it.
Should you catch what you may think is a record-sized fish in a certain line-test category, it is tested wet by IGFA. "A wet line always loses a bit of its strength," Cogdell said.
Therefore, if you're entering a fish in the 12-pound test category with pound-test line (instead of class line), the breaking strength might be reduced enough by the line being soaked to qualify in the intended category.
There are exceptions.
"In the case of some lines, say a 'super-strong' line not sold as a class line, some manufacturers may want to advertise it as the strongest line on the market, so the maker takes line that is made to break at 18 or 19 pounds and labels it 12-pound test. That gives this particular manufacturer the strongest 12-pound line on the market because it's actually 19-pound test line," he pointed out.
"At least a couple of premium lines currently on the market are being sold like that," he added. "If somebody catches a record fish on that line, he's in for a disappointment because it'll never qualify under IGFA standards."
Apparently we also have to watch class lines too.
Dr. Cogdell said he knows of some class line makers that market a product that's guaranteed not to break at, say, 12 pounds.
"To be sure it won't, these manufacturers take their 8-pound-test line and label it 12-pound-test line. Sure it'll qualify for an IGFA record in the 12-pound category because it's substantially lighter than that," he concluded.
