In honor of our new rating system, tonight I am going to take a look at a fishing line that came highly recommended to me which I decided to give a try. I picked up Izorline XXX Super Co-Polymer in two different pound classes. The first was 4 pound which I spooled on a couple of my Pflueger Presidents for this past trout season. The second was 8 pound that landed on a couple of bait-casters which I use all year long, even in the depth of winter, for bass fishing.
The first time that I used the 4 pound line I noticed a couple of things right away that had me thinking that this could be a mistake. Throwing the same exact lure side by side on the same exact equipment, the Izorline cost me between 10 to 15 percent on my distance when compared to my usual line which is P-Line CXX. Wanting to keep things as equal as possible, I gave the same rods to my son to see if he experienced the same thing. He did. For some reason, the Izorline just will not cast as far.
Line Memory
The next idiosyncrasy that cropped up was the memory of the Izorline. It does not stay smooth and flexible like the P-Line. Instead, it very quickly develops horrible memory that then causes the casting distance to be cut down even further and can cause some issues on your spinning reel.
So here we are, the day after we had this new line spooled on and it is creating problems not two hours into our day. Hoping that this would be an anomaly, we put down the first rod with the Izorline and picked up the second. Unfortuately, the line on that rod didn’t behave any differently than the first. Decreased casting distance, horrible memory and downright unpleasant to fish with. Oh well, being a sucker for punishment, we kept using both of those rigs when another problem cropped up.
Knot Strength
We were having a good day and catching a fair amount of fish when the next issue made itself known. The second fish that I hooked with the Izorline managed to break the line just as I was landing the fish. Now it’s bad enough to lose a fish right next to the boat but to have your line break is just about enough to send you in the water after it. I lost a lure to that one. But once again, I had to keep trying. I retied after checking the last ten feet or so of my line without detecting any frays or nicks and kept fishing.
We managed to land a couple of trout without incident but on the third fish, the line snapped again. Just as it had before, right above the knot. Another lost fish and another lost lure. By this time, we are really considering putting down the rigs with the Izorline and just using the others with the P-Line as they were as dependable as usual. This time we did. I took that line back, got a new spool and tried it again several days later. Unfortunately, there was no difference. The new line was just as problem ridden as the old and once again, cost me several fish and several lures.
During these trips, I used the 8 pound and to make a long story short, it was no better than the 4 pound. It exhibited the same characteristics as its light weight brother in every respect. Unforturnately, after this experience, I just can’t recommend this line to anybody. To me, there is nothing worse than doubting your line on every cast and retrieve that you make during a fishing trip. It takes away from your focus on what you’re doing, costs time, costs money and can turn a productive day into one of those that is remembered more for Murphy’s law than the joy of the day.
On our 5 star rating system, I would have to give Izorline XXX Super Co-Polymer 1/2 of a star.
See ya’ on the water …
You must have gotten a bad spool. I have been using this line for over a year and have had none of the problems you’ve mentioned. I find Izorline to be a very good affordable line
Hi Bob, I’m glad that you’re not experiencing the same problems that we did with the Izorline. In the article I mention that we did take the original spool back and had it replaced and that it had the same problems. My only explanation is that perhaps they changed manufacturing facilities and wound up with a bad batch which we were unfortunate enough to get for our tests. For me, the old adage,”fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”, is applicable. I hope that they now have those problems straightened out but I simply have no confidence in the Izorline at this point and like lures, you have to go with what you are most comfortable with. See ya’ on the water …
I read your review on Izor line and let me tell you a little of my experience with P-Line and Izor Line. I went from using P-Line all of there variations of line from 4# on down to 2# line. I have had the issues with P-Line with knicks that if I did not re-tie immediately my line would snap on the next hook up. I would have this issue with P-Line after catching 1-3 trout and was getting tired of having to check and re-tie my rig constantly, especially after I caught a sizable fish. I made the switch to Izor Line and compared platinum to XXX. Anything over 2# line in XXX is to stiff with a lot of memory for me when trout fishing, If I want to use 4# line I go with Izor Line Platinum and stay away from 4# XXX. The 2# Izor Line XXX is just as strong as any 4# line that I have used with superior shock strength on a hook set. I have had big trout jump, roll, tail wrap themselves on or with the line with no issues whatsoever. I have caught trout up to 9 lbs. on the 2# Izor Line XXX, as well as catfish up to 13 lbs when I was trout fishing. I rarely if ever have a snap off at the knot (polymer knot) or snap the line above the knot due to knicks in the line. It took me sometime to figure out the correct line to go with depending on the body of water that I plan to fish. Based on your review I see that you only used Izor Line a few times, but I do not think the shame on them and shame on you statement you say above applies when you are reviewing fishing gear in such a limited manner. Also I never buy Izor Line is 300 yard spools, buy it in 1/4 lb. or 1 lb. bulk spools and if need be strip off the first 20 feet and your good to go.
Thanks
Daryl