[troutfishernz]

Found some old 12lb mono that I brought quite a few years ago, So decided to Spool up with it and test it out in Timaru on some Dogfish. The line was so rotten it snapped on a small Dogfish with next no pressure applied(line was stright out the packageing). So that raises the question how long would you expect unused mono to last

[yellowfin]

why would you test anything on dogfish?

[troutfishernz]

The fiery ginga

[yellowfin]

As long as it’s out of the sun, heat etc it should be ok for a couple years. Bought a bit of line from a tackle shop that had been there for a while they were clearing it out at 60% off some of that line would have been there for years, haven’t used much of it yet but PierMaster’s been using the 18lb Ultima seems to be fine. Usually spool new line on my reels at the start of the season after they’ve been sitting around over winter then respool if I see any damage on the line.

Have found there can be bad batches of line when you buy them new from the shop, had some bad experiences with Rovex Devil 50lb I was using for shock leaders and also had a few problems with Ultima Red Ice 30lb snapping when tying knots with one new spool, but I’ve used red ice for a few years now with no problems with other spools.

[troutfishernz]

Thanks for the info Zac.
I made the mistake of buying to much line in Bulk I still have 3000m of line that is 5-6 years old. Will use it when targeting small fish but wouldnt trust it for surfcasting.

I have been using platypus line lately just the cheap bulk spools from Kmart and have found to be very good.

[yellowfin]

Read somewhere about storing it in the fridge, not sure I’d go that far but as long as you keep it out of the sun it should be ok. You can always hook the line up to some scales and pull till it breaks or tie a few knots to see how easily it snaps as older line usually gets more stiffer and brittle.

When you buy line from shops you don’t always know how long it’s been there, some shops probably have spools that’ve been there for years.

[Miliwolf]

I know of line in a shop which was made in West Germany. That should go part way to dating it.

[Author]

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