Probably the biggest con of of using level lines is that they need to be stretched to remove the coil set from them before they will fish properly. Actually the coil set can be removed with no stretching involved at all.
Un-coil or un-spool the Line and grasp one end of the line with your left hand near your left shoulder and the line running behind your neck with your right hand an arm length down as far as it will go. Alternately pull the line back and forth across the back of your neck (this works out best with a collard shirt) for 12 to 20 repetitions, or until you feel substantial heat on the back of your neck. At that point, the treated line section will lay nice and straight.
Continue treating the line as before in overlapping arm-length, length sections, until the whole line is treated and nice and straight. If it is convenient and you have a comfortable place to sit, you can alternately run the line over the tops of your legs. Give this technique a try and see if it is a lot easier than standing around waiting for the coil-set to be stretched out of your level lines by pulling on it to stretch the line.
The first couple generations of fluorocarbon were notoriously coily (is that a verb?).
We used to use very hot water to do the same thing.
Heat even up to the boiling point of water does not harm fluoro.
Luckily now the chemistry and manufacturing processes have changed so much that it’s dramatically better.
@T-stillwater I have used clear Berkley Vanish fluoro and Seaguar Pink Label to make my level lines. I started making level lines and furled leaders before I even ordered my first rod, I don’t have to stretch even the oldest ones that I’ve made.
They don’t come off as straight as an arrow, but they aren’t coiled at all. I’ve used Vanish for a long time in my Western style leader making and have always been impressed by it’s durability and lack of memory. Once in a great while I have to stretch one that’s been coiled for a long time, but it’s a rare occurrence.
Hi James. Thank you for providing that information, I was not aware of the Kinky nature of the early FC. lines. At one time I wrapped Nylon mono line around a nail, securing it in place with rubber bands, dropped it in boiling water for 5 minuets, and then froze the whole thing over night to make Slinky style strike indicators. The boiling and freezing did not seem to harm the Nylon mono either. Thanks again…Karl.
Randy, I have never tried the Vanish FC. In my early FC leader and T-line making endeavors, I Found FC above 10 Lb. test to be problematic. When I made the change to Tenkara specific FC lines, things improved dramatically. One of the places the kinky nature of a line really becomes apparent is if you store a line on a set of Line Keepers on your rod for any length of time. It will come off in zig zags that take considerable amount of time to fish out but it will eventually straighten out to some degree. Using the Rub/Heat Technique is just a lot quicker and easier…Karl.
I furl leaders with 12 and 14lb test Vanish all the time. I furled a Tenkara leader with 12lb, I love it to death.
I’ve had the zig zaggy thing in my line many times. Probably the most a line stayed on the keeper was two weeks, but It’s never been anything that made me want to stop to fix it. I don’t normally leave leaders on my reels, or now my Tenkara line keeper for long. If I’m not going to fish I usually remove it.
When I have had the most difficulty with the Zs was after leaving the line on the rod overnight and it dropped to below freezing while backpacking, and the rod and line were not well protected, which took longer than usual to straighten things out on a chilly morning. Normally, like you, I coil my lines and put them away in the Zip-Lock bags that make up a Leader Wallet Book. But even with doing things that way the FC Level Lines hold on to some of their coiled line memory, which the Rub/Heat treatment takes care of very nicely. I just thought it might be something that other T-anglers might find helpful and useful to try. The need to stretch Level FC Lines seems to be a popular and fairly common complaint…Karl.