I have fished most of my life, that said I haven't fished in a few years as I have been pretty heavily involved with hunting and rifle building and reloading. (longtime member of the sister site THF)
SO my wife and I kept the grandson a few weeks back and all he wanted to do is play on his I-Pad. He's only 4 so taking him to shoot just yet is a bit early.
I have a bit of fishing gear and decided to take him to a small pond in our neighborhood for some fishing. needless to say he had an absolute blast. Now the minute he hits the door its nonstop let's go!
Which brings me a bit more to point.
The recent events have gotten me a bit more into the game. A good friend who moved away about two years ago gave up his secrets. He was extremely successful and I think even still holds several state records.
One of his tips was to use Berkley Nanofil line. He said to get the 14 or 17 Lb if you could find it as it was about the same diameter as 8~10 Lb Mono
It seems that Berkley is no longer making the Nanofil, I have found a few places that seem to have it but it is quite scarce.
Any tips and advice ?
As I am bank fishing I am trying to keep my gear as portable as possible. My go to set up is a light weight 6'6" rod and a Shimano Sienna reel.

Thanks in advance

I do see this readily available online(Amazon,Bass Pro plus several others)but pricey.First off I have never used this line but I have used many braids and monofilaments.My choice for your particular situation would be Sufix Siege.............I use the 17 lb in neon tangerine on all my casting reels and couple of my spinners.Great low stretch,low memory,abrasion resistant and high knot strength line.I have used the 30 lb on a couple big saltwater spinners I use for big cats,blues and flats,and I must admit I like it.............just wish it came in 40 lb.Currently those reels are sporting 50lb PowerPro braid and I am not a big fan of braid,difficult to tie,easily fouled and in the rocks little abrasion resistance.The Sufix Seige has won me over...........just waiting on the 40lb for my big reels

Hope this helps more than confuses

Thanks Whistle
I will look at the Siege line
I guess braid is the new thing now?
I have always fished with some type of mono line.
My grandad did use a braid of some kind but I think it was on his saltwater rigs.

Mono line should be just fine for the type of fishing you're likely to be doing with your grandson. It'll be easier for him to learn how to tie knots and so on and generally is more forgiving of mistakes.

At his age, 14-17lb mono will be more than adequate to handle any big catfish he might hook into. Thin line diameter really isn't going to matter much at this stage with him.

I would use whatever is least likely to cause a backlash, assuming the grandkid is doing his own casting? Nothing worse than having to spend time away from the action, unwinding knotted line if there is no set up backup poles. Some of the very cheap thicker mono lines are prone to tangling in my experience, don't know if all the premium lines are any better since I haven't tried them all...

Berkeley Nanofil is fantastic when it's new. Super thin diameter and casts very far. Unfortunately it's expensive and gets all frayed up pretty quickly. Best thing about it was I never once got tangles or wind knots, even using 6lb test in windy conditions. Good stuff. Bass Pro in San Antonio has a good number of sizes in stock.

I've used the Berkeley Vanish flouro and its OK. Affordable, low memory and stretch, and doesn't tangle much.

Can't go wrong with Suffix anything. They make a solid product, even though they make it as confusing as possible with like 12 different versions across the 3 main line types. Never tried the Siege line. I do use the Advance flouro line and it's good. Not cheap though.

As the previous poster said, just get something that isnt prone to tangles and wind knots. One thing I can absolutely tell you to stay away from is Gliss. That's the first line that I didnt suffer through the entire spool. Stripped it off after 1 day and trashed it.

I am a guy who says you can take down anything you want with a 150gr. 30-06.

With that thought in mind ..... go to Walmart and get some 12 or 15# Burkley Big Game line.

Good for all your needs, cheap, and readily available.

It does have some "line memory" or loops after it's been on your reel for awhile, but it's cheap enough to just change it out.

I use 12 Lb Suffix with a 10 LB Seaguar Flourocarbon leader. I catch some big fish with this setup. I don't think you need 17 LB line unless you are horsing fish out of timber or dock cables.

This is a 10 LB Bass


This is a 30 inch 10 lb striped bass

Big catfish I didn't weigh

This is a 10 LB Bass


That's 10lbs? If so, the variation between fish that are short and stumpy vs long and skinny has me second guessing my eye scale. I suppose it's a good then that I carry my actual scale in my bag.



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I'm actually using 10lb Big Game now on my reel.
The grandson is still learning and whatever came on his little Zebco 33 will work for a while.
He is a ways off from needing more.

After looking a bit I did find the Nanofil at Bass Pro.
It was expensive as hell

on a zebco 33 I would use berkley big game 8 or 10# for him, much easier to cast and the reel will hold enough to do what he can easily.

I got started with a 33 and shakespeare rod back in the very early 60s, used to have pics of my at 6 with a 5# I dragged up the bank while crappie fishing tablerock from the bank.

my suggestion is use the 8# and teach him how to cast with a practice plug or an egg sinker (1/2 oz. should be plenty) just tied to the line. at 4 he will probably pick it up pretty quick and then it will be game on.

for your personal, I still suggest big game or pline copolymer, I use both in 15# on fork and unless I forget to retie I rarely break off in the stumps, I have actually pulled my 20' boat a few feet trying to get a lure back.

With your setup using a Shimano Sienna spinning reel; there are lots of advantages to using braid mainline to a six foot mono or copoly leader.

Braid will not develop coiling memory and line twist on the spinning reel.
Braid lasts forever and you just have to retie a leader when the mono or copoly leader gets frayed.

For this set up, just take off all the line already on there except for the last 20 yards (this will be the backing for the braid.) Then tie an improved/crazy Alberto line to line knot to the braid and spool it up. Then use the improved/crazy Alberto to tie on the leader.

The following lines at Walmart are great for what you are doing:
30lb power pro for the braid
15lb big game for the leader

For the 4yo; he will be ready for a zebco or a spinning reel
Kiddos like to copy what the adults are doing; so if you are using a spinning reel, get one for him.

Walmart sells the Pflueger Trions for around $30. I’d use 20lb power pro mainline and 4 foot 8lb big game leader for the four year old. Then get him a five foot Ugly Stick spinning rod in light or medium light.

Sounds like y’all are having lots of fun.

That is what it weighed when I weighed it.

I'm a big believer in NanoFil as well. It has really helped me make longer casts and feel more bites. I swear by the stuff. It is a bit expensive in the short run, but if you change line like I used to when I was fishing mono, you make up the difference in price pretty quick. May not be a good fit if you're only fishing with the grandson a handful of times a year, but if you fish every week like I typically do, it's a game changer.