Quote (BIloxiMississippi @ Oct 17 2013 04:11pm)
I was asked last year to try out the Cajun Lines and finally have enough abuse on the lines to give some comments.
I have been using the Cajun Red Cast Mono, and the Clear Cast Mono (in 4, 6, 8, 10#) along with the Cajun braids up to 50#.
Cajun mono - The first characteristics I took notice to was the general feel of the line. It has a slightly stiffer (more coarse) feel when compared to Trilene XL, Cortland, and P-Line. It is kind of hard to describe the texture difference, but it is very subtle.
For equipment, I had two 7' medium Quantum Superlite PTs rigged with Plueger Supreme XT's 9030s, two Quantum 7' Superlite PTs casting with Quantum Accurist PTs, and 1 9'-6" custom ultralite I built from a Sage flyrod blank.
With the 4, 6, and 8# lines on spinning gear, I had no problems with reasonable distance of casts. Compared to the other lines, I consistently had the furthest distance with the Trilene XL followed closely by the Cajun line, and the others took more effort to maintain the same reasonable distance. With the 8 & 10# on casting rods with cranks and various sized jigs up to 1/2oz, all were very similar.
From starting this early last fall, I got a good sense for memory of the line. I had spools in all #'s used for cranks, jigs, ice fishing, early eyes at ice out, and varied temperatures. I was very impressed with how limp the line remained in cold weather and had very few issues with memory coils spooling off while casting. In fact the Cortland and P-line were the most troublesome.
For stretch, I think the Cajun mono had the best characteristics without the need to go to floro. As more of a curiousity, I cut 6' long piece of each line and tied a 1/0 hook to one end and a loop knot at the other. From eyelets in my garage ceiling I hung each one and hung a 24oz lead ball on the hook. The Trilene XL looked like a rubber band tweeked to its limits, the Cortland and Cajun were the best, with the Cajun having the least amount of stretch. A couple of other observations I thought were very unique. The P-Line spun the weight as if it was twisted The Trilele has very visible stress in the knot. When I lifted the weight up 3' and dropped it, all the lines except for the Cajun and Cortland busted on impact. The Cortland had a noticeable amount of stretch, but didn't break with the 6# and up. The Cajun appeared the best with least amount of stretch. One last detail I really liked was forcing the lines to break. Of the crude tests that I did, I never had a knot failure with the Cajun.
With the Cajun line having less stretch, I think that translated into much better sensitivity. I could tell a distinct difference with the 4 and 6# lines, 1/16 jigs, and ring worms in shallow rocky water. The extra sensitivity enabled me to immediately distinguish snags and most often shake a jig free.
On the heavier side, I took a strong liking to casting cranks with the Cajun 10#. #5 shad raps & various stick baits were no problem even with a slight crosswind. Hook sets were solid. I fished a number of times this winter in the Racine and Milwaukee Harbors for Browns, Steelhead, and Lakers. The 8 & 10# lines with a 1/4 to 1/2oz jig and Fin-S Fish were put to the test as well. The lines held up great to the ocasional encounter with rocks and the steel sea walls. No problem in controlling and good size laker and getting them up and off the bottom.
The great debate on color - I love the HiVis colors of the Cortland lines and have favored them since the original Trilene Solor XT was dis-continued. The red color line had no better or worse results when fished side-by-side with identical baits on different color lines. However, the red is definately more difficult for this old fart to see, and low light conditions were more of a challenge for tying knots. I used the red ice-fishing this winter and had zero adverse results. For those that are still concerned over the red color line, the Cajun Clear cast is a great alternative.
For the braids, I have less time in use as the mono. Between last fall, and little use this year, I feel the Cajun braids are very similar with Power Pro. I use Reel Magic from Blakemore on all my braids and it definately extends the life. Both braids are smooth and have a lessor characteristic of fraying.
Over all I am very happy with the trial of the Cajun lines. I'm convinced on the mono and will continue to use it as my primary line. I'm not a huge fan of floro and have not used any of the Cajun Floro yet. If anyone has used the floro, I would be very interested in reading your comments on it.
Thanks, uhmm.. Randy?
http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/890138/fpart/1/product-test-cajun-line