I don't know how many of you here are aware that there's a "new line so thin and strong that it could replace braid" (not my words, see here for a few details on this new mainline), but it's called Gliss, and if the prices are anything to go by that I saw on the Southside Angling stand at the recent Dublin fishing show, then this is potentially some pretty interesting stuff - around 20 Euros/£15 for a 150m spool, for a line that if you believe the claims might well have plenty of applications for lure fishing especially. Got to be worth a look, surely - and it's a big thanks to Southside Angling for kindly giving me some Gliss to try out.

Very much not my photo

The most recent mainline I am aware of that tried to muscle in on braid sales was Nanofil, and whilst I never had any problems with knotting or casting it, during my relatively brief fishing with it period I could not shake off the feeling that it was (marginally) cutting my distance down in the wind (see here). It's a fairly wiry kind of mainline that I am sure works great for many anglers, but I couldn't fathom how it was going to do anything more for me than braid so I stopped using it. Don't get me wrong, if a mainline comes along that I feel does more for me than braid then I would quite happily change over to it, but I haven't seen one yet.

I'm not sure how to describe how Gliss feels - less wiry and smoother than Nanofil, not like a limp, high-end "cottony" 8-strand, but not the "slightly rough" feeling that most 4-strands have. Kinda like a braid mono perhaps? I have the 8kg/0.14mm (about 17.5lbs) and 11kg/0.18mm (about 24lbs) here, and whilst I have no way of verifying those diameter claims, the lines feel thin. I have the bright yellow colour here, and I did notice that there was no dye left behind when I spooled up (or whatever it is that gets left on your fingertips when you load braid up between your fingertips). Does this Gliss hold its colour better than braid? Perhaps, but time will tell.

On Monday morning I loaded up the 8kg Gliss onto the Daiwa Exceler 3000-HA (perfect line lay, some bit of kit), tied on a 15lb fluoro leader with that FC/GT knot which seemed to tighten down fine, strapped the reel to the Major Craft 9'6'' 10-30g lure rod (review here), clipped on an IMA Hound 125F Glide, and went for a dog walk. The wind was pumping at least a force 6 NW, gusting 7 I reckon, and where I went for a few chucks was right into the teeth of it. Bear in mind I wasn't fishing, rather I was using the excuse of a dog walk to have a quick play with this new line - there is nothing remotely scientific about any of this, but say twenty or thirty full blooded casts into and across a horrible wind and no casting related issues, in fact the line really seemed to fly out and cut through the wind well. No feeling of "hanging" if that makes sense.

Now it's highly unlikely that I would use this line without a leader of some sort, but I did try my usual connection knot (a variation on a four turn Uni knot) to tie the 8kg and 11kg Gliss to a lure clip, and it slipped very easily. I upped the turns in the Uni knot to eight I think it was, and it seemed to hold better, but still slipped with more pressure. What does this prove? Squat really, save for the fact that it's obviously a line which needs particular knots to properly secure it (perhaps twice through the eye of the link?), as indeed they give examples of inside the packaging. There is also a suggested leader knot in there as well, but with how strong I know the FC knot to be, I must say that if I run into any problems at all with Gliss and the FC knot then I will walk away from the line however good it might be - I can't be going back to other leader knots that aren't as strong or slim-profiled. Time will tell again.

So what does any of this tell you? Not much!! A few casts in horrible conditions is the only experience I have of Gliss so far, but it was interesting how well it seemed to go out. It does look as though the last few feet to the leader now want to almost twist up after my brief casting session, but all seems to be fine. I wonder what the abrasion resistance will be like with Gliss, but tight lines, decent fish and sharp rocks tend to put paid to most lines anyway. Is a single strand of line better around rocks than something with multiple strands such as braid? I can't speculate because I don't know.

That's about all I can tell you so far. If we take a 150m spool of a good quality 4-strand braid as being around the £20 mark, then the price of Gliss does seem pretty good, although with how quickly and cheaply the company claims to be able to make this stuff, I will be interested to see if they start selling at much lower prices to really try and have a decent go at these kinds of braids. Is this stuff going to become a serious braid replacement for loads of anglers? Time will tell again, but nobody that I know myself uses Nanofil over braid for their fishing, and I can't help but wonder what kind of impact Gliss might or might not make on the fishing world. I have no issues with braid and whilst this Gliss is an interesting line and of course I need to fish with it for a decent period of time, I still have to ask myself what a new line at not far off good quality 4-strand prices might actually do for me over braid. I will keep you posted as I find out more.............

And my apologies for what went on this week in the comments section of the blog, indeed for the first time ever I went and removed a blog post. You all have a good weekend, and here's to trampling the Ireland rugby team into the dust come 3pm Sunday afternoon!! Awesome country and all that, but rugby is rugby, and I think it might be a cracker of a match that of course goes the right way.