ESP Powergum (green)

[Duncan Holmes]

I used up the last of my Drennan red powergum the other week and the only thing my local tackle shop had in was the ESP green stuff.

There's me thinking powergum is powergum.

The stuff is utter crap for stop knots on braid, I have probably tried more stop knots today than I have in the last 2 seasons.

Even worse, one of the knots disappeared on the cast, without me noticing, resulted (well certainly didn't help) in a deep hooked fish.

Thankfully wasn't to much of an issue, but ended up fishing with two knots at a time just in case.

[davelumb]

I used it for years with no problems. What breaking strain?

[Duncan Holmes]

14lb, I normally use the Drennan red in 6kg.

I use the knot which is a bit like a grinner, (for want of a better explanation)

What knot do you use?

[davelumb]

What knot do you use?

Sounds like the same one - double the power gum back on itself and pass one end through the loop four times.

Not sure what BS as I can't see it on the spool thingy. I admit that braid can cut through the power gum, but that seems to be down to how you tighten the knot and if it's lubricated when being slid up or down.

[RobSidell]

Never bother with power gum as find 80lb-100lb braid ideal for the job.

[spincityfan]

have you tries pole elastic? i use that and find the elasticity helps the knot bind to line

[Duncan Holmes]

Cheers for replies

Never had a problem with the Drennan red stuff in the past, the red is not as soft so maybe I was tightening too much,

I have retrieved from bin and will try being a little less brutal with it.

[brian donnelly]

I used up the last of my Drennan red powergum the other week and the only thing my local tackle shop had in was the ESP green stuff.

There's me thinking powergum is powergum.

The stuff is utter crap for stop knots on braid, I have probably tried more stop knots today than I have in the last 2 seasons.

Even worse, one of the knots disappeared on the cast, without me noticing, resulted (well certainly didn't help) in a deep hooked fish.

Thankfully wasn't to much of an issue, but ended up fishing with two knots at a time just in case.

You may not have noticed your knot disappear but surely you knew something was a miss when your float wouldn't/wasn't set right, so why leave it out with poor bite detection which resulted in the deep hooking!?

[Duncan Holmes]

I used up the last of my Drennan red powergum the other week and the only thing my local tackle shop had in was the ESP green stuff.

There's me thinking powergum is powergum.

The stuff is utter crap for stop knots on braid, I have probably tried more stop knots today than I have in the last 2 seasons.

Even worse, one of the knots disappeared on the cast, without me noticing, resulted (well certainly didn't help) in a deep hooked fish.

Thankfully wasn't to much of an issue, but ended up fishing with two knots at a time just in case.

You may not have noticed your knot disappear but surely you knew something was a miss when your float wouldn't/wasn't set right, so why leave it out with poor bite detection which resulted in the deep hooking!?

If I had a float that wouldn't set right, my first assumption would be that its been picked up on the drop and I would have investigated why, but thanks for asking.

When static dead baiting from a boat my inline floats lay flat on the surface, with a fixed weight on the trace, stop knots set 8-12 inches over depth, sinking braid with around 1-2 feet slack to the rod tip.

Yesterday it was blowing up quite a bit and this rod was fished across the wind, I can only assume the free sliding float and slack balanced, as the float didn't look out of position and I didn't notice anything strange, 1st I knew about it was the multipler screaming.

For the sake of some clarity, I consider a deep hooked fish when I cant see the bottom treble.

Bearing in mind its the first one since 23rd October 2013, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over it apart from finding a solution to my stop knot issue.

[Duncan Holmes]

What knot do you use?

Sounds like the same one - double the power gum back on itself and pass one end through the loop four times.

Not sure what BS as I can't see it on the spool thingy. I admit that braid can cut through the power gum, but that seems to be down to how you tighten the knot and if it's lubricated when being slid up or down.

Tried all sort of things this morning, 4 turns, 5 turns, not pulling too tight, pulling tighter, even a couple of different knots I found on google.

The braid cuts it every time, so either the compound must of changed, my braid is rough or I have a dodgy spool, back to the red stuff for me.

[davelumb]

My stuff is quite old. I always thought it felt harder than the red powergum though, so maybe it is different now.

[Andrew]

I use fox braid stops for most of my fishing when a stop is required, even on light mono for tench/carp bolt rigs. not good though if you use long tag ends on likes of power gum for casting through eyes.

Always reuse them though! slide them back on to some mono for later. longest I got out of a full packet was near 3 years

other than that, fox power gum ive found is just as good too.

im not a fox fanboy btw, they do occasionally come up with something useful

[Alex Fox]

I didn't think you could get that red powergum anymore , so many years ago , just went back to using 20lbs line and its fine .

[monkeydiver]

Does it not strangle the main line using 20lb line. I can remember being told that many years ago!

[Admau1]

Pole elastic does the job!

[Tony McTaggart]

Been using the esp stuff for a few years now and never had a problem, hope they ain't changed it.

[Steve C]

I used up the last of my Drennan red powergum the other week and the only thing my local tackle shop had in was the ESP green stuff.

There's me thinking powergum is powergum.

The stuff is utter crap for stop knots on braid, I have probably tried more stop knots today than I have in the last 2 seasons.

Even worse, one of the knots disappeared on the cast, without me noticing, resulted (well certainly didn't help) in a deep hooked fish.

Thankfully wasn't to much of an issue, but ended up fishing with two knots at a time just in case.

Duncan

My experience of the red stuff is that you could get away with a grinner knot as it didn't loosen and unravel. The green stuff I found is a bit different, and I too have 'lost' a knot or two over the years. I have found however that tying one on following the instructions to the letter will give a knot that has good longevity.

If you really still want the red stuff its readily available on the bay

I also use two knots above the top bead, and always have one below the bottom bead, ready for trotting livies in stronger flows

[Alex Fox]

Does it not strangle the main line using 20lb line. I can remember being told that many years ago!

Just don't pull the knot overly tight and slide it a few times up and down the main line for a few feet when first tied

[Duncan Holmes]

I used up the last of my Drennan red powergum the other week and the only thing my local tackle shop had in was the ESP green stuff.

There's me thinking powergum is powergum.

The stuff is utter crap for stop knots on braid, I have probably tried more stop knots today than I have in the last 2 seasons.

Even worse, one of the knots disappeared on the cast, without me noticing, resulted (well certainly didn't help) in a deep hooked fish.

Thankfully wasn't to much of an issue, but ended up fishing with two knots at a time just in case.

Duncan

My experience of the red stuff is that you could get away with a grinner knot as it didn't loosen and unravel. The green stuff I found is a bit different, and I too have 'lost' a knot or two over the years. I have found however that tying one on following the instructions to the letter will give a knot that has good longevity.

If you really still want the red stuff its readily available on the bay

I also use two knots above the top bead, and always have one below the bottom bead, ready for trotting livies in stronger flows

Cheers Steve, I have ordered a couple of spools of red off ebay, which should keep me going for a few years

I will try the green with the three turns as shown. ta.

+1 on the stop under the bottom bead, although I generally use a braid stop as find I can push it down by reeling the float against the end eye, which is useful if trolling deep.

[r0bert]

15-20lb mono for me

[Mark Phillips]

Optima Power Gum is what I have always used - just can't fault it, so no reason to try anything else. Simply does the job - grips well, doesn't easily get moved when pulling through rod rings, doesn't impede casts and doesn't damage the line underneath. Used it for donkeys years ... never leave home with out it

[Crackoff]

Some lads use fly line backing

I have used the Fox braid stops (back of the spool on spinning reels)
and used them on multipliers ok

put new ones on every year, but if it splits you have strip the setup down to put a new one on

The red power gum seems to get cut through after you move it a few times, but you don't have to strip the setup down to put a new bit on

Grant

[Neville Fickling]

I do not know why anyone uses power gum or braid stops. 15lb Daiwa yellow mono so you can see where your stop knot is

[Steve C]

I do not know why anyone uses power gum or braid stops. 15lb Daiwa yellow mono so you can see where your stop knot is

You talking mono on mono, or mono on braid Nev? TBH its never crossed my mind to try a mono knot on braid - does it grip/hold well? (without me rushing off to try right now) I'm sure everyone is comfortable with mono on mono though.

[Kev Berry]

I use elasticated cotton for stop knots, don't slip, don't come undone, I use it doubled up and just tie a grinner, easily adjusted up or down with a bit of spit.
Use it to tie my dead baits on as well (got to be thrifty face )

[Neville Fickling]

I do not know why anyone uses power gum or braid stops. 15lb Daiwa yellow mono so you can see where your stop knot is

You talking mono on mono, or mono on braid Nev? TBH its never crossed my mind to try a mono knot on braid - does it grip/hold well? (without me rushing off to try right now) I'm sure everyone is comfortable with mono on mono though.

I dont use mono for any predator fishing so the reference was to braid.

[Bob Watson]

I use whatever I'm using for my rotten bottom weak link. Lately, 8lb mono from the bargain bin. It never slips but slides easily for depth changing. Power gum is not an option for me.