Does Maxima (mono line) go bad sitting in a drawer?

Josh

Josh

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Was picking up some Maxima to make bass leaders (per this discussion). I didn't grab any 10lb because I knew I had a spool that was sitting in my fishing cabinet. But after digging it out, it occurred to me that this spool has to be like 5+ years old. And that got me thinking, does mono degrade just sitting in a dark drawer? I know UV light breaks it down, hence the advice to replace it regularly if you use it on a gear rod. But what about if it isn't outdoors and just sits in storage?

I mean shit, I got spools of tippet I've been using for years. And the reason I have this 10lb Maxima is for winter fishing level leaders. I don't recall it giving me problems by breaking.
 
Yes, best if kept cold and dark.. especially ultragreen.

I remember once I bought 8lb through 25 lb for making leaders. Broke off three fish in a row on the Hookset. Later did some testing . If I pulled on the knots it was fine, but if I gave it a shock. I could easily break perfectly tied blood knots 20lb to 20lb. In my bare hands..
6 brand new spools of old material threw it all away. Rebought it at a different location and had 0 problems. This was all ultragreen. Never had an issue with chameleon. I have 40lb butt sections that are 6 years old on my 5wts.
 
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I have old mono that I keep in a box in my closet that is at least 10 years old and it seems fine. I think its fairly stable if not out in the light.
 
I'm no expert but I have several old spools of Maxima Chameleon and Ultragreen (>5 years in the closet), I can not detect any loss of strength - I just built a new carp leader this morning - testing it manana. If there is strength loss, in my less than humble opinion, the loss is insignificant. Leaving it on the dashboard of your SUV - different story.
 
I got some tapered leaders from Aaron at his shop in Carnation. They had the afternoon sun hitting them for as long as he had then. I have no idea how long they were there. But they didn't last very long when I tied them on my line. The tapered part was like it was rotten. It continued to break. So I just shit canned the whole package. I keep my tapered leaders in my center console between the seats in my P/U. They only see the light of day when ever I open it up. Which is very seldom. Since I don't fish as much as I used to. They haven't broken in about 3 years running.
 
Old Man said:
I got some tapered leaders from Aaron at his shop in Carnation. They had the afternoon sun hitting them for as long as he had then. I have no idea how long they were there. But they didn't last very long when I tied them on my line. The tapered part was like it was rotten. It continued to break. So I just shit canned the whole package. I keep my tapered leaders in my center console between the seats in my P/U. They only see the light of day when ever I open it up. Which is very seldom. Since I don't fish as much as I used to. They haven't broken in about 3 years running.
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Why I always pick a leader from the back of the rack.
 
We call Maxima "cable".... the stuff is huge compared to others. I keep mono around for dry fly fishing. Flouro sinks so it doesn't work all that great for a long floating dry fly presentation.
 
GAT said:
We call Maxima "cable".... the stuff is huge compared to others. I keep mono around for dry fly fishing. Flouro sinks so it doesn't work all that great for a long floating dry fly presentation.
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Same. The difference is noticeable. I've had 10# UG sitting in my truck for 6 hot months, and it hasn't failed in winter.
 
I replace all my nylon every two years. The general consensus seems to be that you should replace it once a year, but I like to live dangerously.

Where possible, I also order nylon directly from the manufacturer or from a high volume store. When you order from a store that doesn't move stock fast, there's a risk that the nylon has already been sitting there for a few years.
 
Nylon can absorb moisture over time and that changes its strength. It's just something nylon does. Fluro, however, is probably stable until the end of time. It is an entirely different chemistry.

In my olden days of RC flying, we had to watch out for nylon props. They came apart sometimes.
 
UV light is what degrades the material. If kept in dark and at "room" temps it should be good for many years. I use a marker to date tippet reels that hang on my vest and change out after about a year. Orvis Super Strong in 5 wt. seems most susceptible to UV degradation based on my experience. Allegedly, Fluro is not degraded by UV light, but I can't verify that
 
All of my fishing stuff gets stored in our finished basement. Cool, dry, a steady temp, and away from any sunlight. I have spools of ultragreen and chameleon that I've had for a few years with no problems. They are higher test though, so the tippet I'm using will break long before the heavy stuff does. When I'm on the river, I give all knots in the system a good sharp yank before fishing it, and if I see abrasion, I cut it off and use new line.

For lighter stuff, I do change that regularly, because there is a lower margin of error. 12lb at 50% is still 6lb test, but 6x or 7x at 50% strength is 2lb test or less.

I'm not a chemist, but I would guess that UV and temperature changes causing expansion/contraction are what really degrades a line, and if its in a stable environment, it lasts a good long while.
 
I regularly catch 20# steelhead on 20 year old 20# ultra green:)
Seriously, I’ve got some pretty old ultra green and I‘m not sure I’ve ever thrown any away because I thought it went bad. Ultra green has always been my go to material from Chinook to chironomids.
 
Now that I remember it, when my grandpa passed away in the early 90's, my fly-fishing older brother went through his fishing stuff, picked out his fenwick rod, pflueger reel, and flies, and I got the gear stuff. One of the things was a spool of 6lb Kmart monofilament that had to have been at least 10 or 15 years old. I spooled up a mitchell 300 with it and caught lots of bass. I don't recall the line being "bad".
 
Kind of a tangent. Maxima filler spools are on sale at Bi-mart. Keep them out of the sun and you'll have leader for years
 
Josh said:
Was picking up some Maxima to make bass leaders (per this discussion). I didn't grab any 10lb because I knew I had a spool that was sitting in my fishing cabinet. But after digging it out, it occurred to me that this spool has to be like 5+ years old. And that got me thinking, does mono degrade just sitting in a dark drawer? I know UV light breaks it down, hence the advice to replace it regularly if you use it on a gear rod. But what about if it isn't outdoors and just sits in storage?

I mean shit, I got spools of tippet I've been using for years. And the reason I have this 10lb Maxima is for winter fishing level leaders. I don't recall it giving me problems by breaking.
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This one is in my wheelhouse.......

The answer is no, nylon mono will not degrade just sitting in a dark drawer. Nylon (polyamide) is one of the most inert polymers and very chemical and hydrolysis resistant.

Nylon mono is generally a blend of types of nylon, usually nylon 6 and 6,6; and maybe a reacted alloy of the 2, nylon 6/6,6. Along with the extrusion process the chemistry dictates the key properties such as hardness, tensile strength, elongation, toughness, stiffness, and limpness, each manufacturer's secret sauce. These relate to things important to anglers such as abrasion resistance, knot strength, stretch, durability etc.

Nylons do absorb moisture, to equilibrium with the atmospheric conditions over time, of 2-4%. Moisture in nylon serves as a plasticizer making the nylon less stiff, less brittle, and more tough. Any mono you buy or have in a drawer reached equilibrium moisture long before you got it and you're not likely to notice moisture related change over time.

UV absolutely degrades nylon mono. UV exposure reduces the molecular weight as the UV light breaks bonds, called chain scission, turning long spaghetti noodle molecules into macaroni noodles. Chain scission drastically reduces the tensile strength of your mono.

Heat is another element that will affect your mono performance. Nylon is semi-crystalline, its morphology. The key temp is 117F, that's the glass-transition temp of nylon 6. If your mono goes above that temp, say in the trunk of your car or in a tackle box in the sun, the morphology changes and the mono will relax. When the temp goes back below 117F the mono takes on the shape of the spool never to recover to a useful fishing line. The same thing may happen over time sitting in your drawer but can be easily straightened one time with a small amount of stretching.

The manufacturers throw in some other stuff such as dyes and pigments that can and do have an effect on long term performance. The high end manufacturers do long term stability testing of their mono with the additive package. Some are (much) better than others......

I have miles of mono on bulk spools that's been stored in dark containers for >30 yrs. It performs exactly the same as it did 1 month after being extruded during formulation trials for that brand's development.

Pull out that spool of Maxima (or other), tie your best knots, give em a yank or a pull, and if it spools and casts well, use it with confidence. If the knots seem to break easily or you can't get a coil out of it, go get yourself a new spool of line.

Slimy
 
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Josh, it is likely fine. Maxima makes high quality products. I have never had problems with their lines but have had problems with many other brands due to sun heat or whatever. I am a member of team UG4LIFE.
 
Maxima may be the only thing left on Earth besides cockroaches in a cataclysmic event. Tough stuff.
 
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