When it reads 12lb test, what does that mean exactly?

Depends on the brand

I always assumed it was 12 lbs of weight to break it......

12 lbs of force is what it tested at According to the manufacturer. But lots of things can weaken it Store it in fridge helps a lot

For standard fishing line, the 'test' rating is the MINIMUM break strength. It may take more, but it should not break with less than the 'test' rating. As posted above, some brands might test at higher average break strength.

For IGFA rated line, the rating is the MAXIMUM break strength. This is so that fishing records are based on the same maximum break strength. This true of any brand of IGFA line, and keeps all international records on an even playing field, which are kept according to line strength.

If standard 'test' line was allowed for setting international records, one could find a brand of 12# test line that breaks closer to 15# and break a record they may not have broken with IGFA 12# line. The IGFA rating eliminates this issue.

IGFA = International Game Fishing Association


ETA: When we fish offshore, we use all IGFA rated lines. We do this in case we ever catch a big fish, so that it will qualify for record.

And then there's braided

Braided line is rated the same way.

My favorite line that seems to stand up well, at least for me, is Berkley Tri-Max. I don't think they even make it anymore. I lucked out and was able to buy two large spools of it at a garage sale.

I will assume tensile strength?

Yes, tensile strength.

we had a discussion about this a couple months ago

it depends on the line , it may need to be in water for the test

often the break is at the knot common to the knot to have 80% of the strength of the main line

in mono you may need a certain number of feet to get enough stretch to make the line poundage



P-Line Floroclear is really strong for it's poundage rating 8 pound test and we were pulling the boat up current to snags

http://p-line.com/line/fluorocarbon-coated/floroclear

no matter the strength of the line rating what matters to me is if you tie to a pair of swivels and lift a weight

old line and sun faded line weakens , you don't need 250yards on most reels for fishing but it lets you strip of 5-10 yards any time it feels not smooth several times before you need to re-spool

braided line is rated the same but seems to suffer from storage possibly even more than mono line

if the waxy coating is coming off your braid , it is significantly weakened

I went to a show one year. They were testing knots for people. They wanted to test them to see how strong they were.
They had not had a knot test at 100%.

I told the guy I had one for him. They tested it 3 times and each time it tested 100% of the line strength that they were using.


Jimmy Houston knot.

ps … I fished the BASS tournament trail back in the 90’s. I still have some bulk spools of line that are probably 20 years old.

I still use it. Sunlight kills line, I haven’t seen any weakening from age yet.

I think each company has it's own standards for listing and actual line test... Maybe 15 years ago I liked using 14 lb. original Fireline that broke in excess of 30 lbs... more than double it's rating.

they actually paid good money if you showed them the knots and it passed their tester pull- which is a CSA standard for all the line maker

This is because the "14# Test" rating is MINIMUM break strength. there is no maximum in standard line. IGFA rated line DOES have a maximum.

My old fireline is still amazing stuff, I have it on half my rods.....years old....great feel and abrasion resistant too.....jk