AFW Toothproof single strand fishing wire

Overview

AFW Toothproof single strand fishing wire is a Type 304 stainless-steel leader wire built specifically to protect saltwater traces from sharp teeth. It's manufactured from a specially controlled stainless alloy that AFW says balances strength, stiffness and durability without becoming brittle.

Unlike 7-strand, 19-strand or 49-strand cable, Tooth Proof is a single solid strand of stainless steel. This makes it stiffer than multi-strand wire but delivers very high strength for its diameter, excellent bite protection and outstanding abrasion resistance.

Each coil is pre-straightened by AFW to remove the natural "cast" found in coiled wire, producing a straighter leader with improved kink resistance. The finish is Camouflaged Brown, which reduces the shine and visibility of bare stainless steel in the water. It's worth noting this is improved kink resistance rather than kink-proof — a sharp bend can still permanently kink single-strand wire, and a kinked trace should be replaced.

Perfect For

This wire is aimed at heavy sea-fishing traces rather than general lure fishing. It's particularly suited to tope and specialist shark traces, where a wire bite section is needed to stop teeth cutting through the leader.

The 124lb / 0.61mm option is a strong, relatively fine bite trace suitable for heavy tope rigs and specialist predator setups requiring a wire bite section. The 174lb / 0.74mm option is the substantially heavier choice, positioned toward very heavy bite traces and specialist shark fishing where maximum bite protection is required.

Technical Insight

Because it's single-strand rather than cable, Tooth Proof is suited to forming Haywire Twist connections, allowing hooks and swivels to be attached directly to the wire without crimps. A properly formed Haywire Twist twists the wire together before finishing with tight barrel wraps, giving a strong, direct connection ideal for bite traces.

The single-strand construction also gives very high breaking strain at a small diameter — the 174lb wire is only 0.74mm across, far finer than heavy mono would need to be for a similar breaking strain. This combination of strength, small diameter and genuine metal bite protection is why anglers choose stainless wire over heavy fluorocarbon when the priority is simply stopping a fish's teeth reaching the mono.