Does fishing line "go bad" over time?

It it has been stored properly out of deteriorating direct sunlight it should still be good. If it has been on an exposed reel and subject to extremes of temps. it may become weak, lose some of it’s testability.

(its)

Heat destroys fishing line. I found this out the hard way.

If kept in a cool place, out of sunglight, it should be okay.

I would pound-test it first, before losing a fish.

Yep, what @john65pennington said…

This is a fluorocarbon line, not nylon like traditional monofilament. Fluorocarbon is almost completely UV and heat resistant. There’s pretty much nothing about its sabbatical in your garage that would have fazed it.

Just to give you an idea of how much more resistant fluorocarbon is to break down, it takes nylon monofilament about 600 years to biodegrade under full environmental exposure, whereas it takes fluorocarbon 4000 years.

If you are fishing for panfish and perch, the line should be ok. If you are going after bigger fish like walleye or muskies, I would replace it.

I normally replace my line every year, but I fish with ultralight tackle.

It most certainly does. I love to fish and do does my whole mum’s side of the family so they have taught me a lot about fishing.

How often you use your rod and what type of fish you are catching will depend on how long your line will last.

My uncle took me to Puget Sound and we dished off the rocks. I was using a trout pull and line made for the weight of one. However, I hooked a salmon. I was fortunate enough to land it, but the next time I went to a lake for trout and bass and I hooked one, my line snapped. It was barely fighting too. The fight from the salmon had stretched my line and made it thin and weak

I replace mine every year. No need to lose the big one over bad line.