Mono vs Fluorocarbon

[mo65]

  I have decided to stick to mono for my leaders...fluoro has consistently broke off upon hook sets. I do believe it's less visible than mono, and have proven it while fishing extra clear water, but it's just too brittle.

[Rivverrat]

There is another factor here that has merit regarding fluoro. It does have less stretch than mono & very possibly holds up better after having caught multiple fish. Not needing to changed out as often.  However I fish every day outside of winter & this fluoro stuff gets down right spensive.

  I find good O'l Walmart bought, very stretchy, Trilene Big Game works very well for most every thing I do. I simply shorten my top shot to leader length if the stretchiness becomes an issue. I do use Ande Monster when going above 50 lb. line.

More than anything I think this shows when we blindly accept methods & tools as the best path for success with out questioning we can fail in some manner.

  Seems that the most successful, those who excel in the world of business & this business of catching fish are the ones that continually question & put to test the truth of accepted norms. Those who at times cast where others dont..... Who are willing to change & try whats different... Jeff

[Hardy Boy]

I switched to fluoro for my leaders for salmon fishing several years ago. I use 40 lb for bait rigs and spoons and 60 lb for shorter hootchie leaders. I think the stiffness helps with the hootchies behind the flashers as I think it gives them more action. The big plus is the amount of fish that you can catch before the leader is toast. Mono is usually done after one chinook but the fluoro is usually good for several or more fish. Granted we are not catching really tooth critters (chinook do have decent teeth though) and the fish don't run us into the rocks. The big thing is to have confidence in you gear at the end of the day; go with what gives you the most.


Cheers:

Todd

[SoCalAngler]

I'll try not to go into the merits of one line over another. I fish a braid backing to a co-polymer (mono-fluoro combo) topper on all my rigs. Most often these are longer topshots like 50-100 yards to exceed any casting I will do. I personally don't like casting braided lines for my type of fishing. But, in a picky bite I will tie on a piece of strait fluoro on top of my co-polymer, a short piece like 5-7 foot long. This is short enough to keep the knot of the two lines connecting out of my rods guides when casting. For me in picky bites I do notice a better bite on the fluoro than just going with the co-polymer. Maybe it is because my attitude changed, I pick better baits, more focused, I really don't know? But for me it works.

P.S. Fluorocarbon lines can fracture, micro cracks in the line or it can will burn against it's self when tying it. I have had and seen this happen a couple of times in my connections before I was shown how any why this is. The right knots tied slowly and always moistened can help against the above.

[MarkT]

I used to use P-Line CXX as my go to line but now use Izor XXX up to 50# line. It's good stuff, cast well and is strong. My 80-130#. Bait rigs have 20' of Seaguar fluoro tied to the spectra. The lighter rigs get a few feet of fluoro when fishing live bait for YFT/BFT.

[SoCalAngler]

I use the triple X up to 80 without issue. Above that I go to Ultra Soft Steel above my braid and then add a short of fluoro of needed.

[Gfish]

More than anything I think this shows when we blindly accept methods & tools as the best path for success with out questioning we can fail in some manner.

  Seems that the most successful, those who excel in the world of business & this business of catching fish are the ones that continually question & put to test the truth of accepted norms. Those who at times cast where others dont..... Who are willing to change & try whats different... Jeff

[/quote]
Yes indeed! Well said Riverrat. There is no substitute for empirical data.

[Reel Beaker]

I was actually thinking of getting some fluro for sharp toothy macks. However, i am still not able to tie heavy mono well. Was wonder if fluro is easier to tie than mono. Do not want to spend a few hundred dollars on this stuff and throw half of it away due to bad knots.... But i read the video comments and i do feel that the better test was to put the whole setup in water and see if mono really holds better.

[smnaguwa]

My 2 cents. I moved to fluoro leaders after a party boat salmon trip in No. California with my son and daugther. The 3 of us caught ~50% of the fish and the 2 largest of 20 anglers. The deck hand came to the cabin to see me tying extra leaders. He said "So that's your secret. Fluoro leaders!" That was my first trial of fluoro leaders and I was sold.

[Swami805]

If I'm using a short leader to braid I use floro for bait fishing and think it gets bit better. I couldn't prove it but seen enough times when it made a difference. With the cost of fishing these days a few extra bucks for leaders seems worth it. I don't have to retie as much either.

[mikeysm]

After going through tangles and crossed lines on the morro bay trip. I am increasing the length of my top shot. I will stick with mono because of the price since I will be replacing it almost every time. I had to splice the hollow braid once. I dont want to do that again so a longer top shot will have to do.

Mike

[Gfish]

Any opinions about which holds-up better after a succession of fishin trips, given the exposure to the elements: mono. or fluoro.?

[Swami805]

In Theory Floro should I guess. My theory is if I think my line is questionable I change it, floro or mon

[Rivverrat]

Some swear it's fluro. I'm sure there is some difference between brands. Cant say I've used them all.

However I've seen no line that I've used match Ande Monster for longevity, abrasion resistance, casting ability, with low stretch along with the smallest diameter. Not Izoreline or P-Line. While both are good lines they make their claimed gains by using a larger diameter.

Ande Monster may not the best line for use with a spinner. But it doesn't do to bad... Jeff

     

[oc1]

I was actually thinking of getting some fluro for sharp toothy macks.

This would scare me.  Even the little Spanish will strip the plastic coating off Steelon in a matter of seconds.
-steve