Flouro carbon line

Started by Bill B, October 25, 2021, 01:05:34 AM

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Bill B

Besides the price....is there any reason to not use flouro carbon exclusively as a top shot on saltwater reels?  Bill
It may not be very productive,
but it's sure going to be interesting!

Ron Jones

I thought this was the way to go for a while after my first SOA trip as well, and still think floro is the correct answer. As Luke described on the boat, for Wahoo and other hard fighters a bit of stretch makes it easier to keep the line tight. I get around that by using softer rods than what is en vogue, but if you have an ultra fast rod backed by braid then mono at the end can be beneficial.

The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

Benni3

Floro is more invisible in water,,,,, ;) but has a life span of 7yrs maybe,,,, ??? Different brands are different,,,,,,, ;D

Cor

I prefer mono as the stretch makes it more forgiving and helps you by absorbing some of the head shakes and other sudden movements of the fish.

Braid in contrast is much stronger and less likely to break, but fish manage to shake a hook and lure easier.

So I would say the type of fish you are after and the place where you are fishing influence this choice.    A softer rod will indeed help but can not compensate for the huge stretch in mono.
Cornelis

DON3099

Freshwater I fish mainly stocked trout, and use 2# Fluorocarbon. Saltwater I fish for flounder/fluke and use 20# braid with a 20# fluorocarbon leader. Fluorocarbon I use Pline 1/2 the price of many brands, and is rated in the top 5. Braid I did use Pro line, I now use a Chinese knock off Hercules from ebay. Again 1/2 the price, and find it just as good as higher priced brands.   

philaroman

a short piiece of stiff, heavy fluoro can act as a fiber-optic when clear/shallow/sunny
it may "light up" & divert something like a cuda from your lure, to your leader
[read not experienced]

JasonGotaProblem

The first time i used flouro as a leader was the last time I used mono leader. Forget every other comparison, i catch more fish on flouro. That's all i need.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

oc1

I never use flouro line, but always use flouro leader.  But, I'm starting to question flouro abrasion resistance.
When it scrapes on something long slivers of flouro are pulled up; sort of like a piece of wood grain.  Maybe I should switch to mono leader.

That's wild about the flouro acting like a piece of fiber optic.

JasonGotaProblem

Quote from: oc1 on October 25, 2021, 06:47:22 PM
I never use flouro line, but always use flouro leader.  But, I'm starting to question flouro abrasion resistance.
When it scrapes on something long slivers of flouro are pulled up; sort of like a piece of wood grain.  Maybe I should switch to mono leader.

That's wild about the flouro acting like a piece of fiber optic.
In considering abrasion resistance, do bear in mind that it's hit some structure, and you're still getting to look at it. Maybe you've never seen that on mono because...

I dunno, it just reminds me of that probably untrue but inspirational story about the guy tasked with figuring out which parts of a fighter plane take the most damage to see where to put more armor.
Any machine is a smoke machine if you use it wrong enough.

jurelometer

#9
Quote from: philaroman on October 25, 2021, 12:07:14 PM
a short piiece of stiff, heavy fluoro can act as a fiber-optic when clear/shallow/sunny
it may "light up" & divert something like a cuda from your lure, to your leader
[read not experienced]

There was a guy on one of the fly fishing sites that said he caught this on film when making an underwater video of trout streamers.  Said it looked like beads of light pulsing down the line.  If I can find the video, I will post the link.

There have been a few other stories about fluoro flashing, but I would like to see something more definitive.  There is merit in the idea.  If you have material that has a low refractive index and it is surrounded by material that has a higher refractive index (outer surface of the leader, or even the surrounding water),  light will  be  sort of channeled to follow the path of the cylinder of low refraction as a result of "bouncing" at angles off the less refractive "walls".  This is sort of how fiber optic cable works, except in the fluoro case the walls are relatively clear, so light is entering and exiting the system along the way.

I also recall reading  an article referring to a test where nylon and fluoro line were descended in a bluefin tuna farm pen.  The tuna would swim around the mono and into the fluoro.  But I can't find the article anymore, and don't remember if the source was very reliable...

A good reason not to use a long fluoro top shot is that the added cost makes folks like me less likely to replace it iin a timely manner if it gets frayed a bit.    Fluoro will also degrade more slowly, at least when it is exposed to light, which is a good thing until you get a break off and want the stuff to decompose.

Quote from: JasonGotaPenn on October 25, 2021, 05:37:03 PM
The first time i used flouro as a leader was the last time I used mono leader. Forget every other comparison, i catch more fish on flouro. That's all i need.

Highly variable phenomenon (catching fish).  Execute an an experiment with a sample size of one.   Declare victory and switch practice.    Not exactly  a shining example of the scientific method. What happened to taking one for Team Science? Somebody has to fly that fighter plane  ;D


I did start using fluoro more for awhile myself, but I am not stuck on the stuff.  I do like hard leader material, and since fluoro took off, it is harder to find hard mono that is not too thick.  It seems like all the high quality hard stuff is fluoro nowadays.

-J

Ron Jones

I do appreciate the sensitivity of floro, and adding mono anywhere in the chain reduces that. That is why I prefer a soft rod over mono whenever it matters. People on here has said that it does not matter with yellowtail and shibi and I suppose they are right.

The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

philaroman

OK...  I like fluoro for the 2 qualities that are scientifically indesputable:
better sink-rate & UV resistance...  everything else is conjecture/hype  ;) ;) ;)

Hardy Boy

I don't use it for a top shot but all of my salmon leaders are flouro. Harder for the fish to see (I think) but for sure its more abrasion resistant than mono. I can catch more salmon with a flouro leader before it needs to be changed than on mono. Of course I check the leader after every fish. For a top shot for deep jigging I just use mono. At cedros Marrk T showed me that flouro is not necessary for YT and he catches as many as anyone (Don't tell him I said that).


Cheeers:

Todd
Todd

Ron Jones

Quote from: philaroman on October 25, 2021, 09:34:33 PM
OK...  I like fluoro for the 2 qualities that are scientifically indesputable:
better sink-rate & UV resistance...  everything else is conjecture/hype  ;) ;) ;)

Um, no.
Floro does not possess the stretch of typical monofilament. That is not hype. It is also harder for ME to see in the water, and it is a scientific fact that we have better eyesight than fish.

The sink rate is nice though.

The Man
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

MarkT

People seem to think that fluoro doesn't stretch.  While it's not as stretchy as mono, it' still stretches plenty.  However, with just a few feet of fluoro, how much can it stretch anyway?  It's like saying water is wetter than milk.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!