Flurocarbon Leader

[Volvo]

Noticed a wisp of a trend weening away from flurocarbon Leader n Braid ??.
Some even suggesting straight Braid where i shudder to think what would happen with possible abrasion with gravel , rocks etc.
Trend back to monno maybe ?? Or is Braid here to stay.
Me ??, only worry i have with braid is its abbillity for harm towards wildlife.
Just thinking aloud here :).

[stevej]

Have seen it a bit casting swimbaits as less likely to snap them off

I’ve got a couple of baitcasters spooled with straight fluorocarbon for when I’m too lazy to tie knots

[Kev_McC]

Honestly have not used anything but braid for about 20 years. Can’t see that changing unless I start to fish with bait.
I’ve tried most of it for leader material but now just look for the hardest stuff I can find at the best value. For Barra and most other things that means Schneider mono. I like the Schneider Fluoro in 0.2-0.4mm sizes for lighter stuff, or just a lighter mono. Tiny surface lures benefit from mono leader over fluoro.

[NAGG]

I don't see any trend in moving away from Braid infact the opposite - Go have a look in any decent fishing store & you will see more braid options than both mono & FC line combined .
More fishoes are getting into artificials (soft plastics , hardbody , jigs , topwater etc) - Braid dominates by a country mile .

When it comes to mono - It's the newby , reef fishoe , game fishoes & dinosaurs that use the stuff .

Specialist light line fishoes will use FC line ie Bream lure fishoes.

Yeh sure many of us have toyed with using mono again - I certainly did ......too much stretch & less sensitivity so it didn't last very long,


Now when it comes to FC leader ....... I don't know if there is any trend but the value of using FC leader is under question . I've never been convinced that it has good abrasion resistance - quite the opposite. I use it for it's lower refractive index & it is thinner than mono ...... That said for 15 years plus I've been using Schneider clear for my barra leader - it wins hands down .
I normally use FC for my snapper rigs but for my next big trips to Evans Hd - I'm going to try using some kind of clear monofilament ($20 / 300m vs $25 / 50m ) . After the last couple of trips & seeing 50lb FC fished against 30lb FC - I'm convinced that when it comes to bait fishing there is no advantage in using FC

Chris

[Lovey80]

I only use Fluro carbon when fishing sub 25lb leaders in shallow clear water. I am still questioning the need for it. I’m not convinced that this supposed lower refractive index claim has any bearing on strike rates. I’m leaning towards this being just another marketing gimmick that gets us to pay 50c/m for something just as effective as something that does the job for 5c/m.

[stevej]

fc is generally thinner then mono for the same breaking strain

fc sinks quicker then mono

fc harder to tie knots then mono

fc ive found to be more abrasion resistant but have only really tested that in 30 and 50 pound with cod stuck in sand encrusted stumps

[Dignity]

I'm a dinosaur.
I still have reels loaded with mono. If chasing bream or whiting using bait, only mono as hook up rate is higher, with braid I seem to miss more. I use braid and fc (not fc leader) for flicking for inshore species.
Offshore, for floatlining snapper and red throat I also use mono, same reason as above and also the slower sink rate suits this type of fishing.
Bottom bashing, I've changed to mono instead of fc leader for the past year and found, the knots are easier and quicker to tie, my success rate has been better than my crew as usually it's the other way around and a hell of a lot cheaper.
For deep dropping I still use fc leader as it is all crimped.

I know guys who use the cheapest mono they can buy and can fish the pants off anyone. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and yes I used to think fc gave me an edge.

[NAGG]

I'm a dinosaur.
I still have reels loaded with mono. If chasing bream or whiting using bait, only mono as hook up rate is higher, with braid I seem to miss more. I use braid and fc (not fc leader) for flicking for inshore species.
Offshore, for floatlining snapper and red throat I also use mono, same reason as above and also the slower sink rate suits this type of fishing.
Bottom bashing, I've changed to mono instead of fc leader for the past year and found, the knots are easier and quicker to tie, my success rate has been better than my crew as usually it's the other way around and a hell of a lot cheaper.
For deep dropping I still use fc leader as it is all crimped.

I know guys who use the cheapest mono they can buy and can fish the pants off anyone. It's all in the eye of the beholder, and yes I used to think fc gave me an edge.


Seems to be two trains of thought when it comes to hook up rates - those that say the extra stretch of mono allows for a better hookup rate ...... from my prospective , being in direct contact gives a better hookup ....... strike with 1m of rod action & you get the full benefit ( less the bend in the rod) - strike with mono & you get a lot less contact because of the 30% stretch .+ the bend in the rod . ..... it's harder for hooks to penetrate

What I do believe is that you can pull hooks easier with braid because there is no give .

Chris

[Dignity]

Seems to be two trains of thought when it comes to hook up rates - those that say the extra stretch of mono allows for a better hookup rate ...... from my prospective , being in direct contact gives a better hookup ....... strike with 1m of rod action & you get the full benefit ( less the bend in the rod) - strike with mono & you get a lot less contact because of the 30% stretch .+ the bend in the rod . ..... it's harder for hooks to penetrate

What I do believe is that you can pull hooks easier with braid because there is no give .

Chris

As I said, I thought the same but life moves on, maybe it's less resistance felt by the fish with mono that does the trick. I'll agree when I used to chase barra, queenies and jack I did use braid and I still would. It's funny, the pro mackerel fisherman up here prefer mono.

[tunaticer]

I use FC for snapps and light lines with small plastics, everything else I have gone back to Schnieder Klearline as my leader material.

I can't see myself using it again for flathead, jacks or jew.

[NAGG]

As I said, I thought the same but life moves on, maybe it's less resistance felt by the fish with mono that does the trick. I'll agree when I used to chase barra, queenies and jack I did use braid and I still would. It's funny, the pro mackerel fisherman up here prefer mono.

My observation with pro fishoes is that they will most often use the cheapest option - bulk spool of mono costs bugger all . Old school jewie fisherman 100lb - 150lb mono hand lines set on springers .
effective with out a doubt .
Resistance felt by a fish ...... they are going to feel mono or braid - that's why I fish for snapper with baitrunners .

The other thing with mono is that in rough country fish can make it to reef easier if they have stretch in the line ....... in 20m of water - theoretically a fish can gain 5 or 6 meters due to the stretch - that could be game over .

Chris

[Dignity]

My observation with pro fishoes is that they will most often use the cheapest option - bulk spool of mono costs bugger all . Old school jewie fisherman 100lb - 150lb mono hand lines set on springers .
effective with out a doubt .
Resistance felt by a fish ...... they are going to feel mono or braid - that's why I fish for snapper with baitrunners .

The other thing with mono is that in rough country fish can make it to reef easier if they have stretch in the line ....... in 20m of water - theoretically a fish can gain 5 or 6 meters due to the stretch - that could be game over .

Chris

A bit of stretch of the imagination there Chris, I'll run 20m of mono out later and measure it. I think as Volvo has indicated that we have a tendency to take on a lot of technology and the hype surrounding it, it's a bit like lure colours, a whole new, well old argument there.
As I've said earlier I've gone back to trying mono in some cases as I was finding my hookup rate wasn't what it should have been and there are specific types of fishing I have found to work better, for me. I'm still trying to work through it all as I have an open mind about it.

BTW, some of the mackerel pros up here have $150k boats abd their gear is top notch so I doubt they would go for cheap line as it is their living.

Edit: I did a test today and got 5m stretch on 20m, my apologises for doubting you. Still won't change my current style of fishing as I'm targeting fish 5m or more off the bottom, that's where the big ones seem to cruise.

[chris69]

You can’t brake 80lb snider mono in 80 mts of water because of the stretch,a line fisherman said they had to drive off to break it.

[NAGG]

A bit of stretch of the imagination there Chris, I'll run 20m of mono out later and measure it. I think as Volvo has indicated that we have a tendency to take on a lot of technology and the hype surrounding it, it's a bit like lure colours, a whole new, well old argument there.
As I've said earlier I've gone back to trying mono in some cases as I was finding my hookup rate wasn't what it should have been and there are specific types of fishing I have found to work better, for me. I'm still trying to work through it all as I have an open mind about it.

BTW, some of the mackerel pros up here have $150k boats abd their gear is top notch so I doubt they would go for cheap line as it is their living.

Edit: I did a test today and got 5m stretch on 20m, my apologises for doubting you. Still won't change my current style of fishing as I'm targeting fish 5m or more off the bottom, that's where the big ones seem to cruise.

It's all cool ...... I did some work with Aust monofilament back in the day when braid was new to the market - some tests were done as a comparison & the results were typically 20-25% but over 30% in some cases before breaking .

most people dont realise just how much stretch there is ....... good on you for testing it as now you know

Chris

PS - BTW when you stretch mono to that extent ..... the line is weaker & will break easier because you have orientated the polymer chain

I reckon if you measured the line now it will be longer than 20m

[Noelm]

I use mono for beach, Snapper and Flathead fishing (in the ocean) I didn't really think about it, but almost all my reels have now got mono on them, over time, I have just changed most from braid, don't know why. I don't hold any faith in Fluro being "invisible" that's just a marketing gimmick.

[Lovey80]

I think they are probably both next to invisible enough under water. I've watched coral trout brush against thick mono that was broken off underwater on reef and react like they weren't expecting to touch it. The only set ups I use mono on now are my long beach rod and my large overhead trolling combos. The rest including smaller overheads are all braid.