A unique website dedicated to fishing information from Florida's Northern Big Bend. This includes the area from the Econfina River west to the Apalachicola River
Do you use special knots with fluoro line, or the same as mono ?
Does it all have a "memory", or does it vary from manufacturer to manufacturer ?
Any brand recommendations ?
Its a reasonably new material over here and mostly sold in 20 yard spools for fly leaders, very expensive.
I brought quite a lot back from the US last Spring and have been playing with it.
Same knots, but I do not use fluoro line, only leader, so can not say how it performs as line. Leader expensive enough. On FS, berkley vanish has been bashed as line, and some like it as leader, but others do not.
I also don't use it as a main line, but I do use Seaguar Flourocarbon for leader. Up to 40Lb anyway. After that I can't aford it. I go to a 50-60Lb Big Game Supreme mono leader and change it fairly often during the day. I do this for almost all applications of fishing I do inshore.
I have tried using the Stren Fluoro fishing line for leaders. I don't like the way it knots, it just doesn't "feel right". Seaguar leader material works great but is very pricey. I had a spool of the new Ande Fluoro leader to try but misplaced it. The couple of times I did use it, it seemed similar to the Seaguar.
When tying hooks with the fluorocarbon leader material, it feels very springy and the knots want to come undone. I have dabbed superglue on my knots for insurance.
Also, if you lightly pinch the line, it stays pinched and doesn,t relax, even in water.
I will have to buy some different brands next Spring when I am there, to make some comparisons.
I,ve got mostly Stren Fluorocarbon, I like their monofilament lines and it seemed a good choice.
As a test, I have loaded a reel with PLine Floroclear 6lb test, this is not a fluorocarbon, its a copolymer and I have been impressed so far.
Good knot feel, breaks at 7.96lbs and cast smoothly.
I like Fluro for leader material. Especially now that the water clarity is better. I've never had a problem with knot slippage if I use a double improved clinch knot. I've never had the line break or a knot slip using the Berkley fluro. I recently caught 2 cobia back to back, both 40# with the same leader and the knots looked fine after each catch and the line didn't looked stretched either.
I like the Seaguar flouro for a leader and I'm really sold on the Uni knot. The only time that knot has failed me was when I learned the hard way that when you tie a flouro leader to braided line you REALLY have to cinch down on the knot on the braid. Lost a good fish and a new topwater lure learning that lesson.
Ive been using fluorocarbon leader for 2 years now I've used SeaGuard and Triple Fish brands. I use a (polymer knot) when tying to lures or swivels, and a (blood knot) when tying line to leader. Fluorocarbon is much stiffer then mono and does have some memory, but it poses no problems to me. I use 30lb fluoro on popping corks and when bottom fishing (80 lb for grouper), and 15 lb for lures and jigs.
30lb fluoro is tough and invisible in water. I've caught nice blue fish and even sharks on it but it does not replace wire on bigger toothy fish.
Fluorocarbon is very expensive but is worth the cost when used for leader material. But I couldnt imagine spooling a reel with fluoro, too expensive and too stiff.
SH