Braided Line and Fluorocarbon Leaders

[Fishnwire]

There was a thread on here a while back about what kind of line guys prefer. I noticed a lot of anglers seem to be using a braided line (such as fireline) with a 2-8 foot leader of fluorocarbon. I understand the advantage of the fluorocarbon leader, the whole disappearing line trick, but what I don't understand is if your going to use the fluoro, why bother with the expense of a high strength braid? The overall breaking strength is going to be whatever is the weakest point in the rig, (obviously one of the knots on the fluoro leader) your paying for braided line, but not getting it's greatest benefit...high breaking strength. There are cheaper options that have just as little stretch. What am I missing? Help me out here.

[snag]

IMHO, Braid lasts longer, doesn't "nick" as easily, casts better (less memory) and comes in a variety of pretty colours.

 

You can quickly re-tie braid and the knot will be small enough to not seriously impede fishing.

 

Makes good floss in the outback.

 

Spend the extra $3.00

 

Almost forgot better sensitivity.

 

Really depends on your application though.

 

What and where's your target?

Edited February 28, 2008 by SNAG

[Doctrt]

This is the rig that I use for icefishing (whities, lakers, rainbows, etc.) - light braid or superline (10lb test) with a lighter fluoro leader. You are right that the weakest point will be at the leader but most big fish can be landed on a very light leader (as light as 3lb test) if played right. The reason for the super line main line is the lack of stretch. In 100+ feet of water, mono can stretch as much as 4-6 feet, making hooksets almost impossible (especially in a hut - hit the ceiling). You'll stick way more fish this way, and this application extends beyond icefishing. Good Luck.

Tim

[singingdog]

Sensitivity. If you are doing any kind of finesse fishing, braid transmits more information back to you then any line I have tried. Don't fall for the "invisible" flouro story. Put a short piece of it in a water glass and compare it's visibility to mono....not much difference.

[Mark Kulik]

There are several advantages to flouro-leaders, when fishing clear water, flouro is near invisible!, about the same refractive qualities as water, second flouro-is much more abrasion resistant than braid, I usually go with a longer Gamma flouro-lead, say 10-20 ft. Gamma has a slight strech which is more forgiving in hooksets! also with a longer lead I don't have to tie uni-uni knots in rough water with a braid mainline you get the benefit of better casting and good feel due to low stretch! I wouldn't fish clear water without flouro! -hope this helps. Mark

[Weeds]

I think the biggest advantage braid has over the mono is that it is way easier to untangle on your baitcaster on a birdsnest. I can't stand untangling mono.

[BillM]

I think the biggest advantage braid has over the mono is that it is way easier to untangle on your baitcaster on a birdsnest. I can't stand untangling mono.

 

 

It's funny you say that, after years of baitcasting with mono, then switching to braid I would say the exact opposite.

 

The way braid digs in make it almost impossible to get out sometimes. (It's happened to me 2-3 times)

[Marc Thorpe]

For walleyes

I like jigging with Fireline,its direct and instant when hook setting

When trolling for walleyes,I prefer mono,Simply I am looking for that stretch,often times Fireline is to stiff and I find it allows for more lost fish.Keep in mind I am short line trolling walleyes 3 to 15 feet behind the boat.For distant trolling,I would suspect Fireline as a tool of advantage to distance behind the boat and time of reaction to hook set.

 

For muskies

I use Spiderwire stealth and Fluro carbon leader,been using this et up since 94 (prior to spiderwirs was Whiplash and gorilla braid). Have yet to see a failure,I also keep tabs on my retying and leader wear

[Fishnwire]

IMHO, Braid lasts longer, doesn't "nick" as easily, casts better (less memory) and comes in a variety of pretty colours.

 

You can quickly re-tie braid and the knot will be small enough to not seriously impede fishing.

 

Makes good floss in the outback.

 

Spend the extra $3.00

 

Almost forgot better sensitivity.

 

Really depends on your application though.

 

What and where's your target?

 

 

Extra $3? Fireline is $10-$15 more expensive than most monos. I have a couple crappy rods and reels I keep at camp that doubled in value when I put a spool of Fireline on them.

 

Mainly I'm fishing smallies at my camp north of Sudbury. The water is stained redish-brown. If there's a place deeper than 20 feet on that lake, I haven't found it. I throw everything from slip floats to top waters, and use a lot of jigs & power grubs. I troll, I drift, I cast. For the last few years I've been using Fireline (FL Crystal last year) but have never used a leader. There are big pike and walleye there too, so I like knowing that if I happen to tie into a toothy beast on light tackle, he'll have a hard time chewing through my line. With Fireline, I know I'm good. How does fluorocarbon stack up in that situation?

 

Thanks for your input.

[Weeds]

It's funny you say that, after years of baitcasting with mono, then switching to braid I would say the exact opposite.

 

The way braid digs in make it almost impossible to get out sometimes. (It's happened to me 2-3 times)

 

 

It might be just me. I know alot of people seem to find mono easier to untangle. With 80 lb braid in the last two years I've never had a birdsnest or knot I couldn't pick out in a few minutes max, and never needed any kind of pick to do it. Probably safe to say at least a hundred outings too. I tried mono twice on two different baitcasters (probably 20ish pound test) and I think both times I may have cut the line out of exasperation.

[GbayGiant]

For me the diameter is a big plus, using a 20lbs braids compared to 6lb mono means less lost fish,specially if you hook a surprise pike or other huge fish. The floro leaders typically larger than you would use in mono as well because it's invisible anyway so I usually match it up to the braid in weight. As far as the knots, they should never fail either if you tie a good knot, I've never had one fail to this point.

 

The biggest thing for me is the sensitivity though, considering I jig and cast 80% of the time, but I like to troll with it too other than down rigging or planner boards. The price is really cheaper if you think about it too, I got some reels going on the fourth year with no problems, just rotate it every year. I use powerpro or spiderwire.

[Garry2Rs]

Kevin Van Dam uses a lot of 14 and 17 pound Bass Pro Shop Fluorocarbon, so I'm not going to argue that it's not a good choice, but I use both Power Pro and Fireline and I don't use a leader to fish the very clear water of the North Kawarthas...Jack's, Chandos etc. On the other hand I haven't won a million dollars bass fishing either!

I use mostly 10 pound Powerpro on my spinning rods for weightless worms and shaky head jigs etc. For my baitcasters I use more 30 pound Powerpro than anything else, but will use up to 80 pound on a flipping stick, or for big bucktails etc

On TV I notice that more and more pros are using braid around rough cover, like flooded timber etc, instead of the 20 and 25 pound Mono or Fluorocarbon that they used in the past. I also notice that most pros are sponsored by a fishing line company...That may be the big reason that the pros still use a lot of plastic line. I also hear them saying that they change their line every day...I guess that's easier when you're not paying for it. If you take the wife or girl friend shopping in Buffalo or the Falls, drop into Wal-Mart...Powerpro and Fireline are around $13.00 a spool.

Most super lines start out a little stiff. There is some type of a fabric finish on the line when it leaves the factory. It soon washes off and the line becomes ultra-limp. Until the finish wears off I find it a little tougher to cast without tangling. I agree that the super line is easier to untangle than Mono, but that may be because I can see it easier.

garry2rs

[OhioFisherman]

A buddy and me were trolling on the Georgian bay years ago, he was using an over sized spinning reel spooled with 40 pound mono on what looked like a ocean boat rod, like 6 foot long and the action of a broom handle. Dang thing had to weigh a ton! He hooked what had to be a Muskie that busted him off, drag a bit too tight.

 

Dude was 6' 5" 270 and could bench 535, outfit might have been ok for him, but not most humans. 40 pound mono looks like rope, kind of handles the same on a reel, 65 pound Power Pro is the same diameter as 16 pound mono, just easier to deal with, and a heavy fluorocarbon leader takes the place of a steel one, less visible.

 

Not much experience with braids myself, I tried the original Spider Wire and didn`t like it. Bought some Power Pro, 65#, easier to deal with, but not much actual fishing time with it. Few casts around the yard a few at a lake.

 

I use 10 to 20 pound test mono most of the time, no trouble feeling a tiny nick, and I am not shy about retying or re spooling. Sucks to lose a fish cause you got lazy or in a hurry.

 

The plan was to re-try muskie fishing with a little more focus on actually landing them, power pro seemed like a better plan than those in the past.

[BillM]

It might be just me. I know alot of people seem to find mono easier to untangle. With 80 lb braid in the last two years I've never had a birdsnest or knot I couldn't pick out in a few minutes max, and never needed any kind of pick to do it. Probably safe to say at least a hundred outings too. I tried mono twice on two different baitcasters (probably 20ish pound test) and I think both times I may have cut the line out of exasperation.

 

Hell, it could be me

 

I had to cut out the last 2 backlashes I got with braid (20lb) while up at the French last year. I am going to be running 50 or 65lb Spiderwire Stealth this year on my muskie setup, we'll see how that turns out

[irishfield]

65 Steath wraps cleaner/evener than PPro. It's also limper than PPro. I've got PPro on all my muskie gear except my new trolling reel. If I had of fished with Thorpe before I bought that 1500 yard spool of PPro 80 they'd all have Stealth on them. I bought the 700B after fishing with Thorpe and loaded it with 65 Stealth. If it works for Marc 7 days a week at 6 MPH and 50" + fish... it'll work for me.

[waterwolf]

braid for me has been a godsend .bought my first baitcaster last year [ a decent model]

and had a couple of birds -nests , fewer than expected, but had fewer cutouts than i'd thought .

icefishing ,,same deal ,rock hook-sets in deeper water ,no stretch. 30lb wipes out worry of breakage

in most app'sand is very manageable.20lb with a flouro leader is undetectable and casts like a bullet

the new braid ,,,,is the new black.

Edited February 29, 2008 by waterwolf

[Marc Thorpe]

Big trick with most lines ,once you have spooled your reel up with fresh line is to un-spool and re-reel it all back in

When you hit the water with it for the first time ,un-spool it all and reel it back in,it spools back on tight plus the fact it gets wet when it dries it tighten everything up real nice

All reels ,baitcast or open face

[cranks bait]

I fish very clear water on the St. Lawrence and up near Bancroft. I use Power Pro 50 on my baitcaster (had a few birdsnest becasue I'm a rookie, but never had to cut it out.) On my spinning rods I use PP 20. I do not use a Floro leader and only use a Ti leader when targeting pike. I've never had a problem catching fish. But also like mentioned earlier, I also don't make any money fishing

[snag]

Extra $3? Fireline is $10-$15 more expensive than most monos. I have a couple crappy rods and reels I keep at camp that doubled in value when I put a spool of Fireline on them.

 

Mainly I'm fishing smallies at my camp north of Sudbury. The water is stained redish-brown. If there's a place deeper than 20 feet on that lake, I haven't found it. I throw everything from slip floats to top waters, and use a lot of jigs & power grubs. I troll, I drift, I cast. For the last few years I've been using Fireline (FL Crystal last year) but have never used a leader. There are big pike and walleye there too, so I like knowing that if I happen to tie into a toothy beast on light tackle, he'll have a hard time chewing through my line. With Fireline, I know I'm good. How does fluorocarbon stack up in that situation?

 

Thanks for your input.

 

$3, what can I say, I shop around

 

I always use an 80# leader with my 30# braid for pike.

 

Bass can be any line for me but braid is always my first choice in case a suprise toothy critter, weeds, logs etc. are in the area.

 

Braid saves money and time

1. lasts longer

2. less line breakage, therefore:

3. less lures lost

4. more hook-ups

5. less re-spooling downtime.

 

Birdsnests with braid,

I have learned the pattern of birdsnests with a baitcaster so that 99% of the time I can reverse engineer the nest in a minute and get back to casting.

 

cheers!

[David Chong]

It depends also on what presentation that you are using whether you should have a fluoro-carbon leader or not. Slower finesse presentation in gin-clear water is definitely a situation for it. As for the Fireline, it is more sensitive, thinner, better on hook sets and cast further. You also shouldn't be filling up your whole spool with Fireline, put a mono backing on and then about 50-75 yds. of Fireline. It also last longer than mono, it doesn't deteriorate as quickly. Fluoro-carbon is also super tough as a leader, it is very abbrasion-resistant.

For all you Stealth lovers out there, you have the SpiderWire UltraCast. I started using it last year and I was blown away by how much better it was than Stealth. And I love the Stealth, mind you the Ultracast is more expensive. I'm looking forward to trying the Invisa-Braid in the Ultra-Cast this year.

Cheers,

Dave

[BillM]

Irish/Marc,

 

Do you guys use a mono backing? I've read on many sites that most people run some mono backing just to cover up the spool, then switch over to braid. Also, what type of leaders should a newbie be looking at? I'm probably not up to making my own flouro leaders yet, but anything good I can pick up at Bass Pro or perhaps via the Internet?

 

-Bill

[irishfield]

I don't. Why be putting something that deteriorates under something that will last for a few, or more, seasons. It (line) ain't that expensive in the overall picture of things...especially Muskie. Most say they put mono on as backing so the braid won't slip... I think it's a cost issue for them instead. Spool knot and 6" of electrical tape is what I learned, right here on OFC, or the spool lug if equipped...just don't get spooled !

 

I do all my lake trout/walleye trolling stuff the same way. Full reel of 30 lb PPro and do so by watching ebay close and grabbing 1500yrd spools of line.

 

2 or 3 years down the road... reel the line off one reel and onto another reverersing it's direction. How much does the line now cost compared to Mono changed every year... it's cheaper!

Edited February 29, 2008 by irishfield

[cranks bait]

I do that same thing as Irishfield and have never had a problem with my line spinning on the reel. Another trick I learned was to respool your line from one reel to another after a years use. This allows you to get the most out of your line as the back half generally doesn't get used as much.

[BillM]

See these are the little tips I'd never know unless I asked Thanks guys!

[Fishnwire]

That re-spooling from one rod to another is a good idea!

 

I'm gonna do that.

 

I think I may also try adding a fluor leader to my more finesse presentations too. What brand should I look for?

 

Also, I've only used spiderwire and fireline. (I liked fireline better than spiderwire) I notice a lot of guys are using PowerPro...how does that compare to fireline?