NEW Berkley® Trilene® 100% Fluorocarbon

[oncogene]

Well, after losing a big pike that's perhaps 24" (big for me anyway, and I never got a pike be4!!!) last week, and today losing a BIG LMB (4-5lb+ for sure, most likely PB-gonabe), i finally went to Crappy Tire to find a new fluoro line for leader. I've been using Vanish but it breaks at the line-line knot Should have ditched the Vanish long ago

 

 

So I saw this "NEW Berkley® Trilene® 100% Fluorocarbon"..... and the Crappy Tire here has it sold-by-yard ($0.15/). I got 50yards of it to try (only as leader)... tho thinking back, probably should just buy 10yard to try, not like that's any spooling fee, oh well.

 

 

 

The ad from Berkley's site:

Trilene® 100% Fluorocarbon - Professional Grade™ is the ULTIMATE fluorocarbon fishing line PERIOD! Diameter for diameter it has the strongest impact strength of all fluorocarbon lines. It's the Ultimate in manageability and the ultimate in invisibility. With a similar refractive index as water, fish can't see it! It's easily the most sought after fishing line by most of the touring Pro's."

 

 

 

Anyone else tried it yet? good or nay?

 

 

And btw, what's that actual difference between a normal fluoro line and a "leader material" fluoro line?

Edited August 5, 2008 by oncogene

[Raf]

fluorocarbon line and fluorocarbon leader material are two different animals.

 

when you are talking fluorocarbon leaders for pike/muskie you are talking about fluoro in the 80, 120lb range.

 

this stuff you bought will not prevent bite offs.

 

if you are on a budget, stick to wire leaders. otherwise invest in proper fluoro leaders.

[Pachone]

I use the Vanish and have thought of it to be VERY strong. Tying knots isnt so simple & strong sometimes, so ive had to customize them to be stronger (doing a couple more twists)

 

I have no experience with trilene but heard it was very good... leaders and full spool...

 

I definitely do NOT like P-Line... I have found it breaks way to easy, curls too permanently, doesnt cast well, and all round, doesnt perform...

 

Thats my 2 cents!

Edited August 5, 2008 by Pachone

[oncogene]

when you are talking fluorocarbon leaders for pike/muskie you are talking about fluoro in the 80, 120lb range.

 

this stuff you bought will not prevent bite offs.

 

But how about a 20lb normal fluoro and a 20lb "leader material" fluoro, any major different?

 

I'm using 14 or 15lb braided main line, mainly for bass most of the time, I shouldn't need 80lb+ fluoro leader, right?

[Raf]

But how about a 20lb normal fluoro and a 20lb "leader material" fluoro, any major different?

 

no, no difference. they will both get sliced by a pike's teeth equally.

 

I'm using 14 or 15lb braided main line, mainly for bass most of the time, I shouldn't need 80lb+ fluoro leader, right?

 

yes, you will. or wire.

Edited August 5, 2008 by Raf

[tdotfisherman]

Never tried 100% fluoro, but i've heard good things about it. Buy some Seaguar fluorocarbon for pike (50 pound test), and make your own leaders. I've been using them for pike all season long, and haven't even come close to a bite off..

[GoneFishin]

is there any diference between a spool of fluoro like the trilene which is supposed to be used for main fishing line and fluoro that is ment to be used as a leader? I would rather buy a larger spool and make leaders then buy a smaller spool but I guess line isn't supposed to sit around very long so it might be better to just buy the smaller spool? Will 50 hold up to musky? I read in another thread that fluoro sinks and will affect your bait? If so how bad? I would like to use fluoro for top water baits because the steel leaders obviously affect the bait greatly, will the fluoro do the same thing?

[bucktail]

Just spooled up last night. seems to want to spring off the spool too easily, has me worried about memory.

wondering if it needs to have line conditioner.

Used Pline coploymer a few weeks ago and it wasnt too bad, woould buy it again....it is not 100% flouro but has a flouro coating.

[oncogene]

Just spooled up last night. seems to want to spring off the spool too easily, has me worried about memory.

 

what lb-test of it u got? i got 20lb.... and I have that exact thought about it too... it seems very stiff. I'm gona use it as leader only so that's not a problem I hope.

[Dabluz]

100% fluorocarbon line and 100% fluorocarbon leader material are different. The leader material is stiffer even though the 100% line is quite stiff to begin with.

 

I tried Vanish, Vanish leader material and Seaguar. I hate them all.

 

As for bite offs, the larger the line, the less apt to have a pike slice through your line. But, who wants to use 80 or 100 lb test leader material? This huge stuff most definately affects how the lure works in the water. Might as well use huge tandem streamers because at least a streamer will have some movement.

 

Since 10 or 12 lb test is very adequate for pike fishing, you can find very fine steel leaders that are about the size of 6 lb test mono. If the line or the leader do break....the clutch on your reel is too tight.

 

If your target is musky, you can use a stronger steel leader material because the huge swimbaits are not affected by 20 to 30 lb test steel leaders.

Edited August 5, 2008 by Dabluz

[smbhunter]

I've used Vanish, Vanish Transition, Seaguar, and Trilene 100% Flouro as my main line, simply because I don't want to continue tying leaders on all day. For the most part, I wouldn't recommend putting flouro on a spinning reel as a main line since the properties of flouro usually makes it too difficult. It twists very easily and the memory sucks, but knowing this, I just keep a close eye on the reel and line to avoid any major problems.

Vanish Transition is the line I put on 90% of my reels, both baitcast and spinning. It's very strong line with great knot strength and excellent castability once the memory settles. With baitcasters, you need to let a good portion of line out behind the boat with a big lipped crankbait, (or something that will create enough resistance to stretch the line out) and troll it for a few seconds, then reel it in and you will have no problems with casting.

Vanish is not as good as it used to be. The formula for the line was changed too many times for my liking, and ever since the transition came out to market I've noticed it hasn't been the same, which is why I use only the transition now.

Seaguar is one of the better handling flourocarbon lines for spinning reels, but I found it to be weaker than the transition in both line strength and knot strength. However, I use the heavier tests for making musky and pike leaders and find it superior to any other line for heavy leaders.

Trilene 100% Flouro is one of the best flourocarbon lines I have used to date. It handles great on spinning gear, doesn't twist as easily as some other flouro lines, and is very strong. The only issue I have with this line is that it doesn't cast as far as some other flouro lines, but is as good or better in every other category.

 

For leader line flourocarbon, choose a small spool of float or fly fishing leader material. I can't explain it but I have found the actual leader material lines to be stronger than any other line that is used as a leader. The only time I'll use this line as a leader is when I'm drop shotting and need a smaller diameter line for a lead, which is usually in an 8 or 6 lbs test.

If fishing for pike or musky use 80lb test minimum unless the fish are generally on the smaller side, then you could get away with 40 or 50 lb test, which is quite difficult to tie at this diameter and should be crimped. If you prefer not to go this high, just use a steel leader in a thin diameter. Pike and/or musky are usually not line shy fish.

 

I hope this helps

[forrest]

I hear a lot of people say "use nothing less than 80lb flouro for pike or musky"

 

So what is the 20lb-80lb flouro good for?

[bucktail]

Tryin 12lb on my spinning reel. Think I may have to drag it behind the boat and repack it.

[Dabluz]

I hear a lot of people say "use nothing less than 80lb flouro for pike or musky"

 

So what is the 20lb-80lb flouro good for?

 

Absolutely nothing.

 

Here are a few myths about flourocarbon:

 

1. It has less stretch than mono. Not true. I have done a series of tests with mono and fluorocarbon. Sure they were simple tests....hanging a weight on a certain length of line and measuring the stretch and then comparing the results between different lines.

 

2. It as strong as mono. Again not true. Visit this site and read carefully. : http://www.sportfishingmag.com/techniques/...ngth-53412.html

 

3. It is more abrasion resistant than mono. Again not true. Visit this site and read thoroughly. : http://www.sportfishingmag.com/article.jsp...;categoryID=262

 

Yes....fluorocarbon sinks. This is good if you want a sinking line.....not good if you are a bait fisherman and want to reduce snagging on the bottom. And yes, tying a solid knot in fluorocarbon is iffy.

 

Is it really invisible? I don't really think so. I get as many bites using 6 lb test Fireline as I do using 6 lb test clear mono when fishing for walleye. I got as many bites using 6 lb test Vanish but often got broke off. The stuff was weaker than my 4 lb test mono. The 15 lb test Vanish fluorocarbon leader material broke as easily as 8 lb mono when fishing in snag infested water so I upgraded to 35 lb test Seaguar and that stuff was weaker than my 8 lb test Fireline.

[timmeh]

For most of my bass fishing i use 10lb braid with an 8lb flurocarbon leader. If you're not specifically targeting pike i don't believe you need a stronger leader but realize if you hook into a pike there's a good chance you'll lose it. I like this set up because if i get snagged up it's much easier to snap the line than pulling on 10lb braid which doesn't brake very easily. This way you don't risk damaging your drag or you rod.

 

I use seagar fluro. i buy the 200 yard spools, and use it as a leader, not the leader material. But again i'm usually after bass - not anything with real teeth. I started with vanish but the knots didn't always hold, i've never had that problem with seagar. In fact i also have a reel that's spooled with 8lb seagar fluro and use that when i'm wading out deep and tying leaders is a pain. it does twist a little and can "jump" off the spool but if you're careful when casting you can greatly reduce these issues.

 

As far as wether the fluro helps me catch more fish - i really don't know. but if you can tie good knots i don't see how it can really hurt you either. it may not be totally invisible but it's certainly less visible than braid. How important this is for bass, again i don't know. I started using fluro leaders trout fishing, when it is a necessity, and carried it over to bass fishing and i certainly haven't caught fewer fish.

[jace]

I bought some a while back, seems okay but time will tell. It can only be better or the same as Vanish, nothing can possibly be worse.

 

As far as the difference between leader and mainline, it's the spool size and range of line tests. Leader material starts as low as normal line, but goes as much high as 400-500# for most leader products like seguar, Trilene, Stren, etc. ..we don't see them here in SWO stores, but they're out there. They come in short spools because nobody needs a 1500m bulk spool of 400# line, actually, most lines 200# and above come coiled in plastic bag rather than spooled. I've heard some say they make leaders abrasion resistant but i think that's a marketing strategy for most lines, the key difference is higher tests.

[Greencoachdog]

I haven't seen any of this line in the stores down here yet, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

[Dabluz]

Yes....abrasion resistance is only a matter of diameter...almost.

 

As you can see by the resistance tests....the most resistant mono or fluorocarbon was good old Stren Original. It was even better than many braided lines. But, Stren Original is a line that has inconsitencies in it's diameter. It's diameter is also larger than other monos of the same lb test.

 

There are IGFA rated lines that are huge in diameter. Most of the fishermen using an IGFA rated line don't care about the diameter of the line as much as the rated breaking point. So the IGFA rated lines are usually very large in diameter in order to resist abrasion and failed knots. With those 2 aspects put aside, the fishermen wanting to break a record just has to worry about catching their fish on a rated line.

[bassjnkie]

80Lb flouro. The reason these guys us the stuff, is because they don't go for 24" pike/musky. The 80lb protects against bite offs and as a shock leader while throwing 3-7oz baits. Oh ya, ask a pike/musky person how much one bait costs, 80lb also protects thier investment.

 

For small pike 24" - 30" I use a 30lb seagur flouro leader.

 

When I go for the big boys with a $50+ bait, I do use 80lb flouro.

 

Hope this corrects the confusion.

 

Daniel

[oncogene]

80Lb flouro. The reason these guys us the stuff, is because they don't go for 24" pike/musky. The 80lb protects against bite offs and as a shock leader while throwing 3-7oz baits. Oh ya, ask a pike/musky person how much one bait costs, 80lb also protects thier investment.

 

For small pike 24" - 30" I use a 30lb seagur flouro leader.

 

When I go for the big boys with a $50+ bait, I do use 80lb flouro.

 

Hope this corrects the confusion.

 

Daniel

 

Thanks. For a moment it seemed everyone must fish for trophy pike and musky

 

80lb+ flouro for a weightless senko seems overkill lol.