Flourocarbon VS Mono VS Fireline Your Thoughts please

[Paul]

Guys I am gettign ready to start spooling my rods for the year and I have never used Lead or Flourocarbon. I was thinking about putting lead on one of my trolling rods. I would like some other opinions on pros and cons of each line. Mono is allways the trusty fallback but with new technology is one line better for different techinques or presentations. Any input would be appreciated.

[Schmeckdawg]

After I switched to fireline, I'll never go back to mono. Amazing sensitivity whether trolling spinners or just jigging (plus don't get line bit off nearly as often). I've jigged alongside other guys and caught just as many fish even though the line doesn't stretch. Obviously fireline is the way to go for cranking too due to line diameter and no stretch/no memory.

I know other guys have other takes, just my opinion.

[Paul]

thanks for your input. I tired fireline micro ice this year. it sucked. I like my fireline on open water reels though.

[RK]

Hiya -

I rarely worry about what color my lures are, but I can agonize over line choices...

Here's some semi-random thoughts...

Leadcore - Trolling crankbaits with leadcore can be amazingly effective. It takes some practice, but once you get it figured out you can't believe how precise it is. Leadcore lets you get shallow stick baits like Thundersticks or regular Rapalas down as deep as you want, and lets you troll deeper-diving baits like Shad Raps or Flicker Shads on a shorter line. With leadcore, the amount of line you have out (the number of colors) controls your depth generally, and you dial it in with your speed. The faster you go, the more lift is created by the water resistance on th leadcore. Slow down and the weight overcomes resistance and it runs deeper. By adjusting your speed you can get really precise, and move up and down a break just by controlling your speed...but it takes practice. Oh - leader. I usually use 10# XT or 10# Vanish leader material... 10' or so is all you need.

For the other stuff....

For vertical jigging and pitching jigs for walleyes, for casting stickbaits like Husky Jerks for walleyes or bass, or for skipping under docks I really like Fireline. 10 lb for jigging and stickbaits, 14 for around cover. Love the sensitivity and no stretch. Do have to take it easy with light wire hooks though. I run a Fluorocarbon leader on my Fireline most of the time. 10# or 12# mostly. I just tie on a 6' or so leader with back to back uni-knots (helps to double the fireline over) and tie on a new one when the leader gets down to 2' or so. Just make sure you use Fluorcarbon *leader mnaterial* not regular Fluoro casting line. Leader material's tougher.

For jigging with mono I like Berkley Sensation. Great stuff.

I am starting to use castable Fluoro more like Vanish. Nice for some things because it's lower stretch than mono, and more abrasion resistant. Definitely like it for casting crankbaits, and plan on using it some jigging this year just to try it out. If you're putting it on spinning gear, use a larger spool reel if you have one, and don't fill the spool all the way - leave 1/4 inch or so. Fluoro has no memory, and will spill off the spool like mad if you overfill it. It'll make you nuts.

For stuff where you need tougher line like spinnerbaits for bass, I tried Berkley Maxx last year and loved it. Tough, and very nice to handle. Tough as XT, but handles more like XL.

Hope that helps...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[livintofish]

They all have their + and - and different applications. Not all florocarbon is created equal, some are very brittle(as is the nature of pure fluorocarbon). However flouro is very invisible in water. I like to use a copolymer called p line, it's not pure flouro, less brittle, yet less visable then anything else. I use this for jigging and light rigging presentations of various types. Now regular mono is the old standby and will always have its uses. Its major points are it is strong with medium visability and STRETCH (flouro has less stretch). I think mono makes great leaders for trolling cranks when using fireline, the stretch helps absorb strikes and it is very low visability. mono also works just fine for rigging and jigging and pretty much anything, anything berkley makes is good from my expierience. Fireline is an amazing superline with NO STRETCH (needs to be considered) very small diameter and the most visable out of any. Great for heavy trolling, I use it almost exclusively for bass (in heavy cover its great)and on all my baitcasters. Small diameter slices through the water and makes it a great trolling line.

[DEADhead]

I can just about bet that the majority of my use of fluorocarbon line doesn't apply to most of you out there reading this, unless you fly fish. But I'll post here anyways, in case another fly angler is reading.

I use fluorocarbon leaders when using a sinking tip, or uniform sink line, since the fluorocarbon line sinks in water. The stiff line makes for a good butt section on your leader and helps turn over flies. 20 Lb Vanish works well for butt sections of leaders on my 6-8 wt lines, and 50 lb vanish works good on the 9wt + leaders.

On a floating line, a good hard mono butt section is beneficial to turning over flies as well. Many saltwater and big game anglers use stiff mono (up to and over 100lb test) as a bite guard on their leaders.

For conventional angling I like to use straight mono against trout and salmon. The stretch inherent in mono provides some protection to your line when a fish cuts back and makes a large run upstream. In cases like this tension on fluorocarbon or braided lines can actually exceed breaking point and you can lose your fish. In other cases, the fish can cut back the other way, creating slack in your line, and gets off the hook. I've seen both of these cases happen first hand. That's why I stick with mono.

The main reason I may use fluorocarbon on a spinning rod setup, is when the trout get line shy, and I need to use the smallest stealthiest line to fool the fish, then I tie on a fluorocarbon leader. This situation usually occurs in clear lakes. Most river situations, the water is turbid enough where visibility isn't an issue.

I know, I know, this post probably didn't help anybody...