Gonna have to agree to disagree on this one.

Sure fluoro stretches. I mean, technically all line stretches to some degree.

Take a 75 yard piece of mono, and a 75 yard piece of fluoro. Tie them to a fence and walk out until the lines are tight. Now, wrap each line around your wrist a few times and start pulling.

You will notice a very clear difference in the way the 2 lines behave. Of course different brands are going to give different results, but in most cases you can feel a pretty good difference in the way the 2 lines feel when you physically compare them like this.

I have done this with a number of different brands and have a decent idea of how they each behave. They all have their own character, so to speak.

We actually did this at a BPS fishing university a few years ago, which was really neat because I didnt have to break my wallet to perform the test.

Well, it's something I consider. On a dropshot, I use the smallest hook I can get away with. Also, dropshot style hooks tend to be circle style hooks, which fortunately, are relatively small and compact in terms of profile.

Other than that, I don't worry too much about it because it isn't something I can control. At the end of the day, I have to have a hook on the bait. I can't get around that.

Now, the other factors, I can control. I can't do anything about fish being able to see the hook, but I can control line visibility and a host of other factors. If fluoro is just a tiny bit more invisible than mono, you can bet I am going to be using it in gin-clear water when the bite is tough.

According to the good work over at TackleTour, fluorocarbon stretches, on average, 10.5% and the test compared the group tested to Trilene mono.

Interestingly, fluorocarbon doesn't fully retract and the study mentioned that, again on average, it stays elongated (deformed) after a stretch, by around 5%.

What the article doesn't say is whether this means that after one hook up and/or some stretching, that the effective stretch is essentially cut in half. Maybe we should break in fluorocarbon line like a baseball player breaks in a glove so to speak. Anyway, it appears to be less elastic. An analogy: mono is more like a rubber band; fluorocarbons are more like a stick of gum. Pull on the former and let go and it returns closer to its original length; pull on the latter and it stays stretched out more.

One other interesting result was that fluorocarbon brags about its abrasion resistance. In the test of a groups of these lines against the Trilene mono, abrasion was about the same. Well, when dry! But, after the mono was wet for 5 minutes, it lost over 50% of its abrasion resistance. So, mono is typically more like facial hair: it softens up when wet.

So, maybe slight improvements over mono? Less effective stretch, more abrasion resistant when wet, slightly harder to see in the water owing to a refraction index close to water's, a quicker sink rate when the technique calls for it. Oh! And, feedback to the angler is much more sensitive. Downsides? Cost, more careful attention needed on knots, generally harder to cast, and less sudden impact resistance? Brad

Power pro super 8 bought and spooled. Trying it out Friday morning and will post my opinion after the test

Good luck. You will not get as many bites by using straight braid, period. That's personal opinion from my experiences. I like using braid on spinning gear but always have a flouro leader line. I also use 8lb copolymer a lot w/ backing, Super Silver Thread AN40 green.

try nanofil
works great for finesse

I use it for finesse. I have 20lb Samurai braid with a 8lb InvisX leader. The leader usually starts out around 12ft long. I usually retie around every three to four bass. And I retie the leader when it gets to around 4-5ft long. I tie the leader to the braid with an Alberto knot. And I use a Palomar on the mesquito hook. I then pull the tag from the Palomar back though the eye and use the long tag to attach the cylinder weight. This makes the mosquito hook stand straight out from the line and then I nose hook bait. This almost completely deguises the hook and makes a very stealthily presentation. The braid isn't used for strength. It's used to manage line twist and aid in casting distance. Samurai braid has next to zero memory. And is quiet going through weeds and line guides.

Pretty much nailed it, I like a 6 foot leader.

When I mentioned finesse I was not really referring to my drop shot set up. More for light Texas rig and shaky head applications.

I actually use the yellow PowerPro 8 for my shaky head fishing (and flipping). The only time I use a leader is around a lot of dead wood because the braid cuts into the soft wood and hangs more frequently. I choose the yellow because it is so visible to me. Those natural braid colors are hard for me to see; especially, through sunglasses. Besides, the yellow line helps the fish find my bait. They see it and as extremely curious creatures follow it down to my bait. I often hear them before I feel the tap, "Wow, look, something to eat!" I also use flouro a lot - on all worms and cranks - because I like the sensitivity.

Now that right there is funny.