Done with Fluoro

Officially done with Fluoro switching to all braid except for mono for crank baits and some topwater. Don't even think it is worth tying a leader on for most presentations. Just spooled new line, retie frequently. Today while fishing a Texas rig worm tick, tick, hook set, SNAP. Must have had a nick a couple feet above the bait. 16lb sunline sniper spooled at Memorial Day. Low vis green 832 40 or 50lbs from here on out.

Should save some money anyway

Some of my rods have had the same 17lb seaguar invisx for a year and I’ve had no problems and have put a few fish in the livewell

I said the same thing til I tried Sunline “super” 100% Florocarbon. It’s everything the others claim to be plus thin diameter. Leave it to the Japanese.

I have just come to the conclusion that the lakes I fish here in Texas don't sufficient visibility/clarity to warrant the potential failure rate of fluoro vs the certainty of braid. Not hating on those that use fluoro just not worth the risk/reward in my book in East Texas waters....

I never have like Flouro, at all. Feels like a DEAD line to me, not enough action. I know, I am the only one that doesn't use Flouro, so be it. I put McCoys Mean Green copoly on all my rods, except for C-rigging, then I sue it as a leader. I had 2 spools of flouro on 2 rods and hated it, so I moved back to McCoys. Been using it since 2000 with GREAT results. Welcome to the NON FLOURO club.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

I couldn't imagine not using fluoro. It has proven itself to me too many times. It's been great for me.

Just curious, what knot did you use with fluoro? Also did you moisten before cinching?

I typically use an improved clinch but am going to try the double pitzen knot this week. It’s supposed to be a stronger know.

^^^^^this^^^^^

Hard to keep up with Sunline. There are too many choices.

It ain't the line at fault. I could probably pull a tree down with 15lb red label. But hey to each their own. I dont use flouro for the invisibility of it. I use it for the stretch and strength. It has just the right amount of give and yet dang near as strong as braid to me. Flipping with 25 it sure hard to break it.

*** I also am a closet NON-FLOURO guy ***
feels nice to get it out in the open
Suffix Siege mono for me only ---- always gets the job done no matter the type of bait being used

Unless you are fishing in pure chocolate milk you will cost yourself bites fishing braid over flouro in a whole bunch of situations. I believe this to be particularly true with bigger more discerning fish.

I fish braid to flouro whenever I can. I'll tie a 20 foot leader and that's usually good for a couple of outings. Depending on the line diameter I'll either tie and FG (heavier line) or a crazy alberto (lighter line). As others mentioned make sure you lubricate the knot in spades before you clinch. Check for nicks (as you should with any line) periodically.

I don't like fluorocarbon line either. I don't use it at all bass fishing. I tried it and personally I was not impressed at all. And yes I tried a lot of the brands mentioned in above posts. The cost you bites argument I just don't agree with. I have caught thousands of bass on monofilament for years. I also fish a lot of braid and really like it in a lot of applications. I'd say just find what works for you and don't get caught up in the advertisement hype.

You also have to consider the body of water you were fishing. Does it have Zebra Muscles? If so no line is at fault. They cut all of them with ease and cut braid like it is butter. As the OP mentioned the break came a short distance above the bait.

We all have our line preferences and nothing at all wrong with that. I am just old school and gladly sacrifice a few small fish that are line sensitive to be sure I land the big fish when she bites. I tie direct with no leaders and never drop below 17# on one or two applications. Most of the time it is 20 Floro. for most of the other presentations and 25# for the heavy cover pitching. I require Braid for long-line presentations like dragging a Crig with lots of line out for a better hook set.

Braid on a daily basis on most of my rigs would just not work for me. The main reason is the wind and how Braid reacts to it. It is going to get wrapped around everything from bushes, rod tip and reel handles. My Spook with 3 sets of trebles does not like it. A twisted line tie spinner bait does not like it. Both get wrapped up frequently. You will learn that this presents a reel problem when under pressure to make clean cast one after the other with certain baits and fighting wind.

IMO the people that don't like Fluoro are either using a poor quality line or aren't using the appropriate lb test for the situation they're fishing. I say this because I used to be a fluorocarbon hater for years. I loved how it sank and the lower stretch but it would constantly break on hook-sets. I found out that the reason it was breaking was because I was only using Vanish and/or P-line Fluoroclear, both being some of the worst lines on the market. Sunline makes some great products but their lb test ratings seem to be a little high. The smaller diameter they advertise directly correlates to its abrasion resistance and lb test rating. Bump up your line to 17 lb seaguar or Berkley and you will notice much fewer break-offs.

I'm using flouro, but I'm not sure it helps or not. I don't notice a higher catch ratio but because I live in Austin now and fish these ultra clear lakes I am trying to decide if it's going to make a difference. So far not really. I do like that it has less stretch than mono for jigs or T.R. It has a little more "feel" to it. Fishinfellow you're right about Vanish. That was my first experience with flouro and I hated it. It would break just looking at it! Went to Invisx and haven't had those issues.

Last Saturday I was fishing some 12lb red label with a deep diving crankbait and as I was reeling it back in open water...the line just broke. No resistance from a fish, no trees or brush to come across...nada. The lure just "disappeared". It was fresh line, had not dragged it over anything. Wierd.

The only fluoro I will buy now is Tatsu and I’ll get it when it goes on sale due to it’s expensive cost. I’ve tried all the others with the exception of Gamma and I’ve been able to break them all. Tatsu is the only one that’s held up for me.

I dropped Fluoro about 2 years ago on everything except of one cranking rig and haven't looked back. I still catch a bunch of fish and have not seen a difference in quality or quantity. I run Big Game green and clear on almost all my rigs. I had the same problem with breaking off on the hook set no matter what knot I tried.

Yep done with red label! They must have started making it with cheap materials now

Agree 100%. User error probably accounts for 90% of fluoro bashing.

It's not the line...it's the knot. Flouro is pretty darn good and I use it quite exclusively with exception to my topwater and frog rods.

The trick to flouro is using the right knot and keeping your knots moist when cinching it down.

When I first started using it, I had issues with the knots snapping off. Then I saw a video with the tricks about how to keep the main loop above everything along with keeping the knot wet. Haven't had a breakoff at the knot in years.

And I use 7 lb Sunline Sniper in trees and rocks quite a bit.

I switched to flouro 3 or 4 years ago. Started with Red Label and worked my way up to Sunline. It's pricey but it has worked for me. I believe it has allowed me to catch more fish than when I was using 15 lb. Big Game. I have not had it break like others are reporting and I like the no stretch characteristic of flouro. It's helped me get better hooksets when I'm out of position. I agree with the others, using the right knot and wetting the line when you make the knot are critical. But, like everything else in life, some folks will love it and some folks will hate it. I'll keep using it since it works for me.

I use what many consider a value priced line in Sunline Super Fluoro. Its inexpensive and is very easy to manage and performs exceptionally well.

What knot are you tying? I had the same problem and changed knots (and floro brand) and haven't had any issues since.

Not sure the name of the knot I use now but the Palomar on Red Label was what I kept having issues with. I now use Invisx or Bass Pro's brand. I will still use red label on moving baits that don't need a big hookset.

100% Berkley Flouro tied with a double San Diego Jam Knot per Mark Packs instructions and you will have zero problems and catch way more fish! IMO

People who hate Floro are just doing it wrong plain and simple.
99.99%% of Floro Bashing is from user error

I think the debate of fluoro speaks for itself. I've never seen so many opinions on what specific brand and what type of knot has to be used to bring out the true greatness of fluorocarbon. Usually from what I've seen with that many opinions is that there is no one good answer.

Amen to this

I use the palomar knot about 99.8% of the time...the other .2 percent is when I'm tying on a jerk bait and use the rapala knot

I think you might be right.

Is that the one in the blue box Mark? I just looked on Amazon and they have just the super fluoro (blue box) and the FC sniper super flouro? Have you really noticed a dramatic increase in your catch rate? I'm not pro or con. Since I moved to the Austin area I have to fish lakes that have 5' -15' of visibility and my catch rates have gone down. Line type? Line size? Bait type? Bait size? Still figuring it out. I can still go to Fork and throw 20 # XT or 15 lb Big Game and whack em. Curious if there are verifiable studies on how bass perceive it visually.

I can tell you when I get wrapped up on rusty dock poles, timber or such that it holds up better than mono does for me. As I mentioned I would hate to fish without. It telegraphs the bottom and light bites better too. I am a fan. Some guys like fluoro, some dont. I do not use it for the visibility factor. It simply outperforms mono for me. I do not know of any studies. I just by my own personal experience with it.

https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Sunline_Super_Fluorocarbon/descpage-SLSF2.html

Agree. I can only think of one lake in East Texas where I’d tie on fluoro

Also agree with Mark that it telegraphs bites really well/better than any copoly or mono.
Definitely shines in weightless presentations
But, for me to use it more regularly, I’d be retying and respooling more frequently than I want to do

I had issues flipping with braid in bushes and around wood. Braid cuts into the wood far easier than fluorocarbon does. On Lewisville I noticed a big improvement in my landing percentage by flipping bushes with 25# fluorocarbon instead of 70# braid. A lot of the fish would bite the bait on the fall and be around the base of the bush before I could set the hook. In nearly every case that braid dug into the bush and I'd lose the fish. Worse yet, I'd have to break off my tungsten weight because of how it was wrapped.

I cant imagine not using floro know.. I was fishing a bridge and the pilings were covered with zebra muscles and I kept cutting my line in practice. So the next day I tried 17lb mono leader on braid and didnt have to worry about cutting my line, since I couldnt feel the bites anymore... I went back to floro and could feel the faint bites..

That was the tourney day that I ended up with almost 25 lbs I posted on here..

OH REALLY, user error huh? I bought 3 batches of FLouro and each one broke about 1 to 1.5 ft above the knot. 15, 17 qnd 20 lb spools NOT of the same batch. It was just NOT good line for me, so I gave it up for good and went back to McCoys. YOU tell me what I was doing wrong. It wasn't breaking in the knot, it was breaking above the knot. One broke on the 2nd cast. I think the MOST casts I got our of using it was 9, so I will not use it again. This was on 3 different purchase, not all at once. SO never again. Nuff said.


Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Well maybe the way you tied the knot on all 3 batches created bad spots above all 3 knots. There are plenty of knots you can tie with mono that will weaken and cause abrasion to flouro above the knot as you cinch it down.

I think what most people fail to understand is that fluoro is ultra brittle and will shatter due to shock such as a backlash or stretch such as pulling hard on a snag. While the line doesnt break during this shatter (a lot of times) the line is basically ruined. If you looked at that section under a microscope you would see that its structural integrity is highly compromised. This is why so many are breaking off during hook sets. This is also why you see pros respooling on the fly if a minnow so much as touches their line.

This for me is just one of many issues with flouro that keeps it as leader material for me. Casting distance fluoro vs braid is reason enough to keep fluoro off of my spool. To me it's like trying to cast wire. No thanks. FG or Alberto to Maxcuatro and so ends the headaches.

My personal experience has been 100% different than this. Fluoro rarely if ever breaks for me on hooksett etc. It seems far from brittle to me.

As long as you dont shock it is strong as nails. Once its shattered it becomes weak. All depends on peoples reel settings and how well they take care of the line.

Flouro makes a heckuva leader for braid, All I use. Never broke.

Again that is your experience. Mine has been different. H99kets are shockloading.....no issues here. Heck I've had same fluoro on some reels since January. Still going strong.

I've never actually used flouro... the co-polymer I use is flouro coated, does that count?

The rod absorbs 90% of any shock during a hookset. Straight pull shock from a backlash or pulling hard on a snag are different things. Not arguing....just saying. Microscoped after the (true) shock would prove me right.

This...….I've been fishing Seaguar for 12 years and the only breaks I've had were from rough handling of the line after a back lash. Invizx sure never felt brittle to me. and have several memories of almost having to use the boat to break the stuff(20lb). Use good mono for top water and Seaguar for most everything else.

When I tied my 3 different knots, it was no where NEAR the breaking point. Palomar, Improved Clinch and uni knots. The line broke all avove where the knot was tied. I checked it out and tied knots that should not have had any impact on breaking, but they all did, so no more flouro for me. The knots were all tied below where the breaks were occurring and it irritated me from what I was using. Maybe 3 bad batches, do not know, but I gave it up. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

It might be my hook set, but I set the hook HARD, but it shouldn't be that bad on all spools, unless I got 3 bad spools, which the odds of that almost do not exist. Since they were from different batches and different lines to begin with.

tr

What device are you using to measure that 90% number you give?


To be clear I am not saying everyone who hates fluoro should go use it. Different strokes for different folks. as long as you are catching fish on whatever line you are using its all good.

I saw something recently that said when you spool up with fluro you should use it asap. Somehow degrades if it sit on tight reel spools before using? After you've used for a while, gotten it wet and some stretch it's ok on the reel from then on.

Anyone heard of that??

I used a flarkenlaver.

the day I switched from mono to flouro was the day my fishing improved. Having said that I went thru four different brands before I got to seaguar invix., All I can say is WOW. I fish in heavy cover a lot and have no problems with breakage. And now that I saw the video of that crazy 10 turn knot I can put it on the end of my braid and that knot does not break. The hook will straighten first.

you may just want to try a different brand.

Thats crazy I have 30 rods in my boat and 10 in my rv at least, some I havent used since April. All spooled up with Tatsu except the frog rods with braid.

On my casting rods which are 10-12 lb the memory goes away after some casts.. 15 it takes a few fish or I suppose I could drag it behind the boat, the memory isnt bad enough to care for me it maybe shortens a cast of a lighter square bill 5 feet.

EVERY floro I tried had more memory than Tatsu. So I use Tatsu and figure it lasts me longer, back lashes less to cover the costs..

they were saying use it shortly after you spool up, once it's been used it won't develop as much memory (later on)

Thanks Mark! I can def feel the difference with fluoro vs mono in sensitivity as well. Just wondering about how well it is actually seen underwater by a bass. I always appreciate your common sense approach in answering questions on here.

Name the last Pro Tournament won on Mono......... Wonder what most of the guides use??? I’ll wait for that as well, if you have issues with Floro it’s because your are doing something wrong or have faulty line.

Glad to help. I suck at fishing so please take what I say for its value which is pretty low....

Rick Clunn on the St. James is one that I know of. 25lb mono, he doesn’t use fluoro.

That makes no sense... IT HAS memory on the big spool, its for damn sure going to have it on the little spool. The quality of line you buy determines how bad that memory is and if it goes away or not.

I don't have any issues with Invizx. Never have.

Just another fishing falsehood, like the one....red disappears deeper than 3 ft. Nonsense

Funny cuz I'm opposite. Done with braid except at Falcon. Love flouro. San Diego jam knot all day. All knots

100%

That's garbage. Tie a decent knot. Inspect your line. Quit backlashing. That kinks the line every time

I totally agree, but name 1 person that purposely backlashes.

Nobody does it on purpose. Learn your reel. Love the "I can backlash toilet paper" signature
I just got a new reel and the playing with controls is gonna be my first 10 mins on the water/all damn day.

I wanna watch Thad tie a knot and cause abrasion 12 - 18 " above the knot.

He's doing it wrong, whatever knot he's tying

Name the last PGA Tour Pro that won a tournament using an off the shelf driver?

Most of us aren't pros, or guides, get a break on price or get it free or get paid to use it. Some of us don't have elite casting skills , most of us can't afford to have 12 rods on the deck to choose from when our backlash kink causes a known problem, most of us are on a budget and hang up and destroy 1/2 a spool from time to time. Some of us want to catch a few nice fish and if we ever start breaking off 10s then we might be ready to consider something different.

You are correct, if you have issues with Floro it’s because you are doing something wrong or have faulty line. If you go play golf and don't shoot even par , you are doing something wrong as well. Some of us do something wrong too often to afford floro all the time on every rig.

Seagaur Invisx 15, 17, 20lb and a Double Pitzen or whatever Swindle and Shaw Grigsby call it. No issues.. Used 17 lb on a swim jig in thick grass catching over 20 fish a couple weeks ago with no re-ties. 5 of them were over 4 pounds. It’s all about the knot!

You don't need pro gear to catch fish or play golf. These guys didn't get to be pros with pro gear. Knowledge, understanding and decent gear and how to use it and AND lots of practice

It prob has more to do with the way that he throws his bait. I’d imagine that’s just about the amount of line hanging from the rod tip when he rears back to cast. Prob kinking the line by rearing back hard to launch the bait.

Maybe your guys with floro issues are using too light of line?

I was on mono only three years ago. Heck I was still in my 84 glastron then also and had no idea people talked about fishing online..

I was breaking 10 floro on hook set, then 12, now I use 15 and fine wire hooks a flick of the wrist is all it takes with fine wire hooks... my draw partners in club tourneys swing for the fences like on tv and break off while I boat 15 fish or more to their 1... Heck Ive caught fish with my partners bait in their mouth this year.. haha

Ultimately, do what works for you. Fluoro works for me in probably 80% of applications, so that's what I'm going to keep doing. For me, mono works for top water. Braid works for frogs and as main line on a spinning reel (would use it to punch grass if I did that more often), and that's it. Fluoro for the rest. Again, do what works for you.

I had bad luck with invizx 12lb years ago. Was probably a bad spool but I lost confidence in it. Switched to Gamma Edge and haven’t been broke off yet fishing 10 and 12lb. It’s stronger and more abrasion resistant. It is a little stiffer and slightly more difficult to cast but I have 100% confidence in it. Pricey so I prespool with mono and tie on 50-60 yards of fluoro. I tried Sunline Super FC Sniper and didn’t like it as much as the Gamma. Key is to find a line that works for you and that you can have confidence in.

I like this comment. Only difference for me is mono usually for the 17-25lb use, unless deeper water.
I kinda use all line types since no line is best for ALL situations imo.

This is where I am at also. I chose what I believe will get the job done for how I am fishing. I am not a fan of braid but it has its place and I use it but it is almost impossible in the wind, at least for me.

I use braid for top water frogs, heavy rigs for punching grass and on spinning gear. For braid I like Suffix 832 and Dawai Samuri braid.
I use Fluorocarbon line for my weightless baits, my drop shot (with a bait caster) and other finesse techniques. I use it on my Tx. rigs and as a main line for my C.rig. Invizx and P Line Halo are the two that have worked the best for me.
For jigs, chatter baits, spinner baits, and heavy baits I use P Line CXX copolymer line.
For mid depth and shallow cranking and top water baits (other than frogs) I use McCoys Mean Green.
For deep cranking I use Invizx Flluorocarbon line.


This weekend was my first experience with Samuri braid and I really like it a lot.

It’s about what works for you .

I think Rick Clunn uses mono and he's won a couple of Tournaments recently. I use all three though.

Yep it's all in the knot , good knot no problem!!

Try k-9 !

I did not have any issue with Invisx down in Mexico as far as breaking while landing fish but after 3 days it was damaging the line on the spool from the number of fish being landed and started breaking on hook set in the spool. Fish down there are easy to catch and in large numbers so I had not experienced that issue before. So now I recommend respooling after a couple of days of use. Now if your only catching 3 or 4 a day obviously that won’t be necessary but we were catching 50-75 per day.

Anyone see Swindle break a bait off on the cast and it land several seconds later on boat dock, a few days ago on his social media? "There goes $27"

sunline is junk honestly...seaguar is my old faithful never snapped on me unless my rod inserts were trash.

This^^^^^^^

20# Red Label....don't remember ever breaking it off on a hook set.
15# Red label....don"t remember ever breaking it on a hook set, but I'm using lighter rods with this.

Oh, and the knot is a carefully tied palomar.

It's amazing to me that someone said they don't like floro and it generated 6 pages of responses. A lot of those responses were negative and condescending. Get a grip fellas. (Some responses were helpful, but many were not)

Me too, I use flouro for just about all of my fishing.. I love the strength and how sensitive it is...

I tie on about a 4 ft leader of fluoro o to every spool of braid in various pounds of strength

WOW. Everybody is different and everybody is sure. I get tickled at some of the post. I will never use this, this is all I use, your doing this wrong, you got to do it this way. Well, here is mine.
I use flouro on several rigs, use red label, from 12 to 20 pound test. Use braid on some rigs, spider wire, power pro, whatever is on sale, and I use a palamar knot on everything, it is the only knot that will hold for me. The clinch knot never holds, I know I must be doing something wrong with it because so many people use it with success. The lakes I call home are heavy with timber and getting wrapped around something is a common happening, there are brush piles everywhere from fallen trees, and many times I bring limbs up with my fish. I caught a 4 pounder a few weeks back, had to lay the rod down, pull it up with my hands, pull part of the limb into the boat, stand on the limb to hold it and get the fish off. I think I will start a thread on what kind of chain saw to keep in the boat.
And by the way, big game line, I will not allow it in my boat, that is the worst stuff to ever hit the fishing market.
See, everybody has their own opinion.

I used nothing but braid for 15 years. For the last 8-9 years I have used Berkley 100% fluoro for most applications. I don't know what is going on with you, but I can barely break 15 or 17 lb Berkley when I try. I have broken off maybe three fish in the last three or four years, and I don't blame the line for any of them. I am terrible about not retying.

Usually when I have line breaks 1 to 1.5 ft above the lure knot it is due to a damaged tip guide.

If I have any fluoro left I'm going to use it as backing for my braid.

You ight be wrong on the tip, this happened on 4 rods and the eyes couldnot be bad on all of them, while using Mccoys has NO PROBLEMS. If it is THAT sensitive of a line, then I do not want to sue it anyway. If you think all 4 rods a damaged ONLYT on this line, then you might want to check your line to make sure it is not SUPER line or something else. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck. THAT was the first thing I checked for.

Thad Rains

I have never had an issue with Invizx fluorocarbon line.....ever.

I think a lot of the fluorocarbon controversy dates back to when fluorocarbon first hit the scene . There was some really bad stuff that was being marketed. Berkely Vanish for one and Stren had one, don't recall the name. A guy on this forum posted he had bought some and had several break offs first time out on the water. I saw it was cheap and purchased some anyway. Boy, was he ever right. Sorry about the lack of details, but this was about 18 yrs ago.

I was at El Salto back in February. I fished 4 days using only fluoro. I did not have a single break off fighting a fish for 2 days. We were catching 50-60 per day. I was insane how easy it was to catch those fish down there. Where I made a mistake was not respooling after day 2. I had nothing to go on as far as experience. What happened was due to the stress of catching that many the line was cutting itself on the spool. On day 3 I began breaking off on hook set in the spool. At the lunch break I respooled and all was good again. I think fluoro is a good line that has its place but you have to understand it and take precaution. I was using Invisx by the way. I think too many get caught up in thinking fluoro is better than mono or braid but that is just not the case. It’s just another option that may or may not perform better than the others in certain situations.

one thing is for certain, it is always going to be spelled different ways.

now that is funny

Yep

I was recently fishing Fork and forgot my seguar so I had to use some clear 20 lb eagle claw mono that I use for catfish or striper for a leader and was pleasantly surprised , 40 lb power pro and tic tic and landed a nice 5lb large-mouth and drove the hook completely through the upper lip with a heavy action mega bass rod.

Clear line does make a difference in warm clear water.

Siri always spells it Floral Carbon....