Braid or Fluorocarbon?

[pelleeklund]

Hey guys, I have been using braided line pretty religiously but recently have heard a bunch of talk about fluorocarbon line catching more fish due to it's lack of visibility. I know it's late in the season but I was thinking about giving it a shot and was wondering if anyone had anything to say about the differences. One thing that may hold me back is that I use a spinning outfit which apparently isn't ideal seeing as the fluoro has memory issues. I'm a bit torn on the whole deal and could use some help from some experienced fishers. I would hate to buy a line that would drive me as nuts as mono has, but the advantages are pushing me to do it anyway. Any thoughts you guys have would be very welcome.

 

[tamzor]

just keep braided and keep the last few feet of the end of the line flurocarbon

 

[likestofish]

Fluero tends to make shorter casts due to how stiff the line is. I would just keep the braid and just use a leader of fluero if your worried.

 

[pelleeklund]

Sounds good. How long should I make the leader, and is there any knot recommendations you guys would have for line to line? Maybe just a swivel? Thanks.

 

[dcorreia]

Ya, good advise, if you use spinning gear don't waist your time with fluro. You will be spending all your time fighting twists and loops. It likes to fly off your spool when you flip your bail open. As far as using it as a leader that is a good idea, great idea if you are fishing clear water. But be careful about your knots, fluro has a tendacy to break at knots if they are not tied right.

 

[TStephens]

The only thing flourocarbon is good for is making leaders. I use braid on my spinning and trolling outfits but use mono on my baitcasters for casting into schooling stripers.

 

[Snook000]

I use 15lbs braid on of all of my spinning reels, I had mono a took it off for braid. I like to use an arms length of leader. I tie a triple surgeons knot for line to line. If you are using heavy leader I tie a spider hitch to double the line then tie the triple surgeons knot.

 

[pelleeklund]

Love it. Thanks for warning me about the full spool. I have a tendency to get evil life eating knots anytime I go with mono, so i'm sure flouro would be much of the same. I really think the leader will help where I fish though, the lake is crystal clear and it seems like I always get more action at night, when I assume my line is less visible. Hopefully this translates to more fish. Thanks again for the advice everyone.

 

[BIG_ONE]

Fluorocarbon sucks IMO. If you want casting distance, braid is the way to go. My favorite braid of all time is PP(Power Pro) with great results on Sufix. Enough mono to cover the bottom spool and fill it up with braid(I down hand hate the tape, I've swung for the fence so hard that the braid cuts right through the tape and spun around my spool creating birds nest on my spinning/casting rod). And then I like to use P-line as leader(only because they are over strengthen than labeled - reason is I deal with lots of big games and I don't know what kind of fish is going to hit). I also like Maxima as leader.

 

[cichlid fiend]

Braid all day!