When used as a leader, on spinning gear, when it’s a 6-12 foot leader, what is the advantage of floro over mono? I realize the stretch maybe different, but on such a short piece?? I guess I’m not convinced it makes a big difference, when only leader line.

Most of the folks using it in the described application are using it for finesse ones, likely on pressured or line shy fish.   

 

Fluoro matters in those scenarios for sure.   I also just think Fluoro hits way above it weight class in terms of strength, I have vastly more confidence in the strength of high end ones vs. mono or copoly.

 

You're talking to a guy who doesn't run a braid to leader anything, so you can basically dismiss this post if you want lol. 

I just find it hard to believe floro is that much more invisible than mono.I fish 1 extremely cleat lake. And haven’t noticed a difference. Then again, I’m no expert ?. 

I’m biased. I think the difference in flloro versus mono for leader material is over stated. Aggressive fish could care less regarding visibility of leaders especially on moving baits. I have never been out fished by anyone using floro while I was using mono for a leader making the comparison on purpose. The potential abrasion advantage of floro is negated by the weakness in knot strength. If I need more abrasion strength with my mono I simply go to a heavier line test. My main reason for using a leader in the first place is to combat abrasion from rock & shell bottoms. If all vegetation fishing I use straight braid. 

I use fluorocarbon for leaders if I want my bait to sink more quickly. Does it make a big difference… probably not. 
 

My most common leader material is copoly. 

I agree that the difference in clarity, or the fish's ability to see it, is overrated.  The main differences are in diameter for a given pound test and in density. The FC tends to sink while the mono is very close to the density of water which means it will not drag a surface lure under when it's worked.  I use mono for my rigs that I'm likely to use for surface, and FC for the others. The slightly smaller diameter and higher density mean that with FC greater fishing depths will be easier to attain.  And there will be slight differences in how lures, especially finesse lures, move.  I don't see the reasons for using one over the other are all that compelling.  

I don’t know what makes a difference.  All I know is that I got my butt waxed from the back of my boat using mono on shaky while the guest was using fluorocarbon.  I got it twice before I was smart enough to buy fluorocarbon.

 

The second lesson was fishing swim baits using a mono to braid leader in clear water while my partner was using fluoro to braid.  Once of that was enough.  

5 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I’m biased. I think the difference in flloro versus mono for leader material is over stated. Aggressive fish could care less regarding visibility of leaders especially on moving baits. I have never been out fished by anyone using floro while I was using mono for a leader making the comparison on purpose. The potential abrasion advantage of floro is negated by the weakness in knot strength. If I need more abrasion strength with my mono I simply go to a heavier line test. My main reason for using a leader in the first place is to combat abrasion from rock & shell bottoms. If all vegetation fishing I use straight braid. 

I'll go ahead and mark this as the solution. ??

As far as visibility to fish, I have no idea. I do feel  how baits fall and move is different with mono and FC leaders. This aspect  could possibly make difference in getting bites depending on what the fish are wanting.

6 hours ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I’m biased. I think the difference in floro versus mono for leader material is over stated.

 

Fluorocarbon fishing line can make a difference in ultra clear water.  I have had this proven to me many times when fishing offshore tournaments with live bait.  If the water is less than clear, fishing line composition has little to do with the number of strikes you will get.  More significant is the diameter of the line. At some point, an increase in diameter will negatively affect the action of the lure.  

 

The selling point for me is when fishing around rocks and/or zebra mussels.  Fluoro seems to have a lot better abrasive resistance in the same pound test when comparing it to mono.

 

I also tend to get bit off a lot more when I'm using mono than using fluoro.  Pike are merciless up here.

 

I don't know if fluoro becomes more invisible than mono does in clear water.  Nor do I know much about the stretch comparison.  But if I can control a factor that "might" help me catch more fish, I am going to control it.  There are enough factors I can't control already so I'm doing everything in my control to increase my odds of catching fish if I'm able to.  Pretty much every pro uses fluoro as a leader on their finesse spinning setups, especially recently when they were at those ultra-clear northern smallmouth waters.  That's enough to convince me.

2 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I don’t know what makes a difference.  All I know is that I got my butt waxed from the back of my boat using mono on shaky while the guest was using fluorocarbon.  I got it twice before I was smart enough to buy fluorocarbon.

 

The second lesson was fishing swim baits using a mono to braid leader in clear water while my partner was using fluoro to braid.  Once of that was enough.  

This is a very common story, I finally saw the light on Fluoro fishing for SMs getting my tail handed to me fishing live threadfins.     

 

I have no doubt Bass can be line shy.    

7 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Fluoro seems to have a lot better abrasive resistance in the same pound test when comparing it to mono

 

Agreed. It especially makes a difference at small diameters where abrasion builds up fast. If you're finesse fishing with 0.008" line, good FC stands up to rocks and teeth much better than nylon. It's simply a harder material on average.

 

With thicker lines, I don't notice a difference. And knot strength is definitely an issue. You have to adapt your knots to FC, and even to different brands/types/diameters of FC.

 

Differences in visibility, density, stretch...meh. I think most of this is marketing except for a few specific situations, at least when your are comparing lines of the same diameter. Test strength vs diameter is all over the place.

Easier to list the disadvantage of FC line in general.

1. lower knot strength vs mono- copoly line. Leader requires 2 knots, lower knot strength x 2.

Advantage FC is heavier then mono- copoly line and sinks, less bow in the line. FC has the same light refraction as water making it harder for fish to see line the same diameters.

Stretch is very similar between FC, mono and copoly lines of = diameter, not a factor.

Tom 

I don't fool with it anymore where I fish, which is the everglades or marshlands. I've broken off more lures on floro. Even on the cast with a full spool of the stuff, the line can snap at any point from the slightest bend or imperfection, taking the entire cast with it and putting the setup out of commission. As a leader I've lost some nice fish on it with the hookset. And I've given it the fairest of shots, using the best of fluorocarbons. Plain cheap mono does the trick for me, that or just strait braid. And I haven't noticed the slightest difference with hits between floro, mono, or strait braid, nada. The fish don't care lol 

Pike can bite right through 30 or 40 pound braid.  Easy.  With thick enough fluoro leader, they can't.  I realize not everyone has merciless voracious pike in their waters though.

Y'all who think fluoro is less visible ever compare it to mono side by side? The difference is negligible. Fish see them both. 

The density difference and it's effect on bait action can certainly be a factor in some conditions though for sure.

i honestly cannot tell with certainty what a fish can or cannot see.

 

 

I don't think we could ever know what fish can see and what they cannot see. But I did my own test one time laying monofilament in the water along side Flourocarbon. Both were 20 pound test I could clearly see the monofilament while the Flouro disappeared.
Not a very scientific test I know, but it made somewhat of a believer out of me. I'm sure it matters a lot more in areas where there's not much vegetation and the water is crystal clear.

I have often wondered what a fish thinks when it sees the line coming ahead of a lure. Does he think it's grass? Or does he think anything? I'm probably overthinking this.

23 minutes ago, Capt Steve said:

I don't think we could ever know what fish can see and what they cannot see. But I did my own test one time laying monofilament in the water along side Flourocarbon. Both were 20 pound test I could clearly see the monofilament while the Flouro disappeared.
Not a very scientific test I know, but it made somewhat of a believer out of me. I'm sure it matters a lot more in areas where there's not much vegetation and the water is crystal clear.

I have often wondered what a fish thinks when it sees the line coming ahead of a lure. Does he think it's grass? Or does he think anything? I'm probably overthinking this.

me too.  

 

trout fishing the Sierras, it was way beneficial to use Flouro.  big time numbers difference using Flouro. 

     Fluoro and mono have different properties and aren't the same. Fluoro is much more sensitive to being kinked then mono. In fact it really hates being kinked hard. Hence the weaker knot strength and me learning how to gently pick out a backlashes without pulling hard on the line when I get them. I feel that mono stretches differently then fluoro. Mono stretches sooner then fluoro (IMHO).  Mono, I feel recovers from being stretched much better then fluoro. I don't think fluoro recovers much from stretching and is weaker from being stretched.

     Fluoro is stiffer then Mono. Bite detection is better with fluoro because it is stiffer and sinks. Mono is better for topwater since it doesn't sink like fluoro and it almost floats.

     Bass eat Alabama rigs and love spinner baits and they are line shy? Do I think the invisibility factor/marketing ploy for fluoro makes a difference? Maybe, maybe not.

    Using either as a leader material (6-8' long) and tied to braid. I think it is good so when you get hung up your can break the line without removing fingers.

  In summation IMHO, Fluoro for bottom contact baits, Mono for top water baits. Braid for punching, flipping and frogs. Psssst, I fish crankbaits on 20 & 30lb braid. Let the bass tell you what works and what doesn't.

FM

 

20 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Most of the folks using it in the described application are using it for finesse ones, likely on pressured or line shy fish.   

 

Fluoro matters in those scenarios for sure.   I also just think Fluoro hits way above it weight class in terms of strength, I have vastly more confidence in the strength of high end ones vs. mono or copoly.

 

You're talking to a guy who doesn't run a braid to leader anything, so you can basically dismiss this post if you want lol. 

Im the complete opposite.  I run pretty much exclusively PE to FC on spinning gear and have been for decades.  FC doesn't have the strength that mono does.  You have to compare some of the cheapest mono to the best FC leader material to in order for the FC to have better abrasion resistance and even then the knot strength is more than likely less.  I can get away with budget12lb mono where I have to a minimum of quality 15lb FC.

Where FC makes the difference is the density, thinner dia and visibility. I use a lot of really light 1/32-1/16 jig micro jigs and jigheads on small baits.  Since its thinner and doesnt want to float like mono, FC lets the bait work a little more naturally and the lower drag and lift helps keep the bait down in current.  Braid wants to float so a long FC leader is a good way to offset that characteristic.    

Still kind of playing around with straight fluoro and straight mono. I like both. Fluoro does have less bow in the line, what we mistaken for stretch. Seems to give me more of a direct pull. Fluorocarbon is also undoubtedly more sensitive and holds up better to uv degradation. So, fluorocarbon should last longer on your reel. It's tough though because I like mono too. I kinda like that bow in the line and it tends to cast a little easier for me, requiring less maintenance than fc. 

 

We can use any line type in bass fishing and be fine