OK kids, save your lunch money cuz you can’t catch bass without flourocarbon. Today’s bass are ultra smart and have evolved past their impulsive instinctual ways. You will now have to pay over $15.00 for a spool of line if you plan on being a successful angler. OMG! I can’t believe your still in the last decade using monofilament (lmoa)! Seriously now, all snarkyness aside, we post about flourocarbon a lot. I know it’s benefits. I wouldn’t think of dropshotting without it. I just want the casual or the new angler to know that you don’t have to spend $15+ on a spool of line to catch bass for most applications. Is it better? Yes. Can you catch bass on different line? Yes. I still like Ande’s Back Country ($10.99 for 600yds.) for beating the bank over other fluorocarcarbons ($18.99 for 175yds.). I’d love to be a G. Loomis guy, but alas, my lot is amongst the St. Croix commoner.
Every fishing technique in existence can be used without fluorocarbon. Dropshot in clear or very deep water, and topwater on gin clear lakes would be the only things I would say you should have fluoro for. The rest you can get by using good ol’ $5 a spool mono. I have one reel with fluoro on it, a crankbait reel that I threw lipless with early last season, after ice-out when the water was really clear. After that I never used fluoro the rest of the season… didn’t need it.
Every fishing technique in existence can be used without fluorocarbon. Dropshot in clear or very deep water, and topwater on gin clear lakes would be the only things I would say you should have fluoro for. The rest you can get by using good ol’ $5 a spool mono. I have one reel with fluoro on it, a crankbait reel that I threw lipless with early last season, after ice-out when the water was really clear. After that I never used fluoro the rest of the season… didn’t need it.
have you ever tried fishing a topwater with floro? It sinks! Doesnt work very well with topwaters.
I guess the thing that concerns me is the fact that you should change line periodically. This can get to be expensive using fluorocarbon. If you can afford it-great. If not, there’s still some lower price alternatives. I have a spool of 15# P Line fluoroclear on the shelf. What would be a good application for it?
Sure fluorocarbon isnt needed. Personally I wouldnt fish w/o it, but thats a confidence thing. Same goes for tungsten and SI units….....we dont need them to have a good day on the lake. But I spent many years fishing without them and the pro’s out-weight the con’s IMO. But I agree with the overall intention of this post. They are not needed to catch fish, they just help out.
I guess the thing that concerns me is the fact that you should change line periodically. This can get to be expensive using fluorocarbon. If you can afford it-great. If not, there’s still some lower price alternatives. I have a spool of 15# P Line fluoroclear on the shelf. What would be a good application for it?
Average weekend guy should change their line every 3 - 4 weeks if fluoro or mono. Line sprays help and so does stripping off 30-40 yrds and trolling around the lake for a few minutes…then reeling it back in. What this does is allow the line to absorb water and reduces the coiling.
Every fishing technique in existence can be used without fluorocarbon. Dropshot in clear or very deep water, and topwater on gin clear lakes would be the only things I would say you should have fluoro for. The rest you can get by using good ol’ $5 a spool mono. I have one reel with fluoro on it, a crankbait reel that I threw lipless with early last season, after ice-out when the water was really clear. After that I never used fluoro the rest of the season… didn’t need it.
have you ever tried fishing a topwater with floro? It sinks! Doesnt work very well with topwaters.
No, I cant think of a reason to try it.
I said you can use any technique without the need of fluoro. In other words (better words) Braid and mono replace fluoro in every situation.. but it is not always the best substitute.
The only circumstance i use fluoro over here is for a leader.
Braid to a good abrasion resistant fluoro via a FG knot or an improved albright knot. I normally run it about 4-5 feet long.
When i was over last year for the classic i noticed that none of you guys seem to run a leader off your braid?. I personally think you could get away with lighter braid and a heavier leader, this would increase your casting distance and make your setup more abrasion resistant… just my own thoughts.
I use the follow analogy: you can screw a screw in with a butter knife, but there are tools made to do the job better.
That being said I personally don’t use fluoro. I really don’t have a reason not to, just don’t want to. I do know it can probably help, but I just can’t see switching yet.
I’m not a huge fluoro guy either & I usually do pretty well. I have used it & it does seem to be more sensitive than mono, but the way it handles, even with L&L cond, leaves a lot to be desired. I’ve been leaning more co-poly these days, but all lines have their place & purpose.
mr_balls - 18 January 2011 11:03 AM
The only circumstance i use fluoro over here is for a leader.
Braid to a good abrasion resistant fluoro via a FG knot or an improved albright knot. I normally run it about 4-5 feet long.
When i was over last year for the classic i noticed that none of you guys seem to run a leader off your braid?. I personally think you could get away with lighter braid and a heavier leader, this would increase your casting distance and make your setup more abrasion resistant… just my own thoughts.
I think a lot of it has to do with the way line manufacturers want their products pushed & they want fluorocarbon for mainline pushed hard. Fluorcarbon is as expensive as braid, but has to be changed out a whole lot more often than braid, so more money to be made from attentive line changers. Although I think you could see some more guys using braid for cranking & the like with the introduction of sinking braids, since that’s the big selling point for fluoro in use for cranking & other techniques where visibility isn’t that big of a factor.
I use alot of floro, 1 thing I do to save some money is to use a mono backing and only spool about 30 yards of the floro, same with braid. I wasnt sure about it until I used it. If you use a good floro, the twist isnt that bad. I use seaguar invizx and have stuck with it. The only floro I used and didnt like was the bps brand. I may have gotten an old spool or somthing but it would twist terriblly. I know alot of guys who havent had a problem with it, but I went back to invizx and never looked back.
^That is one good way to save money on fluoro & I think it helps with handling too. When I spooled the whole thing with fluorocarbon, it seemed like every backlash went super deep, due to all the memory of the line deeper in the spool. With mono backing, I think it helps a bit with that, not to mention having a taped down knot to stop the dreaded backlash from going too deep. I usually go about 40-50 yards, but I do a lot of bombing & I like not going clear to the knot/tape. Making a 200 yard spool last 4 fills sure helps ease the whole cost thing a bit too.
I use fluorocarbon on 1 of my rigs. This rig is my most used rig though. It is mainly my texas rig and jig rod, but I will put on other lures if need be. I tried Seaguar Invisix, XPS, and Vicious on this setup. Invisix was good, XPS terrible, and Vicious was GREAT! I will be using Vicious fluorocarbon a lot more this year. I haven’t decided if I am going to use it on my craning set up or not because I have almost a whole spool of Suffix Deep Cranking line left.
Personally I feel that you can get away without fluorocarbon. I use fluorocarbon because it was recommended by everyone 2 years ago. I haven’t felt the need to change because I now use Vicious fluoro which is dirt cheap.
Me and my buddy went fishing this past fall when the smallmouth were hot i bet i caught over 25 and he was usen the same bait the same way he only got 5 he was pist that i crushed him like that on the way home i found out that he was usen mono to my floro so im a true beleaver of floro now
