Using the "F" Word

[Bud Kennedy]

Trying to understand the benefits of using Flurocaron line.  Let me say I have never bought any and have nerver used any and until now have never wanted to know much about it..  Currently I am mostly a braid user and power pro have been my choice for many years.  Just regular old power pro not any of the new blends that seem to be the subject of advertising these days.  I also use mono for select reasons that are typically crankbait or spinnerbait lures. 

My reason for not trying flouro in the past has been the ongoing complaints that are posted from time to time.  I also see much varied opinions on what line is best. I hear folks talking about line memory issues and basically unruly line performance.  Another thing is I don't use leaders and won't be in the future as I believe this just adds another failure point and a guide problem if using smaller or microguides. 

So, bottom line is Should I consider Flouro for crankbait applications?  I fish very dark stained water with visibility less than 6" so clear water is not my thing here on the river  We don't have a lot of wood in the water and we don't have rocks so abrasion is not a deal.  I am just wondering if flouro will improve the action of my lure and will it allow my lure to reach optimum depths over braid or mono.

I guess I am looking for a valid reason why I sould try it.

[Donald Garner]

I've never tried Fluro for crankbaiting.  The 'Only Time' I use Fluorocarbon Line is for flipping and pitching.  I have it spooled on my Reels that are attached to my LSCR's only.  The rest of my rods all have Berkley Big Game Clear 20lb Mono on them.  I do have (1) rod with Braid on it and its the rod I use for frogging.

I'm looking forward to the responses you get to your question.

[big g]

I use Floro all the time for plastics, cranks, and jigs.  First thing I fish water that if often gin clear.  Second with sinking baits they will run deeper with less weight.  Crankbaits especially just run deeper with sinking line.  Since your fishing heavy stained water that's not a factor.  It is very sensitive and I can feel everything on the bottom.  Third, A lot of our lakes have rough sandstone rock walls and braid just gets torn up by jagged rock.  Floro holds up much better in rock.  Forth, Not all floro's are the same, I have tried many, and love Berkley Professional grade.  I have no problems with it, but it is expensive.  Braid often digs into itself and my floro does not.  I feel I get more bites with it, and since I believe it, it must be true!    I use braid 50 pound for very thick cover, and Big Game Mono for topwater applications.
Use whatever makes you happy and you believe in.  Believing in what your doing makes a big difference in catching.  I don't second guess my line.  There is no perfect line for all situations, time on the water, and experimenting,  will answer all your questions, so just keep fishing.  Good luck my friend.

[caddyjoe77]

the valid reason is up to you Bud. 

K9 is cheap enough, and i like it--it has been really supple compared to some of the others i have tried.  I am mostly a braid person too with all the grass but there are things i like flouro for.  finesse mostly and some cranking. 

[Princeton_Man]

I'm a braid and Fluoro guy and have been for a very long time. Mono feels like a rubber band to me now.

[Smallie_Stalker]

I'm a braid only guy for everything but two particular situations. Flouro does get your baits a bit deeper and is arguably more abrasion resistant but for me it has not been worth the associated hassles to continue using it.

The solution I have found that works for me is to use one of two lones- Suffix 832 or Spiderwire Ultra-Cast Flouro Braid. Both of these lines contain Gore fibers that cause the line to sink like a flouro but maintain all the advantages of a braid.

Both lines are 8 carrier. The difference between the two lines is the number of gore fibers, which affects how quickly the line sinks and how much bow it takes out of the line from surface to lure.

Suffix has a single gore fibers ( so 1/8 of it's overall composition). The Spiderwire has 4 gore fibers (1/2 of its composition). So the Spiderwire sinks faster and eliminates the bow in your line.

This can affect the fall rate of of certain baits.

Just some things to think about.



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[Dink Dawg]

I was not a fan of braid for a long long time.  I was skeptical of flouro for almost as long.  The product development continued and refined and "most" of the issues that soured me have been corrected. 

I now apply braid to all but one of my spinning combos.  I apply braid to three (only) of my casting combos and for specific reasons, ability to cut vegetation and hook setting on ultra long casts.

I have flouro on two cranking combos to achieve maximum depth,  three bottom contact combos for sensitivity and mono on remaining combos. 

[Bud Kennedy]

Not hearing much support for Cranking applications with fluoro.   Best bet seems to stay with my current braid configurations and leave it at that.  Perhaps if my usual conditions were different then it might be worth a try but for on the river the braid will have to do the job.

[Bassinkorea]

I have two combos that are designated for crankbaits only and both of them are rigged with fluoro. One 10lb and one with 12lb. Never had any reason to want and try a different line.

I never use braid with any bait that has treble hooks. Years ago I lost several nice fish when the treble hooks were ripped out of the mouths due to the lack of stretch in the braid.

[Bud Kennedy]

Steve, I was thinking the same thing.  I was surprised that the folks who posted did not use it for their cranking when trebles are involved.  I have also seen this with single hook baits like chatter baits.

[Smallie_Stalker]

That is one of the reasons why you want a rod with a softer tip for cranking and other treble baits. It makes up for some of that lack of stretch in the braid.

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[Bassinkorea]

That is one of the reasons why you want a rod with a softer tip for cranking and other treble baits. It makes up for some of that lack of stretch in the braid.

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I am using specific cranking rods with parabolic action.....but I still like the fluoro which does a great job for me      If it's not broken, don't fix it   

[Deadeye]

I have two combos that are designated for crankbaits only and both of them are rigged with fluoro. One 10lb and one with 12lb. Never had any reason to want and try a different line.

I never use braid with any bait that has treble hooks. Years ago I lost several nice fish when the treble hooks were ripped out of the mouths due to the lack of stretch in the braid.

I am very close to this. The exception is I use 12 and 17 lb for Cranking and the heavier for Lipless and Spinnerbait.

I also have started using 20 lb for Jig fishing. I do feel that in some cases it does seem to produce more bites than the PP did.

In my mind it is a big enough difference that I have stuck with it since I first tried it with no intention to change.


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[Smallie_Stalker]

I am using specific cranking rods with parabolic action.....but I still like the fluoro which does a great job for me      If it's not broken, don't fix it   

Steve, I apologize if I came off as argumentative or snarky. That was not my intent.

I did the flouro/cranking connection for a long time so I get it and I understand why people do it. I just found something different that works for me.

That's one of the cool things about fishing. We can all have different approaches to the same result. 

[Bassinkorea]

Steve, I apologize if I came off as argumentative or snarky. That was not my intent.

Not at all Jim, it was a discussion and you had a valid point   

[merc1997]

I use Floro all the time for plastics, cranks, and jigs.  First thing I fish water that if often gin clear.  Second with sinking baits they will run deeper with less weight.  Crankbaits especially just run deeper with sinking line.  Since your fishing heavy stained water that's not a factor.  It is very sensitive and I can feel everything on the bottom.  Third, A lot of our lakes have rough sandstone rock walls and braid just gets torn up by jagged rock.  Floro holds up much better in rock.  Forth, Not all floro's are the same, I have tried many, and love Berkley Professional grade.  I have no problems with it, but it is expensive.  Braid often digs into itself and my floro does not.  I feel I get more bites with it, and since I believe it, it must be true!    I use braid 50 pound for very thick cover, and Big Game Mono for topwater applications.
Use whatever makes you happy and you believe in.  Believing in what your doing makes a big difference in catching.  I don't second guess my line.  There is no perfect line for all situations, time on the water, and experimenting,  will answer all your questions, so just keep fishing.  Good luck my friend.

15# test braid is much smaller diameter than the 8 to 12 lb. test floro you probably use for crankbaits.  it, therefore, has a lot lest drag coming through the water and a crank bait will actually go deeper than by using floro.  next, about digging issues.  if one does have digging issues, that problem has a lot to do with the backing you use and putting the line on your reel.  you have to put a very smooth base under the braid.  if not, you have created a whole host of peaks and valleys on the surface of you braid on the reel spool, and that creates casting problems and digging problems.

braid also will give anyone a much better feel of the wobble on the crankbail of choice.  with no stretch, hooks go in better, and a slight adjustment in rod choice and drag adjustment will eliminate tearing hooks out fighting a fish.

bo

[Oldfart9999]

I used to use BPS XPS flouro in 10 or 12 lb for cranking, deeper, not shallow, but they changed the formulation and I had issues with it and switched back to mono. I used flouro early on for almost everything from jig to worm fishing but started having breakoffs, started using braid with a leader and now use straight braid for everything but moving baits like cranks and spinnerbaits, I do use a flouro leader on dropshot, it has some stretch, about the same as mono but it doesn't rebound like mono so it needs to be changed more often. If I ever try different ones I probably would change back to flouro for deep cranking. Hope this helps.
Rodney

[OkobojiEagle]

Bo... Finally, a candle in the darkness.  Thanks

oe

[GermanKnight]

I only use braid and fluorocarbon. That's it. No mono at all. I don't really have a need for it the way I fish.

I use FC almost all the time up until a year or so ago maybe two years. Now I mostly use braid to a FC leader. I use the tws system alot so I'm forced to use a smaller leader and truthfully, I now prefer it.

I already think too much about if there fish can see my line and I'm in the club of people who know they can see line. Its not like they look and can say "welp Jon boy is using mono, or braid to the lure", it's more like I know that after being caught and scared half to death they have the brain power to put a pattern together enough to where it does help using fluorocarbon.

I'm also gonna end on this. If you fish semi clear water you only have probability to gain using it. If you pitch to heavy cover you probably wouldn't notice a difference. It's hard to say. But I've noticed throughout the years that I do seem to hook and land more fish when I use FC and braid.

Hope this helped. Much love and prayers yall

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