Trade Off Of Fluoro And Braid

[Fireguyfrank58]

  I just want to see if my findings are about on par for everyone else. 

 

Fluoro- Sinks, abrasion resistant, almost invisible in water, but has high memory, is break off prone, has knot slip problems, can be a pain to cast.

 

Braid- Floats, super strong for diameter, easy casting, great hookset power, great tightline sensitivity, strong knots, but can be seen in water, and has issues with cuts.

 

I bring this up because I have been fishing PP # 50 for a while and I have to say that is really good braid.  With this summer time hitting hard I wanted to make sure I wasnt leaving fish on the table by using a line that was scaring off fish.  So yesterday I picked up some Seaguar Invisix 15 lb.  I used it this morning and caught several fish.  Only had 2 two lbs. largemouth but still fun.  I noticed memory was pretty low but still got some bird nests and it seemed like the line always wanted to be a little loose on the reel.  I ended up with one knot slip in a tree that I hung, that lost a tungsten weight!..ouch!  Then I had a long cast with a light lure and the line randomly broke off with my 60' cast.   So I guess I'm wondering if thats the kind of thing you should expect with fluoro? I had more bird nests then normal and a cold pretty bad ones.  I was switching lures and they were pretty varied in weight.  Once I switched to the improved clinch I didnt have any more knot slips.  I almost wonder If its not worth going back to mono.  The bad part is I love the braid I'm just not sure how much it matters with visibility. 

[Comfortably Numb]

Cant beat braid with a flouro leader IMO. Best of both worlds.

[nascar2428]

Cant beat braid with a flouro leader IMO. Best of both worlds.

I second that.

[BassOnKlinger]

Question from a beginner:  When people say "braid with a flouro leader,"  what are you tying to?  Are you simply tying both lines together? or is there some sort of swivel in between?  I understand having braid line, then a swivel, then a flouro leader like on a C-rig (for example)....but sometimes the context implies that people are actually tying the two lines together.  If this is so, what kind of knot are you using?  What is the length of the leader?  And what is the benefit to do this?

[The Young Gun]

I love braid with FC leader because I can snap the leader if Im snagged terribly.. And a 6' FC leader I can put on in a little more than a minute I think..

I'd rather lose 6' of expensive line than loosing 60' of straight expensive FC line... Just my .02

[lmbfisherman]

Question from a beginner:  When people say "braid with a flouro leader,"  what are you tying to?  Are you simply tying both lines together? or is there some sort of swivel in between?  I understand having braid line, then a swivel, then a flouro leader like on a C-rig (for example)....but sometimes the context implies that people are actually tying the two lines together.  If this is so, what kind of knot are you using?  What is the length of the leader?  And what is the benefit to do this?

I usually tie my braid and floro line directly.  I use a uni to uni knot.  Others use a alberto knot I believe it's called.  Either one works well, The drawback for a Uni to Uni is that it isn't very happy with micro guides.  I haven't learned how to use the other knot yet, just more confident right now with uni to uni. 

 

You can use a swivel if you wish, I do use it when I am fishing a soft plastic jerkbait or Carolina rig..but I usually use mono on a C-Rig.  I usually put on around 7-10 ft of leader for reties..etc. 

 

Benefits you get is well, you get the best of both worlds like other stated.  For example I tie on a 6 or 8 lb floro leader on my 10 lb braid spinning drop shot setup.  My line will be more abrasion resistant and my line will be near invisible, while I have the sensitivity of braid. 

[Stingray23]

I've been using Invizx for 5 yrs now and I have had zero issues with it. I NEVER lose a fish to knot strength. I always tie a uni knot. I use anywhere from 8lb-20lb test depending on the application and I fish reservoirs where there are a lot of rocks. Zero issues. The key to fluoro is line conditioner. It makes a big difference.

[BassOnKlinger]

So I have three setups at the moment:

 

1) Crank casting setup with fluoro

2) Topwater casting setup with mono

3) Plastics spinning setup with fluoro -  should I change this to braid with a fluoro leader?  And if so, can I still fish the plastics that I normally do (c-rig, t-rig, drop-shot, jigs)?

[lmbfisherman]

So I have three setups at the moment:

 

1) Crank casting setup with fluoro

2) Topwater casting setup with mono

3) Plastics spinning setup with fluoro -  should I change this to braid with a fluoro leader?  And if so, can I still fish the plastics that I normally do (c-rig, t-rig, drop-shot, jigs)?

Try it out is all I can say.  I fish most of my setup with braid and leaders when it is necessary for all those applications you stated. 

[200racing]

braid works great with topwater. have seen and read of many pros using it for that purpose. 

 

 

and 1 downside is certain knots slip with braid.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

braid works great with topwater. have seen and read of many pros using it for that purpose. 

 

 

and 1 downside is certain knots slip with braid.

 

Yep KVD has a video where he recommends braid with the Sexy Dawg, if its good enough for him.

[Hogsticker]

I love a line that doesn't have any memory. Braid means less headaches at the end of the day. Downsize diameter if your concerned about visibility and don't want to use a leader. 10 lb. braid is as thin as 3 lb. mono. I never have slippage issues with a palomar knot.

[Greeneye8181]

I use braid for topwater frog. Can't stand it for anything else really. I think it's loud and too stiff for anything else. Just my opinion.

Mono for crankbaits and other topwater. 

Fluro for anything soft. But yes there are times I go thru Fluro like toilet paper.

[Hogsticker]

I don't understand how braid can be considered stiffer than mono or fluoro. 10 and even 20 lb. braid has a thinner diameter than any 8 lb. test mono/fluoro line on the market. Plus, it has no memory so it's super limp. I understand some non 8 carrier braids are somewhat stiff, but stiffer than mono?

[Fireguyfrank58]

I am gonna give the fluoro a fair shot. Like I said once I changed to the improved clinch knot I didn't have any knot problems. I also think I ha the spool a little full as to why I got a few back lashes. After reading a lot more about the Invisix I see alot of people have good luck with it. I'm sure my backlashes had a lot to go with the break off too. If I don't like it ill try the copolymer before I go right back to the braid. I love everything about the braid except the visibility. After a lot more reading a lot of people catch a lot of fish on straight braid. Especially with Texas rigs. The water I fish is murky 90% of the time, like prob 2-3 feet clear visibility. I can't see a baby brush hog once its a foot in the water so I'm not so sure visibility should really be a issue.

[JayKumar]

Lots of quality differences among fluoros and braids.  Most pros use braid with fluoro leaders.  Re: line to line knots, look out for new hollow braids where you can have knotless connections (just use some glue) to fluoro leaders. The Cali company Blackwater has those products, used by a couple boats on that Wicked Tuna show I believe....

[Arv]

Cant beat braid with a flouro leader IMO. Best of both worlds.

I third this

[gramps50]

I have always used mono and recently have tried some of the copoly stuff like Yozuri & Pline Flouroclear, I think I like the Yozuri better, I use the Ultra as it's on a spinning reel. For mono I like Sufix Elite.

 

I tried straight Flouro and didn't have a good experience as I didn't have it spooled correctly, respooled and it was much better, Segar InvisX. Had a sample spool of #30 braid so I tired it and really liked the sensitivity but it didn't cast very far. But to be fair I was using a light lure. Now I have some Sufix 832 #10 spooled with a 16' fluoro leader. Haven't fished it yet so I can't comment on how I like it or if I do.

[pbizzle]

I think it's better to spool up with a fluoro main line than braid with fluoro leader.  Your line strength will only be as strong as your leader so that outweighs the strength factor of braid. A spool of braid and fluoro leader cost more than a spool of a good fluoro main line. The leader only adds something else to break, but you need it for some techniques. A good fluoro is really sensitive so I think that outweighs the braid for it's sensitivity. I do think that you need braid for a lot of techniques though. Like fishing in heavy weeds and frog fishing.  But I wouldn't use a fluoro leader.

Disclaimer: Braid with fluoro leader is good for drop shoting heavy cover.