Braided, Monofilament, or Fluorocarbon line?

[scaleface]

I tried floro once and hated everything about it . Maybe I had a bad brand and need to try it again . First , it wouldnt tie a decent knot . It just wasnt flexible enough .  Then when trying to worm fish in deep water , it did not slack up when it hit the bottom like mono does . I'm use to mono slacking up like that . Many decades of fishing soft plastics I know it pretty well  and when mono  slacks up kind of funny    . I  set the hook .

  

[WIGuide]

15 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I use all three at one point or another.  They each have both beneficial & detrimental properties.  To be successful, one needs to select the line that best suits each fishing situation.

And for a beginner - mono is the way to go.  Especially for someone learning how to use bait casting tackle.

A-Jay

^ hit the nail on the head, couldn't have said it better myself.

[A-Jay]

3 hours ago, scaleface said:

I tried floro once and hated everything about it . Maybe I had a bad brand and need to try it again . First , it wouldnt tie a decent knot . It just wasnt flexible enough .  Then when trying to worm fish in deep water , it did not slack up when it hit the bottom like mono does . I'm use to mono slacking up like that . Many decades of fishing soft plastics I know it pretty well  and when mono  slacks up kind of funny    . I  set the hook .

  

I was in the Exact Same Situation.  However at the start of this past season I Finally Broke down and fished some. I had no choice, the peer Pressure was Brutal ~ ! 

Anyway, I went with Seaguar InvisX 12, 15, 17 & 20.  Used it to present crank baits, lipless bait, jerk baits, & Spinnerbaits as well as jigs & bottom contact baits.  I will admit to being extra judicious with all knots, re-tied often and used line conditioner faithfully.  I end for ended my spools once and changed it out once in the middle of the summer.  It does have some memory & some stretch, but it's not bad.  Otherwise IMO, it lives up to it's advertised properties. 

Verdict after the whole season of use; I like it and will continue to use it.   I didn't break off once nor did I have any mysterious or unexplained line failures.  My biggest challenge was remembering that long bomb casts with floro will lack the same hook up stoutness that braid offers.  Once I learned to manage that I was good to go.  The convenience of not having to use leaders like I was doing with braid is nice.  There may be "Better" ones out there, but I'm going to stick with this one for now - baby steps.   I still use mono and still use braid (all my spinning).  

If you're looking for a reason to give it another go - I may have just given you at least one.

A-Jay

[WRB]

Fins 20# and 60# WindTamer braid.

Sunline Super Sniper 0, 12, 14 # FC for jigs and worms.

Sunline Arillo Diefer Nylon 25# and Blackwater BAWO Toray PI 30# for swimbaits.

Sunline Natural 6# mono for split/ slip shot.

Trilene 12 # Big Game for crankbaits and top water.

Tom

[Lumbe34]

14 hours ago, smalljaw67 said:

The stretch mono has is equivalent or in some cases less than the stretch of fluorocarbon. The difference is that fluorocarbon stretches and stays that way but it is only a little at a time while mono reverts back and that is why anglers believe one stretches and the other doesn't. I use braid for frogs and heavy flipping only, the rest is done with mono and lately it has been Spider Wire Ultimate Mono, it is very thin diameter compared to other mono lines, it has the abrasion resistance of fluorocarbon yet handles better and has low stretch. My only complaint is that it has more memory than other mono lines, in fact it is similar to fluorocarbon but it a little better and a little KVD L&L works wonders, a small price to pay given the knot strength is vastly superior to fluorocarbon.

I see where your coming from I haven't heard of mono having less streach though I may be wrong. Another reason I use floro is the sensitivity is much higher than that of mono let's me get a great feel for my dropshot or when that crank bouces of a rock or structure.

[geo g]

I use line for the situation. 1}.  For plastics I use Floro all the time.  I sinks, super sensitive, and tough.  Not all Floro's are the same.  Trielene Professional grade is my choice.  I have no problems with it.  2}. Top water I use Mono, Big Game.  It floats and has some give with the treble hooks.  3}. Real thick weeds, pads, and flipping, I use 65 pound braid.  The heavier braid has less problem digging into itself.

[Choporoz]

On 11/28/2016 at 8:59 PM, trick worms said:

I use only mono because it's cheap. I would use others if I had the money

Many years ago, I said the same thing.  Turns out, I didn't know then what I know now.

A spool of braid (with backing and leader) will cost you far less than spooling most anything else.  Because, you will be able to use that braid on that spool for many years.    I know that it seems crazy to spend $15, 20 or $30 on a spool of braid when you can get a spool of Stren for $7.  Fact is, that the braid will be even cheaper in the long run. 

[trick worms]

4 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Many years ago, I said the same thing.  Turns out, I didn't know then what I know now.

A spool of braid (with backing and leader) will cost you far less than spooling most anything else.  Because, you will be able to use that braid on that spool for many years.    I know that it seems crazy to spend $15, 20 or $30 on a spool of braid when you can get a spool of Stren for $7.  Fact is, that the braid will be even cheaper in the long run. 

I see what you're saying thanks for the advice

[smr913]

I use Braid with a FC leader on baitcasters 90% of the time. I'll use mono on my treble hook setup. Not sold on FC as a mainline. It definitely stretches despite what others say. Try to break the line when you are hung and see how much it stretches.  FC as a leader is a good idea in rocky areas due to its abrasion resistance. The biggest benefit to FC is slack line sensitivity, which YMMV. It's not a high priority to me. 

[reerok]

On 11/29/2016 at 0:03 PM, A-Jay said:

I was in the Exact Same Situation.  However at the start of this past season I Finally Broke down and fished some. I had no choice, the peer Pressure was Brutal ~ ! 

Anyway, I went with Seaguar InvisX 12, 15, 17 & 20.  Used it to present crank baits, lipless bait, jerk baits, & Spinnerbaits as well as jigs & bottom contact baits.  I will admit to being extra judicious with all knots, re-tied often and used line conditioner faithfully.  I end for ended my spools once and changed it out once in the middle of the summer.  It does have some memory & some stretch, but it's not bad.  Otherwise IMO, it lives up to it's advertised properties. 

Verdict after the whole season of use; I like it and will continue to use it.   I didn't break off once nor did I have any mysterious or unexplained line failures.  My biggest challenge was remembering that long bomb casts with floro will lack the same hook up stoutness that braid offers.  Once I learned to manage that I was good to go.  The convenience of not having to use leaders like I was doing with braid is nice.  There may be "Better" ones out there, but I'm going to stick with this one for now - baby steps.   I still use mono and still use braid (all my spinning).  

If you're looking for a reason to give it another go - I may have just given you at least one.

A-Jay

InvizX is great for very light line finesse fishing too.  I have my drop shot setup with a Stradic FK spooled to 100% flouro - InvizX 6lb and I don't have trouble with it.  I keep being tempted to go with braid to flouro leader on this setup but it's been so good as is that I've left it alone.

[12poundbass]

On November 30, 2016 at 11:58 AM, Choporoz said:

Many years ago, I said the same thing.  Turns out, I didn't know then what I know now.

A spool of braid (with backing and leader) will cost you far less than spooling most anything else.  Because, you will be able to use that braid on that spool for many years.    I know that it seems crazy to spend $15, 20 or $30 on a spool of braid when you can get a spool of Stren for $7.  Fact is, that the braid will be even cheaper in the long run. 

I too thought braid was expensive, but one of my reels has had the same braid on it for 3 years now and still good. Mono for filler a third of a spool and braid the rest of the way and you save even more. Finally talked the wife into 10lb braid for her spinning reel and she loves it. Only time I've ever been right in her eyes! Lol