Flouro v.s Mono......again

[Ridgerunner7]

Do you guys think you catch more fish using flourocarbon lines.  I know it's difficult to actually test this, but just wanting some opinions.  I've been using stricly flourcarbon lines and maybe a braided line if the situation calls for it.  I have been doing well with it, but was thinking about trying some of the less expensive quality mono lines out there.  Any opinions on suffix elite line.  I use a variety of reel combos including 3 spinning reels and 4 casting reels.  Any recommendations for either?  Thanks for the help.

[roadwarrior]

I'm not convinced that line visibility is important with reaction lures, but I am CONVINCED that lighter, less visible line impacts the number of bites I get fishing finesse lures and surprisingly, live bait. However, it's not just visibility, lure action is effected and perhaps thicker line is more easily "felt" by the fish. This is not unique to bass fishing, either. Walley and big German brown trout can be line shy, too.

Spinning tackle: Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft #6 (11.9 lb test)

Baitcasting gear:  Yo-Zuri Hybrid Ultra Soft #12 (19.5 lb test)

[.ghoti.]

I think line visibilty is important in any situation. The clearer the water, the more important this is. I believe in giving myself any advantage I can find. I've been experimenting with lines lately. Interesting that you should mention Elite. That's one the lines I'm currently trying out. I have 10lb test clear green Elite on one of my crankbait rods and clear Vanish on the other. So far I've noticed no difference in catch rates between the two.  Elite is very hard to see, in the water. So is Vanish. Elite seems to have a bit more stretch than Vanish, but handles easier. Abrasion resistance seems to be pretty good for both. So far the only conclusion I've reached about using these two lines for cranking is that flouro is better for jerkbaits. It's not bouyant, so the baits suspend better. The line is slack during a good portion of the jerkbait retrieve, and flouro transmits feel better than mono when slack. Do I have scientifically rigorous tests to prove these points? Of course not; I'm just relaying my impressions. And, before you give us any of the "Tackle Tour proved that flouro has as much stretch, or evenmore than mono" guff, keep in mind their tests were done with dry line. Get "em in the water, let the mono and co-poly's absorb some water, and than do a real stretch test. Flouro will not absorb water, so it's characteristics should not be altered, unlike mono and some co-poly's. There are a couple of co-poly's that have a flouro coating, instead of being a composite blend. These should also not absorb water, and should remain unaffected.

I know what you're getting at with the less expensive idea. I've been using Transition for my plastics and jig rods, and it's a bit pricey. But, I'll keep using it because I like the extra feel, it has good abrasion resistance, and I can see it better. That's really the key point for me. I'm color-blind, and some lines are very dificult  for me to see. Transition solves this problem quite well.

As far as recommendations go, I'd say stay away from flouro on your spinning gear, unless you keep it under 10lb test. When you get above 8, flouro gets to be a bit to springy for spinning takle. I like Elite very much, but haven't tried it on spinning gear. I think it should work well. Silver Thread is also a good, lower priced alternative. I liked it when I tried it last year. I used it on both baitcast and spinning reels and had no complaints about it at all. I'm just trying out different stuff this year.  I got one spool of Gamma's "moleculary altered" fluoro. It may be the best handling fluoro line out there right now. But I won't be buying any more of it. I don't care how good it is, 24 bucks for a small spool is ridiculous. For any spinning gear, good old Trilene XL is hard to beat. It's the easiest handling line you can find. It's on all my spinning reels, except one. I can fill the reel almost all the way to the lip, and have no problems with XL.

You'll get lots of opinions on this subject. the best advice I can give you is try some of these lines out. Save yourself a bit of cash by filling you reels about halfway with whatever el-cheapo line you have lying aroung, then top off the spool with the good stuff. Many of the lines are available in small "pony" spools. these are good for experimenting. So, experiment, and have some fun with it.

Cheers,

GK

[dodgeguy]

i used cajun red cast 2 years ago and caught a lot of fish.switched to straight braid and caught half as many the next year.i finally found a flouro i love =seguar invizx= and i will let you guys know how i do at the end of the year.at that pointi will have decided if i believe line visibility has anything to do with catch rate and quality.