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Fluorocarbon leader issues......

A

Adam Francis

Senior Member & Supporter
Hi all.

I fish with braid as a mainline but have started using 15lb fluorocarbon as a leader to help avoid hookpulls with close in fish and to also help sink the line. I've been fishing a local lake with heavy weed at present and am having real issues with he fluorocarbon rubbing and fraying resulting in lost fish.

I've stopped using lead core due to the safety concerns so am just wondering if this is is a common problem with weed or whether I should be using heavier breaking strength, I use 15lb braid as a mainline the same as the fluorocarbon.

I use tungsten droppers on the fluorocarbon to help pin it down so perhaps I should just use braid straight throuh with the droppers?

Any help or advice greatly appreciated, as always.
 
Lake? :eek:
 
I have no faith in fluoro, had bad experiences which put me off, but that was when it first came out, so hopefully there are better ones around now. Certainly there are some anglers who swear by it, so one would hope so.

If you must use it, and you want to pin everything down at that end, then find out the best type, and go heavier as well, 20 lb b/s absolute minimum, 25/30 lb even better. You won't then need the pin down leads, because fluoro in that gauge sinks like a brick.

The problem with fluoro is that it nicks easily on anything sharp....tiny mussels firmly fixed to tough weed stems for example, which is probably why you have had issues in weed. So, you must use one that is thick enough to still have a substantial amount of body left even if it gets nicked/abraded by something sharp/rough.

Give it a go, and don't worry about it putting the fish of in that b/s....it doesn't. Also, don't try the braid straight through, because that abrades easily too, even worse in fact.

Cheers, Dave.
 
The lake has a lot of mussels as well so that won't be helping, I didn't realise it damaged so easily.

I'll have a look at either a heavier breaking strain or one of the mainline's suggested. Thanks for the tips.
 
Incidentally Adam, it is a good idea to use some sort of a leader when you are using braided main line (A) for sinking the last few feet, and (B) for getting the abrasive braid away from the body of the fish during the fight.

However, your idea of using it as a shock absorber to avoid hook pulls close in is a non starter. Fluoro is NOT a stretchy material like mono, far from it. It's not quite as non stretch as braid, but not far off it, so it won't do that job for you at all. Just a thought.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Been a braid user ever since I started barbelling. Yes a leader is a total must in my opinion. I have used flouro, which is fine but for total confidence I use black amnesia. Yes the fish can see it but it doesn't stop the bites coming. It's naturally heavy and has excellent abrasion resistance. If this is no good then the best fluoro I have used is FC Sniper, which I use for all my hook links and as a leader sometimes.
 
I've been using Airflo G3 in its various guises, & the standard G3 seems to be pretty robust, I've had a good few double figure carp in it floater fishing this summer,though you have to grease it so it stays up...
 
I've ordered some 25lb fluorocarbon that according to the description is carbon coated and has good abrasion resistance. I guess I'll be using the 15lb for those times when I want to use a fluoro hooklength - I ordered 300 metres though :(

Thanks for all the tips & advice. One of the many wonderful things about this site is the incredibly helpful nature of its users. It's a great help to share problems or issues & get the experience & know how of others so a big thank you.

It's also raining today here so perhaps the Thames might start flowing again :D
 
Adam, I use ESP Ghost Soft in 10lb on the Wye which is very rocky, I find it very robust even when its chafed although I obviously change it when that happens.
 
My river fishing tends to be exclusively on the Thames which isn't too tough on the line but I was experimenting a little on the lakes this summer to try & figure out a suitable set up for the rivers.

As I've said I've ordered some 25lb which I'm hoping will sort the issue out on the lake I fish. To be honest I don't think I'd have the same problem on the river using 15lb so I might just use the heavier stuff for floodwater fishing when I use a heavier braid. I'll have a test and see how it goes.
 
Jon Frisby said:
Been a braid user ever since I started barbelling. Yes a leader is a total must in my opinion. I have used flouro, which is fine but for total confidence I use black amnesia. Yes the fish can see it but it doesn't stop the bites coming. It's naturally heavy and has excellent abrasion resistance. If this is no good then the best fluoro I have used is FC Sniper, which I use for all my hook links and as a leader sometimes.
Click to expand...

Hi John, I just googled that FC Sniper fluoro that you mention, but there seems to be umpteen different versions of it. They are all made in Japan by Sunline, but why they need so many versions of it is a mystery. I thought Fluoro was fluoro, end of...but it seems not so. I was aware that some companies products seemed better than others, but put that down to some companies cutting corners to make more profit. However, when one company makes lots of different versions, it does beg the questions....why? And, are they really all different? Or is that just a marketing ploy?

Just 'thinking out loud' as it were, 'cos I am weird like that :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Cliff Turner said:
Adam, I use ESP Ghost Soft in 10lb on the Wye which is very rocky, I find it very robust even when its chafed although I obviously change it when that happens.
Click to expand...

These 'different' fluoros do make me wonder Cliff. The one failing of fluoro was always it's poor B/S to diameter ratio. If you check the Tackle Box line rating charts, you will find that 90+ % of standard mono lines are much stronger than the stated B/S, while 99% of fluoros are much weaker than the stated B/S. These are all mainline versions of these materials by the way.

http://www.tacklebox.co.uk/pdfs/line_tests_issue6a.pdf

A few examples if you cant be naffed to read it all.

Fluoro main lines

Ultra Pure Power Green Fluoro

Stated B/S 16lb....Actual B/S 13lb. Diameter 0.35mm

X Line fluoro

Stated B/S 17lb....Actual B/S 11.13lb . Diameter 0.33mm


---------------------------------------------------------------------
Compare that to these average standard mono mainlines
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Big Game

Stated B/S 12lb....Actual B/S 15.75lb. Diameter 0.34mm

Gold Label

Stated B/S 16lb....Actual B/S 19.7lb. Diameter 0.34

You can see that these are all similar diameter lines, but for that given diameter, the fluoro is much weaker...and these results are from properly tested lines. Now, oddly, the smaller spools of hooklink fluoros are apparently quite different, as you say is so with ESP Soft Ghost (I have tried it, and I agree with you).

So...what is different about them? Even most manufacturers admit that unfortunately, fluoro is a stiffer, harder line than standard mono...and yet they then claim that they have now miraculously produced a soft, supple version (Again, usually in the small hooklink spools).

I have to ask myself this...if it's possible to produce a soft, supple and much nicer to handle fluoro, which is still a pure, genuine fluoro...then why do they continue to make and market the 'orrid stuff, the stiff, difficult to cast with, springy nightmare stuff? Doesn't make much sense to me, nor ring very true. Something is out of kilter here methinks!

Cheers, Dave.
 
Where I fish is very shallow and clear, and if I don't use back leads the fish spook very easily. The problem is when the lines is pinned to the bottom any bites mean the mono is dragged across the rocky gravelly river bed. The other problem is when playing fish near snags in the past I've been able to sink the rod tip and it makes them kite away form the snag but doing this in such shallow and stony water leads to the line shearing pretty quickly. Its happening with the reel line and the hook length. I am going to try thicker diameter and more durable reel line and another mono for hook length - I found knots kept failing when I used flouro and knotless knots for hair rigs

Any recommendations for reel lines and hook lengths? I'm thinking of trying Daiwa sensor 12lb but it's a bit thick and ugly. For hook lengths I've been using Ultima power plus
 
Dave Quinn said:
Where I fish is very shallow and clear, and if I don't use back leads the fish spook very easily. The problem is when the lines is pinned to the bottom any bites mean the mono is dragged across the rocky gravelly river bed. The other problem is when playing fish near snags in the past I've been able to sink the rod tip and it makes them kite away form the snag but doing this in such shallow and stony water leads to the line shearing pretty quickly. Its happening with the reel line and the hook length. I am going to try thicker diameter and more durable reel line and another mono for hook length - I found knots kept failing when I used flouro and knotless knots for hair rigs

Any recommendations for reel lines and hook lengths? I'm thinking of trying Daiwa sensor 12lb but it's a bit thick and ugly. For hook lengths I've been using Ultima power plus
Click to expand...

Dave, try the new Diawa Hyper Sensor, its thinner and much smoother than the old stuff, ive been using it this year, and am well pleased with it. :)

https://www.tackleuk.co.uk/Shop/CarpFishingLinesBraids/Daiwa-HYPER-Sensor.htm
 
Interesting thread . TBH it seems that using fluoro is more trouble than it's worth , I struggle to see the benefits of using it , why not just use a nice supple monofilament ?
 
Mike I think your probably right but I like a fluro hook length as its heavy and sinks well and as Im catching well I don't feel the need to change. in my experience on the Wye I also find the ESP Ghost really abrasion resistant which seems different to the views of others here. Ive never tested the real BS of it but 10lb seems plenty strong enough and it will break before my 12lb Excel Bass Pro mainline if I have to pull for a break.
 
Nothing wrong with mono, we all might be a bit fixated with flouro vs braid, including me :rolleyes:
If it floats stick a shot near 'ook :)
 
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