[fred]

Hi All,

I was wondering what the general consensus is regarding the use of fluorocarbon for tippets whether it's worth the additional expense?

Also what’s the difference between the fluorocarbon that manufacturers like Stren and Berkley produce as opposed to the brands you are more likely to encounter in the fly fishing shops such as Orvis, Climax etc?



:CONFUSED

Thanks
Fred

 

[Dan Reynolds]

One thing to consider is the bouyancy of the tippet. This is something I never thought about but was shown by a guy last time I fished the eastside lakes. The flourocarbon I was fishing sank like a rock while the standard stuff would float. I'm experimenting with brands both standard and fluor and am anxious to see how they compare. Any other guys have any more input on this? UNNO

 

[Jeff Wood]

A friend and I went over to Lennice a couple of weeks ago. We were using the same fly and technique. He hooked up on several good sized fish. I got skunked. He was using fluocarbon tippet. I was not. Now that must be tempered with the fact that it was my first time lake fishing. I do know that I am trying fluocarbon tippets the next time I go over there.

He swears by them and I can see why.

Jeff :HMMM

 

[fly15]

I use flourocarbon almost exclusivly.I have looked at the flourocarbon in the fly shops and it is way to expensive I bought like 20 some yards for 10 dollars.So now I use berkly's vanish flourocarbon and have out fished other guys countless times that were using regular mono, plus it's only 10 bucks for 250 yards.The diameter is slightly larger with berkly's stuff but it's invisible any way and it hasn't made a difference for me yet.Plus it's stronger than the fly shop's flourocarbon.I landed two 26"inch rainbows at rocky Ford in less than 3 minutes on berkly's vanish 2lb test.I shure do belive in it, it's all I use for saltwater and freshwater. :THUMBSUP

 

[Philster]

It's an environmental nightmare

It doesn't break down for something like 40 years. I will use it for Tuna species when the going gets tough, because those punks have unreal vision. And I also use it for billfish because of the abrasion resistance. In both those cases I use very little and only once or twice a year. I can live with the sin for that little use. Other than that the environmental impact is too great. It will sink better than mono, that's very true. Also, I don't know if it's still the case, but the "Bassin'" boys fluoro from berkeley, stren, etc. didn't used to be straight fluorocarbon. It used to be mono with an "outer layer". Real fluorocarbon is only made in a handful of factories around the world, and I doubt anyone is able to sell it for so much cheaper (same thing with fly lines). As to trout, I've decided not to use it because of the permanent littering aspect. Make your own choice, but believe me, two EQUAL trout fishermen will pretty much stay even on catch rates using fluoro and mono. I regularly outfish guys using 6x with 4x on my line. The trout don't care...

 

[fly15]

It's an environmental nightmare

Don't get me wrong mono will catch plenty of fish but I believe flourocarbon will out produce mono in heavily fished waters like rocky ford and so on.As for the line not breaking down for 40 years don't leave it laying around and throw it away.C&R :THUMBSUP

 

[rockfish]

It's an environmental nightmare

I use sea guar 6 lb leader in flourocarbon, it has the highest knot strength for any flourocarbon line. Ex puget sound guru Doug Olander now chief editor for sport fishing magazine did a knot strenth test and sea guar was up there with the green lines (ande,big game, mCcoy) and it totally blew away other flourocarbon lines.

berkey vanish is junk, it is terrilble for tying knots, the line stresses to much. I have spools of 6,8 lb test and only let people fishing with me use it.

DOES MAXIMA MAKE A FLOUROCARBON? :BIGSMILE

 

[Tom Merrill]

The scientific explanation I got was that the index of refraction of fluorocarbon is the same as the index of refraction of water. This makes it disappear in the water. Mono has a different index of refraction, and consequently is visible to the fish.

My brother and I, (fairly equal fly fisherman) were both fishing Lenore this spring. He had fluorocarbon on, I did not. Using the same flies pattern, depth, etc, he was outfishing me 3 to 1. He passed me some fluorocarbon, I tied it on, and we fished even the rest of the morning. Chance...maybe, but my dad and I had the same thing happen on Rocky Ford (except I had the fluorocarbon this time) :WINK

 

[Philster]

It's an environmental nightmare

I don't leave it lying around, but sh*t happens... losing tippets in trees, snags, or even dropping a piece of tippet as you're trying to tie it to your leader (c'mon, you know you've done it, we all have As to heavily fished waters, I start out with 4x in places like Hot Creek, and Hat Creek in California and the Henry's Fork, and those places make Rocky Ford look like a New Zealand fly in spot in terms of pressure, and the fish have seen it all. 3.5 feet of 4x will give you pretty much the same drift as 2 feet of 5x and you won't break off big fish. Tippet visibility doesn't scare off trout, drag does. Ask Ralph Cutter, he superglued 15# maxima to live hoppers and tossed them in hot creek. Fish took them without hesitation. why? No drag...

 

[KerryS]

It's an environmental nightmare

I use fluorocarbon for any and all wet fly fishing. This past steelhead season I used fluoro exclusively and my hookups increased over past years. I don't know if this was because of the fluorocarbon or I had better luck. I think fluorocarbon sinks a little more and helped put the fly in the steelhead's face. I also changed my fly to leader knot which I think helped give the fly better swimming action. Who knows?

I think that all leader and line materials are environmentally damaging. Some may be worst than others. I never leave waste of any kind behind and no one else should either.

 

[flogger]

It's an environmental nightmare

"Don't leave it laying around ...throw it away" S'cuse me, where do you think that goes! Understand it's still in the environment, even if it's in the DUMP! :SAD

 

[fly15]

It's an environmental nightmare

So where would you rather have it in the dump or a river or lake? Of course you will lose a little on snags and what not but you know what I ment if you drop some try to find it and pick it up and don't just through it in the water or on the ground.If flourocarbon is such of an environmental nightmare than tell me how long it takes for mono to break down and other stuff that may be dropped.I am not trying to make anyone mad I am just trying to get some awnsers about why flourocarbon is so bad. UNNO

 

[Philster]

Tough question

I'll try to get you some facts, but it's hard to answer, mainly because there is no accepted definition of "Breakdown". I didn't mean to imply that in 40 years fluorocarbon will be gone, just that it'll start to suffer seriously... try centuries for "ashes to ashes, dust to dust" time... Mono begins to lose its integrity the second it hits water, or is exposed to UV or heat. It becomes weaker and starts to "breakdown". The industry advocates say this makes it less of a danger to wildlife, boating, etc. Find a wad of mono some weekend baitchucker left on the bank from last season when he suddenly felt the need to peel off 50 yards. It's chalky, brittle, easy to break. Fluorocarbon on the other hand is much less affected by water, and by UV. You can use a 5 year old spool of fluorocarbon you've left by the window with good confidence. As to throwing mono away, most bait shops will accept old mono for manufacturer sponsored "recycling" programs. Save it up and bring it in, don't throw it away. Don't mean to attack you personally. You may not be leaving alot behind, but you aren't alone. A couple hundred of "you" are leaving a negligible amount behind, but a couple of thousand are leaving alot more behind... and that's just on your favorite river. I once snagged what looked like 80 or 100 pound mono on the Skykomish, started to wrap it around my hand to pull it free, when I started to feel a pulse. Got it off just before a huge salmon jumped and took off upstream, taking the line with it. I'd hate to think what kind of damage I would have suffered if I had been slower. I also hate to think what will happen fluoro gets cheaper and A-holes who would fish that way can afford it...

 

[fly15]

Tough question

I agree with what you said I never leave any trash lieing around including mono or flourocarbon.I to have had some bad experiences with other people (ususlly bait fisherman) leaving big piles of mono or countless other items of trash.Even if there are trash cans near by they still leave trash laying around.Thats why I perfer fly fishing only waters look at rocky ford there is little trash around or in the water there, can you imagine if that many bait chuckers fished rocky ford you wouldn't be able to see the bottom of rocky ford it would just be solid beer cans and tires and countless other things. :SAD

 

[Philster]

Tough question

Yeah, by the time I get back to the car on typical puget sound river trip, my waders probably have 50 to 100 yards of discarded mono tucked down into them. But I do have quite a nice selection of hardware (floats, spoons, spinners, etc.) if I ever decide to swing that way! As to Beer Cans, they ain't all empty! I once was saved from a case of serious dehydration on a 102 degree day on a river in Cali that I had previously gotten Giardia from. Wasn't about to drink the water but found me a 49 degree sprite rolling around on the stream bed. I'm convinced it was Karma from picking up all the crap on the river. :THUMBSUP

 

[hikepat]

Tough question

Yea I to have quite a collection of spoons, spinners, and bass plugs that I have picked up from both lake and stream. I also have lots of plastic eggs and floats. I would have more exept I give the stuff to young kids or friends of mine who do not flyfish but use spin rods. But only if they catch and release and do not leave their own crap behind.

 

[Old Man]

Tough question

I was like you I really wasn't fishing,just scouting out other water. when I came upon about 9 cans of beer floating on a river. Not to let it become litter I picked them all up. Boy, I sure saved the outdoors that day.As it was it turned out to be a hot day and they sure were a welcome find. Nothing like a few cold ones after a hot day on/in the river.