I was wondering if any one has used fluorocarbon line on their baitcaster? I am looking in to getting some from Seaguar, is this the best one or is other brands better?

Flourocarbon is junk on your baitcast... I dont think it was made for anything but leader material for those fly guys...why the strength would vary from a whole spool on your baitcaster to just a leader I am not sure...I work at GI Joes, and have used the berkley vanish 10# on my baitcaster and busted off 5 steelhead...we have had 2 spools returned to us already as defective...is it the brand or just flourocarbon in general? dont know.... hope this helped you...

I kind of agree; flourocarbon lines are temperamental and the knot strength sucks. Why use it as a mainline? The only time I use it is in September when the water is soooo low and clear and the fish have been there for a while and have seen everything. I also only use it with my fly rod which is a lot more forgiving on line.

One more thing, the same thing that makes the line nearly invisible, also doesn't allow it to breakdown with sunlight, so if you lose large pieces on the bottom its not going anywhere until it washes out with a high water. Another reason to stick to leaders.

Hello


In the past I have found that using FLOR, as a main line doesnt work that well but usuing a good quality main line and then usuing 20 ft or so of FLOR, works well, you get the advantage of good line with out the loss of strength,

good luck and Tight Lines
DAVE

thank you for the input,I think I will uses it just for leader only.

Fellows in trying to keep on the cutting edge of fishing technology; I have been using F/C leaders for the past two years, specifically 3-4 ft of it attached to the ends of a Pt Wilson Dart and BB swivel. It is true that the stuff has horrible knot strength, and had many hartbreaking experiences early on. For those of you wanting to try the stuff, and to save you the same trial-and-error I went through, use a uni-knot. Don't bring the line through too many times 4-5 rotations lays the best. Tie the jig and swivel rigs at home so you can inspect both knots. If there is any visible kinking or frays, start over and retie. I haven't had any kings break-off since employing this system with 20 and 30 lb F/C material and hook-up rate has been slightly better.

I wouldn't wast your money on the seagar line ,I tried it and its pretty stiff and it's coated with some sticky greasy stuff. I am using that new Vanish line from Berkley. It just might be the best line I've ever used. The only thing I don't like is when you thumb the spool it get hot on your thumb fast, like ouch!

One thing I would add to this is on the knot strength of vanish. If you tie a knot with dry line ,it's really weak. They say to wet the line and use a trilene knot. Wetting the line helps, but I have found that putting shrimp smelly jelly on it ,or the flavor of your choice, gets the knot strength up there with maxima. I did some testing with a scale to check this. Lubricating the line is a bit of a hassle but it seems to work. When the knot is tightened dry, the friction scores the line. Buy the way, the best knot strength between Vanish, Maxima ultragreen and Gamikatsu,was Gamikatsu line.

Dan, I heard that gamgatsu lines have tendebcy to split when its used on a bait caster, so I was told to stay away from it.
Right now I am using a Jinkai and maxixma.
I also have been using the uniknot instead of the trielen and it works great, I think this knot was intended for braids but it works great on monos too.

That splitting of Gamakatsu line is a strange one. I used Gamakatsu quite a lot and didn't see that. When I was using it I felt like it broke easier than Maxima. After actualy testing them with a scale I was surprised. I might even go back to it, as I am getting a little discouraged with the Vanish. I haven't lost any fish from line or knot failure,but I want every advantage when that rare real hog gets on. That uniknot is nice an easy to tie, but in my tests it was obout 75% of the trilene knot. There are probably better knots, but they are too darn hard to tie when my fingers are half frozen! I have never tried Jankia, maybe that will be next.

Guys,

I've fished braided lines and mono for years. The best knot I've found for joining braided and mono together is a uniknot, however, for joining two pieces of mono, the blood not is by far the best. Although it looks very similar to the uniknot, it has much better knot strength. Try it, you'll like it. Also,if the water color isn't too clear, I do just fine tying my spiderwire right to the swivel for drift or bobber fishing. I do try to use a dark green felt marker on the first 15 or so feet, but I catch just as many or more than my fishing buddies and get much better sensitivity and line strength. I know several guides who are tying the white tough line right to their plugs and do just fine. Makes you wonder sometimes. Tight lines!

I use Power pro for Salmon fishing in the puget sound all the time and have no problems ,I dont think the fish mind as long as their is good action on the lure/bait. For the river I was told not to use braid because the steelhead will see the line.

I'm going to wade into this discussion by starting with my conclusions:

1. I am deeply distrustful of fluorocarbon in 8-12lb tests as I don't trust the knots. I have used fluorocarbon ('FC') off and on for several years, and now use 100% mono or copolymer lines for leaders. (For leaders 20lbs and above, I am a big user of FC.)

2. I haven't used FC as a main line very much, but my few days fishing Vanish this past fall was quite satisfactory. I used a Trilene knot to tie the main line to the swivel. I also correspond with some excellent fishermen who swear by Vanish in 14lb as their main line.

3. I find mono to be superior to braided line for general steelhead and salmon fishing mainly due to the overly long amount of time it takes to securely join braid to a mono leader. (The exception is backtrolling plugs and, maybe, float fishing w/ jigs or bait.)

That's the executive summary. Here's the rest.

I use fluorocarbon leaders extensively in salt water for one certain reason -- excellent abrasion resistance -- and couple of hoped-for (claimed but not yet proved to my satisfaction) reasons: proportional strength (i.e., if a mono leader is nicked, the line breaks quite easily vs. if fluorocarbon is cut, say, aalf way through it is said to retain half its strength. Easy enought to check out on the scales). In 30-50lb strengths as a shock leader, fluorocarbon is very hard to beat (though expensive). Another claimed advantage is lower visibility due to fluorocarbon having the same refractive index as water, making it 'blend in' better. "Maybe" is my view.

I have also used fluorocarbon extensively when steelhead and salmon fishing. My experience is that knot strength (wet or dry) is poor: the line breaks at or below its rating. (Note, however, that wet knot strength in FC is the same whereas in mono the dry strength is 20-25% above the wet strength for many brands.) FC is slippery, so a lot of ordinarily good knots like the improved clinch and blood knots tend to slip or pull out. Try using at least a Trilene knot (which seldom slips) or a Palomar.

Of the abovementioned knots, the Trilene is close to 100% while the Palomar and uniknots are 80% and the improved clinch 70-75%. This figures are based on my home tests and largely corroborated by Saltwater Fishing magazine (June, 1999), though the Trilene knot wasn't tested by the magazine.

I have spent countless hours tying and breaking knots that join braided line (which I use exclusively for estuary fishing) to mono and fluorocarbon. My conclusions are as follows:

1. For Spiderwire or any uncoated gelspun polyethylene braid, tie a double uniknot w/ the braid to a single uniknot in the leader

2. For Fireline and similar coated braids, uniknots are a poor second to a more complex but much stronger connection. Start by doubling the Fireline using either a Bimini Twist (actually fun to tie after you get the hang of it) or a Spider Hitch (an easy 90% knot in mono though weaker in braid). Then tie an 'improved' Albright between the doubled braid and the leader. (The 'improving' comes from wrapping AWAY from the end loop 7 times, then stopping and winding another 7 times (on top of the original wraps) back towards the end loop in the leader. Take the tag end out of the loop the same way it came in, and slowly tighten up on all for lines. Tighten very hard, coat the braid in superglue (for luck as much as anything else), trim the two tags short and you have a 100% knot.

Problem: With frozen fingers you can't tie a Bimini so this knot is best used the night before. On the river, you CAN tie a Spider Hitch and improved Albright, but it's much more time consuming than using mono.

I used braid last spring for a couple of days, and ended up switching back to 10lb Maxima Ultragreen as my main line. What I lost in feel, I made up for in increased fishing time. Net, net I think my fish count was about the same but my enjoyment was greater (and I didn't leave a lot of Fireline in the snags).

I wouldn't hesitate to use braid to pull plugs (with a leader, as much for extra stretch and shock absorption as much as to reduce visibility). I may also experiment with using braid to boondog jigs under floats but am leaning against it as braid is murder on the hands if you have to break it in a hurry and aren't wearing gloves.

I know that the above is probably confusing and perhaps controversial. If anyone has any specific questions on knots or lines, send me an email at bawest@pacific.net.sg and I'll get back to you.

Very interesting post Snagly, I was thinking I was the only one out in the garage tying and breaking knots. Thanks for the link in your other line post,I like to see what the pro line breakers come up with. It seems there is a bit of game playing with line ratings. It's like comparing 15# maxima @.016 to 17# gamakatsu @ .014. Your comment about wet vs. dry knot strength got me thinking. I might have to do some underwater testing...After fooling around stretching and breaking line, the one thing I don't do anymore is break off snagged gear by pulling the line on the reel. If at all possable ,I wrap the line around a stick as close to the snag as I can get and break it off by pulling on the stick. The line from the stick to the snag gets cut off and put in my pocket. I have found that pulling on a line at even half of it's # test rating severly weakens it.