Fluorocarbon vs mono leaders.... show of hands

[salsinker]

Do you prefer fluorocarbon or mono leaders for steelhead fishing?

 

[brandon4455]

mono. flouro is only an advantage in stillwater fishing when the fish has a long time to look at your offering

 

[Spydeyrch]

Do you prefer fluorocarbon or mono leaders for steelhead fishing?

I can't give any advice based upon personal experience regarding steelhead fishing because I haven't done it yet, but in a general sense both have advantages and disadvantages.

One of the good things that I like about fluoro is that it is bio-degradable whereas mono is not.

Also, supposedly fluoro is more abrasion resistant than mono. And if I remember correctly, mono has a refraction index closer to that of water's than fluoro does.

Just a few tid-bits and facts.

-Spydey

 

[JeannaJigs]

mono. lost too many fish with flouro. one knick and goodbye steelhead.

 

[rogerdodger]

mono

 

[rippin fish lips]

one knick and goodbye steelhead.

Speking of that... I had two steelieas break me off, 1 last night, and one this morning.

I was using P-line Floroclear "flourocarbon coated" 6lb "mist green" for casting lures because they ran out of The "clear" Pline which is the one i prefer to use.

I never had a fish break me off with the P-Line flouroclear, flourocarbon coated (clear) line, the nonly time i lost a fish with it, is when it popped the hook out. The fish def don't see it, and it definetly increases your hook ratio. But it does tend to frey up somewhat easy, but still can handle a 30inch steelie with freys and knicks up and down it.

Went to the "mist green" one and have lost both steelhead do to knicks and freys in the Mist green one. The clear one seems to be better/stronger for some reason.


As of now, as of last night, as of this morning. I will stick to the P-line floroclrear/carbon (clear) because it has treated me way better.

I don't drift fish, i cast lures and use this line. I have uses this line for driftfishing and my leaders, and it does work.

 

[alm21]

Mono

 

[sts slayer]

Mono for sure because Fluorocarbon is very brittle and breaks easy.

 

[Oregon Coast]

I can't choose a side. It always depends on every detail of every situation. If it depended on price vs quality and only that, then I would say Mono 100% of the time. It's the best in All purpose lines/leaders for any kind of fishing.

 

[offdahook]

no need for floro..not cost effective very brittle i think its a waste of money..i got 20# maxima floro i was fishin for kings at skok the 20# floro broke easyer than regular 15#andy line

 

[n8r1]

I use only 1 leader for all my gear fishing. Seaguar Blue Label fluorocarbon leader. I have a roll on hand for every test they make from #4 - #25.

It costs more but ever since I had a steelhead break off my Maxima Mono leader I made the switch and never looked back.

 

[salsinker]

A guide tried to convince me that is easier to catch steelhead on fluorocarbon. That may be true but I keep breaking of and went back to mono. Thanks for all the feed back.

 

[ChezJfrey]

For winter and even now, with color in the water, I'm running a heavier mono. But, I'm near positive that as the water goes to gin, I'll cave to the hype and start tying up with my PLine flouro since I've got a spool of 8# and 10#. Hype or no, I guess it just makes me feel better and while I've lost a couple to breakage in the past, I usually lose them to a spit hook and for all I know, the couple breaking episodes were due to a panic where I couldn't control the fish and clamped a little tight on the drag. Who knows...

 

[ryan808]

I see multiple posts on floro breaking, what kind of floro are you using? What kind of knot are you tying? The only times I have had lost a fish on floro is due to bad knot tying or the line size used was not appropriate for the application. Floro really differs between manufacturers and you basically get what you pay for. My personal preference is Sunline floro, a little more in $, but way worth it. At the end of the day mono/floro has its places, but if you can use a line that is less visible to the fish; wouldnt you want to use it?

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

Its mostly people who are used to fishing with ultragreen 10 lb which breaks at 20lbs and then switching to a floro that actually breaks at 10 lbs. You have to adjust your drag but I just keep quiet. Floro is horrible and does not make a difference, use 30 lb maxima for your leader on steelhead it works just fine. :dance:

 

[ChezJfrey]

Its mostly people who are used to fishing with ultragreen 10 lb which breaks at 20lbs and then switching to a floro that actually breaks at 10 lbs. You have to adjust your drag but I just keep quiet. Floro is horrible and does not make a difference, use 30 lb maxima for your leader on steelhead it works just fine. :dance:

LOL. I didn't go that drastic, but will admit that after losing two fish to breaks awhile back, I did up to 15 lb. mono and haven't had one break off since...and hasn't seem to affected my bite; caught two just the other day, with several lost to simple hook throws.

 

[steelhead_slayer]

mono, but just cause im too cheap to try floro

 

[steelhead_stalkers]

That's something to think about too. Since floro is supposed to be nearly invisible under water you should be able to go up to a heavier weight without the fish knowing and that should help with break OFFs. Good thinking Chez!

 

[plumb2fish]

6 or 8lb maxima for summers... the 8lb breaks about the same as 12lb seaguar and is pretty close to the same diameter....

 

[salsinker]

Using heavier fluorocarbon is an interesting concept. Since the fish can't see it the only down may be how it affect the action of the bail. Worth giving the next time I'm on the water. Thanks for the tip.