Braided/Fluoro Line - Worth the Money?

[jrcw]

Having mostly used just mono in the past, I'm considering stepping up to one of the so-called 'superlines'. I fish walleye and pike in Lesser Slave Lake and surrounding area, and plan on making a few trout trips throught the coming open water season. Any input on how and when to use braided/fluoro line and if it's worth the price would be much appreciated!

[gpguy7]

braid is phenomenal on baitcasting reels. Apart from the fact that it does slip at the start of the spool. but because its diameter is so much thinner you can put a lot more line on your baitcaster without getting a rats nest going . fluorocarbon tends to twist up a lot on a spinning reel in my opinion.

[impatient_hunter]

I use Fireline for Pike and Walleye and love it. I really like the braided line over the mono that I have used before. Since there is almost no stretch you can feel the smallest hits and it is pretty easy to distinguish what is fish and what is rocks/weeds. The line is really tough and wears really well. My line lasts about 2 years.

[godziuk]

superline has many advantages over mono, longer casts, you can feel the take easier, way stronger so you only have to spool once a year. the only draw back iv found other than price is that superline is way more bouyant than mono, do i say it is worth the price definitly.

[jesse34567]

fluorocarbon is definitely worth it


because 2 main factors


1. less stretch (be able to feel lake bottom better)

2. virtually invisible under the water


one line i would recommend is Berkly vanish 6-8 lb line being mainly used for walleye

[jts1]

100% all the way around. It out performs in every way. There is an old saying " You get what you pay for" It is in this case ...

[Mulestalker]

I'm not a believer yet,used fluorocarbon last year on all my rigs,just went through them all getting ready for Chin and everyone of them broke WAY to easy and not at the knot.They were put away dry and stored in my tackle bag in the basement so not needless to say I'm not impressed with it.

[lipripper]

I'm not a believer yet,used fluorocarbon last year on all my rigs,just went through them all getting ready for Chin and everyone of them broke WAY to easy and not at the knot.They were put away dry and stored in my tackle bag in the basement so not needless to say I'm not impressed with it.

well you got a bad batch of line..I am sure of this.

Flurocarbon lines or well worth the extra cash,now braided lines on the other hand or not to high on my fav line list.

[seahawkfisher]

IMHO, the best way to spool a reel is to put some mono on first as"backing" to help eliminate the slip you get from braid - then spool up with braid (15lb should be plenty heavy enough). on the end of that, tie on a flourocarbon leader (not to be confused woth flouro line - they are not the same thing). get some low test leader for trout an some nice heafty stuff for eyes/pike (I use 8lb and 44lb RIO Flouroflex, respectively). as for breakoffs or getting bit off; never happened so far but i have yet to catch a pike over 25lbs on that setup
cheers

[thundergrey]

15lb line that is 0.18mm it's thinner then the 0.22mm mono that is 8lbs

Fish will almost never bite your line off. And nither will you so have some nail clippers or your knife handy. For $20 whatever.

i had a spool of Spiderwire in my hand and the salesmen at WSS recommended Power Pro... it was a couple bucks cheaper and i have to say that I'm happy with it. Follow their spooling instructions though. It will slip on itself from what I was told.

[Tides and Tales]

Having mostly used just mono in the past, I'm considering stepping up to one of the so-called 'superlines'. I fish walleye and pike in Lesser Slave Lake and surrounding area, and plan on making a few trout trips throught the coming open water season. Any input on how and when to use braided/fluoro line and if it's worth the price would be much appreciated!

I have been using Tuff Line and Spider wire on my Halibut reels for the past 10 years or so, and it is a must for deep water fishing. Not only is it thinner than mono, but it has little to no stretch, which helps my clients detect strikes when we are fishing deep (200-450ft). Some of the braided lines can be spliced, some cannot. It is nice if you can splice a couple hundred feet on if you break off! I would think that braided line might be nice for jig fishing walleye and Lake trout as subtle hits would be more detectable! Just remember there is no stretch, and consequently little shock absorption.

In terms of flourocarbon, I just started tying my salmon leaders with "Seaguar", and what a difference! Before I would go through between 4-8 leaders a day while trolling Chinooks. Now a leader will last 3 times as long. I really appreciate the abrasion resistance, that is the main factor for me.
cheers,
MK

[Mudslide]

Hey Tides;
What LB test and size hooks are you using for your Salmon leaders?

Thinking of heading up to Port Hardy this August.

Thanks Greg

[Tides and Tales]

Hey Tides;
What LB test and size hooks are you using for your Salmon leaders?

Thinking of heading up to Port Hardy this August.

Thanks Greg
Greg,
Typically, I like to use 40lb for my leaders due to abrasion issues. I run 20-30 lb on the main lines. For hooks, it depends on the situation and the size of the bait, but as a rule of thumb, I tie one size larger than is commonly tied on store bought rigs! 4/0 J hook is a good place to start.
cheers,
MK

[jrcw]

Thanks to everybody for the information. There's clearly some talent on this board. I'm looking forward to experimenting with both braided and fluoro lines on both my spinning and baitcasting reels this season. I tend to do a lot of bottom bouncing, jigging, and the odd bit of casting and am looking forward to seeing how the lines perform.

[thorne]

Great way to stop braid slip on the spool is just wrap an elastic band around the spool first. Provides great traction and never slips.

[LeonH]

I have started using flourocarbon Maxima after some referals and I am very impressed with it. It does cost about $18 to $25 a spool but it is worth it in my opinion. High quality German made product.

It is not available at at general stores (C. Tire or Wallmart) but I know you can get it at Wholesale Sports.

Good luck.

[TJG]

Having mostly used just mono in the past, I'm considering stepping up to one of the so-called 'superlines'. I fish walleye and pike in Lesser Slave Lake and surrounding area, and plan on making a few trout trips throught the coming open water season. Any input on how and when to use braided/fluoro line and if it's worth the price would be much appreciated!

P line is the fluoro line u want. U want a full blown fluoro line
and this is what the walleye pros are using. Be careful with
braids, all though lots use Fireline Crystal, I find braids knot
up all the time and they need a leader of Vanish or some
other fluoro, because you cant use some lures, like
jigging spoons or buzzbombs, knots in the line.
I love FireLine Original Fused line, it is now 20 percent stronger
than before. It is a thermal filament casts more easily,
ties better knots, and stays more hassle-free than conventional braids.
But it dosnt seperate like Whiplash or Crystal and only gets better
the more u use it.

[jeprli]

Braided line is definitely a step up from a mono line, you'll be aware of every little thing that goes on with your "rig" at the end of the line, be it a jig, spoon, crank, spinner or whatever else you could use.

My trout fishing is done with a spinning rod/reel, here I use either 8lb power pro, or 8lb stren braid(they also have a sinking braid, ideal for deep jigging). They're both made of Spectra fiber, which in my experience is better suited to fast moving water with its round profile.
Dynema made lines are mostly fused therefore flat in profile, this creates a lot of drag in flowing water and lifts your lure to the surface, they're better suited for surface/shallow presentation for which they're intended. For trout a medium action/parabolic rod(9') for spinners and cranks will help you realize more bites and will also absorb the shock from violent runs into the current, it will also be a pleasure to fight the fish. For jigging a medium action/fast tip will do the job.

For walleye 15lb power pro/stren braid, If jigging lakes with a lot of zebra mussels or sharp rocks I'd recommend using FC leader 20-40lb test or whatever you see fit for the situation, simply because FC will handle sharp shells a lot better then any braid, this gives you a lot more time to fish and saves you lures and as a bonus it's fairly resistant to pike. For walleye I use a medium action rod with a fast tip(8'6"), this helps you feel even the smallest of nibbles and sets your hook fast(walleye spit out lures way faster than we can set the hook so every bit of advantage helps)

For pike I use 30lb PP or 50lb dynema braid depending on the presentation I'm after. PP for deep, dynema for shallow/surface. Here I would recommend stiff long spinning rods(8,6-9ft) this will give you a fast hookset and also allow you to cast much further, it will also act as a good shock absorber(to make up for no stretch line) reels with quality drag disks are a must. For bait casting reels I use dyneema and a short 7'6" stiff rod, magnum taper blanks are good for this.

You should test a couple of different lines with different rods yourself in all the different situations you will encounter on the water. This way you'll know what fits your needs the best.

Never used rubber band, I'll have to try that, this would be great for smaller spools where there is no space for mono backing.

Also worth mentioning, avoid lines that have coating on them like some spider wire do, this line is a pain in the rear and it wears fast.



P.S. Most Canadian Tire stores have good prices on power pro($14) and stren braids($12) for selected models(usually 8,10,20lb test). This beats WS(or any other store) by almost $10 for PP :)

[Waxy]

Having mostly used just mono in the past, I'm considering stepping up to one of the so-called 'superlines'. I fish walleye and pike in Lesser Slave Lake and surrounding area, and plan on making a few trout trips throught the coming open water season. Any input on how and when to use braided/fluoro line and if it's worth the price would be much appreciated!

Any presentation, any time, any where...to my mind, the "superlines" are pretty much the only way to go. It's worth every penny.

I personally prefer the original Fireline, in flame green for jigging and rigging when the visibility of your line is critical, and smoke for everything else. I generally use the 10/4 or 8/3 depending on what I'm doing. I've used the 6/2, but I actually find it a little too thin and hard to work with at times. I've tried the Crystal, but I just don't like it as much, and it isn't really all that translucent anyway, it's basically white. I've tried the PowerPro as well, and I don't care for it. I find it "noisy" on retrieve, but the worst part of it in my opinion is that it's very abrasive on your guides and reel and just generally "harsh" for lack of a better word to deal with.

I haven't tried many different fluorocarbons, but the best I've tried so far is the Berkley 100% stuff. I use it mostly as a leader when jigging if I'm fishing really clear water or really finicky fish, as the snell on my lindy rigs, and I use it to tie my spinner rigs as well. I've had really good luck with it so far in both getting bites and in the durability of it. I have tried spooling up with it as well, but I really don't care for it in that application, too much memory, too stiff, and really susceptible to line twist in my experience.

I do keep a few spare spools of mono around, the Berkley Sensation is my favourite. There is the odd time, especially if fishing really shallow or occasionally with crankbaits, where I prefer the stretch of the mono.

The biggest thing about the switch to superlines is the increased sensitivity and the total lack of stretch. Both of those things will make for a pretty steep learning curve the first few times out - setting the hook and fighting the fish are quite different - but don't give up on it.

Equipment is also magnified by the lines, you need a good quality rod, med or med light action, with a good soft fast action tip, and a reel with a good quality drag system. There's no forgiveness in the line, so you need the rod, and especially the reel, to be able to compensate for that. As a rule, set your drag a bit lighter than you normally would and let the rod and reel do the work.

Go and try them, you won't be disappointed.

Tight lines!

Waxy

[bardfromedson]

i don't spool mono on anything but downrigger rods anymore. you get way better feel with fireline in all types of fishing. it also allows cranks to dive a lot deeper because of the line diameter and less drag in the water. for walleye fishing bottom bouncers and slip sinkers you can feel every little nick on the bottom that your weight hits and can easily tell the second a fish mouths your bait. for leaders i use nothing but florocarbon. the knot strength alone is worth the extra money. i find it better for tying crawler harnesses and snell rigs as well because i find it doesn't get beat up as bad from fish or draging the bottom. the only downside is when fighting fish you need to be a little more careful. you cant rely on the line as a big shock absorber and need to rely on the rod a lot more along with looser drag. have had a few of my cheap rods broken by people putting them in rod holders with too tight of drag. if you don't want to break the bank you can always use backing behind the fireline.

[jeprli]

Waxy why do you find power pro abrasive???It is noisy but that could be due to bad guides(or perhaps guides on your rod are not meant for that kind of line), you gotta love the screaming line when the fish is on. I've used it for past couple years with same gear(daiwa regal xi and shimano clarus rods, quantum accurist and browning Citori jerk rod ) and i had no problem with guide wear or any reel problems whatsoever. All medium to high quality rods now days are equipped with some sort of high tech guides be it from Fuji, Pac Bay, American Tackle or whatever other company is out there. They can all withstand abuse given from the superlines.

Cheap reels will blow up if using superlines no question about it. Spinning reels with bottom drag knob(not the front drag models) are especially susceptible to breaking down and bending the shaft, of course there are those expensive models that can pull it off. :)

Most spinning reels from $75 and up can handle superlines without any problem.

This is a really good reading thread, lots of different applications for different lines, and best part is everyone is sharing their honest opinion based from experience on Alberta waters.

[Waxy]

Waxy why do you find power pro abrasive???It is noisy but that could be due to bad guides(or perhaps guides on your rod are not meant for that kind of line), you gotta love the screaming line when the fish is on. I've used it for past couple years with same gear(daiwa regal xi and shimano clarus rods, quantum accurist and browning Citori jerk rod ) and i had no problem with guide wear or any reel problems whatsoever. All medium to high quality rods now days are equipped with some sort of high tech guides be it from Fuji, Pac Bay, American Tackle or whatever other company is out there. They can all withstand abuse given from the superlines.

I'm not sure I can say "why" other than it just is in my experience. :confused:

The noise is just a personal thing. I don't care for it. I used to hate corduroy pants when I was kid too. :lol:

I'm using Shimano Crucial rods almost exclusively these days, so quality isn't the issue, and there's no doubt in my mind that the PowerPro is harder on the guides and reels than any other line I've tried. The "corrugated" nature of the line is just harder on equipment than a smooth finish line like Fireline or mono. Just hold it in your hand and compare it to other lines, you can easily feel the difference. It's like cable compared to rope.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the PowerPro, lots of people swear by it, it's just not my preference.

Cheap reels will blow up if using superlines no question about it. Spinning reels with bottom drag knob(not the front drag models) are especially susceptible to breaking down and bending the shaft, of course there are those expensive models that can pull it off. :)

Most spinning reels from $75 and up can handle superlines without any problem.

You definitely don't need a $700 Stella, but I agree that you should be looking at something in the $75+ plus range in order to get the quality drag components. I used to be a big fan of the casting "trigger" models of spinning reels with the rear drag (Spirex), but when I switched over to the superlines and got more serious about fishing, I switched over to the front drag models. They offer far better drag systems.

Drag is critical, it has to be really smooth and consistent, because it has to absorb the shock loads that the mono would otherwise take up in stretch. If it binds or is set too tight, you'll lose fish.

This is a really good reading thread, lots of different applications for different lines, and best part is everyone is sharing their honest opinion based from experience on Alberta waters.

I agree. There's always a lot of good info here.

Waxy