Fluorocabon and the Hard Core Facts.

[Walt]

Did not want to hijack CST's great thread on the Fluorocarbon lines he is presently reporting on so here is some interesting history and information on Fluorocarbon. I pulled the main article "By Tony Zubia" off another fishing site and thought it was worth passing on. Hope you all find it usful.

I have attached my comments at the bottom of the article.

History, Facts, and Insight

Fluorocarbon Fishing Line

by Tony Zubia
Most anglers; now days, are taking advantage of the popularity of fluorocarbon fishing line and are beginning to experiment with the advantages of using this product. Its popularity is at its height, but most anglers are unaware that fluorocarbon line has been lurking in the shadows for quite sometime now.
History
The main product in fluorocarbon line is fluoride resin; as opposed to nylon, which is the main product in monofilament fishing line. Fluoride resin has been in existence for 30+ years now. It was created by the “Kreha” company; a Japanese based corporation that developed the product for use in other areas outside of sport fishing such as chemical containers, etc. The very first company to take the fluoride resin and manufacture fishing line was Seagaur, which is a subsidiary company of the Kreha Corporation. Seagaur is the only existing manufacturer of fluorocarbon line who also manufactures the fluoride resin themselves. All other major manufactures of fluorocarbon fishing line (i.e. – P-Line, Ande, Sufix, Triplefish, Maxima, and Stren) purchase various versions of fluoride resin, which can contain different types of plasticizers. Each manufacturer then tweaks it to their specifications during the actual manufacturing process. Just as there are different variations of nylon monofilament fishing line, so is true regarding fluorocarbon line; not all fluorocarbon fishing lines are the same.

Facts: pros and cons…..mostly pros
PROS:
The biggest and most widely know benefit to using fluorocarbon over standard nylon monofilament is obviously its ability to virtually disappear when in water. The key to this “magic trick” is light refraction; the point at which light will bend while passing through an object. Fluoride resin; mixed with the proper plasticizers, has the physical capability to refract (or bend) light at the nearly the same index or “hue” that water (H2O) does, thus giving fluorocarbon line the ability to practically disappear while in water. Another factor is that fluorocarbon line is much heavier than monofilament so it will sink faster, which can be beneficial when fishing stronger current. It’s also more abrasion resistant than mono so therefore will stand up to bottom structure much better than mono. It has noticeably less memory than monofilament; as well as, being more ridged that mono, thus giving it the advantage of longer casts. It’s less porous; absorbing less water than monofilament fishing line which means it won’t corrode or rot as quickly, giving it a longer “spool life”.

CONS:
Though fluorocarbon line seems to be an anglers “dream come true”, it does have its draw backs. Because of its ridged make up, fluorocarbon line has a much harder time keeping a knot than monofilament does. An inexperienced knot tier might find frustration trying to keep his/her knot tied with fluorocarbon line, when they’re use to tying with mono. Also, fluorocarbon line has much less stretch than monofilament. Regardless of its level of abrasion resistance; during hook up it can be easier to “break off” if your not careful, thus it is not recommended for beginning anglers mostly due to the lack “forgiveness” that fluorocarbon presents.
Insight
Fluorocarbon line has been the anglers choice of leader material for several years now, though more and more anglers are beginning to “spool up” with fluorocarbon, using it as their main line and very successfully I might add. Practice tying your most commonly tied knots with fluorocarbon line before you go out and use it full fledged for the first time. The knot is the weakest link in the fishing “chain”, so become more acquainted with the knots that you feel you tie best with fluorocarbon. It will save you from frustration and help prevent losing that fish that other wise would have gotten away
Some of my personal comments on the above:

Now Walt's .37 cents worth for your consideration.

First off Fluorocarbon is not invisible. Its refractive index is 1.42 the refractive index of water is 1.33. In order for Fluorocarbon to be invisible under water it would have to match the refractive index of water which it dose not. So do not be fooled by the Madison Avenue gibberish you read in the Fishing Line Ads. Fluorocarbon is LESS visible not invisible.

Its usefulness is much more apparent on sunny days on which I have noticed a distinct advantage to using it. Overcast days negate a lot of its advantage and may not even be necessary under low light conditions. I know Fluorocarbon is an advantage so I always use it regardless of conditions. It can only help.

Have been using Black Water Fluorocarbon which I like a lot. But started
using Seaguar Premier on my last Tuna trip, . Put the entire 25 yard spool of 20 lb. on as a top shot on my Tuna reel. Its soft enough to cast the Sardines with. But the big advantage to using Fluorocarbon is its Specific Gravity. Fluorocarbon is very dense compared to Monofilament. The specific gravity of Monofilament is 1.15 , Fluorocarbon is 1.78 The stuff sinks like a rock. It really helps get your bait down into the water colume where the Tuna are. If you would like some entertainment take 2 inch sections each of Mono and Fluoro and put them in a tall clear glass full of water and watch the different sink rates. Its surprising how much faster Fluorocarbon sinks.

Walt

PS: And one more general fact concerning fishing line color. Red or Pink colored lines do not disappear under water. They simply turn Black or Gray.

[JAY'SAFISHHOLIC]

your right WALT

but sometimes Flourcarbon is the way to go sometimes

[JAY'SAFISHHOLIC]

it has adavantages and disadvantages

sometimes you need SEPECTA

[cst]

That was on here at some point. wonder if it got lost.

[mickeysindahous]

Right on Walt. We don't call you the Mad Scientist for nothing. Your input is very useful. I have yet to use that Blackwater stuff. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

[HereFishyFishy]

Question's for you Walt. So what advantage or disadvantage does red or pink line have if they turn black or grey? Is there red or pink fluoro?

[fishtaco]

I got something to say in defense of the
weak transition line fluoro... it works very good with Bass
anything bigger or a more of a fighter fish, you'll losse..
But I think was designed for bass fishing, in slow presentation

For bass (large mouth bass)transition is a big difference
like 5 to 1 with regular fluoro, so there you have it,
even fluorocarbon has it's own applications

tuna loved the blackwater (a lot) noticed a difference

Dorados were nailed with regular clear fluoro (seaguar)

calico bass was on seaguar and p-line fluoro/coated

Yellows and anything else on P-line cxx
(is a mix called copolimer, fluoro-mono)

[JAY'SAFISHHOLIC]

fishy

i think it only matters if the fish you are targeting are getting pounded with

everyone fishing for them

LIKE TUNA THEY CAN SEE THE FISHING LINE

[Walt]

Fishy,

I have seen under water photos of different fishing line colors. The strong red line turns jet black and consequently is very visible. The strong red color would be OK for a main line as its nice and visible in the daylight but definetly use a clear or light tint leader to your bait or lure. The Light Pink which turns a light gray at depth was about average in visiblilty with other lines both clear an light blue or light green. I have no factual evidence if its an advantage or not but from what I see in the under water photos its neither a help or hindrence.

Walt

[dodoman]

last year on a long range trip ( i was not on it ).
they had a report on blackwater , during the experamental 1/2 the boat was using black water and caught 3 times more fish than the other 1/2.

[BeachBear]

Walt's smart!!

Fluoro has advantages and disadvantages and aren't always what advertisers say.

It does stretch, just not as much as mono. But sometimes you want stretch. Hali targeting on boats I prefer mono instead of fluoro. But I prefer fluoro on the dropshot.

It's ok for jerkbaits because they tend to run deeper, a bit.

In-Fisherman magazine had a great article as to when to use fluoro

[Walt]

BB.....Thanks for the In Fisherman tip. I did a search and found a good article by In Fisherman on all types of fishing line with a section on Fluororcarbon. I do not know if this is the article you were refering to but it is worth sharing so we can credit Beach Bear for this great educational find.

http://www.in-fisherman.com/walleye_...03_TackleLine/

Line and knot failures are probably the main causes of lost fish so its beneficial to sharpen our skills on its usage.

BTW " In Fisherman". is a great fresh water tool. They specialize in Walley fishing but a lot of their methods cross nicely to other species. I used to sucribe to it when I lived in Michigan.

Eddie: Please elaborate on your "Weak Transition Line" comment. I think you have some valuable thoughts lurking behind that statment. Why do you thinks is Weak?

And FISHY:
I found some Pink Fluoro, so to answer your question , Yes Pink Fluoro is available:

Advertising Hype Below:
Double Your Invisibility with Yo-Zuri HD Fluorocarbon Disappearing Pink. Yo-Zuri HD Carbon is a brand new fluorocarbon leader that maximizes the advantages of fluorocarbon and a Disappearing Pink tint. Fluorocarbon is virtually invisible in the water and red is the first color to disappear in the water column. Pink is the lightest shade of red and as a result disappears the quickest. Fluorocarbon is also only invisible until it gets nicked or scraped up. If this happens, that section of the leader actually lights up from the sunlight. The color pink added to the line helps reduce this problem keeping an anglers invisibility intact. Ultimately the combination of fluorocarbon and the color pink will double your invisibility advantage and increase your chance for hookups!
Walt

[BeachBear]

Thanks for all the research Walt. Different article though, but In Fisherman does have tons of info.

[Local Rookie]

here is the article from TonyZ posted in id '06: http://www.hookupsportfishing.com/fo...hread6433.html I haven't heard that name in a long time.... !

Walt, thanks for sharing your .37 cents!

[BeachBear]

The In Fisherman Magazine title was Fantastic Fluorocarbon


I don't save old magazines, but rip out articles that I like and make a stack of reading materials to review