Dragonfly Lures

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.