question about fluorocarbon

I read on here where someone said with fluorocarbon you need to tie a swivel to it and attach it to a tree or something and stretch it out before you use it. my question is why do you need to do this?

It stretches the line out and resets the memory in the line. Fluorocarbon has a lot of memory when it comes off the spool and it causes the line to twist. If your using a spinning reel this can cause a disaster. You need to stretch it first then buy some line conditioner to spray on it.

thats what I figured it was for....then if you dont fish any clear lakes, I dont guess there is any point in paying the extra money for it then is there(unless it is has other good characteristics I dont know about)

I love fluorocarbon. All my reels except topwater and spinning reels have fluorocarbon on them. Do a search on here, there have been a few good discussions about it. I am not sure what your definition of a "clear" lake is, but most of the lakes I fish around Louisville are clear enough where I feel it makes a difference.

I don't use it on my spinning reels,but does line twist really affect baitcasters?

It does effect them as it can cause over runs and uneven respools which will effect your casting consistancy. I use fluoro for everything other than top water and my heavy timber setups. You get much less stretch and better feel than mono. Also it doesn't float so it allows your crankbaits to get down deep to where you need them. You would be surprised by the difference between the two and to a larger degree if you only do short casts. Meaning you have to reel further with mono to get it down to the right depth. Another issue that can present itself is if you are trying to go as light as possible with tackle. Because mono floats you have to go with heavier tackle when fishing on the bottom. This is not to say Mono doesn't have it's place and own advantages.
The big concern with Fluoro is that it can get damaged easy and should be retied if you hang it up on something or feel a nick in it.

thanks imthemedic for explaining that the line twists can cause overruns....I thought there was something wrong with my reel because I couldn't adjust the brakes to keep from getting overruns,so today I tied on a swivel and tied it to a tree and stretched the line. when I took it to the lake tonight I fished fo two hours and didn't have a bit of trouble with it. I do need to get it cleaned real good because it's not near as smooth as it used to be, so do you kow anyone that does this type of thing (i'm not able to do it myself)