Floating line

[Hlleonard]

I am just old and hard headed but and have used mono all my life....I tried the flourocarbon this year....now it has all been stripped off and replaced with mono,just never learned to like the stuff.....I tried some braid last time I went out,now its in the trash.....the one thing I did like about the braid is the fact that it floated,a good quality with the fnf tactic.....my question...is there another line that floats or is there something to treat the line with that makes it float...

[Shimano4Life]

First, fluorocarbon isn't made for topwaters or other baits made to stay up in the water column. It's very dense, which makes it sink and makes it very sensitive. Fluoro is made for finesse presentations, as well as for jigs and soft plastics that keep in contact with the bottom. It's also engineered to detect the lightest bites. It can also help with crankbaits when trying to get them down and KEEP them down in the strike zone.

Braid, in my opinion, should only be used with topwaters, frogs, jigs, and soft plastics, and especially in heavy cover where your line can get frayed up easily. Fishing heavy cover can nick mono and fluoro, leading to breakoffs and lost fish. I even use small braid as my main line for FNF, with a fluorocarbon leader attached to the fly as well as the three-way swivel.

Mono is great for topwaters and crankbaits because not only does it float, but it provides stretch and won't rip the treble hooks from a fish's mouth like stouter lines can. Mono is great for night fishing too because many of the manufacturers make it in fluorescent colors visible under a blacklight. However, there are fluorocarbons out there -- and I don't mean copolymers -- that glow under a blacklight. Stren makes a fluorescent 100% fluorocarbon.

Depending on the situation, all the lines mentioned above have their place and purposes. As long as you utilize each line's purpose, you should have an all-around base of equipment for fishing.

Using one kind of line, and ONE LINE ONLY, hurts your chances of catching the fish of a lifetime. Some lines outperform others in certain applications, so it's good to have each one of them for particular situations.

[00SKEETER]

Not sure why so many people hate flurocarbon. I've never had an issue with it. I only broke off one fish all year with it and I'm not sure it was even a fish because it was on the hook set. The sensitivity is second to none compared to mono. However, the only flurocarbon that I've used is XPS and InvisX. Both are easy to cast.

[JimDi]

I have had some issues with flourocarbon, but think it was the knot. What type of knot do you tie?

[floatman]

If you going to use mono for the FNF we use REEL MAGIC, we spray the line from the reel to the tip and spray some on the spool you may need to do it several times a day but it keeps the line floating and lets it cast better, hope this helps JMO

Gary

[lroberts]

I have had some issues with flourocarbon, but think it was the knot. What type of knot do you tie?

Whatever your favorite knot is.....just make sure to wet the line well before you cinch the knot. I use a Polamar knot and have found it to work well.

[Hlleonard]

Thanks guys....I'm not really sure why I didn't like the flouro.....I had some breakoffs when I first started using the line but have had breakoffs with the mono also so I may have been too critical of the line when I first tried it....don't have a problem with the characteristics of the mono as far as line stretch or sensitivity... one plus about using mono all the time is eliminates confusion about what line to use in which situation...I,m going to try the reel magic that floatman suggested, thats the only gripe I have with the mono is it sinks if you leave it sitting for any length of time... makes it mean at times fishing with the bobber.

[kygorski]

I went the other way, took the flouro off, and only use mono for pan fishing, everything else is braid, but I have been a braid fan since it first came out. So your old and hard headed, same here,On spinning tackle I never need to worry anymore about line twist, braid has no memory to speak of.Its a bear on bait casting when you get a backlash, but I've learned how to deal with that also. No he-man hook sets, and a looswer drag has worked for me.

[kygorski]

By the way, I have been fishing for almost 60 yrs, have used lead core monel, and all the old nylon line that was used for years before spinning gear came out, ever hear of "cat gut"? braid is the sliced bread of my fishing.

[Hlleonard]

By the way, I have been fishing for almost 60 yrs, have used lead core monel, and all the old nylon line that was used for years before spinning gear came out, ever hear of "cat gut"? braid is the sliced bread of my fishing.

lol...not quite as many years experience as you but heard the word "cat gut" years ago from some fishermen of the day ...had one of my old grand pappys reels years ago that had some kind of line that I think was black nylon or something...couldn't break that stuff with a truck....one of the old bait caster type of reels that didn't have a spool release ...when you cast it the handle turned backwards...

[Embrey]

I went the other way, took the flouro off, and only use mono for pan fishing, everything else is braid, but I have been a braid fan since it first came out. So your old and hard headed, same here,On spinning tackle I never need to worry anymore about line twist, braid has no memory to speak of.Its a bear on bait casting when you get a backlash, but I've learned how to deal with that also. No he-man hook sets, and a looswer drag has worked for me.

i always love braid for backlashes...i can get those out better than any other line

[kygorski]

Those old reels with the handles that turned when you casted was ALL we had. And most of the rods were steel. 50yds of line was the max on most reels. Phleuger, shakespere and south bend were the major makers of fishing tackle.I got my first spinning reel the second year they came out Bearings? Were none. 90% of the lures were 5/8 oz. Most boats were wood, aluminum came out after the war. No express ways. A 300 mile trip up north took almost 9 hours, driving as fast as you could, Illinois had NO speed limits on the highways, reasonable and proper were the rules. Rustic cottages for rent had out houses, and well pumps in the kitchen.And when I first hit a 100 bucks a week, with overtime, I was considered a rich working man. Yeah its a little different now.