Flourocarbon really necessary most of the time for invisibility?

[Highcentered]

As long as the water isn't gin clear is flouro really necessary when it comes to keeping the line visibility down under water? I'm slowly trying to switch back to green Big Game and for moving baits it's mostly fine even though I feel like flouro gives a little extra sensitivity to feel what the moving bait is doing. Then there's the debate about cranks getting down deeper with flouro. Even thought about using it for most of my leaders on braid with my spinning setups with the exception of my dropshot setup where I feel a good flouro really does make a difference. Am I overthinking this?

[5keepers2]

For several years I used fluro leaders on my spinning outfits and fish spinning more than baitcasting. I am easing back to mono for my leaders. Mono works best for me. I have a heavy hookset and on many occasion I broke fluro. I fish green tinted water and use green tinted mono.

[bassfisher444]

No, makes no difference at all for me. I don't even use fluorocarbon leaders anymore, just low vis green big game or Pline CXX.

[BassinPaPaw]

The invisibility factor of floro is the least of the reason I use it. It’s a nice feature, but not at all why I use it.

[DaveBrabec]

Any rod under 12 lb has mono on it for me. Mono has way higher breaking strength in light line But do use Flourocarbon on my 12-20 lb rods

[Highcentered]

I will say that back in the Fall I had two identical rods and reels one with 10# Big Game and the other with a fairly limp 10# flouro. Both had a Frittside 5 tied on also. The flouro was a little more sensitive but not much. I'm sure I'd probably miss a bite here and there where the fish stops the bait from moving for a split second but never bows the rod. For bottom contact I'm around a lot of sharp rocks. It seems like the flouro that's really sensitive is the stuff I never use because it handles like crap when on a reel.

[Highcentered]

No, makes no difference at all for me. I don't even use fluorocarbon leaders anymore, just low vis green big game or Pline CXX.

I swear CXX is about the toughest mono made but don't remember it handling all that well even when compared to Big Game but am a lot better with a baitcaster and use better reels also than I did years ago. Might give it a try again next time I need a spool since even Big Game handles great compared to most flouro.

[twitch]

I wonder the same thing a lot of the times ,unless fishing gin clear water where visibility is over 10' or so I don't think it really matters to the fish. I fish fluoro leaders on all my spinning set ups and in the past have broken off the leader after getting hung up, and too lazy to retie I fish tied straight to the braid and still get bites , so I think some times we over think a lot of things

[bassfisher444]

I swear CXX is about the toughest mono made but don't remember it handling all that well even when compared to Big Game but am a lot better with a baitcaster and use better reels also than I did years ago. Might give it a try again next time I need a spool since even Big Game handles great compared to most flouro.

I only use the CXX on my heavy jig and buzz bait reels. Everything else gets P line C21 unless it's braid then regualr Power pro. If I am using a leader with the braid it is big game or CXX.

[mean_dean]

People have been using mono for decades and successfully catching fish, I don't think it is as big a deal as people make it out to be.

[slipknobber bot]

If you think a fish wouldn't bite your bait because of having line attached to it, why on earth would they bite anything with hooks, attachment eyes, swivels, or split rings? You ever see a bass shy away from eating a Bluegill being reeled in on a barbie pole because it had bright pink line attached to it?

[basshammerwannabe]

lol makes you wonder if the pros ever tell the truth... heard them even talking about getting more bites with lighter line on toledo and the water for sure wasnt clear.. Have heard multiple talk about the amount of bites they get between on 6-7lb compared to 8lb.. dont know if the bait presents better or what or they are just full of it

[Highcentered]

lol makes you wonder if the pros ever tell the truth... heard them even talking about getting more bites with lighter line on toledo and the water for sure wasnt clear.. Have heard multiple talk about the amount of bites they get between on 6-7lb compared to 8lb.. dont know if the bait presents better or what or they are just full of it

Well, gin clear water I 100% believe them. When baitfishing for trout I do know I get more bites with a 2# green mono leader than I do 4# green mono leader. Mono obviously works better because it helps the floating bait float higher. I use a 4# leader on braid with length adjusted to give enough shock absorption to not snap the leader so easy on hookset but also not have so much that I can't drive the hook home easily. I'm thinking about trying the same green 4# Trout Magnet mono I use for leader on the trout rod in place of flouro to see what happens. Hell, I use the same 6' 6" medium-lite St. Croix Premier for trout and dropshot most of the time. In the 2-4# range Trout Magnet is my choice after trying just about everything over the past 25 years.

[PMantle]

How do we explain fish biting an A-rig?

[Jeff Hahn]

The only time I use fluoro is sometimes for a leader on the braid on my spinning reel and sometimes as a leader on a C-Rig. In both cases, I use fluoro leader material, which is much stiffer and more abrasion resistant than fluoro line. I tried several brands of fluoro line when it first came out and it was more trouble than it was worth. On only one occasion have I ever seen it make a difference in the number of bites and that was one day on Erie. Other days on Erie and elsewhere I can't see than it makes any difference. In my opinion, fluoro line isn't worth the additional trouble and expense.

[Squire]

I don't think it makes a difference with moving baits, or how would a-rigs, spinnerbaits or buzzbaits ever work? That said,
braid can be frustrating with jerkbaits and topwaters as the trebles will snag braid easily and ruin a
cast. Fishing around heavy grass and/or toothy critters I use straight braid. I have been going to Canada for many years
and the water is typically gin clear and when fishing there braid works fine and I don't worry as much about breaking off
that occasional Pike or Musky like I used to with Fluro/mono.....on a jig, I like the way fluro sinks and
gets out of the way. When fishing a jig with mono that floats, you could occasionally feel the fish brush
the line and get fooled and occasionally spooked off when you popped it and pulled the line, not unlike you feel it bumping
them when you are stroking the jig.

[Highcentered]

How do we explain fish biting an A-rig?

Bait ball, but you have a point. Lots of myths and snake oil in fishing. I even scaled my soft plastics way back this year to just a few basic colors in several different profiles. Cranks are also just a few basic color schemes in several different profiles to fit conditions.

[Spot-a-saurus]

I fish it for the feel of it tbh. I think line diameter is more important than invisibility. Affects bait movement and depth control. And I agree with every one on baits being a bit ridiculous and fish still eat them. I have also cut my bait selection down by about half over the last year or so. Keep basic profiles in a few tried and true colors (black/blue, greens, browns, maybe purple for regional stuff) but got rid of the baits that all served the same purpose. I don’t need 5 brands of beavers or senkos or finesse worms. It’s not that complicated and I think line is another one we put a mythical veil around. It does matter for fall rate etc but I’m not sure any of them are a whole lot less visible than others with the exception of some braids

[Jbass123]

The invisibility factor of floro is the least of the reason I use it. It’s a nice feature, but not at all why I use it.

Same here ^. I don’t think at all about invisibility [or visibility], other than not going direct to bright braid from the lure. The other features of fluorocarbon, less stretch and better sinking, are what causes me not to use mono except with some surface baits. I’ve also had much fewer breakoffs with fluorocarbon than mono, pound test for pound test. I fish rock bottoms 90% of the time and can move the entire boat when hung up between rocks before breaking 14 pound fluorocarbon. Not infrequently I wish it broke *more* easily.

[Squire]

Same here ^. I don’t think at all about invisibility [or visibility], other than not going direct to bright braid from the lure. The other features of fluorocarbon, less stretch and better sinking, are what causes me not to use mono except with some surface baits. I’ve also had much fewer breakoffs with fluorocarbon than mono, pound test for pound test. I fish rock bottoms 90% of the time and can move the entire boat when hung up between rocks before breaking 14 pound fluorocarbon. Not infrequently I wish it broke *more* easily.

I was surprised to see some line tests on youtube that showed fluro has more stretch than mono, the difference being once you stretch it out, it does not fully recover and can fracture. The test also showed that the expensive fluro's were not as good in abrasion or stretch as the cheap ones.....I actually switched from AbraizX because of these results and have not looked back.