Fluorocarbon tippet vs mono

[jonbo]

I'm wondering what everyone thinks about the benefits of fluoro tippet as opposed to mono, or copolymer. I was needing some. I was ordering tiny scud hooks for midges that I can never find locally, just online. I'm almost out of 5x tippet material too. I go through it like crazy, so I thought I'd get some. Well, fluoro's so ridiculous. Last time I got some I managed to get a larger spool of Maxima fairly reasonably. that's what I've used up. This time it seems all the sources have caught on or the price has just gone up, but even the 100 yard spool of Maxima is no bargain anywhere I look. During my online search I did a few minutes of researching what people say about fluoro vs mono as a tippet. It seems there's advantages and drawbacks to each.

1) Fluoro seems to be less visible underwater. something about it refracting light the same way water does. I don't know how significant the benefit is, but I know I've caught plenty of fish on mono before I knew of fluoro. When you get down to 2-3 lb test line (5x, 6x), is there that much benefit with fluoro? (I also know I can still see the fluoro leader after it goes a little underwater.

2) Fluoro's been said to sink better, more dense, so there's a benefit when nymph fishing. But one of the sources I read said that mono's neutral in the water while fluoro sinks just slightly. The benefit is negligible they claim. You can add a little weight and get the mono to sink just as well.

3)  Everything  I read says mono's quite a bit stronger than fluoro at the knots. Fluoro you really have to be careful wherever you tie and make a perfect knot and wet it before you cinch it, and it's still weakened by the knot more than mono or co-polymer is.

4) Some were saying fluoro degrades quickly, that you need to replace it all the time.

This is what I decided. I can't even see well enough to know if I've made a perfect knot. The knot thing was the clincher for me. The two main differences I could tell was that you get a little more invisibility with fluoro, but that mono, with the knots and all, ends up being stronger for the size of line you're using. Plus it's less fussy.

Here's the clincher. Mono or copolymer's  a LOT cheaper than fluoro. My tapered leader's are mono until I get down to the 5x part where I've been switching to fluoro. Some say that that knot there weakens the mono because the fluoro tends to cut into it. It's simpler for me to just run mono the whole way. I'm just going with all mono for awhile. See if I catch just as many fish or not. What do you all think?

jonbo

[dannys]

Personally, I prefer fluoro for tippet for many of the reasons you cited--less visible, sinks a bit faster, etc. But, fluoro is not good, IMO, for dries. I use it for nymphs or wets only. The part about the knots needing to be perfect can be very true for any type tippet you decide to use.

Here is how I solve the "cutting" problem. I use nylon mono or a furled leader a lot. At the end of the nylon or furled leader, I have a tippet ring in place. Then I tie in about 4 more feet of tippet (usually 4X) and another tippet ring tied at the end of that. Then I tie in the fluoro to the same tippet ring.

Also regarding fluoro, when you tie a surgeon's knot to connect fluoro to fluoro, use a quadruple surgeon's rather than a triple. the quadruple is stronger when used with fluoro. As always, wet the wraps before tightening.

[golferjeff]

Go fluoro for all nymphing...... mono for dries. Always fluoro for wild fish too. The $$ is worth it.

[jonbo]

I'm gonna havta look on Ebay then. I just can't go with S14/30 yards or $26/100. I still have some 5x floro left which is what I mostly end up using. I'll see what I'll do when it runs out. Jeff, you really think it makes a dif with regards to visibility? I'll take your word as you have a lot more experience and you're holding up a 30" brown trout.

[golferjeff]

27" and yes, it does make a difference underwater. Sinks faster and more invisible. That Brown was caught on 6x fluorocarbon tied to a sz22 red copper john.

[bradbessett]

Ha, I've got some articulating streamers that are bigger than that fish

[breeden3]

You sure that brown is 27" haha? I fish nothing but fluoro. Just a personal preference. Tie good knots and you will never have a problem. I honestly have no problem with flouro for dries either. I have also seen plenty of big, wild fish caught on mono. There are places where you can't get away with mono very well, but the EH is certainly not one of those places. If you like mono because it is cheaper, buy mono. You will still catch lots of fish. If you prefer fluoro and don't mind the price, go with that. You will also catch lots of fish.

Tight Lines everyone,
Peter

[golferjeff]

Bessett - trying to catch Bluefin or Sharks in freshwater?

Peter - Lake City sometime in late July..... I will be floating the Arkansas from Cotopaxi to Parkdale one day, floating the Gunnison from town to Blue Mesa one day, Taylor C&R one day, and one day out your way. I will be staying in Gunnison 3 nights. See you then.

[bradbessett]

Nah, I catch bluegills with them.

[mirvc17]

Jonbo,

Regarding point #4)...Fluorocarbon does NOT degrade with time/UV exposure (well, not in this lifetime, or thousands more!), while Mono does. The excuse of using mono because it "biodegrades" is a silly one. It takes some 600 years for it to biodegrade. Fluoro takes 4,000 years. Either way, we harm the environment a little.

Regardless, I keep all my line out of the sunlight. I heard Tom Rosenbauer say he replaces all of his mono tippet after a year, regardless. I think that could be a bit extreme for the average angler, as long as they're taking care of their gear.

Anyhow, I still use fluoro tippet when fishing dries--mono leader w/ a tippet ring, then fluoro tippet after that. Here's some interesting discussion about fluoro vs nylon mono.

Specific Gravity

It’s been said that the most common reason why even half-smart trout reject a dry-fly offering is because they see the squiggly outline of the leader on the water’s surface. Makes sense to us. Why else would every fly shop be selling those little squeeze bottles of “leader sink” that work for a while before they wash off? It sure would be nice if leaders and tippets sank all by themselves.

The density of a material, compared to that of water, is expressed as its specific gravity. To keep things simple, whoever developed the specific gravity scale—some Englishman, no doubt—assigned water a specific gravity of 1.00. Materials with a specific gravity of less than 1.00 are lighter than water, and will float. Materials having a specific gravity in excess of 1.00 are heavier than water, and will sink . . . theoretically, at least.

The actual blend of polymers used to produce “nylon” varies somewhat, but the nylon formulations used to make monofilament leaders and tippets generally have a specific gravity in the range of 1.05 to 1.10, making them just slightly heavier than water. To put those numbers in perspective, tungsten—used in high-density sink tips—has a specific gravity of 19.25.

Being slightly heavier than water does not mean that nylon monofilament is going to sink, at least not quickly or very well. Surface tension—where the water’s surface behaves like an elastic film—must be broken before an object will sink. A object’s density and contact angle with the water’s surface are the two most significant variables in its ability to break surface tension and sink, and the “just slightly heavier than water” specific gravity and zero contact angle (i.e., laid out flat) of a nylon monofilament leader or tippet are not sufficient to do it most of the time. If pushed or pulled under the surface by a weighted fly or roiling current, nylon monofilament will sink . . . but very, very slowly.

Fluorocarbon has a specific gravity in the range of 1.75 to 1.90. Tungsten it ain’t, but it is significantly more dense than nylon. But is it sufficiently dense to quickly and reliable break surface tension and sink all by itself, even at zero contact angles, and even in the smallest diameters? No, it’s not. Our testing reveals that most brands of fluorocarbon tippet material in 0X to 8X diameters are no better than nylon at breaking surface tension and sinking on their own. Larger diameter fluorocarbon materials do demonstrate a slightly better ability to break surface tension without the assistance of current or other external influences, but for practical fishing purposes fluorocarbon has little benefit over nylon on this measure.

Full article: www.flyfishamerica.com/content/fluorocarbon-vs-nylon