Fluoro carbon hooklengths?

[Papa Lazarou]

Hi all,does anyone use fluorocarbon for their hooklengths for carp/barbel bream tench etc and do you rate it above other hooklink materials?, can you use the stuff that is used for fly fishing leaders and lastly if you had to use it for the 4 species mentioned is there one particular length of hooklink you would use that would cover all these fish?, sorry for all the questions just wondering if its a better bet than your usual braids,monos etc, thanks in advance.

[Stretpegger]

Hi all,does anyone use fluorocarbon for their hooklengths for carp/barbel bream tench etc and do you rate it above other hooklink materials?, can you use the stuff that is used for fly fishing leaders and lastly if you had to use it for the 4 species mentioned is there one particular length of hooklink you would use that would cover all these fish?, sorry for all the questions just wondering if its a better bet than your usual braids,monos etc, thanks in advance.

 

 

Have flirted with flurocarbon over the years but just cannot get on with this stuff.I find it brittle and prone to failure at the knot,and yes i am using the correct knots for it.Intrestingly a new barbel video shows that if it is running through the water rather than hard on the lake/river bed it stands out like a beacon.

Admittedly i havnt seen this video myself but a friend of mine who has says it has made him think about going back to monofilimant for his mainline.

[ayjay]

Hi all,does anyone use fluorocarbon for their hooklengths for carp/barbel bream tench etc and do you rate it above other hooklink materials?, can you use the stuff that is used for fly fishing leaders and lastly if you had to use it for the 4 species mentioned is there one particular length of hooklink you would use that would cover all these fish?, sorry for all the questions just wondering if its a better bet than your usual braids,monos etc, thanks in advance.

 

 

I've used "Drennan Fluoro Fly Leader" in 8lb b/s for quite some time now for barbel hooklengths, and am quite happy with it. I've had Barbel to 11.3 on it and can't remember any breakages.

 

 

Some people (experienced anglers included) seem to struggle with fluoro and some don't. I think it must just depend on how you tie hooks/play fish, sometimes some stuff works for one angler and not another.

 

One tip I can give with the Drennan stuff is that when you've tied a hooklength with it, it will look quite curly, just gently stretch it and it will straighten out completely.

[Papa Lazarou]

I've used "Drennan Fluoro Fly Leader" in 8lb b/s for quite some time now for barbel hooklengths, and am quite happy with it. I've had Barbel to 11.3 on it and can't remember any breakages.

 

 

Some people (experienced anglers included) seem to struggle with fluoro and some don't. I think it must just depend on how you tie hooks/play fish, sometimes some stuff works for one angler and not another.

 

One tip I can give with the Drennan stuff is that when you've tied a hooklength with it, it will look quite curly, just gently stretch it and it will straighten out completely.

 

 

 

Thanks for the replies guys,ayjay what length of fluoro do you use for barbel, i ask because i was led to believe the longer you used the more chance of tangles?, is this correct?, thanks again.

[ayjay]

I might use anything from (roughly) 3 to 18 inches.

 

One of the characteristics of Fluoro is that it's quite stiff, I believe this is one reason why it works well (for me anyway) as a feeder hooklength and really can't see why it should tangle.

 

If you want wind knots and tangles use braid.

[casts_by_fly]

I use fluoro almost exclusively, and fly tippet at that because that's what I have lots of. There are a few considerations with Fluoro. Knots are one. You can't use knots that really cinch down on the standing line. Fluoro is susceptible to heat. If you heat it while the knot cinches (an improved clinch knot is good for that) you'll weaken it. If you try to straighten it by running it through your fingers and pulling (like you would a fly leader) you'll build heat and weaken it. If you leave it in direct sunlight or in the boot of your car in the heat you'll weaken it.

 

If you can avoild those mistakes, fluoro is great. I've been fishing fluoro for 10 years now, mostly on flowing water for trout and steelhead/salmon, and I've used it on fly, centerpin, and spinning rods. It has its times and in certain situations it is tough to beat. Low flow streams with spooky fish is one.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[Anderoo]

I first used fluorocarbon as tippets when fly (nymph) fishing - it did get me more takes, but it snapped so often on the take that I soon binned it. After that I've had a bit of a mental block with it. I do use it in 5lb sometimes when chub fishing in winter, in low and clear conditions, but that's about it. It sounds like the modern brands are trustworthy, and it can be useful in some situations - as Ayjay says, it's very stiff, and it's good with abrasion.

 

Choice of bs will depend on other factors like snags and rod choice as well as species.

 

It might be useful if people could name some trusted brands? The one thing I have in mind for it is as a leader for gravel pit carp - say, 30ft of 20lb - to keep the line on the bottom and to protect against bars.

[medwaygreen]

I have used Berkeley Vanish and Vanish Transition for some time now, for mainly Leger work, but also for trotting.

 

I always use the line straight through to hook and after having had one knot fail always now use a Palomar knot without any problems. When i need to use small size hooks i use spade end and use a hook tyer turning the line only three times.

 

I feel as stated before heat can create problems so i as well as the above wet the line well, very well, before pulling the knot tight.

[Dick Dastardly]

Wetting it thoroughly before you tie the knot seems to help as heat (as Rick says) is its biggest enemy.

 

But like Anderoo I started off using it as a tippet material for fly fishing but with both this and as a hook length for coarse fish Ive had to many unexpected breaks to use it anymore.

 

Using it as a hook length in conjunction with a braided mainline is a recipie for disaster. Shame as it is good ion the water.Mind you where I found its stiffness great for fly fishing I wasnt to keen on it for coarse fishing. For fly fishing Ive gone back to using Tynex for its stiffness and for coarsefishing whereI want a light,lowdiameter,"invisible" hook length Im still looking. Tried a lot of the modern comercial fishery type mono hook length materials but these seem to be a bit unreliable as well as can be Drennan Double Strength. So much so that if I want to use a hook length with the properties of 4lb line then instead opf using 8lb Double Strength/flurocarbon/braid/hi-tech mono etc I simple use 4lb line (Maxima) and go carefull! Oh and no braided mainline!

[casts_by_fly]

My line of choice is frog's hair. Don't know if you have it over here or not. I loaded up on a bunch before I moved so I still have plenty.

 

Seaguar grand max is another trusted line for me. I have some spools left from before I switched to frog's hair. Very good, very strong. The spools were bigger in diameter (with no additional line on the spool) and the line was a little more expensive. Frog's hair seems a little more limp than seaguar but equally as strong.

 

I've used others in the past with mixed results. Vanish is junk. I have had one good spool in a bunch of attempts. Others have had similar results. In heavier line (8 lb and up) it isn't as bad, but in lighter line any little problem in the line is a weak spot that will break. Knot strength in vanish is very poor compared to other fluoro, even if you wet it and no matter what knot you use.

 

Thanks,

Rick