Not really a fan of the insider club sign up marketing. Clicked on link and it felt like a complete 180 from how you conduct your videos. I was interested in joining to support your channel but my spidey senses are going off with all the inflated value numbers cited in each “what you get category”. Sorry, not trying to poop on you guys just a big turn off. Still a fan of your videos.
Thanks for the feedback, Kokot. We've spent well over $1,000,000 on everything inside the private community (from the build-out of the private online club, to paying the pros to share their best tips on camera, to all of the 800+ private videos - the ones you can't find here on TH-cam, to the trend analyzer software, etc). So the value shown is crazy low when it compare it to what it could cost you find all of this information and shortcuts yourself. Hope to see you in the Insider club! If not, then get those spidey senses re-calibrated!
I fish fresh water almost exclusively for bass. Even fished pro 25-30 years ago and made a couple BASS Masters Classics. I don’t like fluorocarbon line but you can’t find a bass angler that will be honest about it. Thanks for being straight up and honest about what’s what.
I don’t like fluorocarbon line either or any marketing gimmicks for that matter. Whether I am fishing for bluegills or tarpon, nothing but mono for me.
Glad to see my favorite good old Ande leader holding up. My on water experience was fluro is over priced junk. The marketing behind it was strong but I had nothing but trouble. It’s just too stiff, knots wouldn’t hold, one tiny scrape/cut and it snaps. I fish for snook and reds under docks and mangroves, very heavy cover - fluro simply fails too much. Mono is softer and more supple, it gives instead of snapping - bend not break is the name of the game with leader. Visibility? HA! The name of lure is printed on it, there are hooks right there, if fish cared about such details you would never catch a single one on artificials. The bites are mostly reaction strikes, the fish has to make a split second decision: fight or flight. They either grab the lure or spook off. If anyone thinks the visibly of line in that second matters then they are fools. Now with live bait in clear water a less noticeable line may hold advantage but even then it’s maybe 5 vs 3 hook ups? Forget price - the differences between mono and fluro are just too small yet the risk too big. Don’t loose sleep over it, just go with 30# mono leader for 80% of inshore fishing (trout, reds, snook) with lures. Sometimes heavier or lighter line is required, but just say no to the fluro hype machine.
I used to fish for Snook in FL from bridges, you need stronger line right? I used an ancient Star 39-B 10 foot stiff fiberglass pole, an Ambassadeur 7000 C-3 with straight 100 lb mono, an ounce and a half flare hawk, hooked about a 40 lb Snook, she sawed thru the mono like it was . . . well you know. It was fishing. Florida is ruined now too many international people there now, it'll never be the same. Funny that's what the park ranger in Everglades National Park told me in 1968, bring the flag when you leave.
Excellent Video. Sadly I was one who was duped into thinking and believing that Fluoro was superior to mono line. I recently bought a 25yd spool of High Seas Brand Fluoro for 110.00TTD (15.97USD) specific for tying lures for inshore fishing near mangroves where there are tree stumps and other hidden branches etc. I have used Fluoro before. Prior to that I was using good ole cheap mono that paid 7USD for a 100m spool. I have not observed any difference between the both in hook ups or line failure or knot failures. All the lines or lures I've lost were due to snagging on trees from bad casting. Personally, its easier to tie knots with Mono than Fluoro. Fluoro is just more rigid due to its higher density. Am gonna go back to my monofilament. Thank you for this Excellent Video!!!
Granted, I am a trout, fisherman in streams,, but my total set up for lines and leaders is basically the same thickness of diameter from reel to hook , made up of mono the fluorocarbon debate on invisibility to me is a marketing ploy, I say that because there’s nowhere on this earth where there is water as crystal clear as a glass of drinking water and even that water is dirty before it’s treated stay with mono you’ll get to stretch if you have the right rod, you’ll have a better day on the water rods do make a different With the right line. Thank you, gentlemen you do a great job. Keep up the good work.
Appreciate the information. I buy the expensive fluorocarbon thinking it was better then mono because I’ve listen to ppl saying it’s better and then I switched over to Mono leader this past weekend and didn’t see any difference while catching fresh water fish. You Save me money 💰. Thank you.
couple of weeks ago, I went deep sea fishing in Dana Point, CA. My son was using standard mono dropper setup and I was using fluorocarbon leader(25lb). We were standing side by side, he caught more fish on the mono than I did with the fluorocarbon. But also release all the fish that we caught. Not if that is luck or in the right spot, I was happy for him on his first time, but I do prefer using mono over fluorocarbon, price wise...thank you. Love you site....
New England freshwater fisherman here. Pike, bass, and trout are my main targets. But I also love getting into the salt and going for big blues, stripers, and anything else that will bite. I exclusively use mono leaders. Generally cheap Big Game. Most of the water I fish has 8+ feet of visibility, and fish still bite with no issues. One thing I love about mono is the shock absorber quality it has, it adds more forgiveness to a braid to leader set up.
In terms of visibility, I find that I can use a slightly smaller size mono. The most important thing with leaders is what are you tying them to? If it is braid and I have flouro on and get a hard strike, I often lose fish immediately. I find that the extra STRETCH of mono leads to less immediate breakoffs and also work as a shock absorber when fighting a fish. This is why I could fight a 12 lb redfish with 6 lb trilene XL unexpectedly one time in the St. Johns when I was bluegill fishing out of a canoe. I went the flouro route for a while and still use it if I am spin fishing for mangrove snapper for the better sink rate, but now prefer mono. Also, I noted the diameter discussion. Fly line tippet is organized by diameter and listed to the tenth of a pound.
Did you do abrasion resistance under water? Flouro has never liked heat, hence why it is stressed to make sure your knots are wet when you tie because it weakens.
I had a 3-5kg rod set up with a 8lb mono only line to the the lure attached via a 6 turn uni knot. I hooked into around a kingfish that was over 5kg. The rod couldn't handle it (The rod was in a U shape) as i had to take steps back and reeled in as i walked forward again to bring the fish in it and i was pulling that hard i notice how the mono was acting as a nice shock absorber. The line only broke off when the fish darted under the pier and against the pylon after i managed to get it to the pier. To me this shows me that having a fluoro leader isn't necessary and a gimmick, the mono and knot punched way above what it was rated for. Taught me a lesson that leaders are not worth it, and that i need a damn net lol
Only speaking for myself ... Personally i notice a difference in sensitivety in the flouro compared to mono. Sheepshead fishing you have to set the hook hard in most cases and less stretch in combat fishing!
I love this debate. Some people get set in their ways and can't be moved to the other side even when provided with the facts and evidence. I just want the best performance for the least amount of money. Can't wait for the upcoming tests!
More world records have been caught on Ande than any other fishing line. I have the same results you have stated in your video regarding abrasion resistance. For the most part, I use mono as my leader now. I got my Captain’s license in 1995 and have been lucky enough to fish with some truly amazing Captain’s and sportsman. Commercial fishing is a whole different ball of wax, but when it comes to tournament Captain’s that are hired guns for big boats, they leave little to chance. Most fish mono for their mainlines. Even using 200lb mono for leaders.
Andes was always my go to. No stores carry it anymore but I do use spectra on almost all my reels now with top shots or short leaders. Heavy mono I'd use izorline
I do a lot of inshore fishing in SoCal. As far as the number of bites are concerned, there is no difference between flouro and mono, but "surprisingly" flouro breaks more often than mono! Dont waste your money on flouro.
YES! I’m terrifically interested in this testing. I used to fish 40 years ago when the only choice was mono. I caught plenty of fish. I quit fishing for various reasons and just recently decided to pick it up again. Now I’m faced with all this new technology at a much higher price with no idea if it’s better or not. If you buy into the hype and marketing crap then apparently all the line, lures, and techniques from the old days really didn’t work that well and it’s so much better now. I intuitively and empirically just don’t believe it, but I have a science background and I’m really interested in any kind of testing to prove/disprove what I’m hearing from so called experts.
Luke, you are totally right. Diameter is absolutely more important that the "stated breaking strength." It's true that we are used to saying "hand me over some 50 lb" but the ratio of the strength vs the diameter is probably the most important factor along with abrasion resistance. If I am buying some leader, I need to know if I am really buying 50lb line (which is .70mm) or if I am really buying a 60lb line (which is typically .75mm) that is being advertised as a 50lb line. The state breaking strength is total BS (especially in braided lines.) Fishing Line manufacturers should advertise their products by their diameter size (like the PE rating in asia and the rest of the world) and include their actual breaking strength and diameter. A PE rating of 2.0 (which is a diameter of .23mm) has a breaking strength of 40lbs (which is more than enough for any inshore spinning reel as most of us use a leader.) This is the "typical" 20lb braid they sell in the US. Manufactures vary their stated specs by a large margin. Check out the INSANE facts. Spiderwire's 10lb braid is .20 mm in diameter Power Pro's 15lb braid is .19mm in diameter Berkley X5 30lb braid is .20mm in diameter. All of them typically break around 37 to 40 lbs. Truth: They all have a PE rating of 2 based on their diameter and break at approximately 38lbs. When you buy a reel and you have to fill it up with braid how much braid do you really need and what diameter? Here in the US we only get the ancient 3000 and 4000 size reels with line capacities that we will NEVER use. The spool sizes for all of the reels sold in the US are appropriately sized for mono or using braid of similar diameter (that we will never need or use.) Most of use need no more than 150 yards for our spinning reels and we have to basically put some mono backing to prefill the spools. This is why I buy JDM reels with spools that are appropriate for braided line capacities (or downsize the reel to 2500s.) I just purchased the Shimano Exsence BB (150 dollar reel Stradic quality but with the Darth Vader look) with a 3000M spool (M for medium shallow spool) that perfectly fills the reel with approximately 150 yards of .23mm of braid. No nylon backing for me and I know exactly what kind of braid I have to buy. Anyway, sorry for the long message. Keep up the great work.
Here's one for you. Saw it on reddit, and can't find it anymore. Repeated stress. Apparently, when you approach breaking strength of fluoro, it's weaker everytime after that. Mono has much less reduction in strength with repeated stress. The tester set up a rig to test max strength of a line before it breaks. With a new sample off the same spool, he brought it to 90% of break strength. Release tension. Then did it again. More often than not, fluoro would break at 50-60% of rating after one or two stresses. Mono would approach that 90% 10 to 15 times.
"No stretch" or "little stretch" is a main selling point in the freshwater fishing market. Testing stretch in fluorocarbon vs monofilaments would be an eye opener.
If you're fishing lures with treble hooks.......especially when hooking a large, heavy, or powerful fish......MONO BECOMES YOUR BEST FRIEND. That stretch literally complements a smooth drag setting, and helps keep the fish buttoned up to your hooks. My fourth and most recent 12 lb bass was caught using a small #90 Whopper Plopper. I was using 12 lb Berkley/Trilene Big Game mono on a killer Lew's Pro-G reel. Super smooth & consistent drag. This fish put up a pretty darn good fight compared to other giant bass I've caught. When I lipped the bass, I was shocked: only A SINGLE HOOK of one of the trebles had barely penetrated the softest tissue in the corner of its mouth. The hook practically fell out when I went to un-hook the fish. Just watched a recent video on channel: "Black Tip H". Josh was fishing with a top guide/charter in the area, and they were fishing for giant blue fin tuna. The first 2 fish straightened the hook and escaped. They caught the 3rd fish, an incredibly large tuna. During the fight, the CAPTAIN stated something like: "Mono is KING" or "Mono is GOLD" when fighting these huge powerful monsters. Again: the STRETCH of the mono helped to keep that giant from straightening out the hook. Go watch the video for yourself.
I'd love to see some stretch test with different lines. Applications like spinning outfits where braid manages and casts superior you still need a leader most times for some shock absorption and abrasion resistance, but when the leader is say 3 to 6 ft long how much stretch or absorption is that really doing? I guess the goal is for the leader to stretch enough to allow the fish to really get a good swallow and to also keep it pinned during a fight. But also factor in a heavy fish next to the boat, I've had stiff leaders work great for steering the fish close and allowing you to grab the leader then the fish but those leaders don't seem to have good shock absorption in shorter lengths. And I've had stretchy leaders work excellent for never missing a bite and keeping them pinned but when it's time to land the fish if you touch that leader while a big fish it on you get snap!!! So maybe some test of seeing stretch length under a specific load, but also while under load see how much additional force you can put on it to simulate grabbing the leader to steer the fish.
I bought some contra mono 12lb and 17lb this weekend because it says low stretch. I can't even get the 12 lb to stretch and had less memory than my Subline 14lb sniper. Cast really smooth as well. Yeah it absorbs water and UV more but it's $6 for 300 yards. I'm not deep cranking with it and use braid to flouro for my jigs so I see no reason to spend $25-$30 a spool.
I've fished everything from big game to tatsu. The cheapest to almost most expensive, different blends for specific applications, etc... and flouro definitely gets the most random break offs. Could be from abrasion, knots, shock whatever. But if you take almost any 20lb flouro no matter the price point and you snag, it's not hard to break off if you wrap it around your hand and pull till the snap. Lol I've fished berkely big game surf fishing for years and when you snag 20lb, you literally have to wrap it around your body start walking up the beach, and use your body weight to snap the line thats snagged. It's insane how much it takes to break such a cheap line. It just keeps stretching and stretching and never let's go. Flouro is just brittle, even in high lb test. But it has its place like sensitivity when paired with braid for bottom contact baits.
Thanks for going to the effort of comparing nylon mono filament with polyvinylidene mono filament under practical scenarios. Marketing has clouded the advantages and disadvantages of flourocarbon over nylon, manufacturers know that fishermen will pay dearly for any perceived advantage over the fish and use this to increase profits. Flouro is less visible and sinks a bit quicker but under actual fishing conditions I have found no difference in strike rate between the two. Saying that I still use flouro traces for most fish simply because it appears harder to see underwater to me, in very deep water and around the rocks I use nylon.
It's funny. Reading these comments is like debating religion. I switched from flouro to mono (the cheap monster spools of Berkley Big Game you can get on Amazon for like $5-6) and haven't noticed a bit of difference. I bought the berkley in 20 lb, 25 lb and 30 lb and just reuse my old 150 yd spools from my Power Pro and spool 30-50 yds of the Berkley on it, put a rubber band around it and keep those in my tackle bag. Problem solved. Thanks guys for saving everyone money
So glad to see this content challenging preconceptions. Here in NW witnessed braided dacron direct tied to a jig catch a 6# silver salmon . It relaxed my worry about line shy propeganda in line advertising.
Refraction is how the light is distorted passing through the line and reflection is how the light reflects off the line. Sauce: ima a mechanical engineer. My guess as to what this means in the field is that similar refraction is better with structure or a "backdrop" behind the line. Reflection is likely important in any situation that has clear water and sunny skies. Another negative to floror that I've heard of (probably from marketing BS) is that flouro acts like a fiber optic and carries the light from the surface down to your terminal tackle if you use all flouro. Id image mono does the same given how similar it is. Another thing that would be great to test is the stretch of flouro vs mono as I've heard that can make a big difference in landing fish. From what I can remember and what makes sense is flouro came out as the first real alternative to mono then braid came out as a more extreme version (thinness for casting and sensitivity/lack of stretch). It sounds to me like after braid came out that flouro manufactures were scrambling to find a place for their line and started to market it is as better knot strength, visibility, and abrasion resistance than braid and better sensitivity and castability than mono. just my 2 cents feel free to correct me if I'm wrong! Edit: Also hardness plays a factor. Testing a polymer line against ceramic sandpaper in air vs a fish's mouth underwater might skew your conclusions.
As I’m beach caster hitting distance our shock leaders are always mono for a good reason. Line & knot strength especially over dirty ground! Berkley TriLine I find has terrible memory issues. Leader generally go for is Sufix or one called Greased Weasel here in the UK
I’ve noted FC is more smooth and reflect more light giving extra light flash compared to nylon. Especially on a pause your line will start to twist again like on your reel : if there’s a bright sky and enough penetration you can see the small reflections/flash occurring. Fish see them sometimes, so i use only nylon mono teinted green of grey and want to test pink.
Just 1 more thing re: fluoro vs mono; I have watched videos from pros saying mono floats (use for top water) vs fluoro sinks (use for below surface) is there any truth to these statements?
when will u compare copolymer to mono??? pline and momoi diamond make great coplys for mainline and leader in my experience they are better than mono in every aspect i would love to see the tests u guys do with coplys as far as abrasion and visibility
Wow! So interesting. Many professional bass fisherman talk like crazy about fluorocarbon (like Sunline Super FC Sniper ) over mono and I have clearly “bought” into that knowing that their success depends on catching Bass (and also knowing that all are not sponsored by Sunline). You are going to save me a boatload of money! Also funny how many commentators have “always known” there was no difference in lines. Ya, right! Be well.
Always figured there was no difference and was skeptical ever since they started pushing that pricey gimmick..and if there was any difference I’d still never fish anything but mono leaders..go through way too much leader line to afford something that costs up to 100% more which tells me the mono always worked just fine.
This is an excellent presentation and is exactly the reason you’re enterprise is prospering. Thank You! I do have one question as I’m a total beginner when it comes to saltwater fishing. In bass fishing a jig or worm, when I switched from mono to straight fluoro many years ago the difference in feeling a subtle bite was dramatic. However I’ve never fished that technique using braid with a leader. Two questions actually. First how important is feeling the bite in saltwater for species such as trout, snook, flounder, etc? Secondly when using braid as the main line, is there any noticeable difference in feel when using a mono leader vs a fluoro leader? I look forward to your input. Thanks and have a spectacular week.
I believe that today's nylon mono is much better than it was 10 years ago and is not given it's due respect. The only real reason I have for being interested in fluorocarbon line is that it is supposed to be nearly impervious the the environment, UV rays and ozone that is supposed to decay nylon mono. This makes it good to use as a leader for my braid main line.
hello my friends I have a question? ANDE monofilament line is the same as ANDE monofilament leader material !! I can use the ANDE line as a leader material
Thank you for your question! We have a massive library of fishing tips on our website along with a search feature to let you quickly filter down to find help you're looking for, so just go to www.saltstrong.com/ and use the Search feature in the top menu.
Maybe a silly question, but did you compare or do the same abrasion test with the monofilament line vs monofilament leader to see if they break at the same time?
Hey guys stretch is another factor in mono and flurocarbon. Using lighter Fluor for steelhead noticed seaguar max had very few break offs as compared to other Fluor. Seaguar max is a copolamar Fluor. Trout hunter is also cop
Copolamar and was the other stronger freshwater Fluor. The blue and red seguar is thicker per pound and I believe a different formulation. The two aforementioned seaguar and trout hunter are very springy and hard the break. That’s my two cents. Nice to see u guys testing lines. Bob B
Great video 👍 you’ve reinforced my belief about mono I’ve used Berkley big game for 35 years and have never broken off a fish. I caught a 40 lb jack off of the beach with 15 lb big game. I’ve caught 60 lb bull sharks on 20 lb also.
I recently watched a youtube vdeo of a guy catching a bunch of bass with nothing but raw oblong blocks of wood with treble hooks. And, I've been fishing 55 years, always used basic freshwater and saltwater spincaster rods and reels with mono line and caught probably 40,000 fish ranging from everything from pan fish to 1000 LB sharks. If blocks of wood attract fish to bite, I just don't see how line being visible to fish can be that terribly significant if fish are hungry or in a reactionary mood.
All very interesting. One item you didn’t mention in your comparison was that Fluro sinks and Mono floats. I’d be interested in a test as to how Mono & Fluro affect a slow sinking light weight artificial (1/16oz Owner twistlock with a z-man jerk shad). Most already know that Mono is much better for top water but does the Fluro help or hurt the action of a slow sinking bait?
In my personal experience in the surf, I lost a lot of sinkers with flourocarbon even when casting. Mono stretch and in my opinion it's more abrasion resistant. Hell I even cought big permits and bonefish with 20lb and 30lb mono.
Yep, fluoro stretch less. That can be of importance if your spool is 100% full of mono or fluoro, but if you use it only as a leader it doesnt matters the stretch, 5 or 6 foot of lenght doesnt make any difference.
It is superior. Have done my own tests on the water. Flouro gets shredded way easier when fishing through the rocks and the like. Went back to big game in the end. Only use flouro for deep cranking. I hate its lack of knot strength compared to mono and braid
In the salt water, I have gone to 100% mono leaders as standard, however, I do have a spool on board in the case I do have ultra clear water. I have been fishing freshwater bass for 30 years and there is no doubt that fishing lethargic fish in ultra clear water, the line matters. I used to use 8lb, mono as leader line when finesse fishing. I fished a certain lake in my area that had gin clear water and struggled for years. When I switched to 5lb flourocarbon - it was literally night and day difference. My personal opinion is matters far less when you are fishing moving baits, when you finesse lethargic fish that don't really want to feed, you need every advantage, and more line invisibility does ABSOLUTELY make a difference.... ABSOLUTELY.
The invisible part of floro is UV refractive index, water has a value of 1, flouro has a value of 1.1, mono has a value of 1.8 - 2.1 on the surface of the water, top water or dry fly fishing, dry fly fishing I use a mono leader with 18" to 24" of tippet. Line stretch and sensitivity are my big questions.
I've pretty much ditched all my braid and flouro for just plain old mono. Sunline supernatural and Berkeley big game. Easier to fish, more durable, and I still catch them. Only thing I still have braid on are my spinning surf rigs that sit in sand spikes just so I can set them tighter, but they will probably be getting swapped to mono soon.
You talked about losing less fish on mono vs flouro …. One thing to consider is stretch as mono stretches more than flouro and that may be a big factor that folks need to think about when making a choice between mono vs flouro
What if visibility isn't the factor that matters? What if it has more to do with which line type makes the most "noise"? Fish are more perceptive of vibration and movement than visual stimulus.
Luke do your vision line test while catching fish and please explain your interpretation of clear water, 2ft. 8 ft. ? etc... Check pure braid too please. Thank You!
Well, the IGFA does have strict requirements when it comes to certain tournaments and records. According to the IGFA TH-cam channel, more records are lost due to leader/line not testing within spec than any other reason. I think it can test under, but can only test over by a very small amount. If the line is not IGFA certified/tested, and you are going for records, it doesn't matter. Those lines tend to test well above their rating. I would be curious to see Luke and Joe fish the same lures and the same technique for a week together using like a 20 lb leader and a 50 lb leader of the same type/brand to see how much it matters. As you said, fish see treble hooks and all sorts of other things not in their diet, and they are biting. So does a larger diameter leader matter that much?
The only time I have seen a major difference between mono and fluoro is in crystal clear water, dropping oatmeal fish balls, for yellowtail snapper. Being inshore fishermen, my friends and I were using our own rods topped with 5 yrds of mono at a similar diameter and could not buy a bite, as everyone else using the rental rods spun with fluro, were hooking up on every cast. We grabbed rental rods with fluoro, after the mate strongly recommended it, and it was an instant difference.
Is Stren made in the U.S? That stuff is way less expensive, both mono and fluorocarbon! I'd like to see the tests using Stren!!!!! You guys are awesome!!!!!!!
Some light bounces off of the surface of the line. That’s reflection….like a mirror. Some light will pass through the line. That’s refraction. Like a lens. Both will play a role with translucent fishing line.
I love this information, especially because I’ve never been willing to pay for fluoro! Have you done any tests on mono leader vs mono main lines? I would assume mono leader would be very similar to big game trolling mono in terms of stiffness vs say a more supple Ande back country. Thanks!!
I might be wrong here, but isn’t the benefit of fluoro (compared to mono) that tying line to line knots you get a better connection because it ‘bites’ into the fluoro compared to mono
Roderick Bryant I think the same thing mono has too much give to it especially in the lower line weights. I think that setting the hook once greatly weakens the line
Strength testing add a large weight say 1-3 pounder tie off a say 2 foot length of line with loop at end where weight is attached, drop weight off and after say 10 drops(or 150 to see where it finally breaks) measure stretch. Will give good idea if will hold up over time. Visibility, maybe something like different bottoms even fake grass and so on.. Hey will be fun to see what happens-keep up the nice work aka videos among other stuff.
I always laugh how all the native Florida guys say you HAVE to tie your lures to your line with a loop knot because if you use a Duo-Lock snap (just a snap, NO swivel) it will spook the fish. HAHAHAAAA! I’ve been using Duo-Locks since I moved down here 18 months ago from NY and I catch as many or more fish that guys fishing next to me. Same with leaders. I use Trilene Big Game mono. Works fine.
Certain situations I will use fluorocarbon over mono but I have confidence in both. For example we use fluorocarbon over mono when I'm night fishing near a light over the water example a bridge or somebody dock. Where the light casts over the water creating Shadow lines. My experience with fluorocarbon has less light refraction from an artificial light source over the water. Especially when you're lying those from the dark the shadow line into the lighted area less seen by the fish then mono filament. I'm not saying monofilament will not work in that situation brighten my experience of 45 years or more. My hit ratio goes up using fluorocarbon instead of mono in those situations tightlines everyone.
While I would agree with the thickness argument, Floura stretches less when the hook is set (floura actually stretches more at highter tensions), althought I think the difference is in the negligable range. Please dont say a line is invisible if you can see it in the water. The fish eye is not the same as the human eye.
Fly fishermen are not leader weight centric. Fly fishing tippet as the leader is called has an "x" rating designation and it includes both breaking strength and diameter. A test I would love to see is abrasion resistance of Rio's best Flouro vs their best mono at the same "x" rating for example Rio sells mono in 2 categories plain Powerflex and Powerflex Plus as well as plain Flouroflex and Flouroflex Plus. Presently Powerflex Plus is the strongest of the 4 in breaking strength but I suspect that the Flourflex Plus has more abrasion resistance. Something you cannot take into account with your testing equipment is the effect of water and the adherence of "dirt" in the water on the abrasion resistance. A spaghetti noodle is brittle until it gets wet. I wouldn't be surprised if water and dirt didn't both change the abrasion resistance of these leader types.
Hello Yall, can you do an abrasion test on flouro vs mono rubbing over braid, simulate getting sawed off on the charter boat on a hot fish. I grew up in north florida, now in san diego, so i started with Ande. Can you try Ande vs Izorline for us? People here prefer the Izor for conventional reel casting. Thank you
its not about humans seeing the line underwater ive been studying line for year and first thing u must ALWAY REMEMBER AND I STRONGLY REMIND YOU YOU MUST ALWAY ALWAYS REMEMBER fish see diffrently to us they can see 3/4 of the light spectrum way more than we can see so i recomend u do a test in salt water then get a white light yellow light ir light red light blue light uv light green light and last of all a thermal camera by doing this u get an understanding of what most fish see hope it helps GOOD FISHING GUYS
That's nice of your buddy to film you, but you might want to think about getting a tripod. I feel seasick. Otherwise, I say thanks for the excellent information.
P line xx strong works the best I have this line for the past 20years in bass tournament’s you will break your rod before you break the line I know because I did it hung up 15 lb test all purposes
I've heard that monofilament degrades faster in the sun/UV light compared to fluorocarbon. I don't know if that makes a difference since most people change their leaders every trip.
My experience has been the opposite. Fluoride seems to become brittle quickly and I find I have to replace it much more often. With mono, if it isn’t overstretched or roughed, then it’s good to go.
Pline CXX is the strongest line per diameter. Way thinner than an equivalent flouro line. A typical inshore rod will break before 12 lb CXX. Just change your leader frequently and retie frequently. Most fishermen use way too heavy leader just so they don't need to change it. It's just laziness. Change it every 2 to 4 hours or so.
well those who use mono/fluoro mono (rather than steel wire) for pike fishing have to go for 0.5+ mm diameters purely for sufficient protection against pike teeth, even though strength-wise it's more than anyone would need. and even that is sometimes not thick enough.
Well for toothy fish you need to go bigger. But still CXX is a good choice. Tougher and stronger than flouro of the same diameter. I've just lost too many fish on flouro. It's fragile and breaks at weird times. It does not like to be bent. I'm not sure whether there is truth to flouro being less visible, but I think the best way to be less visible is to use the thinnest line possible. That would be CXX.
I've been fishing before fluorocarbon or braided line ever came out. You think we didn't catch fish before the invention of fluorocarbon. See my point a matter of fact I ran out of fluorocarbon snook fishing last week. But I had some mono in the same pound rating that I was using for my leader with fluorocarbon. I switched up and continued to catch Snook in the 34 to 38 inch range the rest of the evening along with some puppies. But when they get line shy before the invention of fluorocarbon I would use triple fish multi-colored mono made in Germany it's almost like fluorocarbon multi colors kind of fall out of like Spectrum a little better. Tight lines
Every company says the same "more abrasion resistant, more casting distance, 100% invisible..." Such a liars. Thanks for doing this, now i only use Mono for leaders.
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Not really a fan of the insider club sign up marketing. Clicked on link and it felt like a complete 180 from how you conduct your videos. I was interested in joining to support your channel but my spidey senses are going off with all the inflated value numbers cited in each “what you get category”. Sorry, not trying to poop on you guys just a big turn off. Still a fan of your videos.
Thanks for the feedback, Kokot. We've spent well over $1,000,000 on everything inside the private community (from the build-out of the private online club, to paying the pros to share their best tips on camera, to all of the 800+ private videos - the ones you can't find here on TH-cam, to the trend analyzer software, etc). So the value shown is crazy low when it compare it to what it could cost you find all of this information and shortcuts yourself. Hope to see you in the Insider club! If not, then get those spidey senses re-calibrated!
I fish fresh water almost exclusively for bass. Even fished pro 25-30 years ago and made a couple BASS Masters Classics. I don’t like fluorocarbon line but you can’t find a bass angler that will be honest about it. Thanks for being straight up and honest about what’s what.
I don’t like fluorocarbon line either or any marketing gimmicks for that matter. Whether I am fishing for bluegills or tarpon, nothing but mono for me.
Glad to see my favorite good old Ande leader holding up. My on water experience was fluro is over priced junk. The marketing behind it was strong but I had nothing but trouble. It’s just too stiff, knots wouldn’t hold, one tiny scrape/cut and it snaps. I fish for snook and reds under docks and mangroves, very heavy cover - fluro simply fails too much. Mono is softer and more supple, it gives instead of snapping - bend not break is the name of the game with leader.
Visibility? HA! The name of lure is printed on it, there are hooks right there, if fish cared about such details you would never catch a single one on artificials. The bites are mostly reaction strikes, the fish has to make a split second decision: fight or flight. They either grab the lure or spook off. If anyone thinks the visibly of line in that second matters then they are fools. Now with live bait in clear water a less noticeable line may hold advantage but even then it’s maybe 5 vs 3 hook ups?
Forget price - the differences between mono and fluro are just too small yet the risk too big. Don’t loose sleep over it, just go with 30# mono leader for 80% of inshore fishing (trout, reds, snook) with lures. Sometimes heavier or lighter line is required, but just say no to the fluro hype machine.
Have you considered sink rate?
I used to fish for Snook in FL from bridges, you need stronger line right? I used an ancient Star 39-B 10 foot stiff fiberglass pole, an Ambassadeur 7000 C-3 with straight 100 lb mono, an ounce and a half flare hawk, hooked about a 40 lb Snook, she sawed thru the mono like it was . . . well you know. It was fishing. Florida is ruined now too many international people there now, it'll never be the same. Funny that's what the park ranger in Everglades National Park told me in 1968, bring the flag when you leave.
Excellent Video. Sadly I was one who was duped into thinking and believing that Fluoro was superior to mono line. I recently bought a 25yd spool of High Seas Brand Fluoro for 110.00TTD (15.97USD) specific for tying lures for inshore fishing near mangroves where there are tree stumps and other hidden branches etc. I have used Fluoro before. Prior to that I was using good ole cheap mono that paid 7USD for a 100m spool. I have not observed any difference between the both in hook ups or line failure or knot failures. All the lines or lures I've lost were due to snagging on trees from bad casting. Personally, its easier to tie knots with Mono than Fluoro. Fluoro is just more rigid due to its higher density. Am gonna go back to my monofilament. Thank you for this Excellent Video!!!
I've learned so much from these guys. Thanks from a weekend fisherman from Tampa.
Granted, I am a trout, fisherman in streams,, but my total set up for lines and leaders is basically the same thickness of diameter from reel to hook , made up of mono the fluorocarbon debate on invisibility to me is a marketing ploy, I say that because there’s nowhere on this earth where there is water as crystal clear as a glass of drinking water and even that water is dirty before it’s treated stay with mono you’ll get to stretch if you have the right rod, you’ll have a better day on the water rods do make a different With the right line. Thank you, gentlemen you do a great job. Keep up the good work.
Appreciate the information. I buy the expensive fluorocarbon thinking it was better then mono because I’ve listen to ppl saying it’s better and then I switched over to Mono leader this past weekend and didn’t see any difference while catching fresh water fish. You Save me money 💰. Thank you.
couple of weeks ago, I went deep sea fishing in Dana Point, CA. My son was using standard mono dropper setup and I was using fluorocarbon leader(25lb). We were standing side by side, he caught more fish on the mono than I did with the fluorocarbon. But also release all the fish that we caught. Not if that is luck or in the right spot, I was happy for him on his first time, but I do prefer using mono over fluorocarbon, price wise...thank you. Love you site....
New England freshwater fisherman here. Pike, bass, and trout are my main targets. But I also love getting into the salt and going for big blues, stripers, and anything else that will bite. I exclusively use mono leaders. Generally cheap Big Game. Most of the water I fish has 8+ feet of visibility, and fish still bite with no issues. One thing I love about mono is the shock absorber quality it has, it adds more forgiveness to a braid to leader set up.
I am a beginner,I have learned a lot from you and your honesty,thank you guys 👍
Really like the message of this video. Going to all mono now. Makes total sense
In terms of visibility, I find that I can use a slightly smaller size mono. The most important thing with leaders is what are you tying them to? If it is braid and I have flouro on and get a hard strike, I often lose fish immediately. I find that the extra STRETCH of mono leads to less immediate breakoffs and also work as a shock absorber when fighting a fish. This is why I could fight a 12 lb redfish with 6 lb trilene XL unexpectedly one time in the St. Johns when I was bluegill fishing out of a canoe. I went the flouro route for a while and still use it if I am spin fishing for mangrove snapper for the better sink rate, but now prefer mono. Also, I noted the diameter discussion. Fly line tippet is organized by diameter and listed to the tenth of a pound.
Did you do abrasion resistance under water? Flouro has never liked heat, hence why it is stressed to make sure your knots are wet when you tie because it weakens.
great idea.
And cold weather
Still the same.
Lubrication from water actually helps sand paper cut better. I would wager that it fails even faster.
When the water is room temperature or higher all summer it's a non issue.
How did the flouro companies get away with that lie for so long? Why hasn’t anyone tried to sue them for false advertising?
I had a 3-5kg rod set up with a 8lb mono only line to the the lure attached via a 6 turn uni knot. I hooked into around a kingfish that was over 5kg. The rod couldn't handle it (The rod was in a U shape) as i had to take steps back and reeled in as i walked forward again to bring the fish in it and i was pulling that hard i notice how the mono was acting as a nice shock absorber. The line only broke off when the fish darted under the pier and against the pylon after i managed to get it to the pier. To me this shows me that having a fluoro leader isn't necessary and a gimmick, the mono and knot punched way above what it was rated for. Taught me a lesson that leaders are not worth it, and that i need a damn net lol
Only speaking for myself ... Personally i notice a difference in sensitivety in the flouro compared to mono. Sheepshead fishing you have to set the hook hard in most cases and less stretch in combat fishing!
I love this debate. Some people get set in their ways and can't be moved to the other side even when provided with the facts and evidence. I just want the best performance for the least amount of money. Can't wait for the upcoming tests!
More world records have been caught on Ande than any other fishing line. I have the same results you have stated in your video regarding abrasion resistance. For the most part, I use mono as my leader now. I got my Captain’s license in 1995 and have been lucky enough to fish with some truly amazing Captain’s and sportsman. Commercial fishing is a whole different ball of wax, but when it comes to tournament Captain’s that are hired guns for big boats, they leave little to chance. Most fish mono for their mainlines. Even using 200lb mono for leaders.
Andes was always my go to. No stores carry it anymore but I do use spectra on almost all my reels now with top shots or short leaders. Heavy mono I'd use izorline
I do a lot of inshore fishing in SoCal. As far as the number of bites are concerned, there is no difference between flouro and mono, but "surprisingly" flouro breaks more often than mono! Dont waste your money on flouro.
Never have and never will..nothing but mono for me
YES! I’m terrifically interested in this testing. I used to fish 40 years ago when the only choice was mono. I caught plenty of fish. I quit fishing for various reasons and just recently decided to pick it up again. Now I’m faced with all this new technology at a much higher price with no idea if it’s better or not. If you buy into the hype and marketing crap then apparently all the line, lures, and techniques from the old days really didn’t work that well and it’s so much better now. I intuitively and empirically just don’t believe it, but I have a science background and I’m really interested in any kind of testing to prove/disprove what I’m hearing from so called experts.
Stick with what was working for you, the fishing industry is a scam.
Luke, you are totally right.
Diameter is absolutely more important that the "stated breaking strength." It's true that we are used to saying "hand me over some 50 lb" but the ratio of the strength vs the diameter is probably the most important factor along with abrasion resistance.
If I am buying some leader, I need to know if I am really buying 50lb line (which is .70mm) or if I am really buying a 60lb line (which is typically .75mm) that is being advertised as a 50lb line.
The state breaking strength is total BS (especially in braided lines.)
Fishing Line manufacturers should advertise their products by their diameter size (like the PE rating in asia and the rest of the world) and include their actual breaking strength and diameter.
A PE rating of 2.0 (which is a diameter of .23mm) has a breaking strength of 40lbs (which is more than enough for any inshore spinning reel as most of us use a leader.) This is the "typical" 20lb braid they sell in the US.
Manufactures vary their stated specs by a large margin. Check out the INSANE facts.
Spiderwire's 10lb braid is .20 mm in diameter
Power Pro's 15lb braid is .19mm in diameter
Berkley X5 30lb braid is .20mm in diameter.
All of them typically break around 37 to 40 lbs.
Truth: They all have a PE rating of 2 based on their diameter and break at approximately 38lbs.
When you buy a reel and you have to fill it up with braid how much braid do you really need and what diameter?
Here in the US we only get the ancient 3000 and 4000 size reels with line capacities that we will NEVER use. The spool sizes for all of the reels sold in the US are appropriately sized for mono or using braid of similar diameter (that we will never need or use.)
Most of use need no more than 150 yards for our spinning reels and we have to basically put some mono backing to prefill the spools.
This is why I buy JDM reels with spools that are appropriate for braided line capacities (or downsize the reel to 2500s.) I just purchased the Shimano Exsence BB (150 dollar reel Stradic quality but with the Darth Vader look) with a 3000M spool (M for medium shallow spool) that perfectly fills the reel with approximately 150 yards of .23mm of braid.
No nylon backing for me and I know exactly what kind of braid I have to buy.
Anyway, sorry for the long message. Keep up the great work.
Thank you for the support and for the feedback!
Here's one for you. Saw it on reddit, and can't find it anymore.
Repeated stress.
Apparently, when you approach breaking strength of fluoro, it's weaker everytime after that. Mono has much less reduction in strength with repeated stress.
The tester set up a rig to test max strength of a line before it breaks. With a new sample off the same spool, he brought it to 90% of break strength. Release tension. Then did it again.
More often than not, fluoro would break at 50-60% of rating after one or two stresses. Mono would approach that 90% 10 to 15 times.
Thanks for sharing!
@Salt Strong no prob! Idk how valid the results were, there was a video on it, but who knows. Worth looking in to?
"No stretch" or "little stretch" is a main selling point in the freshwater fishing market. Testing stretch in fluorocarbon vs monofilaments would be an eye opener.
If you're fishing lures with treble hooks.......especially when hooking a large, heavy, or powerful fish......MONO BECOMES YOUR BEST FRIEND. That stretch literally complements a smooth drag setting, and helps keep the fish buttoned up to your hooks. My fourth and most recent 12 lb bass was caught using a small #90 Whopper Plopper. I was using 12 lb Berkley/Trilene Big Game mono on a killer Lew's Pro-G reel. Super smooth & consistent drag. This fish put up a pretty darn good fight compared to other giant bass I've caught. When I lipped the bass, I was shocked: only A SINGLE HOOK of one of the trebles had barely penetrated the softest tissue in the corner of its mouth. The hook practically fell out when I went to un-hook the fish. Just watched a recent video on channel: "Black Tip H". Josh was fishing with a top guide/charter in the area, and they were fishing for giant blue fin tuna. The first 2 fish straightened the hook and escaped. They caught the 3rd fish, an incredibly large tuna. During the fight, the CAPTAIN stated something like: "Mono is KING" or "Mono is GOLD" when fighting these huge powerful monsters. Again: the STRETCH of the mono helped to keep that giant from straightening out the hook. Go watch the video for yourself.
I'd love to see some stretch test with different lines. Applications like spinning outfits where braid manages and casts superior you still need a leader most times for some shock absorption and abrasion resistance, but when the leader is say 3 to 6 ft long how much stretch or absorption is that really doing? I guess the goal is for the leader to stretch enough to allow the fish to really get a good swallow and to also keep it pinned during a fight. But also factor in a heavy fish next to the boat, I've had stiff leaders work great for steering the fish close and allowing you to grab the leader then the fish but those leaders don't seem to have good shock absorption in shorter lengths. And I've had stretchy leaders work excellent for never missing a bite and keeping them pinned but when it's time to land the fish if you touch that leader while a big fish it on you get snap!!! So maybe some test of seeing stretch length under a specific load, but also while under load see how much additional force you can put on it to simulate grabbing the leader to steer the fish.
I have seen many test where flouro has barely less or equal to mono stretch
I bought some contra mono 12lb and 17lb this weekend because it says low stretch. I can't even get the 12 lb to stretch and had less memory than my Subline 14lb sniper. Cast really smooth as well. Yeah it absorbs water and UV more but it's $6 for 300 yards. I'm not deep cranking with it and use braid to flouro for my jigs so I see no reason to spend $25-$30 a spool.
I've fished everything from big game to tatsu. The cheapest to almost most expensive, different blends for specific applications, etc... and flouro definitely gets the most random break offs. Could be from abrasion, knots, shock whatever. But if you take almost any 20lb flouro no matter the price point and you snag, it's not hard to break off if you wrap it around your hand and pull till the snap. Lol I've fished berkely big game surf fishing for years and when you snag 20lb, you literally have to wrap it around your body start walking up the beach, and use your body weight to snap the line thats snagged. It's insane how much it takes to break such a cheap line. It just keeps stretching and stretching and never let's go. Flouro is just brittle, even in high lb test. But it has its place like sensitivity when paired with braid for bottom contact baits.
Thanks for the feedback and tips!
Thanks for going to the effort of comparing nylon mono filament with polyvinylidene mono filament under practical scenarios. Marketing has clouded the advantages and disadvantages of flourocarbon over nylon, manufacturers know that fishermen will pay dearly for any perceived advantage over the fish and use this to increase profits. Flouro is less visible and sinks a bit quicker but under actual fishing conditions I have found no difference in strike rate between the two. Saying that I still use flouro traces for most fish simply because it appears harder to see underwater to me, in very deep water and around the rocks I use nylon.
Excited to see the results of mono leader vs flouro leader vs flouro main line and mono mainline if possible
It's funny. Reading these comments is like debating religion. I switched from flouro to mono (the cheap monster spools of Berkley Big Game you can get on Amazon for like $5-6) and haven't noticed a bit of difference. I bought the berkley in 20 lb, 25 lb and 30 lb and just reuse my old 150 yd spools from my Power Pro and spool 30-50 yds of the Berkley on it, put a rubber band around it and keep those in my tackle bag. Problem solved. Thanks guys for saving everyone money
this is what I do. the price of fluorocarbon is rediculous
So glad to see this content challenging preconceptions. Here in NW witnessed braided dacron direct tied to a jig catch a 6# silver salmon . It relaxed my worry about line shy propeganda in line advertising.
You guys need to hug after this video I can feel the tension like me and my brother get lol
Refraction is how the light is distorted passing through the line and reflection is how the light reflects off the line. Sauce: ima a mechanical engineer. My guess as to what this means in the field is that similar refraction is better with structure or a "backdrop" behind the line. Reflection is likely important in any situation that has clear water and sunny skies. Another negative to floror that I've heard of (probably from marketing BS) is that flouro acts like a fiber optic and carries the light from the surface down to your terminal tackle if you use all flouro. Id image mono does the same given how similar it is. Another thing that would be great to test is the stretch of flouro vs mono as I've heard that can make a big difference in landing fish. From what I can remember and what makes sense is flouro came out as the first real alternative to mono then braid came out as a more extreme version (thinness for casting and sensitivity/lack of stretch). It sounds to me like after braid came out that flouro manufactures were scrambling to find a place for their line and started to market it is as better knot strength, visibility, and abrasion resistance than braid and better sensitivity and castability than mono. just my 2 cents feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!
Edit: Also hardness plays a factor. Testing a polymer line against ceramic sandpaper in air vs a fish's mouth underwater might skew your conclusions.
these guys are the epitome of brothers with the little jabs at each other
Great content and thank both of you for your dedication and hard work for all your insiders and others!
As I’m beach caster hitting distance our shock leaders are always mono for a good reason. Line & knot strength especially over dirty ground! Berkley TriLine I find has terrible memory issues. Leader generally go for is Sufix or one called Greased Weasel here in the UK
I’ve noted FC is more smooth and reflect more light giving extra light flash compared to nylon. Especially on a pause your line will start to twist again like on your reel : if there’s a bright sky and enough penetration you can see the small reflections/flash occurring. Fish see them sometimes, so i use only nylon mono teinted green of grey and want to test pink.
Just 1 more thing re: fluoro vs mono; I have watched videos from pros saying mono floats (use for top water) vs fluoro sinks (use for below surface) is there any truth to these statements?
No, mono also sinks, but at slowly rate.
Awesome video and great information. Can’t wait to see the testing to come !!
when will u compare copolymer to mono??? pline and momoi diamond make great coplys for mainline and leader in my experience they are better than mono in every aspect i would love to see the tests u guys do with coplys as far as abrasion and visibility
Wow! So interesting. Many professional bass fisherman talk like crazy about fluorocarbon (like Sunline Super FC Sniper ) over mono and I have clearly “bought” into that knowing that their success depends on catching Bass (and also knowing that all are not sponsored by Sunline).
You are going to save me a boatload of money!
Also funny how many commentators have “always known” there was no difference in lines. Ya, right!
Be well.
Always figured there was no difference and was skeptical ever since they started pushing that pricey gimmick..and if there was any difference I’d still never fish anything but mono leaders..go through way too much leader line to afford something that costs up to 100% more which tells me the mono always worked just fine.
I like this scientific inquiry being applied to fishing. Got yourself another sub.
Thank you guys both for answering the Age old question....
This is an excellent presentation and is exactly the reason you’re enterprise is prospering. Thank You! I do have one question as I’m a total beginner when it comes to saltwater fishing. In bass fishing a jig or worm, when I switched from mono to straight fluoro many years ago the difference in feeling a subtle bite was dramatic. However I’ve never fished that technique using braid with a leader. Two questions actually. First how important is feeling the bite in saltwater for species such as trout, snook, flounder, etc? Secondly when using braid as the main line, is there any noticeable difference in feel when using a mono leader vs a fluoro leader? I look forward to your input. Thanks and have a spectacular week.
Good video, have you guys investigated stretch between one line and another?
I believe that today's nylon mono is much better than it was 10 years ago and is not given it's due respect. The only real reason I have for being interested in fluorocarbon line is that it is supposed to be nearly impervious the the environment, UV rays and ozone that is supposed to decay nylon mono. This makes it good to use as a leader for my braid main line.
hello my friends I have a question? ANDE monofilament line is the same as ANDE monofilament leader material !! I can use the ANDE line as a leader material
Thank you for your question! We have a massive library of fishing tips on our website along with a search feature to let you quickly filter down to find help you're looking for, so just go to www.saltstrong.com/ and use the Search feature in the top menu.
Maybe a silly question, but did you compare or do the same abrasion test with the monofilament line vs monofilament leader to see if they break at the same time?
This is an absolutely excellent video thank you
Hey guys stretch is another factor in mono and flurocarbon. Using lighter Fluor for steelhead noticed seaguar max had very few break offs as compared to other Fluor. Seaguar max is a copolamar Fluor. Trout hunter is also cop
Copolamar and was the other stronger freshwater Fluor. The blue and red seguar is thicker per pound and I believe a different formulation. The two aforementioned seaguar and trout hunter are very springy and hard the break. That’s my two cents. Nice to see u guys testing lines. Bob B
Great video 👍 you’ve reinforced my belief about mono I’ve used Berkley big game for 35 years and have never broken off a fish. I caught a 40 lb jack off of the beach with 15 lb big game. I’ve caught 60 lb bull sharks on 20 lb also.
Nice!! Thanks for watching!
Would like to see same type testing done while in water
I recently watched a youtube vdeo of a guy catching a bunch of bass with nothing but raw oblong blocks of wood with treble hooks. And, I've been fishing 55 years, always used basic freshwater and saltwater spincaster rods and reels with mono line and caught probably 40,000 fish ranging from everything from pan fish to 1000 LB sharks. If blocks of wood attract fish to bite, I just don't see how line being visible to fish can be that terribly significant if fish are hungry or in a reactionary mood.
Vanish is great line, I'm using it for years now and another great aspect is that it has zero memory!
All very interesting. One item you didn’t mention in your comparison was that Fluro sinks and Mono floats. I’d be interested in a test as to how Mono & Fluro affect a slow sinking light weight artificial (1/16oz Owner twistlock with a z-man jerk shad). Most already know that Mono is much better for top water but does the Fluro help or hurt the action of a slow sinking bait?
In my personal experience in the surf, I lost a lot of sinkers with flourocarbon even when casting. Mono stretch and in my opinion it's more abrasion resistant. Hell I even cought big permits and bonefish with 20lb and 30lb mono.
"Hy... Hy... Hyperbalie... Is that right?"
"I don't know."
You guess are hilarious.
RE: mono vs fluoro, one factor you didn't mention is stretchability, doesn't fluoro stretch less?
Yep, fluoro stretch less. That can be of importance if your spool is 100% full of mono or fluoro, but if you use it only as a leader it doesnt matters the stretch, 5 or 6 foot of lenght doesnt make any difference.
It is superior. Have done my own tests on the water. Flouro gets shredded way easier when fishing through the rocks and the like. Went back to big game in the end. Only use flouro for deep cranking. I hate its lack of knot strength compared to mono and braid
Thanks for the insight!
In the salt water, I have gone to 100% mono leaders as standard, however, I do have a spool on board in the case I do have ultra clear water. I have been fishing freshwater bass for 30 years and there is no doubt that fishing lethargic fish in ultra clear water, the line matters. I used to use 8lb, mono as leader line when finesse fishing. I fished a certain lake in my area that had gin clear water and struggled for years. When I switched to 5lb flourocarbon - it was literally night and day difference. My personal opinion is matters far less when you are fishing moving baits, when you finesse lethargic fish that don't really want to feed, you need every advantage, and more line invisibility does ABSOLUTELY make a difference.... ABSOLUTELY.
Is that because of the line size or material? I would be willing to bet 5lb mono would do just as well.
The invisible part of floro is UV refractive index, water has a value of 1, flouro has a value of 1.1, mono has a value of 1.8 - 2.1 on the surface of the water, top water or dry fly fishing, dry fly fishing I use a mono leader with 18" to 24" of tippet. Line stretch and sensitivity are my big questions.
I've pretty much ditched all my braid and flouro for just plain old mono. Sunline supernatural and Berkeley big game. Easier to fish, more durable, and I still catch them. Only thing I still have braid on are my spinning surf rigs that sit in sand spikes just so I can set them tighter, but they will probably be getting swapped to mono soon.
Thanks for sharing!
You talked about losing less fish on mono vs flouro …. One thing to consider is stretch as mono stretches more than flouro and that may be a big factor that folks need to think about when making a choice between mono vs flouro
What if visibility isn't the factor that matters? What if it has more to do with which line type makes the most "noise"? Fish are more perceptive of vibration and movement than visual stimulus.
Also is one type better with memory, line twist, and wind knots?
Maxima Ultra Green #1 - Monofilament
Luke do your vision line test while catching fish and please explain your interpretation of clear water, 2ft. 8 ft. ? etc... Check pure braid too please. Thank You!
I searched but couldn't find the video you mentioned about mono vs fluoro visibility. Did it ever come to fruition?
It's in our list of future video ideas!
lol you guys rock and lots of great info along with it keep it up 👍
Oyster flat fishing with Fluro sux here in Louisiana! It’s not that bad in grass but I often fish both on the same outing so I prefer Mono hands down.
Well, the IGFA does have strict requirements when it comes to certain tournaments and records. According to the IGFA TH-cam channel, more records are lost due to leader/line not testing within spec than any other reason. I think it can test under, but can only test over by a very small amount. If the line is not IGFA certified/tested, and you are going for records, it doesn't matter. Those lines tend to test well above their rating. I would be curious to see Luke and Joe fish the same lures and the same technique for a week together using like a 20 lb leader and a 50 lb leader of the same type/brand to see how much it matters. As you said, fish see treble hooks and all sorts of other things not in their diet, and they are biting. So does a larger diameter leader matter that much?
The only time I have seen a major difference between mono and fluoro is in crystal clear water, dropping oatmeal fish balls, for yellowtail snapper. Being inshore fishermen, my friends and I were using our own rods topped with 5 yrds of mono at a similar diameter and could not buy a bite, as everyone else using the rental rods spun with fluro, were hooking up on every cast. We grabbed rental rods with fluoro, after the mate strongly recommended it, and it was an instant difference.
Thanks for your feedback!
Is Stren made in the U.S? That stuff is way less expensive, both mono and fluorocarbon!
I'd like to see the tests using Stren!!!!! You guys are awesome!!!!!!!
Some light bounces off of the surface of the line. That’s reflection….like a mirror. Some light will pass through the line. That’s refraction. Like a lens. Both will play a role with translucent fishing line.
I love this information, especially because I’ve never been willing to pay for fluoro! Have you done any tests on mono leader vs mono main lines? I would assume mono leader would be very similar to big game trolling mono in terms of stiffness vs say a more supple Ande back country. Thanks!!
I might be wrong here, but isn’t the benefit of fluoro (compared to mono) that tying line to line knots you get a better connection because it ‘bites’ into the fluoro compared to mono
What about the stretch? I have experienced less break offs with fluoro than mono and I believe its because of the stretch advantage.
Roderick Bryant I think the same thing mono has too much give to it especially in the lower line weights. I think that setting the hook once greatly weakens the line
You are talking about 2-3 ft of material in a leader here. Not the main line. The stretch variance over that short of length is minimal if any
I typically use a longer mono leader the lighter i go.
@@bhaubert I typically use 2-3 arm lengths so about 5-6 feet on my main line.
Strength testing add a large weight say 1-3 pounder tie off a say 2 foot length of line with loop at end where weight is attached, drop weight off and after say 10 drops(or 150 to see where it finally breaks) measure stretch. Will give good idea if will hold up over time. Visibility, maybe something like different bottoms even fake grass and so on.. Hey will be fun to see what happens-keep up the nice work aka videos among other stuff.
what we think is the best monofilament mainline resistent at abrasion 0,60-0,70?
I always laugh how all the native Florida guys say you HAVE to tie your lures to your line with a loop knot because if you use a Duo-Lock snap (just a snap, NO swivel) it will spook the fish. HAHAHAAAA! I’ve been using Duo-Locks since I moved down here 18 months ago from NY and I catch as many or more fish that guys fishing next to me. Same with leaders. I use Trilene Big Game mono. Works fine.
Certain situations I will use fluorocarbon over mono but I have confidence in both. For example we use fluorocarbon over mono when I'm night fishing near a light over the water example a bridge or somebody dock. Where the light casts over the water creating Shadow lines. My experience with fluorocarbon has less light refraction from an artificial light source over the water. Especially when you're lying those from the dark the shadow line into the lighted area less seen by the fish then mono filament. I'm not saying monofilament will not work in that situation brighten my experience of 45 years or more. My hit ratio goes up using fluorocarbon instead of mono in those situations tightlines everyone.
I once caught a sailfish just outside the Saint Lucie inlet while reeling in the lines to head home. It struck about 5 feet from the engines.
Nice!
Are you guys still going to do the underwater line test?
I'm a firm believer in Ande pink mono, but never gone offshore fishing in the Gulf, so I was wondering if the Ande would be fine?
+1 for Old School Ande's Mono
Thanks for checking it out!
Would water have an effect on the abrasion test?
While I would agree with the thickness argument, Floura stretches less when the hook is set (floura actually stretches more at highter tensions), althought I think the difference is in the negligable range. Please dont say a line is invisible if you can see it in the water. The fish eye is not the same as the human eye.
I know for slow pitch jigging, mono is no good. You need a florarbon leader for the lack of stretch.
Good insight!
thanks . keep the videos coming
Will do!
Fly fishermen are not leader weight centric. Fly fishing tippet as the leader is called has an "x" rating designation and it includes both breaking strength and diameter. A test I would love to see is abrasion resistance of Rio's best Flouro vs their best mono at the same "x" rating for example Rio sells mono in 2 categories plain Powerflex and Powerflex Plus as well as plain Flouroflex and Flouroflex Plus. Presently Powerflex Plus is the strongest of the 4 in breaking strength but I suspect that the Flourflex Plus has more abrasion resistance. Something you cannot take into account with your testing equipment is the effect of water and the adherence of "dirt" in the water on the abrasion resistance. A spaghetti noodle is brittle until it gets wet. I wouldn't be surprised if water and dirt didn't both change the abrasion resistance of these leader types.
Hello Yall, can you do an abrasion test on flouro vs mono rubbing over braid, simulate getting sawed off on the charter boat on a hot fish. I grew up in north florida, now in san diego, so i started with Ande. Can you try Ande vs Izorline for us? People here prefer the Izor for conventional reel casting. Thank you
I look forward to your picture frame test
its not about humans seeing the line underwater ive been studying line for year and first thing u must ALWAY REMEMBER AND I STRONGLY REMIND YOU
YOU MUST ALWAY ALWAYS REMEMBER fish see diffrently to us they can see 3/4 of the light spectrum way more than we can see
so i recomend u do a test in salt water then get a white light yellow light ir light red light blue light uv light green light and last of all a thermal camera by doing this u get an understanding of what most fish see hope it helps
GOOD FISHING GUYS
That's nice of your buddy to film you, but you might want to think about getting a tripod. I feel seasick. Otherwise, I say thanks for the excellent information.
What about stretch?
I'm,thinking there maybe a difference from, abrasion. V/s. Cutting ,
I'm talking about getting cut on structure
P line xx strong works the best I have this line for the past 20years in bass tournament’s you will break your rod before you break the line I know because I did it hung up 15 lb test all purposes
I've heard that monofilament degrades faster in the sun/UV light compared to fluorocarbon. I don't know if that makes a difference since most people change their leaders every trip.
My experience has been the opposite. Fluoride seems to become brittle quickly and I find I have to replace it much more often. With mono, if it isn’t overstretched or roughed, then it’s good to go.
Mono line best or fluro line for fishing?
Pline CXX is the strongest line per diameter. Way thinner than an equivalent flouro line. A typical inshore rod will break before 12 lb CXX. Just change your leader frequently and retie frequently. Most fishermen use way too heavy leader just so they don't need to change it. It's just laziness. Change it every 2 to 4 hours or so.
well those who use mono/fluoro mono (rather than steel wire) for pike fishing have to go for 0.5+ mm diameters purely for sufficient protection against pike teeth, even though strength-wise it's more than anyone would need. and even that is sometimes not thick enough.
Well for toothy fish you need to go bigger. But still CXX is a good choice. Tougher and stronger than flouro of the same diameter. I've just lost too many fish on flouro. It's fragile and breaks at weird times. It does not like to be bent. I'm not sure whether there is truth to flouro being less visible, but I think the best way to be less visible is to use the thinnest line possible. That would be CXX.
I've been fishing before fluorocarbon or braided line ever came out. You think we didn't catch fish before the invention of fluorocarbon. See my point a matter of fact I ran out of fluorocarbon snook fishing last week. But I had some mono in the same pound rating that I was using for my leader with fluorocarbon. I switched up and continued to catch Snook in the 34 to 38 inch range the rest of the evening along with some puppies. But when they get line shy before the invention of fluorocarbon I would use triple fish multi-colored mono made in Germany it's almost like fluorocarbon multi colors kind of fall out of like Spectrum a little better. Tight lines
Up north when in my 20’s mono caught tons of fish Muskey and pike
Every company says the same "more abrasion resistant, more casting distance, 100% invisible..." Such a liars. Thanks for doing this, now i only use Mono for leaders.
Watched probably 100 vids and still cringe hard every time I hear "like diamonds"... plz stop. Other than that good work! Lol
Good god it’s terrible
Are you guys serious?
Like Diamonds!!!!!!!
Like Diamonds!!!!
I like it 👌