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When it comes to Pennsylvania
trout fishing, rarely do spinner or lure trout fishing and
fly-fishing have something in common. Spin fishing or lure
fishing, of course, is where one swims a lure or spinner through
the water using the reel as the control factor to get trout to
strike the lure. Fly-fishing requires a subtle presentation and
the fly line is the delivery system and control factor to place
the fly in a position to be taken by the trout. So how do these
two vastly different approaches have something in common?
Most of today’s spinning rod
trout anglers are using a monofilament line or leader, of some sort, on
their reels and like wise, most fly anglers use a monofilament
leader and tippet material as well. The use of monofilament line
becomes the common ground between the two very different
equipments and style approaches to trout fishing. So regardless
of your chosen angling style preference, let’s set that aside
for a moment and come together and take a closer look at one of
today’s leading fishing line,
Fluorocarbon line.
I started using Fluorocarbon line
a long time ago. When I first tried Fluorocarbon lines I wasn’t
really sure if the line created an advantage for me, or not. I
experiment by using FC and monofilament lines alternating
between the two in an effort to learn if there was really an
advantage in one over the other. It wasn’t long before I was
using FC exclusively. I would fish with friends and often be
quizzed on why I was catching a few more trout than they were.
“Just lucky I guess” became my standard reply and kept
Fluorocarbon line “my secret” for a long time.
So What Is Fluorocarbon Line
Anyway?
A polymer known as polyvinylidene
fluoride makes up the majority of fluorocarbon fishing lines. It
is a hard polyvinylidene fluoride plastic
formed using a process involving
extreme heat. The material is a closed cell composition meaning;
it is stiff and not porous like monofilament. Polyvinylidene
fluoride is resistant to higher temperatures so it’s able to
stand up to erosion from exposure to various chemicals and gives
fluorocarbon line strength to resist breaking down from exposure
to ultraviolet rays of the sun. The benefits of Fluorocarbon
line is its strength, closed cellular composition, that is to
say water does not absorb into the line the way it does into
normal monofilament, and it’s
refractive index.
Are All
Fluorocarbon Lines and Leaders the Same?
It is extremely important that
you know the answer to this question! No, just because a line
says that it is Fluorocarbon does not mean that it is the
original
Kuhera,
Japan patented Fluorocarbon that I am currently
talking about. Please read
[this article] about why you must be
cautious about what brand of Fluorocarbon you purchase.
What Is “The Refractive Index”?
In my opinion, the best part of
Fluorocarbon fishing line is the
refractive index. Ok, some fancy words I admit, but the
refractive index of an object describes how much light bends
through the object. The refractive index of fluorocarbon line
is nearly the same as that of water. So for us anglers it means
it is nearly invisible when in water.
How Does It Improve My Fishing?
Fluorocarbon is strong, sinks quickly and
extremely abrasive resistant. Because it is virtually invisible
underwater, and, it doesn't reflect light on the water surface,
fish can't see it. These are great advantages, which improves
your catch rate over monofilament.
When using FC line with a
spinning rod, certain advantages come into play right off that
are an important edge to catching more fish. The fact that the
line is invisible is helpful, but more importantly to me, is the
added density of FC line making the line abrasion resistance.
Spinners and especially lures bounce off of rocks, tree branches
and anything else in the water making this style of fishing more
prone to line abrasion. Having a durable line is crucial.
Strikes are more violent with spinners and lures because the
lure is moving when the fish hits it. When that fish strikes you
want the line to be ready and withstand the strike.
Additionally, FC line doesn’t stretch like monofilament line so
hook sets are definitely better. The density of the line helps
the line sink faster so your lures will dive deeper and faster.
Fly-fishing’s greatest advantage
with FC is the refractive index, which makes the line invisible.
I’ve found, especially when clear cold-water fly-fishing, using
fluorocarbon leader material pays big dividends. I would often
wonder if the pattern I was fishing was wrong or do the fish shy
away because they see my line. I have more peace of mind over my
line now and can concentrate on getting my pattern right. My
nymph fishing has dramatically improved because my nymphs sink
faster and look more natural in their presentation.
Another interesting little twist
with the line’s ability to be invisible is, I can use a heavier
test tippet. In the past, when fish got weary, the solution
would often have been, to change to a lighter weight tippet. For
example, if I started out fishing a 5X tippet and fish spooked,
I’d change to a 6X or 7X to lessen line visibility. A lighter
tippet means I had to be more careful with hook set and playing
the fish. Lighter line tends towards breaking more easily. But
with FC line, I can fish a heavier tippet if I want and I don’t
worry about fish seeing the line.
Are
There Disadvantages Using FC Line?
I don’t believe we have reached
the point where anything is “the perfect solution” and I won’t
go so far as to say Fluorocarbon line is perfect. For example, I
have found that I need to be more careful when using certain
strike indicators that can be adjusted by sliding it up or down
the line. Sliding has the tendency to kink the line, much like
using scissors on wrapping ribbon to curl it. It’s better to
take the indicator off the line, move it and reattach it.
Certain knots, like surgeons knots and barrel knots need to be
tied with more care. Wetting the line when I cinch it up the
knot helps secure a better knot. Lastly, it would be fair to say
that this is seemingly a more expensive line. But if you follow
these cautionary steps, the advantages will far out weight these
inconveniences. And also since Fluorocarbon outlasts standard
monofilament by about 4 to 1 actually it ends up being the
better buy in every respect.
Creeks here in Pennsylvania are
primarily free stone streams and Limestone streams. Free stone
streams means, just as they say, stones. Having a line that is
highly abrasion resistant stands to reason. Low stretch is also
important for hard striking trout. And for the fly fisherman why
wouldn’t you want your line to “disappear” in the water.
So Do You Like Ice Cream?
I have this saying I use for the
little kids at dinnertime to help convince them to try something
new. It seems to make sense on other things beyond vegetable at
dinner, too. It goes like this: “Do you like Ice cream? Well how
would you know if you have never tried it?
Fishing is all about trying
things for the sole purpose of bringing up our catch ratio.
Catching more fish is what we all strive for and if using FC
line can help achieve catching more fish then I suggest you try
it. You do like Ice cream, don’t you??
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