Monofilament Vs Fluorocarbon

Written by Brian Frawley

Saturday, 22 August 2009 17:57

Well, there is nothing sexy about this article.  Seriously.  But, you know, it is important to know what to use and when to use it.  And, when you're talking about line, there really are some differences that are helpful to understand before you hit the water.   Monofilament also known as mono has been around for well over forty years and has been used for fishing line, and well as used as a leader and tippet for fly fisherman. Mono was harder to see in the water column than the braded line that was used before it. It was revolutionary for fishing as it was easy to create knots, and came in different pound tests for big game fishing on the ocean and bluegills on a small pond. Mono as great as it is, has a big negative, and that is it brakes down and becomes brittle over time when exposed to sunlight. This caused fisherman to have change their lines after a season or two of fishing. Mono breaks down over time and don't think about getting bug spray on it!   Fluorocarbon is a relatively new type of line and is essentially stronger then mono and more dense (abrasion resistant) then mono, meaning it also sinks faster. Twenty pound test line, for example, with fluorocarbon is as strong but its even harder then mono. Because it has a refractive index very close to water it is harder to see in water; it practically becomes invisible. Because of this "invisibility", you are typically able to use a heavier breaking strength fluorocarbon line. It's perfect for fishing in low water fishing conditions as the line is invisible in the water and the disturbance of the line landing on the water is decreased as well. Keep in mind that fluorocarbon is very different than mono in that it does not breakdown when exposed to sunlight. Because fluorocarbon is "slippery" it has one real negative in that it's harder to tie knots. Also, because it is more expensive then mono,it is often used as a terminal leader rig for bait fisherman and as tippet material for fly fisherman. So why would you not want to use fluorocarbon all the time? Because fluorocarbon takes a very long time to break down in the environment, it can become an environmental hazard. If you choose to use fluorocarbon, make sure you don't discard the pieces that you clip off your line when you tie on. For that matter, it's a good idea to collect your regular mono pieces also. The other risk is when you break off a fish, or a snag. This can potentially leave a length of fluorocarbon in the water that will be there a very long time. This poses a risk of waterfowl or diving birds getting tangled up in this broken off line. So if you choose to use fluorocarbon, use a heavier pound breaking strength piece to reduce the possibility of break offs. Keep in mind in all of your fishing endeavors to keep the environment the way you found it. So fluorocarbon does have the advantage of being less visible to fish under water and therefore you can increase your tippet size and reduce the risk of breaking off a potentially harmful length of line. It is more expensive than mono, and it is harder (more abrasion resistant), but, it can become a long term environmental nuisance. Choose to use it wisely!