Trouble With Fluoro 2024

bassmanET reply :

Does anyone use Berkley "Vanish" Fluoro?

I have had 2 big fish break me off at the boat. Both times it was a spinnerbait 3/8 oz on 10lb fluoro, on a baitcaster. I'm using a trilene knot & wetting line ever time I tie on. Does fluoro have a long life (sun and/or sitting on spool for long time affect it)? Drag was set a little to high? I hate losing a fish but, losing my lure too really steams me! Maybe I should pony up & by some better line?

grimlin reply :

I don't hear much good things about Vanish.....Definitely try a different line.

I'm not a big fan of any fluorocarbon myself. I'm looking to try sunline soon...if that one fails me I'll be sticking to P-line CXX.

Shane J reply :

10lb line is a little small for a 3/8 oz spinnerbait. I'd go up to 15-17lb 100%flouro. Doubt you'll have any more break offs. That Vanish is junk.

Craiger12 reply :

I highly recommend P-Line CXX for spinnerbait fishing. No need to mess with fluorocarbon here. CXX has excellent tensile and knot strength as well as incredible abrasion resistance. I am simply amazed sometimes when I don't break off after getting hung up. I only use 10lb CXX for 1/2oz and under, you could go with 12lb, but I don't see any reason to go higher than 12lb. This has got to be one of the toughest lines out there.

bassmanET reply :

I picked the 10lb test for throwing crankbaits, to get maximum depth. Since fluoro sinks can or should I use a heavier test?

When I caught my PB 5.5 last week. Got a huge back lash (hooked the seat next to me, good thing I was alone ooops!) Switched to my spinning reel with 12lb mono. Guess it was a good time for a back lash or would have lost that fish for sure!

NorcalBassin reply :

As legend has it... when you use Vanish, that's exactly what happens to the fish you hook.

Khong Y. reply :

On 10/17/2011 at 6:51 AM, bassmanET said:

Does anyone use Berkley "Vanish" Fluoro?

I have had 2 big fish break me off at the boat. Both times it was a spinnerbait 3/8 oz on 10lb fluoro, on a baitcaster. I'm using a trilene knot & wetting line ever time I tie on. Does fluoro have a long life (sun and/or sitting on spool for long time affect it)? Drag was set a little to high? I hate losing a fish but, losing my lure too really steams me! Maybe I should pony up & by some better line?

You went with Vanish did you. Should have gotten the more expensive Berkley Professional Grade Fluoro. Don't settle for cheap stuff if you don't want to lose your lure.

matstone7 reply :

On 10/17/2011 at 7:25 AM, Shane J said:

10lb line is a little small for a 3/8 oz spinnerbait. I'd go up to 15-17lb 100%flouro. Doubt you'll have any more break offs.

basshunter81 reply :

I use Vanish Flouro and have absolutely no problems with it. Like already mentioned, 10lb test was really light for what you were throwing. Just like any other flouro you must change it out frequently. Be sure to use backing to save money. I like to use cajun red as backing because it makes it easy to see if you’re getting low. It is very easy to try and blame the line. You have to make sure you have everything set up properly and using the appropriate lb test.

rubba bubba reply :

What Norcal said.

baluga reply :

On 10/17/2011 at 10:39 AM, NorcalBassin said:

As legend has it... when you use Vanish, that's exactly what happens to the fish you hook.

Very true! That's why I shifted to Seaguar InvizX

NBR reply :

I've used 12# Vanish for years without a problem!

J Francho reply :

Quote
I have had 2 big fish break me off at the boat.

Short leash, drag set too tight for 10# line. Up the line diameter, change brands, set the drag to 1/3 break strength of the line, or get a net.

The Guy reply :

I had vanish break while casting it stayed on my reel for one outing. I switched to Abrazx and have been very happy with it, I feed it plenty of KVD line conditioner.

Fishes in trees reply :

I've fished 14 lb Vanish for years on baitcasters. I think it is an ok line for soft plastics, medium weight jigs, wacky senkos and stuff like that. I've broke off some fish over the years, but I attribute that mostly to operator error.

Now,with that being said, I don't think fluorocarbon line is a real good idea for reaction baits like spinner baits or crank baits. For spinner baits, I like a tough mono. Currently I'm using 17 lb Stren Dura Tuff. I'll use the same line for throwing square bills, sometimes I will drop down to 14. I very seldom use line any lighter than that on bait casting reels.

Hooligan reply :

On 10/18/2011 at 6:52 AM, Fishes in trees said:

Now,with that being said, I don't think fluorocarbon line is a real good idea for reaction baits like spinner baits or crank baits. For spinner baits, I like a tough mono. Currently I'm using 17 lb Stren Dura Tuff. I'll use the same line for throwing square bills, sometimes I will drop down to 14. I very seldom use line any lighter than that on bait casting reels.

And I, as well as others, disagree. Extremely high strength to diameter ratio, very high abrasion resistance and excellent line behaviour for reaction baits. Crankbaits in particular hit greater depths and have better action on lighter lines, say 10lb Tatsu or AbrazX. Spinnerbaits on fluorocarbon is a no-brainer. In deep cover, and in soft cover, the line stands up much better to the abuse than ANY mono, has better behaviour when pulling fish from weeds and is just generally a better choice than mono.

Most of the issue at hand will be solved with #1 setting your drag properly, and #2 using a line that has better properties than Vanish. Vanish is notoriously low quality line in terms of abrasion and break strength. It's an EXCELLENT walleye line, if not one of the very best, but that is generally applications in which there's little chance of contacting cover with the line, and in situations that diameter to strength is not a huge issue.

@OP check out Bass Tackle Depot right now, they've got Sunline products on sale for a GREAT buy. Excellent introductory, and higher quality, fluorocarbon for a very good price.

dhami013 reply :

Vanish is garbage. I like Stren Flouro, it's not too expensive and it has done well for me.

Coangler reply :

Segaur InvisX is what I use, but P Line CXX is good also. the thing to remember is this. We spend good money on rod and reels and don't think twice about donating tackle to the lake. So, don't go cheap with the most important link between you and lure. TIGHTLINES!

Big-O reply :

On 10/18/2011 at 1:14 AM, baluga said:

Very true! That's why I shifted to Seaguar InvizX

X2 when I have to use fluoro and very happy with it... I changed from a hybrid fluoro, parallelium pro early this year.

Big O

www.ragetail.com

gr8outdoorz reply :

Which Vanish are you using? The Vanish in the blue box is JUNK!!!! WAY too brittle! However, I switched to Vanish Transition last spring and have had absolutely NO problems with breakoff's since

endless reply :

As can see Vanish doesn't have a great following. Like they say try switching over to another brand. If budget is a issue I had no problem with XPS Flouro. If want to break free of Flouro all together. CXX is a nice line. I use it on my buzzbaits.

bassmanET reply :

Thanks for all the input guys!

Yes its the Blue box "Vanish". I knew it was on the light side for baitcaster, using it for crankbaits for maximum depth. I have the same line on my spinning real & also have had a 1 lb. fish break me off. From the replies I've read, I just don't have the confidence to use this stuff. This was my first Fluoro line, thought It would be a good place to start since I never fished it before. Like the the added feel for fluoro & have caught many fish on it. Gonna look for a better line in the spring.

Jason Penn reply :

vanish seems to be a tad bit smaller diameter, so i assume 10# is closer to most other 8# lines.

Hi Salenity reply :

I am using 12# Vanish on 1 rod and I haven't had any problems with it yet. I will say I am very new to Fluoro.

Colton Neal reply :

Make sure to take care of your line and check for nicks frequently. Also change it as long as you take care of it every 3 times you go fishing.

The best knot for fluoro is the double clinch knot.

with 10 lb line be sure to set your drag to about a third of the line weight.

NBR reply :

I've used "Vanish" for years with no trouble at all. I am in NH so as I'm sure you know the lakes are rocky so I do watch for abrasion carefully.

G_money reply :

I've tried many/most fluorocarbons out there and can 100% tell you 95% of them are junk. And another thing I've found through trial and error is you get what you pay for.

Here is the LIST of the ONLY fluoro's I can confidently recommend:

1. Toray Superhard Upgrade Soloroam fluoro--expensive but the best and longest lasting fluoro available, and it's about 60% more abrasion resistant than it's closest competitor Sunline Shooter

2. Seaguar Abrazx--the original company that started fluoro this stuff is great and the abrasion resistant is great--also very managable on spinning gear

3. Sunline Shooter and Sunline Sniper FC Fluoro--they are both very good; the shooter is better but costs more

And the knot you are using is fine for fluorocarbon. A tip to help with keeping the line from cutting into itself when pulling the knot tight is too wet it with saliva and then coat with a little bit of carmex lip balm. Some other knots that work well are the San Diego Jam, Double San Diego Jam, and the knot that Shaw Grigsby uses you can find him showing it on youtube.

Uni knot also works.

Don't use the Palomar with Fluoro.

J Francho reply :

Quote
Don't use the Palomar with Fluoro.

You must mean, "Don't use a poorly tied Palomar with fluoro," right?

Fluorocarbon will really show who can tie a knot and who cannot. If you're breaking off with a Palomar, time to practice your knots. If there's ANY kink or bend in the line after you cinch the tag end, then start over because it's gonna fail.

Smallie on 6# fluoro, with a palomar:

Brown Trout 8# Fluoro, Palomar:

Steelhead, 6# Fluoro Palomar:

Largemouth, 12# fluoro, Palomar:

Drum, 6# Fluoro, Palomar:

Invisx 6 and 8#, Trilene 100% 10 and 12#, Shooter in 20# all work well for me.

SoFlaBassAddict reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 3:23 AM, J Francho said:

You must mean, "Don't use a poorly tied Palomar with fluoro," right?

A Palomar Knot, when tied properly, is just as good as almost any other knot with fluoro. I was having some issues with it before, then I sat down and tied it a bunch of times to figure out where I was going wrong. Watching how Denny Brauer ties it helped out a bunch also. I haven't had a knot failure with it in a long time. Practice makes perfect.

G_money reply :

I'm not going to get into an argument over the best knot for fluoro...everyone has an opinion.

I've never tried the palomar with fluoro, but have seen it break too many times times with other people and heard directly from too many company reps for line not to use it.

If it works for you then that's great. Typically the two knots that are the most consistent performers and the strongest for flouro are the San Diego Jam and the Trilene knot.

i've never had a knot fail on me...but what many fail to realize is that tying the wrong knot (or not tying it well) can weaken the line as much as 10 feet from the knot so when it blows up on the hookset you blame the line when it was really the knot.

Tight lines...and do what works for you I'm not here to argue. I would suggest you experiment a little and find what works for you. And always take time to wet the line throughly and pull the knot/coils down slowly and deliberatley so as not to burn or crinkle the line.

Good luck.

NCLifetimer reply :

As others have said, I would try and different flouro then vanish. I tried it and its ok, but it didn't cast well and would backlash a little on most cast. Thats just my experience thou, others use it and like it. I switched to Berkley trilene 100 percent professional grade and its made a world of difference, long smooth cast and doesn't loosen on the reel during every cast. its twice the cost, but in my opinion over twice the quality.

These are the only two fluoros Ive used, I can't comment on seaguar or the other brands. I can't image a flouro being much better then trilene 100 percent, might try some other brands out of curiosity thou..

J Francho reply :

Quote
i've never had a knot fail on me...but what many fail to realize is that tying the wrong knot (or not tying it well) can weaken the line as much as 10 feet from the knot so when it blows up on the hookset you blame the line when it was really the knot.

I'm trying to get my head around this statement. What part of the knot affects the line further up on the spool?

I'm also a little cautious about claims about never breaking off. I rarely break off. I mean RARELY. Like 3-4 times a year. The break offs that I can't explain come one in one hundred of those break offs. They're almost always user error.

JIGFISHERMAN. reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 4:14 AM, SoFlaBassAddict said:

X2

A Palomar Knot, when tied properly, is just as good as almost any other knot with fluoro. I was having some issues with it before, then I sat down and tied it a bunch of times to figure out where I was going wrong. Watching how Denny Brauer ties it helped out a bunch also. I haven't had a knot failure with it in a long time. Practice makes perfect.

Good video!

I'm not sure why, but I've always bent my line over, and then inserted it into the hook eye, instead of one in, then loop, then back through.

So obvious.

I'm curious though. Why did so many people abandon the old fashioned Trilene knot? It is so quick and easy to tie, and tests as good or better than any other knot I've seen.

Drop Shot Maniac reply :

On 10/18/2011 at 1:14 AM, baluga said:
Very true! That's why I shifted to Seaguar InvizX

Good choice. I've used Vanish but I don't like it. Never lost a fish with it, but it wears out quickly and twists. I currently have a spool of BPS flouro on my rod, but I don't like it either. The Seaguar is the best I've used (and also the most expensive). I'll be going back to it as soon as I'm done with the current spool. I also like the suggestion of using a colored backing. Good idea.

johnD. reply :

I will never buy vanish ,I saw my buddy lose several big snook last year with vanish fluoro leader..Meanwhile I was steady pulling them in with seaguar blue label..I don't mind spending money on tackle , where he would rather go to walmart and save a buck , he paid for it that day.

G_money reply :

On 12/14/2011 at 10:16 PM, J Francho said:

I'm trying to get my head around this statement. What part of the knot affects the line further up on the spool?

I'm also a little cautious about claims about never breaking off. I rarely break off. I mean RARELY. Like 3-4 times a year. The break offs that I can't explain come one in one hundred of those break offs. They're almost always user error.

I never said I've never had line break....I said I've never had a knot fail or line break right near the knot. I'm super cautions when tying my knots. I hooked into a 41 lb flathead when bass fishing with 10 pound seaguar; and it ran towards a dock...well I don't need to tell you how that ended. Lost fish line snapped in the middle like a firecracker.

If a knot is tied wrong it can't twist or kink the line and weaken it right above the knot, but Fluorocarbon being more less supple than mono can weaken much further up the line that the physical kinking that you can see. My general rule of thumb with flouro is if you tie a bad knot or see a kink go up a minumum of a few feet and then cut it there. And if your knots are an absolute hack job get some mono and practice your knots before stepping up to fuoro or you'll lose a lot of fish.

A-Rob reply :

I agree with a bunch of the guys.

10# is too light for a reaction bait like Spinnerbait (also has a lot of resistance in the water)

B/c of the way it feels and how easy it is to detect fish biting a spinnerbait you can get away with using mono or copoly. Same price and will not break.

I fish 15# maxima mono (amazing)

I've also beefed it up to 17# P-Line CX...I like how maxima handles better (casts further)

Finally, Trilene knot is good but I have fallen in love with the San Diego Jam knot. It cinches better for me and I dont get flouro breaking off on me. Best part is san diego jam works great for mono, copoly, flouro and braid! Just alter the # of wraps

Packard reply :

On 12/15/2011 at 12:56 PM, Angling Adam said:

I agree with a bunch of the guys.

10# is too light for a reaction bait like Spinnerbait (also has a lot of resistance in the water)

B/c of the way it feels and how easy it is to detect fish biting a spinnerbait you can get away with using mono or copoly. Same price and will not break.

I fish 15# maxima mono (amazing)

I've also beefed it up to 17# P-Line CX...I like how maxima handles better (casts further)

Finally, Trilene knot is good but I have fallen in love with the San Diego Jam knot. It cinches better for me and I dont get flouro breaking off on me. Best part is san diego jam works great for mono, copoly, flouro and braid! Just alter the # of wraps

Fluoro isn't just for sensitivy. It is the most abrasion resistant and if you slow roll spinnerbaits in rip rap like myself, you will need that quality. Fluoro also has great breaking strength to diameter ratio. I like to use Sunline Super Fluorocarbon and FC Sniper. I use it in 16lb test for everything except flipping, jerkbaits, and topwater. I step up to 20lb test for flip, pitch, and punch. I use mono or copoly for jerkbaits and topwater. But I have fluorocarbon on every setup except one.

G_money reply :

Short fish if you like Sunline FC Sniper (I know I do)...you owe it to yourself to try Toray Soloroam Superhard Upgrade, long name serious performance. It's the most sensitive fluoro I've ever used. And it's WAY more abrasion resistant than other fluoro's. And as long as you don't get a lot of professional overruns it will seriously last a long long time...Give it a try you'll love it. JMO

G_money reply :

On 12/15/2011 at 12:56 PM, Angling Adam said:

Finally, Trilene knot is good but I have fallen in love with the San Diego Jam knot. It cinches better for me and I dont get flouro breaking off on me. Best part is san diego jam works great for mono, copoly, flouro and braid! Just alter the # of wraps

I agree on San Diego jam being the most versatile knot in fishing. I haven't noticed a difference in strength when tying it compared to the trilene knot. To be honest they both work for me. I was tying the double san diego jam with fluoro for a while when fishing jigs, but it takes way too long to tie.

Craiger12 reply :

On 12/15/2011 at 1:05 PM, Packard said:

Fluoro isn't just for sensitivy. It is the most abrasion resistant and if you slow roll spinnerbaits in rip rap like myself, you will need that quality. Fluoro also has great breaking strength to diameter ratio. I like to use Sunline Super Fluorocarbon and FC Sniper. I use it in 16lb test for everything except flipping, jerkbaits, and topwater. I step up to 20lb test for flip, pitch, and punch. I use mono or copoly for jerkbaits and topwater. But I have fluorocarbon on every setup except one.

I doubt you will have abrasion issues with 15# or 17# P-line CXX. No more than you would with flouro anyway.

BasskingKeith reply :

That line is way too light for a 3/8 ounce spinnerbait. The second biggest bass I caught was on a spinnerbait, and I agree with "I Love Bass Fishing" up there ^. Mono is better for spinnerbaits, since spinnerbaits are easily thrown by bass, and thus, you know how that goes. Vanish is good line, that's what I use, just not for spinerbaits.

As for knots, I live by the Eugene bend for fluoro. I used to use the Palomar, until I read an article from Bassmaster magazine. Gary Klein was having the same problem while setting the hook (That's right, a well known pro) as I did, getting broke off and what not. So, someone recommended the Eugene to him, and now it's all I use.

2968

Trouble With Fluoro 2024

related Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic

previous topic

next topic

most viewed Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic