Fluoro…invisible or not? Or does it matter?

Hey all. I read an interesting article in the Winter 2013/2014 issue of In-Fisherman. It was regarding the use of clear lures. The author mentions fluoro line within the article and that is what caught my eye. He mentions that fluoro is just as visible and opaque as braid. I never used my underwater camera to actually look at some fluoro and braid together… so is that true? Has anyone noticed line shy fish with fluoro? Also, some time ago, I recall Doug Stange mentioning that he built a wall out of fluoro in a control tank and the fish swam right into it compared to going around a mono line wall. Thoughts anyone???

-Boogs

I find it hard to believe that any clear line is as visible as braid. From what I have read Fluorocarbon is supposed to be the least visible line.

I saw that article too. It was interesting but I would agree that they have to see braid better than flouro or even mono.

I think this has to be much more complicated than simply comparing the three types of lines. What about water color and chemistry? What time of day is it and at what angle is the sunlight hitting the water? Is it windy, making waves that break up the light before it penetrates into the water? Is there snow cover?

Now my brain hurts….

Rootski

I’m a big believer in Flouro… A few years ago after a Salmon trip where we used flies that instead of wire were made using 30# Flouro. Salmon have very keen eyesight and also big teeth so if it fools them I thought why not try replacing the wire leaders that I’ve been using under tip-ups for pike. That winter I picked up some 30# Suffix Flouro and tied myself up a quick-strike rig… It doubled my pike catch rate BUT an unintended result was my walleye catch rate went through the roof. Spots where I used to think only pike were present turned into walleye honey holes. Not only the quick strike rigs themselves but also I was able upgrade my leaders on both tip ups and rattle reels from 6-8# test to 12-14# flouro without reducing my catch rate which allows me to more easily handle bigger fish. Needless to say after that I also quickly switched all of my jigging rods over to the Suffix Flouro as well.

It seems logical that a clear line would be less visible, hands down. however i have found that in different bodies of water different line produces better than others. Just to give an example I have all different lines rigged on my jig rods in one particular lake when the fish were extremly finicky i would use red line the lake was stained red and it would hands down make a difference in the amount of bites i had. other lakes stained darker fireline would work better and in clear bodies of water clear mono or fluoro would work better. Im not saying thats always the case just what I have experienced. All i know is that you should never try and argue with the fish find what they like on your bodies of water and use it. there is no magic line for every body of water or for even every type of fish. the same can be said for types and colors of lures. either way find what works for you and run with it. just because doug stange, Al linder or james holst use it doesn’t mean it will work for you. alot of those articles are written with sponsers in mind, which is very important to take into account. Good luck out there and let us know what you find out.

Fish must be smarter than me. I guarantee you that if I go to a restaurant and there is a plate of a thick juicy Wagyu meat cooked medium rare, I’m going to eat it. I’m not going to notice if that plate is metal and there is a cord coming from behind it connected to an outlet or if the plate is being held by a bare breasted, pure, fair skinned lass.

…. you lost me after Wagyu.

I’m not sure there is a huge difference between mono and fluorocarbon … but there is with braid IMO.

About 5 years ago there were two boats on Lac Seul (slightly stained water but mostly clear). In our boat was 3 fisherman – all using 10 lb braid. The other boat were 2 fisherman with 8 lb mono. We were both using the same exact minnows and circling around the same structure for 3 hours. Our group of 3 barely caught any fish. The 2 man boat outfished us 5 to 1. It became comical.

A year later I went to Rainy Lake with 2 friends. One guy an experienced fisherman and the other a rookie. Me and the experienced guy told the new guy basically how to fish! However, the new guy had a pole with mono and we used braid. Same thing, he outfished us by a huge margin and didn’t even know what he was doing.

After these two experiences I still fish with braid but tie on a 5 foot leader of fluorcarbon. Have never felt outfished again.

Fluoro isn’t invisible in water. But it has a very similar refraction index as water. Basically it bends light to the same extent that water does. Like when you’re looking at something in the water and you’re above it, it looks like its in the wrong place. Because of this property of fluorocarbon line, its blends in to the water, sort of like when you wear camouflage while hunting.