Whats is the intended use for each line?

[fish_eat_sleep]

First of all, I fish a lot so I'm familiar with most approaches, however iv never used fluorocarbon.

Really thinking about it for bass reels this season.. iv always used 12-14# sufix siege for the worm baits (texas, drop shot, stick baits) and then 30-40# power pro moss green for little buck tails, spinner baits, frogs, and so on. The one time I used braid with the Texas rig I didn't do real hot.. sort of blaming the visibility of the line. How many people use braid for this type of worm fishing and how many still use mono? would fluorocarbon be the best of both? (low stretch and low visibility).

Also, I borrowed a buddies crappie gear with Nanofil spooled on. i didn't catch barely a thing compared to my own reel with the alb mono.

I know crappie are a little more line shy than bass but is there any truth to my gut feeling about the solid color of lines especially on sunny days?or am i crazy?

[20lbSloughShark]

Fluorocarbon line is a bit of a mystery to most people, including me. It claims to be the least visible, however, just looking at it, it is the same as mono. It stretches in a completely different way than mono. This is the thing that really confuses me. It has sensitivity somewhere between mono and braid, but it actually stretches more than mono. Mono stretches somewhere around 30%, braid about 5%, and fluoro often comes in at about 35%. It varies by brand, and type though. From the research I've done, it is because it stretches in a different way than mono. While mono is essentially a clear rubber band, fluoro stretches kind of like putty. It stretches, but it has almost no rebound, for lack of a better term. It stretches out, and slowly comes back in. How long, I have no way of knowing. I have heard that this property of fluoro actually makes it weak on stronger fish, because the more you stretch it, the thinner it gets. A lines strength is proportionate to its diameter. While this kind of makes sense, I have my doubts. 10# breaks at about 10# no matter what. The disadvantages I find of fluorocarbon are 1. it is much stiffer, and harder to handle overall. 2. the stuff is just outrageously expensive. It is the second reason alone I don't even bother with the stuff on the spool. I use it only for leader material. If you have braid on your reels now and are worried about fish seeing it, the answer is simple. Add a few feet of mono or fluoro as a leader. For casting and jigging, I have found nothing but benefits to braid. The only use I could have for mono would be in a trolling presentation, and I remedy that with a lighter action rod than you would use otherwise. I doubt braid will scare off too many fish. Chances are you just had one of those days. On slow days, that's when to break out the mono leaders. Otherwise I like to just keep it simple.

[mainbutter]

I go with the best of both worlds: braid main line for strength and fluorocarbon leader for whatever I need. I can use one rod and reel and adjust accordingly, rather than having a dozen specialized setups in my canoe.

If I think the fish are line-shy, I'll use 18'' of 12lb fluoro. If I want bite protection, I'll use 8-12'' of heavy fluoro. If I'm fishing in slop, I'll just tie direct to the braid.

90% of my bass fishing is with braid that is stronger than I need and 12'' of 20lb fluoro. I've got a good chance at landing any pike that hits, I've got better line invisibility than with just braid, and 20lb is more than enough unless I'm pulling up 20lbs of weeds with a 4lb bass.

As far as your concerns about bad fishing days, assume it was a bad fishing day unless you can really employ some trail and error to say that you ONLy caught fish doing X, and you NEVER caught fish doing Y. Small sample size often leads fishermen to come to conclusions that hamper their fishing arsenal.

[20lbSloughShark]

I should add that in my experience braid offers next to no protection against teeth. Some say that fluorocarbon is the most bite proof, but I feel it is about equal with mono. Both fluoro and mono will reasonably prevent bite-offs from pike above 20# strength, but you should really use 40#+ if you go after them exclusively. If you are worried about bite-offs, get "leader material," not just the kind that comes in big spools meant for your reel.