fluorocarbon mainline!

[dezza]

I thought I saw somewhere that fluoro used as a mainline can ( in some circumstances) transmit light down it like a fibre optic, or am I going senile in my middle years and getting things mucking fuddled

A few years ago I used to fly fish a lot with a guy called Danny Peet, who although disabled and confined to a wheelchair, is one of the finest still water fly fishers that I know.

One day when I was struggling to get a take and Danny was getting a pull a chuck, Danny mentioned the possibility that the fluorocarbon leader I was using could be transmitting the sunlight down through my leader and putting fish off. Danny was using a sink tip type line to prevent this.

I changed to an ordinary nylon leader and started catching fish!

Yes, I think fluorocarbon can transmit sunlight and scare fish. I have tested this by laying a portion of my leader across to top of the water and allowing a portion of it to sink. It certainly does transmit sunlight, but only when the sun is shining. To avoid this happening, make sure ALL your fluorocarbon line lies below the waters's surface.

That's probably why in coarse fishing, fluorocarbon is best kept for hooklengths.