dezza
Well-known member
Fluorocarbon monofilament lines are now well established in many branches of angling, notably fly fishing, and as hooklengths for carp fishing.
For the more technical minded amongst us, perhaps a few words on terminology and the properties of the stuff might not come amiss at this stage.
The fluorocarbon used is PVDF - Polyvinylidene fluoride - which is only one of a series of polymers which are collectively termed "fluoropolymers". PTFE (Teflon) is another of this group of plastics.
PVDF has a number of advantages when it comes to it's use as a fishing line.
1: It does not degrade in the presence of water or UV light, which is one of the chief disadvantages of nylon.
2: It is much heavier than nylon and as a result sinks quickly and lays straight on the bottom. These are advantages which can be exploited in carp fishing.
3: It is less visible in water! This is certainly the biggest advantage of the lot. One has only to try a few experiments with good quality 100% PVDF and this can easily be demonstrated. The refractive index of water is 1.33. The average refractive index of most nylons and co-polymers used for fishing lines is 1.57. The refractive index of PVDF is 1.42.
I repeat - good quality PVDF!!!
Unfortunately there are lots of lines claiming to be 100% fluorocarbon which are not. If you are now going to ask me which fluorocarbons I should not buy, forget it. I will tell you which you should buy of course. For general work I use "Kryston Incognito" and for fine work: "Scierra C-Thru". Both have been tested for many years by a number of extremely competent coarse and game anglers.
In fly fishing, it is a decided advantage if the leader and tippet material are hard for the fish to see. It is also important that the leader material sink quickly, especially when you are using nymphs and dry flies.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen fish in clear rivers which are spooked by the hooklength, especially when float fishing. I have noticed this particularly on the River Leam and Hampshire Avon. A change to fluorocarbon and bingo, we are back in business again.
A very competent match angling friend of mine changed to fluorocarbon hook lengths and began winning everything he entered. He was particularly successful on the tidal Trent. I don't need to convince myself any more.
So there you have it. A fluorocarbon hook length will help you catch more fish, expecially if used hanging vertically in the water as is done when float fishing.
An now the downside.
Fluorocarbon will not tolerate some of the knots which we have found to be suitable for nylon.
Because it will not degrade, it is for ever, so do not leave any of the stuff laying around in the wild.
For the more technical minded amongst us, perhaps a few words on terminology and the properties of the stuff might not come amiss at this stage.
The fluorocarbon used is PVDF - Polyvinylidene fluoride - which is only one of a series of polymers which are collectively termed "fluoropolymers". PTFE (Teflon) is another of this group of plastics.
PVDF has a number of advantages when it comes to it's use as a fishing line.
1: It does not degrade in the presence of water or UV light, which is one of the chief disadvantages of nylon.
2: It is much heavier than nylon and as a result sinks quickly and lays straight on the bottom. These are advantages which can be exploited in carp fishing.
3: It is less visible in water! This is certainly the biggest advantage of the lot. One has only to try a few experiments with good quality 100% PVDF and this can easily be demonstrated. The refractive index of water is 1.33. The average refractive index of most nylons and co-polymers used for fishing lines is 1.57. The refractive index of PVDF is 1.42.
I repeat - good quality PVDF!!!
Unfortunately there are lots of lines claiming to be 100% fluorocarbon which are not. If you are now going to ask me which fluorocarbons I should not buy, forget it. I will tell you which you should buy of course. For general work I use "Kryston Incognito" and for fine work: "Scierra C-Thru". Both have been tested for many years by a number of extremely competent coarse and game anglers.
In fly fishing, it is a decided advantage if the leader and tippet material are hard for the fish to see. It is also important that the leader material sink quickly, especially when you are using nymphs and dry flies.
I have lost count of the number of times I have seen fish in clear rivers which are spooked by the hooklength, especially when float fishing. I have noticed this particularly on the River Leam and Hampshire Avon. A change to fluorocarbon and bingo, we are back in business again.
A very competent match angling friend of mine changed to fluorocarbon hook lengths and began winning everything he entered. He was particularly successful on the tidal Trent. I don't need to convince myself any more.
So there you have it. A fluorocarbon hook length will help you catch more fish, expecially if used hanging vertically in the water as is done when float fishing.
An now the downside.
Fluorocarbon will not tolerate some of the knots which we have found to be suitable for nylon.
Because it will not degrade, it is for ever, so do not leave any of the stuff laying around in the wild.
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