Fluorocarbon Leaders: Are they all they’re cracked up to be?

With a few spools of fluorocarbon,
an assortment of hooks, swivels and beads
I can make bait rigs for anything on the spot. 

I remember the first time I was shown fluorocarbon line. It was at the annual sportfishing trade show, which was held in Orlando, Florida that year, and the product was still a year away from general distribution. Rumor had it that it was developed by a Japanese industrialist who was using the material for other applications, but he was also a nut fisherman so he tried extruding it into fishing line.

In its earliest formulations fluorocarbon made lousy line, but one of the properties of the material was interesting. The refractive index was almost identical to water, which meant that it nearly disappears when submerged and that is a benefit for fishermen. So if it was too stiff to be good running line, but was nearly invisible to fish the only option was to offer it as a high priced leader material and that was exactly what it was marketed as. When it hit the stores it was still very stiff. Anything over 50-lb test was difficult to tie knots in and therefore hard to join to mono or braided line, but fishermen like me will try anything that gives them an advantage and it didn’t take long to realize that fluorocarbon did. There was no question that I got more bites using a few feet of fluorocarbon on the end of my line than I did using monofilament leader whether it was clear or tinted.

Fluoro makes bucktails more
effective and this nice fluke is ample proof. 

Fluorocarbon has come a long way since then and the state of the art is Hi-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon and the new Quattro Fluorocarbon. In lighter pound tests it is soft enough to use as running line and freshwater bass fishermen do. They spool reels with 12, 15 and 25-lb. test for fishing finesse baits and sinking lures like plastic worms and tie direct to their lures. Fluorocarbon sinks and has less stretch than monofilament, which tends to float, so using it for sinking baits gives them a more realistic presentation, added sensitivity and improved hook set.

But how about fluorocarbon as leader material, does it really do what they claim? The simple answer is yes! From my experience fluorocarbon provides a distinct advantage in clear and not so clear water and even at night! I’ve proven it to myself so many times fishing mono leaders alongside fluorocarbon leaders and watching the results that I rarely ever fish without the fluorocarbon advantage. Invisibility is not the only advantage fluorocarbon provides. The latest generation is softer and easier to tie with testable knot strength as good or better than mono, it is also incredibly abrasion resistant. It’s just the best all round leader materials you can use. If you’re not using HI-Seas 100% Fluorocarbon or the new Quattro 100% Fluorocarbon you are missing out on bites and that’s a fact. 

You won’t jig many sharp-eyed bluefin
tuna with fluorocarbon leaders. 

Caputi’s Blog Tip: Attach fluorocarbon leaders to mono using a Uni-to-Uni knot. For Grand Slam Braid use a No-Name Knot to prevent the finished knot from slipping. For braid use offshore start by tying a 40 turn Bimini Twist in the braid and then tie the fluoro to the braid with the No-Name to create a simple wind-on leader system.