flouro tippet?

Tallguy said:
My standard answer to this thread, though not a popular one: mono.

Data seems clear that C-F bond chemistries are a bad idea for toxicity, that likely applies to the manufacturing stage of flouro lines. Also, disposable, single use type products should be.. disposable. Lasting for decades and centuries seems a bad idea for fishing lines in general. I have bought exactly 1 spool of flouro in my life, and seem to catch fish just fine.
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I commend and thank you for your commitment to minimal impact and protection of the beautiful playgrounds we angle in.

Granted, flouro can take 7X longer to decompose than mono but...

"It is estimated that monofilament line takes 600 years to break down once discarded! This means that monofilament line can cause problems throughout the environment when it is lost during fishing (e.g., when cutting loose a snagged lure) or improperly discarded overboard."
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wdfw.wa.gov

Monofilament recovery and recycling program

Monofilament line can cause problems throughout the environment when it is lost during fishing or improperly discarded overboard. Learn where you can
wdfw.wa.gov wdfw.wa.gov

So the impact of mono in the environment is also a bad idea.

However since the shelf life of fluoro is also 7X longer than mono I will use it up before it gets brittle so I shouldn't have as many break-offs that leave material in the environment. Also, I won't have to replace it every year which should mean less waste material is being discarded, and I'm probably spending less. YMMV
 
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I like flouro for Stillwater fishing when I want a leech to sink. 8 lb test. I've been using Seaguar, but will buy Sunline next time. For me, it seems that knot strength is more challenging using flouro as opposed to mono. One spool (of pricey) flouro I bought, just would not give me knot strength. I threw it out. I use more care when tying knots with flouro, but I do believe that it is less visible to fish in most circumstances.
 
Tallguy said:
My standard answer to this thread, though not a popular one: mono.

Data seems clear that C-F bond chemistries are a bad idea for toxicity, that likely applies to the manufacturing stage of flouro lines. Also, disposable, single use type products should be.. disposable. Lasting for decades and centuries seems a bad idea for fishing lines in general. I have bought exactly 1 spool of flouro in my life, and seem to catch fish just fine.
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The permanence of fluoro is definitely not ideal. However, the abrasion resistance of fluoro is significantly higher than nylon. I would be leaving far more line and flies (with tungsten beads) in the environment, if I wasn’t using fluoro.

Spend a day nymphing with nylon and then with fluoro. If you compare the tippets side by side, you will be shocked at the difference.
 
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Fishing line left in the wild, just is not good. But the wild has a way of chewing up mono, and flouro line especially over time and inclement weather. That being said..modern braided fishing lines (Spiderwire) have enormous strength and longevity. A few hundred yards of this line can seriously do harm to the environment,,, a lily pad on a lake... or a kelp bed. I've encountered this stuff while diving, 250 pound test, almost invisible and hard to cut with a knife. I fish for Bass with braided line, but I do it responsibly. Fisherman using this type of line IMHO, should use extra caution.
 
I've never heard of this "mono" brand of fluoro. Is it good? how does it compare to Seaguar?
 
jaredoconnor said:
The permanence of fluoro is definitely not ideal. However, the abrasion resistance of fluoro is significantly higher than nylon. I would be leaving far more line and flies (with tungsten beads) in the environment, if I wasn’t using fluoro.

Spend a day nymphing with nylon and then with fluoro. If you compare the tippets side by side, you will be shocked at the difference.
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Not to mention that nylon is degraded by UV, which is ever-present when fishing, and you never know by how much until it’s too late. Then you gotta chuck the whole spool.

There’s no free lunch when using plastics, which is why I tend to use fluoro for everything. I lose far fewer flies, and therefore litter less.

I wish they’d perfect biodegradable tippet. I’d happily pay 2-3x more. I probably lose an average of 1’ of tippet per day on a river/creek, and an average of 1-2’ of tippet for every 7 days of saltwater fishing. Not counting how many ends get shoved into pockets to then be thrown away at home.
 
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clarkman said:
Ya just have to get the right kind...
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Why would anyone fish with mono? It is the kissing disease and I do not want to give it to a fish.
 
so we get up in the morning and make coffee in a kitchen full of stuff made in China which has laughable smokestack regulations, and then get into our dinosaur belching chariots and drive to the lakes where we either launch or settle into boats/floats that were made from chemicals that went up through smokestacks, and we should have angst about the half life of flouro? That horse left the barn decades ago..

As to STS, will not use anything else on salmon having never broken a tippet on one, even when having gone down to 12# tied to a specific 'wait, salmon bite that?' #6 fly, sometimes the only way late in September to summon a take...
 
Wayne Kohan said:
I use Seagar mostly, I buy the spools of 4, 6 and 8 pound test for fishing in lakes and hanging my indicator rigs. Love the 4 and 8 pound tests, but for some reason, I can't keep a knot in the 6 pound test. I lose many fish and just get a curly Q back on the end of my line. I've tried clinch knot, improved clinch, and uni-knot with moderate success. I always wet my knot and pull tight slowly and completely. I've been using mostly the 8 pound now. And I've bought a different 6 pound test spool with the same results...... I do better with the non-slip loop knot but it has been an issue too.
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I too have to be very careful in how I seat my flouro knots...especially with lighter tippet. My standard tightening technique is to spit the wraps, and spend a moment massaging the wraps without (or gently) pulling on the tag end. This seems to get the wraps properly aligned, and then just a medium pull on the tag to finish.

My theory is that pulling wraps thru the knot weakens the line...
 
Wayne Kohan said:
I use Seagar mostly, I buy the spools of 4, 6 and 8 pound test for fishing in lakes and hanging my indicator rigs. Love the 4 and 8 pound tests, but for some reason, I can't keep a knot in the 6 pound test. I lose many fish and just get a curly Q back on the end of my line. I've tried clinch knot, improved clinch, and uni-knot with moderate success. I always wet my knot and pull tight slowly and completely. I've been using mostly the 8 pound now. And I've bought a different 6 pound test spool with the same results...... I do better with the non-slip loop knot but it has been an issue too.
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Wayne -
Our sample size is too small to make any kind of definitive statement but I too have had issues with Seaguar 6# fluoro but love their 8, 10 and 12# product.
 
Currently:

• Trouthunter for nymphing/vest (have used Seaguar small spools, it was fine, also used rio, umpqua, again it was fine)
• Seaguar STS for lake work unless I'm dropping down to 4lb or under, which is pretty much never

I think most of the stuff out there--Rio, SA, Cortland, Seaguar, etc.--that is oriented for fly fishing (small spools) is pretty good and not really worth "switching brands" unless your spool is empty and just want to try something else.

If value (cost) is what you're after, I'd try Seaguar STS and respool it onto vest-friendly spools. I think all fluoro kinks a little easier than mono (well, maybe it's just that it's less stretchy, so it's harder to remove the kink). That said, I haven't felt like it's a problem or really has an impact.
 
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