Fluorocarbon Leaders Are Like Discovering Fire
Today's one-two punch when out fishing is using braided line tied to fluorocarbon leaders. You have the best of both worlds. Those two worlds are the strength and smaller diameters of braid, tied to leaders that fish cannot see. Fluorocarbon is significantly more durable and resistant to wear and tear, making it ideal for fishing around rocks, vegetation, and other obstacles. On sunny days and in shallow clear water, fishing with fluorocarbon leaders has increased my hookup ratio.
I fish a lot in kelp forests off the left coast of California. When fly lining anchovies or sardines, they tend to swim straight towards the kelp and down. Fish hear the bait splash into the water and look up. This is where the fluorocarbon has an advantage with its low visibility. Breezing fish like yellowtail inhale live baits and take off like a rocket through the kelp. Here is where the braided line becomes your best friend. Braid saws through the kelp like a sharp knife. Clearly, this configuration has solved two problems, and both lines provide better assurance against line breakage.
Baits For Fishing With Fluorocarbon Leaders
Fluorocarbon fishing line suits a variety of lures, particularly those that anglers use in clear water or when they employ finesse techniques. It's effective for lures like jigs, soft plastics (especially when Texas-rigged), crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and various finesse rigs like drop shots, wacky rigs, Ned rigs, and Neko rigs. While manufacturers often tout fluorocarbon fishing line as nearly invisible to fish, it's not entirely "invisible." It's less visible than monofilament because its refractive index is closer to that of water. However, factors like light conditions, water clarity, and the fish's perspective can all influence how visible the line appears to them. Anglers often favor fluorocarbon for its near-invisibility in clear water and when targeting line-shy species because it is less visible than monofilament.
Depending on who you ask, fluorocarbon is the best option when tying Carolina rigs. There are many perturbations of this rig, but the one commonality is that they are drug across the bottom. The toughness of fluorocarbon resists chipping, scratching, etc., from foreign objects while being transparent in shallow water. Anglers use the Carolina rig for live and plastic baits in freshwater or saltwater, cut, and plastic baits in freshwater or saltwater.
