??? About Fluorocarbon

[KQ700]

I want to use 20lb fluorocarbon for leaders on my tip ups for Pike. Will it work or will I get bit off  all the time?

 

[jchunter]

My buddy and I do and it works good. You just have to be more careful than if your using a steel leader. My buddy pulled a mid 40" Musky out of a hole with no problems 2 seasons ago. I have caught a lot of pike up to 35"on 20 pound flouro with little problems. Just make sure to check your leader after every fish and change it as needed.

 One more thing I found is I get more fish using 20 pound flouro leaders over using a steel leader. Works great when we are in area's with Bass and Walleye compared to if we are using steel leaders. I say give it a try, you should see that you catch more fish. Now if your only fishing for big pike then maybe go up to a 40 lb flouro leader. If your like me and want to catch everything that swims a 20 lb flouro leader is a great compromise.

[KQ700]

I would use 30 or 40lb, but I can't find it in the bigger spools. I found a spool of 20 that I've had so I thought I'd give it a try.

[ryoder]

try the saltwater section of bass pro or cabelas, they will have it in higher lb test in big spools.

[esox_xtm]

I want to use 20lb fluorocarbon for leaders on my tip ups for Pike. Will it work or will I get bit off  all the time?

 

Short answer: Will it work? Yes. Will I get bit off all the time? Possibly not. Is 20# appropriate? IMO, No.

For more details and many long, long answers and opinions try the search feature. In the end you could write a book...........

/m

[officercalcjc]

Twenty pound fluoro will rarely get bit off, even by large pike. I hook into a 30" - 40" pike at least every other trip or so and bite offs are rare. That said, it IS possible to get cut off, even from a smaller pike. Just put a lot less pressure on them when bringing them in. The P - Line Fluoro Leader is the best I have found.

If you are fishing heavily stained water where visibility is not an issue, thin wire that you can tie knots in is a great way to go. In clear water, using fluoro will get you into more fish most of the time.

[officercalcjc]

I have been bit off 3 times in the last four years using 20 pound fluoro. So it's uncommon when you play the fish right but it can happen.

[dkfry]

Keep in mind there IS a difference between flurocarbon fishing line and flurocarbon leader material. The leader material is much tougher and is stiffer. I used to use some Fireline as leader on tipups and pickeral would bite it off. I have since used nothing but flurocarbon leader material (usually 10 or 12lb) and bite offs are rare. Keep in mind the pickeral are much smaller than pike can reach thus the lighter leader. Depending on the size of pike you may need to up the lb test of the leader material by quite a bit.

[mjk67]

Couple of things.....

Yeah, there is a big difference in quality of Fluoro line.  Don't skimp on prices.  Seaguar/Offshore are 2 good brands, off the top of my head.

With 20# test, yeah you might get nipped.  I re-tie on pretty much every pike I catch.  Frabill has pre-snelled 25# leaders that they sell in Wi/MN.  I've been buying them for the past couple of seasons.  They work well, and I buy them on sale for 1.99/per 2.  I think they may use Pline, but my stuff is in storage yet...

Any pike over the upper 20" size will NOT be the ones nipping you off anyways.  I can't count the number of upper 30s to lower 40" pike we've caught in Canada backtrolling for Walleyes with 6-8# test.

So 20# is NOT inappropriate - you just have to work within it's strengths/weaknesses.  Re-tie after every catch.  Or have spares at the ready...  I will say, I also have Offshore 30# leader material (which is different than just Fluoro), and I"ve never been nipped on that.

[thomasthepikehunter]

Another thing you have to consider is the rig you are using. The best uses I have found for fluorocarbon is for in front of a lure as a leader, and with circle hooks. Both keep the line relatively clear of the teeth. I've found with the traditional method (single hook and waiting to set the hook) the leader is always brushing the teeth, and you will get bit off eventually. I would advise against anything under 20#. It seems people have decent success with 20#, but under that you're just asking for trouble. I can't tell you the number of times I've been bit off while going after other kinds of fish, and its usually right at the hole or at the side of the boat. On tip ups, I use a mix of fluorocarbon and steel leaders. I only use 50# Seaguar, and have confidence that it will hold. I've only been bitten off once with it; I was muscling a fish in that didn't want to come in. The thing is though, I have not seen a huge increase in my catches. It does help a lot in crystal clear water, but if the lake has any stain at all, pike just are not that line shy. The 20# toothy-critter steel leader I use is incredibly thin. Any bite off is not good enough for me. Pike are a low population fish, and not many get to be big. Hooks do not dissolve in a fish's mouth, its all a lie. Its there until the fish shakes it or dies. One more thing, use longer leaders and re-tie after every fish.

[husb0023]

I did this one year with 20 and my stuff got shredded by pike.  It was good for maybe 2-3 fish and then it was so cut up I had to replace it.  I would say I lost 1 out of 4 fish on a brand new strand as well. 

I switched to 50# and things have been going much better but I may switch back to steel leaders entirely pretty soon.

[officercalcjc]

Wire is the surest bet if you can get away with it. The P - line LEADER material in 20 pound test will RARELY get cut off by a big fish and will get more strikes in clear water. But there is still a slight risk. Have landed tons of pike over 33" the last three seasons and have had zero bite offs.

[subtlehustle76]

Use Berkely Fireline Fused Crystal. Nothing will bite through that and it's mostly invisible in the water.

[officercalcjc]

My experiences with superlines is they can cut them easier than with fluoro. If you are in water with lots of eyes and you are targeting both on the same set, go no thicker than 12# fluoro. But in dark, heavy stained water thin wire won't spook eyes either. It's just clear water where wire is a bad idea. And as said before, use LEADER material, not a mainline fluorocarbon.

[thewyler]

Why don't you be the judge try to bite your way through a piece of that 20lb test and if it's even decent line you'll fail or have a heck of a time getting it to... Maybe if your fishing musky and 30inch plus northerns I would upgrade to 80 lb fluorocarbon but wire can really spook some of them

[esox_xtm]

I did this one year with 20 and my stuff got shredded by pike.  It was good for maybe 2-3 fish and then it was so cut up I had to replace it.(if that.....)  I would say I lost 1 out of 4 fish on a brand new strand as well. 

I switched to 50# and things have been going much better but I may switch back to steel leaders entirely pretty soon.

Strongly Agree.

Use Berkely Fireline Fused Crystal. Nothing will bite through that and it's mostly invisible in the water.

Strongly Disagree.

My experiences with superlines is they can cut them easier than with fluoro. (Strongly Agree) If you are in water with lots of eyes and you are targeting both on the same set, go no thicker than 12# fluoro. But in dark, heavy stained water thin wire won't spook eyes either.(Agree.) It's just clear water where wire is a bad idea.(Disagree.) And as said before, use LEADER material, not a mainline fluorocarbon.(Strongly Agree.)

Sometimes these discussions make me think I wandered into a deli..............

/m

[Martian]

 I use 20, and it works fine. I have never found it higher than 20#, however, I have been told bass pro, sell higher in the salt water dept. I don't know if Gander have a sw dept.

[thomasthepikehunter]

Unless you go to like a cabelas, bass pro shops, or a big gander, its hard to find fluorocarbon over 20#. I order mine online. Its a fact that fluorocarbon and mono filament are better against pike teeth than super braid. It has been proven by many fisherman over the years. A human tooth is not a good test. I know for a fact just because I can cut braid with a knife, where mono its harder. I think the misconception comes from the fact that braid is a pain with scissors, but mono cuts easy. Another way to put it is braid is very abrasive and shear resistant, but easy to cut, while mono/fluoro is less abrasive resistant, hard to cut, but shear easy. Simply put, a pike tooth is like a knife, not a scissors. I still have no idea why you would purposefully use a braid leader, when steel is just as visible, and nearly indestructible.

[esox_xtm]

Unless you go to like a cabelas, bass pro shops, or a big gander, its hard to find fluorocarbon over 20#. I order mine online. Its a fact that fluorocarbon and mono filament are better against pike teeth than super braid. It has been proven by many fisherman over the years. A human tooth is not a good test. I know for a fact just because I can cut braid with a knife, where mono its harder. I think the misconception comes from the fact that braid is a pain with scissors, but mono cuts easy. Another way to put it is braid is very abrasive and shear resistant, but easy to cut, while mono/fluoro is less abrasive resistant, hard to cut, but shear easy. Simply put, a pike tooth is like a knife, not a scissors. I still have no idea why you would purposefully use a braid leader, when steel is just as visible, and nearly indestructible.

Give this man a cookie...........

/m

[officercalcjc]

Yep he's right.