Since it came onto the bass fishing scene a few years ago, fluorocarbon line has steadily become used more frequently by more tour pros.
But like anything in fishing, it's only worth using in the situations that make the most of its properties. To find out a little more about that, we went to one of fluorocarbon's proponents, Aaron Martens.
Martens figures he uses fluorocarbon -- in his case, Japan-made Sun Line fluorocarbon -- "about 80 percent of the time." That probably reflects the fact that his greatest strength is fishing deep structure, and fluorocarbon lends itself perfectly to that use. "You can throw a piece of fluorocarbon out there and it will sink by itself," he notes. "Mono won't do that."
Deep-Water Presentations
"The first thing I noticed about fluorocarbon is that it sinks very fast," Martens says. "I noticed I got a better feel on the bait in deep water, and your bait presentation is probably better because there's a more direct line to the bait instead of that bowing or arching that happens with mono.
"The second thing I noticed was how low-stretch it is. In deep water it has way less stretch than any mono I've ever fished. When you set the hook in 30-50 feet, it's a hard set. You pull the fish. You hardly ever have to do a second set.
Because of those properties, fluorocarbon is one key in his well-known dropshot success. "As soon as you fish it, you'll notice the difference right away."
Mid-Depth and Shallow Presentations
Using fluorocarbon also enables Martens to make more effective presentations at shallower depths.
One of his favorite and formerly secret (you read it here first!) ways to take advantage of fluorocarbon's properties is to use it with Rat-L-Traps. "The bait will go 3-5 feet deeper on same pound test with fluorocarbon," he says. "I've been doing well lately fishing Rat-L-Traps deep like that."
Moving up closer to the surface, Martens also likes fluorocarbon for fishing Fluke-type baits. "Usually when you're throwing a Fluke, you want it to go down a little. But the problem with Flukes is that they come up too much." Fluorocarbon will help with that problem, and will get any sub-surface bait down better, he says.
"The only thing is that you can't throw a topwater or any surface baits on it," Martens notes. The sinking property of fluorocarbon will kill the action of the lure.
Tying and Line Care
If you use fluorocarbon, you can't treat it just like you would mono, starting with the knot.
"A lot of people come up to me and say fluorocarbon doesn't work for them," Martens says. "They say they don't like it because they break off a lot. I always ask them what knot they're using.
"When you're using fluorocarbon, you can't tie a Palomar knot. It doesn't work. Fluorocarbon's brittle, so if you have line on top of line, it will cut.
"You want to use some kind of clinch knot, like an improved clinch. The Trilene knot is good," he says. But the best knot he's found for fluorocarbon is the San Diego knot, aka the San Diego Jam knot, Reverse Clinch or Heiliger knot (click here for a diagram of how to tie it). "It's harder to tie than a Palomar, but you have to do it with fluorocarbon," he says.
Martens learned the knot while ocean-fishing in his native southern California, and notes that several top flippers/pitchers use it on tour because "it cinches down hard on the eye of the hook (or jig) really tight so the bait doesn't swivel on the line. It also works extremely well on a dropshot because it holds the hook where you want it."
He stresses that it's important to wet the knot before you pull it tight, and "if you get any nicks at all you should definitely retie. That should be a given for every line, but this is brittle (compared to mono) and a little harder. So if you have a backlash and get a kink in your line, you better cut it off."
Fluorocarbon "isn't something for a beginning fisherman to use," he notes. "It's temperamental. You have to be very careful with it, but it's essential for me."
