Fluorocarbon for leaders and links

[kevtaylor]

Hi - for the visual element I'm looking at fluoro for leaders and hook links.

I've got some old Korda and Fox stuff but wondering what's the best people have come across in recent times?

I'm hoping some of the new ones are a lot more supple?

Cheers 👍

[framey]

I got some Gardner stuff in the drawer but haven’t been out to use it

[commonly]

Rigmarole do some good hook link material.

[greekskii]

For a leader I’ve used the avid outline. Very good IMO. Easy to straighten out with a quick tension of it. Very good abrasion wise and near as dammit invisible underwater. 

[elmoputney]

2 hours ago, greekskii said:

For a leader I’ve used the avid outline. Very good IMO. Easy to straighten out with a quick tension of it. Very good abrasion wise and near as dammit invisible underwater. 

I'll second that outline is nice to use 👍

[elmoputney]

Gardner also do some nice hooklinks though 

Trick link is quite nice to use, and if you want a boom stiff link is good and works with korda krimps and is cheaper than boom 

 

[kevtaylor]

3 hours ago, greekskii said:

For a leader I’ve used the avid outline. Very good IMO. Easy to straighten out with a quick tension of it. Very good abrasion wise and near as dammit invisible underwater. 

Thanks mate - that sounds good stuff - which knot you choosing for leader to mainline?

[kevtaylor]

54 minutes ago, elmoputney said:

Gardner also do some nice hooklinks though 

Trick link is quite nice to use, and if you want a boom stiff link is good and works with korda krimps and is cheaper than boom 

 

Cheers mate - got the trick link, never used crimps though, might have to give them a try 👍

[elmoputney]

2 hours ago, kevtaylor said:

Cheers mate - got the trick link, never used crimps though, might have to give them a try 👍

I only crimp the stiff link one, I don't think crimping trick link will work that well, I know korda don't recommend crimping fluoros only hybrid stiff and boom,  gardner stiff link is the same as boom 

[kevtaylor]

5 minutes ago, elmoputney said:

I only crimp the stiff link one, I don't think crimping trick link will work that well, I know korda don't recommend crimping fluoros only hybrid stiff and boom,  gardner stiff link is the same as boom 

Sound - cheers mate, I've lasted this long with knots, can live without crimping for sure 👍

[elmoputney]

1 hour ago, kevtaylor said:

Sound - cheers mate, I've lasted this long with knots, can live without crimping for sure 👍

I got them so I could make low Chods and HSR with mouth trap, they are good for that as its quite tricky to knot them as short but it's easy with the krimps, but they do make a nice tidy stiff Ronnie boom section which is handy 👍

[greekskii]

4 hours ago, kevtaylor said:

Thanks mate - that sounds good stuff - which knot you choosing for leader to mainline?

I use an albright knot mate. Havent had one fail ever on me. Back to back grinner isnt a bad alternative either. 

I'm sure you know them but for any that don't https://fishingtackle.shop/blog/the-best-fluorocarbon-leader-knots/

[kevtaylor]

14 minutes ago, elmoputney said:

I got them so I could make low Chods and HSR with mouth trap, they are good for that as its quite tricky to knot them as short but it's easy with the krimps, but they do make a nice tidy stiff Ronnie boom section which is handy 👍

An old friend of mine got the crimp kit - but every time he pulled the rigs afterwards they would snap, thinking he was doing it wrong he went to the stand at a show and they showed him how to do it and passed it him - he pulled it and again it snapped much to their surprise - so is the finished job that great or are they just not being pulled hard enough during testing?

It put me right off tbh

[kevtaylor]

3 minutes ago, greekskii said:

I use an albright knot mate. Havent had one fail ever on me. Back to back grinner isnt a bad alternative either. 

I'm sure you know them but for any that don't https://fishingtackle.shop/blog/the-best-fluorocarbon-leader-knots/

Thanks mate - I'm happy tying either of those 👍

[elmoputney]

2 hours ago, kevtaylor said:

An old friend of mine got the crimp kit - but every time he pulled the rigs afterwards they would snap, thinking he was doing it wrong he went to the stand at a show and they showed him how to do it and passed it him - he pulled it and again it snapped much to their surprise - so is the finished job that great or are they just not being pulled hard enough during testing?

It put me right off tbh

I remember pulling some rigs apart before and saying I didn't like the material, can't remember what it was now, but I was basically pulling it way too hard 😂

In the early stages I crimped a couple wrong and they slipped or snapped but since I worked that out they have been fine, although I try not to rip them apart these days, 

The gemini tidy booms and leaders look pretty good BTW could be another alternative to look at, 

[salokcinnodrog]

On 02/08/2021 at 17:57, elmoputney said:

I remember pulling some rigs apart before and saying I didn't like the material, can't remember what it was now, but I was basically pulling it way too hard 😂

In the early stages I crimped a couple wrong and they slipped or snapped but since I worked that out they have been fine, although I try not to rip them apart these days, 

The gemini tidy booms and leaders look pretty good BTW could be another alternative to look at, 

If I can pull a rig apart, then it is not good enough. 

That is the same with Sea Fishing rigs, carp rigs or pike traces. 

I have used crimps for years on all three, although I found carp rigs it just didn't 'fit' and I  prefer to knot them. 

[commonly]

If I can pull a rig apart, then it is not good enough. 

 

Agreed a 20lb+ fish will easily do the same. Not fish safe, if the hook link will be left in its mouth. I test each and every rig to near destruction. 

[elmoputney]

3 hours ago, commonly said:

If I can pull a rig apart, then it is not good enough. 

 

Agreed a 20lb+ fish will easily do the same. Not fish safe, if the hook link will be left in its mouth. I test each and every rig to near destruction. 

 

6 hours ago, salokcinnodrog said:

If I can pull a rig apart, then it is not good enough. 

That is the same with Sea Fishing rigs, carp rigs or pike traces. 

I have used crimps for years on all three, although I found carp rigs it just didn't 'fit' and I  prefer to knot them. 

I can snap most normal hooklink fluorocarbon if I try hard enough, I would put it under a lot more tension than most carp, I do still test them and they reach a point where I think if something was going to fail it would, but I don't see the point of testing it to near destruction as you are weakening the material before it even sees a fish 

[salokcinnodrog]

19 hours ago, elmoputney said:

 

I can snap most normal hooklink fluorocarbon if I try hard enough, I would put it under a lot more tension than most carp, I do still test them and they reach a point where I think if something was going to fail it would, but I don't see the point of testing it to near destruction as you are weakening the material before it even sees a fish 

I test every hooklink, every leader knot, if I can snap it, then sure as heck a fish can. 

I'm relying on a gradual increase of pull, strength, but a carp uses its speed. Within a metre it can be at top speed, that can be enough to put the tackle to far more tension and pressure than me. 

Fluorocarbon as far as I know has different abrasion resistance and although the stretch is similar, it's elasticity is less than mono. Mono can stretch and go back to its original state, whereas fluorocarbon, can't it tends to 'ping' quicker than mono. 

[commonly]

Imo if it snaps between two pulling tools, it will definitely snap with an angry 20+. I do pull to near destruction for my own piece of mind. 3 turn blood knot on fluro hook link. Often I find different knots snap depending on the line material, so I keep trying different knots until I am happy that they won't give up on me 

 I would put it under a lot more tension than most carp, I do still test them 

You get them in mate, so do what your comfortable with, it works for you. 

[elmoputney]

I test every knot and every hooklink to my satisfaction and I've not had one fail me yet, so I must be doing something right, like I said I test it to the point where if it was going to fail it would, but through experimentation I've learnt which materials I have faith in and which I don't, I would only crimp Gardner stiff link and mouthtrap, and if they have passed my test I am confident they won't fail, 

Also I think there will be less pressure with a rod and line than 2 puller tools, as the line will stretch and the rod and clutch will also take some of the pressure out of any sudden lunges 

Edited August 8, 2021 by elmoputney

[salokcinnodrog]

12 hours ago, commonly said:

Imo if it snaps between two pulling tools, it will definitely snap with an angry 20+. I do pull to near destruction for my own piece of mind. 3 turn blood knot on fluro hook link. Often I find different knots snap depending on the line material, so I keep trying different knots until I am happy that they won't give up on me 

 I would put it under a lot more tension than most carp, I do still test them 

You get them in mate, so do what your comfortable with, it works for you. 

I agree with you on knots, different materials work best with different knots. 

Even mono, some are grinner/uni knot, others are blood knot, although almost everything works with a palomar. 

 

I would not use anything other than 3 turn blood knot or Rapala loop knot with Amnesia. 

Fluorocarbon I have found is blood knot as well. 

7 hours ago, elmoputney said:

 

Also I think there will be less pressure with a rod and line than 2 puller tools, as the line will stretch and the rod and clutch will also take some of the pressure out of any sudden lunges

I have had carp snap knots I have tested, the acceleration and turn of a take on a water knot, mainline to hooklink, Sensor to Berkley XL. A water knot between the two just does not work for me. 

It is the only floater set-up I use with a controller and swivel. 

Come to that I just can't get XL to join any other line, it has to be tied to swivel or hook. Yet on a normal test pull it will not break. 

Never found any other material I could not find the right knot to join to another line.