4# Fluorocarbon and spinning reel

[cmbtvet]

Not to long ago I bought a light spinning combo from BPS and decided to go with fluorocarbon line. I think that was a huge mistake as I've lost so much line due to bird nests and it's extremely frustrating. Is fluorocarbon that light just not good on spinning reels? I've got a finesse setup with 8# fluoro and don't have that problem. I've ordered 4# mono that will be arriving next week and hopefully the issue will be resolved.

[Alumicraft145]

4# line not easy to work with at all!! I had some 5# sunline sniper floro that worked great.

[Phrog Phil]

I agree the 4lb is hard to work with.

[Quillback]

I won't use regular fluoro on a spinning reel no matter what the # test. The stuff is just too springy and stiff. I use Invisx when for some reason I need something fluro like on a spinning reel. I've pretty much converted to braid and a fluoro leader and gone are the days when I had to mess around with line issues on a spinning reel.

[PMantle]

Same as above, but I use Nanofil and Gloss instead of true braid. Sorta related, I set up two different poles on a crappie trip earlier this year and didn't notice a difference in bites between straight braid and flouro leader.ymmv

[Quillback]

Same as above, but I use Nanofil and Gloss instead of true braid. Sorta related, I set up two different poles on a crappie trip earlier this year and didn't notice a difference in bites between straight braid and flouro leader.ymmv

I know a few people that fish straight braid for bass and do really well. I have tried it and the main issue I had was that the braid got damaged relatively quickly because I'm fishing it on rocky lakes and for the most part dragging baits through the rocks and timber. Fluoro leader holds up a lot better than the braid.

[Alumicraft145]

I am trying straight fireline next year. 8# seems popular with the walleye crowd.

[DaveBrabec]

In 4# try trilene xl mono green,

[DrewFlu33]

I'm going to echo a lot of what was said above.

Fluoro on a spinning reel is just tough to deal with in general, but if you had to do it, I'd say you could manage something in the 6 lb range easiest.* Anything lighter than that and you see what happens, and anything heavier the memory gets so bad it'll make you want to scream. Mono will definitely work much better, but you'll have the stretchiness to deal with and it'll still get twisted and have some memory. Definitely will be a much better option than straight fluoro though in my opinion. I suppose really spending the coin on something like Tatsu is another possibility and I've heard folks say they've had great luck with it on spinning reels, but it's so expensive.

I'm in the braid to leader no matter what camp when it comes to spinning reels. Due to our closed "gamefish" season here in MN, it's really common for me to pick up the spinning rods I had spooled from the previous season's bass fishing in the spring, cut off whatever leader was on them, then tack on a 2 or 4 lb fluoro leader for chasing panfish. I'm running braid around a 0.15 mm diameter as my mainline on those rods anyway which is generally advertised as "2 (or 3 or 4) lb diameter" so it's right in the wheelhouse of what you're after. It super thin so it casts great, it's got plenty of straight strength so that I have no issues running leaders up to 16 lbs when slinging wacky worms around docks with it and still always break my lure knot first when I hang up, plus it's super versatile to where it handles those panfish sized leaders like a champ as well. Even forgetting the longevity, sensitivity, castability, and manageability you get from braid, the versatility alone makes it the best choice. (Sidenote: Pretty proud of all the -ity words I came up with there )

Another option if you don't want to learn leader knots or otherwise just don't want to mess with them is to use a thin braid/superline as your mainline and attach whatever size leader you want with a tiny barrel swivel. There are options out there that are small enough to reel all the way into the reel if you want and cast back out without too much trouble. Look into steelhead tackle to find options in that realm; some keywords to search might be "centerpin swivels" or "float fishing swivels." Blackbird is a brand I'd really suggest if you do want to try that. I've caught steelhead over 10 lbs in moving water using their smallest swivels under a float and never had one fail.

I personally don't like straight braid as even though it has a ton of strength, the abrasion resistance isn't there, particularly for the really thin stuff. There are lots of walleye guys who have luck with it for sure, so it clearly works for some. If you do go that route, I'd suggest a 4 carrier (like original PowerPro). It'll be a little rougher and make a little more noise, but when you have fewer strands, each of the strands is thicker meaning they don't fray as easily. If you go with one of the "fused" lines like Gliss or Nanofil or go with a high carrier count, the little strands that make up the line are finer and seem to get torn up easier which of course compromises the strength of the line as a whole. It then seems like it never fails that it snaps like someone cut it with scissors at the worst possible time.

Yep, it must be the offseason. Apologies for getting so long winded...I have a bad habit of doing that when the cabin fever starts setting in!

*Since there is so much variance in exactly what 6 lb is...I'm talking like 0.20-0.22 mm diameter. For example, if you went with one of the Berkley lines, the 4 lb diameter would probably work pretty well since their lines are generally thicker per rating.

[basscat21]

I won't use regular fluoro on a spinning reel no matter what the # test. The stuff is just too springy and stiff. I use Invisx when for some reason I need something fluro like on a spinning reel. I've pretty much converted to braid and a fluoro leader and gone are the days when I had to mess around with line issues on a spinning reel.

Same here, tried it and too much problems, YGK 10# sinking Braid to fluoro has really been Fantastic.

[willwork4fish]

I use 6lb and 8lb Tatsu for both my leaders and on the couple of reels that I use straight flouro. I know it's expensive but I don't have any problems. I buy the 1000 yard spools when TW has the days of Christmas deal. Just looked through my orders and in Dec 2018 I paid $129.99 for 1000 of 8lb.

[Casey6404]

Same here. Fluoro on spinning usually sucks. If I do use it on a spinning reel, I’ll use a braid mainline and about a 20 foot leader fluoro. Works well.

[TDobb]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is the size of the spool on the reel. By saying light spinning combo from BPS, I am guessing that also means small reel and small spool. Both of those things will also contribute big time to poor line management with fluoro. The smallest spinning reel I would spool up with fluoro is a 2500 with as large of a diameter spool as I could find.

[Alumicraft145]

I had 5# sunline sniper floro on a daiwa emblem 2000 reel for 3 years without changing it. Line was very strong for the size, fished st Lawrence bfls, with it. Caught a lot of big bass with it. Yes it had some twist, I ran it behind the boat when I could. Never had the energy for the braid leader deal. I rig up other peoples rods for fun fishing with 6# mono, they seem to catch fishlike crazy. I will get some more sunline 5# in the future though.

[SWbass]

I have a buddy who fishes straight Berkley Nanofil and brags about it, I prefer a fluoro or mono leader and hi-vis braid mainline

[Alumicraft145]

The old U.S. Reels spinning were great for light line. Bass pro had a similar model also. I got a U.S. Reel 230x spare spool. 45$ shipped.

[cmbtvet]

Thanks for the input I re-spooled today with Trilene Transoptic mono 4# and fished 1/2 of the day without issue.

[Snag_Devil]

I tried some Tatsu 6lb fluoro on a spinning reel and had terrible time with line twist. Then a buddy of mine asked me how I spooled it up and I realized it was not the fault of the line. I'd imagine I'm not alone in this. Why someone doesn't make an easy mandrel to mount a spinning spool to a drill is beyond me.

[Alumicraft145]

Agreed, a line winder is the way to go. I may have to figure something out this winter, thanks for reminding me. Was a few line winder on ebay but they were ###$.

[Quillback]

I have a buddy who fishes straight Berkley Nanofil and brags about it, I prefer a fluoro or mono leader and hi-vis braid mainline

I know someone that swears by Nanofil also, so many good braids out there now that don't float in the wind like that stuff does.