Flouro knots …..and fables?

TTP (3)

Tips, Theories & Pointers

Local wisdom has it, that when using flourocarbon, in place of Mono, one should be mindful of the following knot issues:

  • Flouro to mono knots are problematic, they slip
  • Surgeons knots, done in Flouro, require you pass the tippet through the knot three times, not just two like you would with mono
  • Perfection loops just don’t work with flouro. Period

I did have some difficulty backing these claims/ideas up with a Google search.

What I did do was to take a piece of 5X flouro, and tie a perfection loop in one end, and a conventional overhand loop in the other end, and then I pulled until it broke. In 6 pulls, it was dead even: 3 of the perfection loops went, and 3 of the conventional. None of them slipped: they all broke at the knot.

The conventional loops were tied with two wraps.

Then I tied conventional loops:  a three turn loop on one end, and a two turn on the other. I pulled four times. Two of each broke. None slipped.

I stopped about then. The stuff was cutting into my fingers, and I woke up to the fact that this was all costing me a lot of money in snapped flouro.

hooks n tippet (4 of 4)

Who is up for a more thorough “myth busters” evening at the local?  Different diameters, different brands, knots tied by different guys.

You can bring the “string”!

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5 Responses

  1. A very interesting article! I have been using Orvis Mirage Fluorocarbon tapered leaders and tippet material almost exclusively for over 10 years and can honestly say that I have hardly had any problems with knots or line breakage. I use an improved clinch knot for tippet to hook and a surgeons knot for tippet to leader. Just over a year ago I built a jig and started tying furled leaders, I imported a large spool of Sunline Basic FC Fluorocarbon in 2lb BS and construction a number of leaders with this material. The leaders consist of 8 strands of line at the thin end and 22 strands at the thick end and finished off with a Shorb loop at both ends. After running a number of breakage tests I ended up with an average BS of 11.5lbs. 1lb more than the equivalent in Maxima green monofilament. I have given a number of these leaders to my mates and have had very positive results back with no breakages! I am all for using fluorocarbon especially for nymph fishing!

    1. Thanks so much for that detailed comment. It seems that flouro will always be a hot topic, with lots of controversy, and may I say myth about the stuff! I have long been a fan of furled leaders but have made ones with fly tying silk and micro nylon, having found the pure mono ones to be too stiff and inclined to twist onto themselves. I would be interested to see if a flouro one is different.

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