Over the past few years, braided lines with a fluorocarbon leader have become a go-to set-up for anglers fishing spinning gear. It's a combination that works exceptionally well and generally; the only question is which connection knot to use. But, some anglers still prefer to use straight fluorocarbon , whether for lure performance or convenience.
This group includes Bassmaster Elite Series pro Mark Menendez and television personality Mark Zona, who make a case for using fluorocarbon on spinning gear.
Those who know Mark Zona, either through meeting him or watching him on Zona's Awesome Fishing Show or his work with Bassmaster, see that he has quite the personality. He takes this into account with his line selection for some techniques.
"I'm a hyper person and fluorocarbon helps me get rid of some of that added action to my lures," he says. "Braided line is great, but the zero stretch causes baits to have a much more exaggerated action with each small movement of your rod. That's good sometimes, but fluorocarbon allows the bait to look more natural and subdued under the surface."
He estimates that seventy-five percent of his spinning rod fishing is done with fluorocarbon line, with the remaining quarter of the time being a braid to fluorocarbon combination.
"I still prefer braid to fluorocarbon for a drop-shot just to reduce line twist from the bait and hook spinning," Zona says. "For all of the other finesse techniques, I still love the little bit of stretch when you set the hook with straight fluorocarbon. Compared to the old days of using monofilament line, which was like a rubber band, fluorocarbon has much less stretch and greater sensitivity."
Menendez had a humorous yet serious response for why he prefers to use only fluorocarbon on spinning reels. He's also of the mindset that he doesn't need to make the change if it's working for him.
"I can't see well enough to tie the connection knot," he says with a laugh. "But, in all honestly, I've been using a small barrel swivel three feet up from my hook or lure for years and it works great. It eliminates any extra twist from techniques like a drop-shot and it's effortless to do; just tie a palomar knot on each side of the swivel. I've never had a single knot failure with 8 lb Seaguar InvizX, which is a great choice for spinning gear because it's so soft and supple."
Taking Extra Care When Spooling Up and Fishing
Compared to a limp line like Seaguar Smackdown braid, fluorocarbon is a little stiffer and both Zona and Menendez agree that most line twist and other problems occur from the angler, both how the line is spooled onto the reel and how it's used.
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