stren fluorocast?

[hsangler]

Just picked up a spool of 17 lb at the classic sale, anyone ever use this line? How sensitive, strength, line management, and how long it lasts. Thanks for lookin

[KCL655321]

Mine didn't last long(15 & 17lb), as I was put off by how badly it handled & after going to snap a chatterbait out of some weeds & having the line snap(freshly spooled with no major backlashes) half-way back to me, it ended up in my spend line box. Maybe I got a bad spool, but I wasn't impressed with the handling, even at the low price point, and it also seemed rather stretchy to me on the few times I set the hook without it breaking. I was using it for spinnerbaits & soft swimbaits, so I didn't give it much of a test for sensitivity.

From reading reviews around the net, it seems like it works for some people & doesn't for others. It seems to be around 60% approval going by the major online retailers, which is rather low compared to other quality fluorocarbons that tend to get in the 80% or better range, but it never hurts to try something new, especially when it's cheaper than others out there.

[steve1206]

My bro-in-law bought 2 spools of 8lb. for spinning reels. First spool was decent, 2nd spool was lousy, with a lot breakage.

[hsangler]

Hopefully I got a good spool of it

[Snyder Rods]

I tried this line when it first came out, about five years ago. When I initially tried it, it worked great for the first couple of outings........ then the third trip out, it all fell apart.... it started breaking on hooksets. I primarily use Senkos.

Fast-forward five years. I've developed a knot system over the years. When you tie your line to a hook or lure, many knots can be so weak you can loose 50% of your line strength. The new knot system I developed is so strong, I realized I could now use pretty much any line.... including the cheapest, weakest stuff, without the worry of breaking off. I liked the way Stren Fluorocast handled, so I thought I'd give it another try.

The Fluorocast is just as advertised, it handles like mono. It's not stiff like other fluorocarbons and does not spring off a spinning reel spool and create tangles like stiffer fluorocarbons. It's heavy and sensitive like fluorocarbon though. Abrasion resistance is like fluorocarbon. I use the ten pound test for largemouth bass in a lake that has freshwater mussels covering the bottom. The mussels are as sharp as razor blades, it's about the most abrasive condition for fishing line imaginable. I have caught bass up to fourteen pounds in this lake, my personal best.

I Like Fluorocarbon for two reasons:

1) Slack-line sensitivity
2) Better handling in the wind

Day one - fished for half hour, caught one fish, got rained out. Fantastic line if it holds up after a couple weeks of hard fishing. Had a snap swivel open on a fish, the fish swam off with the hook. I need to go up one size in snaps.

Day 2: Caught ten fish between 3-4 lbs. Line had some abrasion after 8th fish, I stripped 6 feet of line off and retied. Abrasion resistance is good, just like fluorocarbon line normally is.

Day 3 (following weekend, Sunday): Slow day, only caught 3 fish, 2.5 lbs., line holding up fine! I did have some abrasion and had to strip off about seven feet of line and retie again.

Day 4, next Sunday: Caught 3 little fish. Caught a Peacock bass on a worm, that was a first. Line holding up fine.

I really like the line......... it has the benefits of fluorocarbon, handles like mono, and It's dirt cheap. It's weaker than others, but line and knot strength is just not an issue for me anymore. It's great to be able to use the cheapest junk out there.... that's something that sounds so crazy, I never thought I would say it.... there was a time when I was always chasing a stronger line, like CXX, Stren Brute Strength, Gamma Polyflex, and the like. At the price I pay for it, there is no fluoro cheaper.

That said, I will probably switch from fluoro to Spiderwire EZ mono in the winter, I did not like how my previous fluoros handled (even some monos) in cold water. But for the warm half of the year, it's Fluorocast for me.

[IlliniDawg01]

If you are looking for dirt cheap fluorocarbon to try, give this stuff a look:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2016-ne ... 0.0.MtIVnV

I'm not 100% sure it is fluoro and not Nylon, but I have had a good experience with it so far. The 2.0 is very finesse and little stretchy. The 4.0 is perfect for wacky stick baits and weightless plastics. Super manageable and low line memory and pretty low stretch. I have 6.0 and haven't tried it yet. It feels pretty low stretch just yanking on it with my hands.

DaveJ

[jm529]

I tried this line when it first came out, about five years ago. When I initially tried it, it worked great for the first couple of outings........ then the third trip out, it all fell apart.... it started breaking on hooksets. I primarily use Senkos.

Fast-forward five years. I've developed a knot system over the years. When you tie your line to a hook or lure, many knots can be so weak you can loose 50% of your line strength. The new knot system I developed is so strong, I realized I could now use pretty much any line.... including the cheapest, weakest stuff, without the worry of breaking off. I liked the way Stren Fluorocast handled, so I thought I'd give it another try.

Can you enlighten us on your knot system??

[Snyder Rods]

I tried this line when it first came out, about five years ago. When I initially tried it, it worked great for the first couple of outings........ then the third trip out, it all fell apart.... it started breaking on hooksets. I primarily use Senkos.

Fast-forward five years. I've developed a knot system over the years. When you tie your line to a hook or lure, many knots can be so weak you can loose 50% of your line strength. The new knot system I developed is so strong, I realized I could now use pretty much any line.... including the cheapest, weakest stuff, without the worry of breaking off. I liked the way Stren Fluorocast handled, so I thought I'd give it another try.

Can you enlighten us on your knot system??

- An Engineer at Pure Fishing said that knots fail because of the sharp bends they have to take. Also, a few years ago, a magazine (Outdoor Life?) did an article on knot and line strength and found that smaller gauge finesse hooks and terminal tackle hurt knot strength. So my solution was:

1) Get a better knot. I would recommend a double line clinch knot with 6.5 turns (for .29mm line or larger).This knot is for mono or fluoro, not braid.

2) I am using small, finesse size hooks... Gamakatsu straight shank worm hook #1.... I needed to tie to larger terminal tackle to reduce the angle the line in the knot has to take.... so I use medium size Sea Striker Fast Snaps. The snap is too big to fit through the eye of the hook so I have to go from Fast Snap - to Snap Swivel - to hook.

Some lures have large gauge eyes, that's okay...... but when they don't, I use the Fast Snap. I don't use split rings. Making sure you tie only to large gauge terminal tackle improves the knot strength greatly.

Edit: I believe the correct name for the knot is double line clinch knot.

[Snyder Rods]

Update:


I went out fishing Saturday........ it was a slow day, I had trouble finding fish......... in my 1,000 acre rock pit (It's not really "my" lake, but I think of at as such because it's my favorite and there is little fishing pressure), conditions keep changing........ they keep raising and lowering the water levels, and that means the fish are not where they were last time, so I have to spend half my time just locating them again. The water level has gone down 6 feet in two weeks.

I only fished for about 2.5 hours. I caught three small fish, in the 2 to 3lb. class........ the fish run big here. At the end of the day, I fished a point with a steep drop-off, the water was muddy from the wind. I had a bite, set the hook, and popped the line on the hookset. This is the first break I've had on this line. The fish was close to me, I only had a short length of line out, perhaps 15 feet, so like flipping, there is a lot of force on the line at close range. I noticed the line was chewed up from the fresh water mussels, so I stripped off about three feet and retied.

I made a short cast and fished the same point I had the hit on, and immediately had another hit. I choked on the hookset because I was skeered of breaking off again. The fish spit the hook (I use barbless hooks, and medium-light rods, so I do miss more fish). Tried it a third time, and had the fish on for a couple of seconds, but she spit the hook again! I think I have a fish playing with me, eating my hooks and worms! I tried the same exact spot a forth time, and had a bite. This time, I threw caution to the wind and did my full Bill Dance hookset. I got her! When she jumped, I could not believe it, it was a monster bass! I landed the fish and estimated her weight at about 10 pounds. She was just sitting down there on that point, eating anything that came her way, including my tackle, lol! What a nice fish story.

I've had the same line on the reel for a couple of months now. Today, at home, I let the line out across my yard and sure enough, up to 25 feet of line was chewed up from abrasion. I used to change my mono line every three trips, but the Fluorcast was still manageable, so I did not think about it. I did catch about 40 fish on this one fill of line. I'll have to check and change my line more often, and see how the line fairs in the coming months.

[Snyder Rods]

After fishing the Florocast for a few months, it just does not hold up as well as a premium Fluro. It would be okay if you changed it after 2 trips, or used it for finesse fishing. I can't worry about finesse here, the fish are too big in my lake, lol.... last weekend I landed another big one, about 9 lbs. I'm going back to regular Stren 100% fluoro, the blue-florescent one.... at least I can see it.