Is florocarbon tippet worth the investment? Also, is it possible to size down your tippet with the same results (use 5x where you would generally use 6x)? I fish on ultra clear spring fed rivers. I haven't used it in the past but I generally use really light tippets that can and do break off on bigger fish. I seem to do alright with what I have but am I leaving fish in the river by not using florocarbon?
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by danthebiker1981
Are you tight line (euro) nymphing? Floro is definitely worth it then.
If you are doing other styles of fly fishing I think its more debatable if it's worth it. If definitely stronger. Its also clearer so it's less likely to spook a fish in clear water. It's harder to float. You could always try one spool first but that's kinda awkward with some styles- (turning over tiny dries). In regards to sizing down probably, but smaller tippets can affect the cast then, again depending on style.
There many possible reasons fish are breaking off. Is the tippet breaking or your knots? Could you fight them in a way to protect the tippet better (softer rod/ better positioning in relation to current etc.)? More slack/less drag in the line while fighting? Just use a larger size? (Last one is prob not the answer on spring creeks lol).
It's hard to say without being there and it's hard to say even if you are there. There's a bunch of other things that could be going on too. That's why I love this hobby, it can be tricky. Good luck!
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by ommanipadmehome
If you’re fishing dries, stick with nylon. If you nymph, swing wet flies or streamers, go with fluoro. You’ll be able to upsize a little, maybe one or two sizes but not much.
I haven’t gotten on the rivers much this year but I’ll tell you this about fluoro-it’s not 100% invisible. It’s much better than mono but not magic. My proof is when I go snook fishing in Florida. I exclusively use fluoro leaders at the end of my braid. Using 20lb fluoro, tons of bites, but few fish landed. 30lb, still a good number of bites, more fish landed. 40lb, very few bites. So they absolutely see it.
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by narlybynature
Thank you for this. This confirms my suspicions.
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by danthebiker1981
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