Flouro or mono for flat fall leader

[aquaholic]

I got chewed off a few years ago when the big boys unexpectedly joined the party. We were catching them in the 40 to 60 lb range all afternoon. I was fishing a flat fall straight tied to 80 mono. It wasn’t a problem until half the boat went bendo on the bigger units. I think only 3 were landed for the 13 of us that got bit.

Anyway, since then I have 200lb flouro leaders on all my flat falls. I’m heading out on a trip soon and got a number of SK jigs to rig. I just checked and only have 130 flouro but a bunch of 200 izorline mono. Is the mono good enough? Is 130 flouro better than 200 mono? Should I get some 200 flouro? Thanks for any help.

Robert

 

[jbarto]

Get more flouro. Hell of a lot more abrasion resistant than mono. Kind of a no brainer.

 

[Gouryella]

Go with 300lb or even 400lb mono for your flat falls/sk jigs. Leader size doesn't matter here since flat falls/sk jigs are reaction bites.

Flouro is more for sinker/flyline/bait.

 

[aquaholic]

One of the reasons I asked the question was because of that (reaction bite). I would think that mono would let the jig move more freely (not as stiff) and the thinner the better for that same reason. I was just wondering if flouro was needed or if mono was ok. 400lb mono is a tree trunk

Robert

 

[aznboy619]

Robert when are you leaving? Also what trip? I can help you jig some of it up before you go.

 

[aquaholic]

Hey Victor, Thanks for the offer. I can rig things. Just want to make sure I rig them with the right leader. I’ve heard a bunch of people say 200lb mono should be good enough. If it’s good enough then I have what I need. If not I need to get some bigger flouro (have a bunch of 130 but nothing bigger).

I always wondered if using some sort of chafe guard post hookup like they do up north could work but that’s with fish much bigger than those down here. They spin some me kind of material over the line (looks like electrical cord management tubing) and send it down hoping it finds its way into the fishes mouth if it’s hooked deep. Prevents chew offs on long fights.

Robert

 

[aznboy619]

Robert you can use jinkai chaff guard but most of the time the tuna swallow the jigs and some of the chaffing is on the after your jigs. It is best just to bring extra material in case you need to rerig. 200 lbs should work unless you got an angry blue head step child on the other side of the line.

 

[Gouryella]

One of the reasons I asked the question was because of that (reaction bite). I would think that mono would let the jig move more freely (not as stiff) and the thinner the better for that same reason. I was just wondering if flouro was needed or if mono was ok. 400lb mono is a tree trunk

Robert

Captain Jeff of the Thunderbird recommended #300+. They had some fishes they hung chew through #200.

They're catching jumbos right now so got to go big or go home haha.

You can also use flouro, but I prefer Mono because it has some stretch. But it's all personal preference and what you're comfortable with.

 

[DannyNoonan]

200 mono crimped to a large ringed circle hook (look for a hook with a large ring), and use a chafe spring if it'll fit (uncoated ones are better than the green rubberized ones). Connect the jig via small swivel and 2 split rings. Do not put any other hooks on the jig. Jig has full freedom to flutter as much as it wants. When you hook the fish, the circle goes to the corner of the mouth. 200 mono is more than adequate...

8 hookups (and landed fish) in a row last year without re-tying. Not that I'd suggest pushing it to that extent, but I've never had a "chew through" using this method...

Of course, as they say "your mileage may vary"...

 

[Gouryella]

200 mono crimped to a large ringed circle hook (look for a hook with a large ring), and use a chafe spring if it'll fit (uncoated ones are better than the green rubberized ones). Connect the jig via small swivel and 2 split rings. Do not put any other hooks on the jig. Jig has full freedom to flutter as much as it wants. When you hook the fish, the circle goes to the corner of the mouth. 200 mono is more than adequate...

8 hookups (and landed fish) in a row last year without re-tying. Not that I'd suggest pushing it to that extent, but I've never had a "chew through" using this method...

Of course, as they say "your mileage may vary"...

What size circle hook? and any pics of this set-up?

 

[Haly0]

I caught 3 fish all on the same knife jig rigged with 300# izorline mono

No chaff guards, double crimps

 

[Cubeye]

Get more flouro. Hell of a lot more abrasion resistant than mono. Kind of a no brainer.

This might help to decide:

 

[aquaholic]

If tuna had sandpaper mouths I might be more confident in those results but they have teeth and nick line. I’ve heard that flouro won’t fail as easily after being nicked. True?

Robert

 

[IronMikeAC]

Get more flouro. Hell of a lot more abrasion resistant than mono. Kind of a no brainer.

I just got 260 on 200g FF with 130 fluorocarbon leader. Several places where it bit and lots of teeth scrapes but the fluorocarbon held up fine..2 years ago I got a 230 on a 500g FF with 200lb mono leader. No problem on that. For me I don't like to put the 200 mono on jigs 250g and under.

 

[stephen campbell]

test should be done based on dia not mfgs # rating

 

[afraser]

Bridle the flatfall with a large ringed circle hook, use kevlar cord, like in my avatar, or the swivel split ring suggestion above. You'll get a corner of the mouth hookset everytime and very little chance of getting chewed off. At night I use a 13/0 eagle claw 2004 hook. Daytime, a 9/0.

 

[Cubeye]

I caught 3 fish all on the same knife jig rigged with 300# izorline mono

No chaff guards, double crimps

View attachment 1218907

How big were the fish?

 

[Cubeye]

200 mono crimped to a large ringed circle hook (look for a hook with a large ring), and use a chafe spring if it'll fit (uncoated ones are better than the green rubberized ones). Connect the jig via small swivel and 2 split rings. Do not put any other hooks on the jig. Jig has full freedom to flutter as much as it wants. When you hook the fish, the circle goes to the corner of the mouth. 200 mono is more than adequate...

8 hookups (and landed fish) in a row last year without re-tying. Not that I'd suggest pushing it to that extent, but I've never had a "chew through" using this method...

Of course, as they say "your mileage may vary"...

I've rigged some up this way. Easy to change jigs as conditions dictate.

I call it the DannyNoonan method just to keep the rigging straight in my mind. I also call the "bridle" method the Afraser method.

Having said that, I only use the two above methods for BIG tuna.. On the smaller ones, I use the assist hooks with cord. Either Kevlar or Vectran.

 

[Haly0]

How big were the fish?

172,150, 100

 

[JamesTaylor]

Do you guys have a mono top shot on your flat fall reel or do you tie the braid straight to the flat fall bite leader swivel?

 

[Gouryella]

Do you guys have a mono top shot on your flat fall reel or do you tie the braid straight to the flat fall bite leader swivel?

Ideally braid (mainline) knot tied to the swivel of the rigged flat fall.....

OR you can do Snap swivel tied on the end of you mainline, and you'll be able to clip on whichever rigged flat fall. Easy to swap to different rigged flat falls if you go this way.

Another way would be the way @DannyNoonan rigs his. I believe his set up would be some what similar to top very right flat fall in my picture. You can tie or crimp mono top shot to the circle hook and you'd be set. How you attach the flat fall would be up to you. I have mine crimped to the bottom of the circle hook (might have to re-rig with small crimps or maybe use spectra so it can move freely). With this set-up you'll hook the fish on the corner of the mouth and this set-up is so simple you can swap out to different flat falls in a breeze.

 

[ShadowX]

If tuna had sandpaper mouths I might be more confident in those results but they have teeth and nick line. I’ve heard that flouro won’t fail as easily after being nicked. True?

Robert

Exactly. The reality is that rocks have SHARP edges and when you rub over them, they are not replicated in this test. I have had fish go through the rocks in Farnsworth Bank and come back with nicks and scrapes that make you cringe. I was able to still bring the fish in and you can see all the frayed line on the fluoro. My buddy was fishing with 40 lb mono next to me and he broke off twice. It doesn't take much to break mono when the rocks are sharp. When he rubs over nice smooth sandpaper, give me a break.. That doesn't even come close to replicating real world conditions. If you're fishing tuna and the fish will never reach the rocks or use circle hooks, mono is fine. You shouldn't worry about a real abrasion test other than teeth rubbing if the hook is inside the gut. On the other hand, fluoro can survive a lot better just due to how its constructed. I never fish anything other than fluoro to spectra when I am fishing on the rocks or near rocks.

 

[aquaholic]

What is the advantage of bridling the jig to the circle hook over attaching it to the hook’s solid ring? I do like the idea of using a circle hook when the big ones are chewing.

Robert

 

[Gouryella]

What is the advantage of bridling the jig to the circle hook over attaching it to the hook’s solid ring? I do like the idea of using a circle hook when the big ones are chewing.

Robert

It's all personal preference. Many different ways to do it.

But, I personally think if the jig is too close to the circle hook issues might arise when setting the circle hook on the fish.

 

[Thurmanator]

I caught 3 fish all on the same knife jig rigged with 300# izorline mono

No chaff guards, double crimps

View attachment 1218907

What size weight, make is that jig?