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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Let me just start out with this situation. I finally got my Weagle and got a chance to use it last night for the first time. I had a good mid 40" fish follow in a bucktail, and I grabbed my Weagle and cast back at the fish. It was like a movie, picture perfect. I was giving him the march, slow and violent right in her face. Then Bam!!!! She eats it, and comes flying out of the water. After about 5 or 6 jumps, I get her close to the boat. I grab the net, and start leader her towards it, and she goes crazy, and starts shaking her head. Next thing you know, she's gone??!! I know I had her pinned real good, as she T-Boned the Weagle, and that is what I can still see in my head. I was using a floro leader, and up til this point, have never had a failure. Some how, the leader caught one of her teeth, and she bit through the leader!!! The bad thing is, other than loosing the fish, is that she now has a Weagle T-Boned in her jaws. I stayed in the area for 45 mins to see if she would come up and try to shake it, but I never saw the fish again.  I couldn't even cast again after that, and wrapped it up for the night. Hopefully she somehow gets that bait loose.
I just hate the thought of that fish dying due to a bait being pinned in her face. :(
What that brings me to is I would advise against using floro leaders with baits that have real erratic movements like glide baits, and even twitched minnow baits. Anybody else have any horror stories about floro? I love using floro, but will not anymore with these types of baits.
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Posts: 476
Location: WI | that sucks, tuffy1..... Losing the fish and the Weagle. I just got my Weagle in the mail yesterday and threw it on the pond to see how it works, my golden retriever sure thought it looked good!!
I would think that that if that fish was still pretty green, she could work that bait out, hopefully that's the case. I give you credit for sticking around the area to see if it came back up. |
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Posts: 2037
Location: lansing, il | what size line are your flouro leaders??? ive been experimenting this year with them alot, i havnt had any trouble but also not sure i have 100% confidence in them either yet! |
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Posts: 222
Location: Hartland, WI | Since I have never used them, I am curious, what is the advantage?? I know what they are, just never saw the point in switching. |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | Sorry to hear about that tuffy. I too had to learn the hard way, I now have a new policy. I will never put anything you can cut with a scissors near a musky's yap. If you do, you are playing a game of roullette and sooner or later you will lose. You may be alright for the next 100 fish you catch, but sooner or later, and its always on a good fish, you will get bit. I've already had them bite me off in front of my leader, so going with a flouro leader is not even an option in my book. |
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Posts: 476
Location: WI | I have a couple of flouro's in 100 lb test, they are awesome for rubber baits ( Bulldawg's, etc), but it does make you wonder. 2nd place finisher at PMTT in Eagle River lost one on a bite off on his Bulldawg that would have put them in first place. I just started using the flouro's and only boated 1 36"er on it so far, so jury is still out. I will keep Tuffy1's experience to heart however. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | bummer, dude. Losing a fish and a new bait in the same instant. I've seen lots of arguments pro and con regarding Fluoro leaders. Nothing's perfect, titanium leaders break at snaps, steel leaders can crimp.
I tend to like to use flexible leaders like fluoro for hair baits and stiff leaders for jerks and twitches.
I'd react with the same sick feeling knowing the fish has a lure on her. With any luck she'll bite another bait and come in for a make-over. Hope it works out, m |
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Posts: 3242
Location: Racine, Wi | Yeah, it really sucks. It made me ill just seeing how she had the bait. I use 80lb floro as well. |
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| Yeowch, that's gotta hurt. Bad enough losing a bait (I hear Weagle's aren't an over-the-counter item) let alone a fish having it stuck good. The "pro" flouro arguments I hear normally center on suppleness (they won't kink and foul baits) and low visibility. From what I've seen, they're over twice the diameter of wire, turn whitish/milky once scuffed, and you've still gotta add a WIRE snap, crimp and swivel! Never really bought the argument that a rolled fish gets hurt any worse with wire, either. Fluoro's expensive, too. Lots of my buddies fish it with good results, I fish wire with good results. It's a confidence thing, I suppose. That sux about your bait bud. |
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| Joel, such a bummer, I would only use single strand metal leaders with a bait like that in the waters you fish. Mono or Floro are only necessary in really clear water like LCO or Green Bay.
Steve |
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| Tuffy, very sorry to here that. I have been using floro leaders that I
make myself. Have yet to be bitten off but I agree with some of the above posts. It may be just a matter of time until it happens. I know Extreme is using the same leaders and lost one ski to a bite off
this season. I would like to find some fairly thin single strand wire for jerk bait leaders. I would think that these would be 1 fish leaders, once kinked then done. As far as advantages to floro here is my 2cents worth. Invisibility in clear water. Multiple use, I have boated several muskies on the same leader. If it has a nick in it I cut the hardware off and reuse.
Joel, let me know if you come across some decent single strand wire.
Were you fishing Pewaukee? If I find a Weagle out there at least I know who it belongs to.
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Posts: 239
Location: Madison, WI | That really bites! I've been using floro leaders for bucktails and top water for two years without any trouble. I'll admit my time up on LOTW is all about titanium! For glide baits I stick with solid wire. The erratic action gives the muskie slight advantages versus say an in-line bucktail or top water. I'll continue to experiment with Floro. Especially on clear water, heavily pressured lakes and lakes with higher populations of smaller fish.
You might want to consider crimping some wire for your QS rigs! 27# - 60# wire works great on the treble section. 60# - 100# on the primary lead.
Makes my break off story seem even more remarkable. 100% lucky!
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| A partner of mine talked me into trying fluorocarbon leaders. Granted we fish clear water but I found that the action, especially on jerkbaits and crankbaits, was amazingly enhanced when using fluorocarbon. I have found single-strand(nonflexable) leaders work better on bucktails and spinnerbaits as flexible fluorocarbon tends to foul more often on the cast. I have also found on drop type baits, that do not sink horizontally, tend to foul more often on flexible leaders like fluorocarbon. I use 80 lb and crimp my own. The first big fish I caught while using fluorocarbon was a 49 incher that ate a Bull Dawg head on. The leader transversed her mouth from one corner to the other numerous times. I honestly was waiting for the leader to pop. It didn't. After I released the fish I felt for cuts and crimps and could not find any. Even ran the leader over my lips(like checking mono) and it was smooth. I have been using fluorocarbon for three season now and have not had a problem. Only because of the habit of retying line and changing leaders have I retired fluorocarbon leaders. No other reason but habit. As far as the argument that sooner or later one will break, so will 7-strand and single- strand. Sorry to hear you lose a fish and bait but I'm a believer that fluorocarbon used when most advantgeous is a less visible, action enhancing reliable leader option.
SV |
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Posts: 75
Location: ft wayne, IN | I have to agree w/ muskiemachinery--fluoro does greatly enhance the action of erratic lures and is nearly invisible in the water--literally every saltwater angler/guide I've known uses it. Use 100# and tie it rather than crimp it to reduce risks--18in for casting & 36-60in for trolling. All leaders have failed me at times, especially the terminator titaniums (bad crimps in the past). Single strand wire is also necessary for longer cranks to reduce tangles on the cast. Fluoro and single strand wire are unbeatable in my book! Don't forget to add a ball bearing heavy duty swivel and a #4 stringease locking snap to finish them off.
"Fish smart and Get Lucky"
JK  |
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| Yes, I've lost a monster on floro...80 lb. test. Left a 10" Suick in the maw of a giant. For that reason, I quite using floro altogether.
Then, a couple of seasons after "the incident", I went back to floro when I realized my numbers had gone way down.
However, this time, my new arsenal consisted of 180 lb. test floro. Haven't had any problems and feel very happy with the performance on all bait categories since then.
Think about this: What reason is there to use 80 lb. test floro when 180 lb. test floro is still just as "invisible" and further reduces the possibility of a bite-off?
This was a no brainer for me and I've redeveloped complete confidence in my terminal tackle again. Will probably go to 200 lb. test when my 180 lb. spool runs out.
Food for thought.
BrianF.
Twin Cities
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| Brian
Is the 180 lb. stiffer. Does it change the enhanced action fluorocarbon produces. I'm not being a smart a**, honestly would like to know your opinion. As far as Suicks go, I lost my #2 and #5 biggest fish on them. Fought both all the way to the boat and the fish simply opened their mouths and swam away. Wood is to soft and easy for especially big fish to sink their teeth into. (From hard hook sets I have an interesting collection of Muskie incisors collected from Suicks) Suicks do absolutely raise and get fish to hit but I won't throw them anymore. The heartbreak is to much to bare.
SV |
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| Yes, the 180 lb. is thicker, but I find no significant difference in action. It might actually help some baits, like Jackpots or Phantoms. With deep diving crankbaits, you might not get as much depth, but only might lose a foot on an average retrieve? Don't know, haven't really checked.
Performance-wise, the 180 lb. isn't really that much diff from 80 lb. Thicker, yes, but also a whole lot tougher...and still invisible (or nearly so).
As far as Suicks go, I've not had a problem keeping fish on when they hit. The fish I speak of was hooked very well, I felt.
BrianF.
Twin Cities |
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| I always loved Flourocarbon for bucktails, oh so natural but..... after I lost 2 large spinner baits on backlashes when the fluoro broke i am done with it.
Expensive and then some.
Steve |
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