I am having great difficulty with knots using fluorocarbon, that is my dropper knot. I use a three turn water knot but have been broken many times at just this point.
I wet the knot and draw it tight slowly and test it prior to use and all seems well, however, all too often, as soon as a fish takes, disaster!
I have tried various lines, Riverge, Grand Riverge, Fulling Mill to name but a few, same result.
I never had this problem when using traditional leader material, ie, Drennan etc.
I have now resorted to tying my droppers using stainless rings and the trilene knot, but would dearly love just to be able to tie up a dropper and get on with the important bit, fishing.
Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to all in advance.
Keith

why do you want to use flourocarbon? what does it offer you that the trad line didnt ??

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What Diameter/BS are you using.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

you will more than likely only need two turn water knot this puts less strain on the knot and always cut off the tail leading up to your flyline and leave the one dropping towards the point if you get this the wrong way round you will get snapped nearly every time hope this helps john

The reason that I use fluorocarbon is, according to all articles that I have read, reduced visibility and reduced diameter.
For many years I was satisfied with Drennan etc, however, an angler at a fishery that I visited put me on to fluorocarbon, he was catching I wasn't and made me a cast, whereby I started catching, my conversion had begun.
I would very happily go to a proprietery brand if I could find one with as low a diameter.

---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 AM ----------

Thanks John,
I have been told this but, as yet haven't had the opportunity to put it into practice. I will try it next outing.

If memory serves me right I think it is .280 I believe that was the Grand Riverge

Exact same thing happened to me twice on Sunday. I use a 3 turn overhand water knot and leave the tag end pointing towards the point as the dropper. Tag end was broken at the knot. I thought it was because of a casting/wind knot in the dropper. I was using 4x Riverge tippet.

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Using a looper and a top makes for a much better furled leader!

I won't sell the stuff or use it except in free samples of massive diameter !

I cannot begin to count the numbers of 'There I was playing the biggest trout I ever saw and then the leader ( always fluorocarbon ) just broke on the dropper !' stories that customers have come into my place with over many years !

I reckon it is one of the great cons in flyfishing - a classic - the Emperor's New Leader !

Don't believe anything you read until you've tried it and come to a conclusion yourself .

And never ever believe a Professional Tackle Hoor. ( Even me ! )

Best wishes

Steve P

I wonder, in your "trial" whether you swapped back again to your original line? Starting to catch may just have been coincidence and now you'll never know.

...or, logically, if you're dead set on using fluorocarbon, they way to go is to keep stepping up the breaking strain until you stop getting broken. It doesn't matter what the diameter is for sunk line work because - it is invisible isn't it?

You could try using 10lb fluoro... or just use 6lb Maxima - at a fraction of the cost.

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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*****©(

Personally, I think one should use whatever one has confidence in.

That in itself is one of teh buggest catchers of fish - confidence!

If you dont have confidence in what you are using then it is very difficult to effectively fish and, in turn, catch fish!

Personally, I use Riverge 13lb which has the same diameter as Fulling Mill 6lb and I have never lost a fish due to knot breakage or line breaking.

Whilst I regularly use dropper rings, I also use the uni-knot and have done for 20yrs without losing a fish to this knot failing. I have also used the 3urn water knot but dont have masses of faith in it hence why I dont often use it

Mind you, they do use a similar knot on strings of sabiki/yozuris and often bring in handsome catches of large macks/bass/cod on those so draw your own conclusions from that


Best of luck in getting your breakage problems sorted.



Ben

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