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Magic Monofilament - Nylon Vs Fluoro
By Cameron Cronin
When to choose nylon monofilament over fluorocarbon for lure fishing…
In recent years, fluorocarbon has enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity for lure fishers, to the point where it is often the only leader line used by most lure anglers. Until recently, I certainly fell squarely into this category, and unless I had a bait session planned, you would rarely ever find a spool of nylon monofilament, commonly referred to as ‘mono, in my kit. However, in recent times there has been resurgence in the popularity of mono, with a growing number of high-quality monofilament leader options beginning to find their way back onto the shelves of tackle stores.
One of these options is the new Platypus Hard Armour range, which has become a firm personal favourite since its release. Available in strengths from 10lb-150lb, with 4, 6 and 8lb about to drop due to angler requests, along with Tough and Supple variants available, there is an option for the vast majority of fishing situations. Personally, I have made the switch to this material for many of my favourite styles of fishing.
With fluorocarbon already a proven performer for lure fishing, why bother making the switch? It’s a valid question, and one that I’ll be exploring in this article based on my personal experiences with both materials. Whilst I certainly will continue to use fluorocarbon, there are properties of nylon mono that lend themselves ideally to many modern fishing types, which I will discuss in the following.
In recent years, the ‘Big Bait’ craze has really taken the Australian lure fishing scene by storm. Whether it may be giant topwater lures for flathead, swimbaits for Murray cod or XL soft plastics and Hardbaits for jewfish, throwing oversized lures has become a lot more commonplace for a variety of species. Whist there is a myriad of different species and big bait techniques out there, the one thing that ties them all together is larger than average fish, and big heavy lures.
Whilst there is no doubt that these lures get the bite, an oversized, heavy lure, getting flung around like a rag doll as a trophy fish tries to shake it free puts a huge amount of pressure on gear and terminals. This is often a recipe for pulled hooks. This is where mono enters the equation as it is significantly stretchier than fluorocarbon, over the same length of leader. This added stretch acts as a shock absorber, significantly dampening the jarring impacts of headshakes or sudden lunges against a heavy drag when battling a large fish.
With mulloway as my favourite species, I have spent plenty of time lately throwing about large diving hardbodies, swimbaits and soft plastics. I have found I am pulling noticeably less hooks using Platypus Hard Armour mono instead of fluorocarbon for these applications. Personally, I have made the switch for all my lures with trebles (hardbodies and swimbaits) as well as larger, heavier plastics, such as the ZMan 7” DieZel MinnowZ and 8” Mag SwimZ.
In my opinion, trebled lures benefit particularly well from nylon monofilament use, as they generally feature smaller hook sizes and gapes when compared to jigheads. They are also prone to hooking precariously into the outside of a fish’s mouth, which can easily tear out during the fight. The applications also extend to many different types of fishing where heavy gear and larger lures are used and I can imagine there are plenty of similar benefits to be had for flathead, Murray cod, barramundi and Kingfish anglers, just to name a few.
Whilst there is no doubting that the extra stretch of mono provides a subtle benefit in the grand scheme of gear selection and proper fish fighting techniques, if it ends up saving even one nice fish that is lightly hooked, I reckon that is more than enough reason to warrant its use.
Another favourable quality of monofilament, when compared to fluorocarbon is its suppleness. Comparing the two lines in hand, it is easy to see that monofilament is far less stiff and more flexible than most fluorocarbons on the market. For the angler, this translates into allowing greater movement at the lure, resulting in a superior action for sensitive lures, such as topwater stick baits, floating hardbodies and lightly weighted plastics, just to name a few. For applications such as topwater fishing, for species such as bream and whiting, all the way up to kingfish and giant trevally, many anglers already chose to use monofilament for this reason. A stiff fluorocarbon makes the lure much more difficult to work, especially in higher breaking strains.
This being said, there are plenty of additional applications that aren’t as well documented. I personally use monofilament on most of my diving lures, particularly those that have a slim profile that can easily have their actions dulled by inputs such as larger hooks and heavier line. I have also found that, due to this suppleness, I can run a heavier mono leader than I could for fluorocarbon without dulling the action of a lure, which is very handy when trying to extract fish from structure or prevent bite offs.
Another property that anglers can use to their advantage is that nylon monofilament line naturally floats, whereas fluorocarbon sinks. This is another characteristic that makes mono the preferred leader for topwater anglers, however there is also additional benefits for those anglers using diving hardbodies that slowly float or suspend. This includes those commonly used by barramundi, jewfish (mulloway), mangrove jack and even bream anglers, to name a few. Using a naturally floating line allows you to beef up your terminals slightly more before the lure begins to sink, which can sometimes mean the difference between a landed or lost fish.
So, there you have it, a list of fishing applications where I have personally found nylon mono leaders to have the edge over their popular competitor. Although I will continue to use fluorocarbon lines for plenty of situations, my eyes have been reopened to the capabilities of mono since using the Platypus Hard Armour range. I would highly recommend anyone who does any of the fishing mentioned above to give it a crack and see for themselves what the fuss is about.
Cheers, Cameron