Originally Posted by
HawgZWylde
Fluoroclear is a co-polymer line that is coated with fluorocarbon. Pure fluorocarbon is just that, 100% fluorocarbon. A good quality 100% fluorocarbon line has much better sensitivity, far less stretch, is thinner, is much more supple and it sinks as opposed to mono and other co-polymers that float. 100% fluorocarbon is also nearly invisible under water.
When tying a knot with 100% fluorocarbon you MUST wet the line before clinching it tight, as another poster said the friction created clinching it creates heat and heat is it's worst enemy because it can make it brittle and weakens the line. By wetting the line either using water or your spit, it reduces the amount of friction thereby reducing heat created while it tightens and slides into a good tight clinch. Always use a good quality 100% fluorocarbon line. Cheap fluoro has really bad knot strength and will break regardless of the knot you use or whether you wet it or not. Quality fluoro also resists line nicks which also can and will cause breakage.
As for the knot itself, basically it's a confidence thing. I have used the improved double clinch knot since I was a kid and I have no problems with the knot breaking. I do use the Palomar knot on drop shots and some reaction baits. If you wet the line and clinch it slowly, you should not have a problem with knot breakage if you use quality line. You should also retie your line often throughout the day, especially if you feel any nicks in the line.
Personally, I use Seaguar InvizX 100% fluoro for most applications and I use Seaguar AbrazX for throwing jigs. The abrazX is 100% fluoro with a coating that helps prevent nicks in the line while dragging it through rocks and other hard, sharp cover. And I never go below 10lb line because it can be heartbreaking when you have a huge pig break off at the boat when the fish decides it's having none of it and does a quick, hard 180 beeline for the depths. I know a guy who just last week on the same day lost an 8 and 9 lber using 6lb line on a drop shot and the fish did just that, drag be damned. But I also am fishing for a different fish and rarely catch dinks because of the baits I use. If you fish where there is heavy cover like weeds and wood, you want to up-size your line accordingly for power to pull the fish out. I don't like braid and will use heavy fluoro instead going up to 15-25lb for places like the Delta. I learned the hard way up there last year when I broke off a huge pig using 12lb fluoro. Here is what I use for various techniques;
Jigs & T-rigs-12-15lbs AbrazX 100% fluorocarbon
Drop shot-10lb InvizX 100% fluorocarbon
Topwater-10-20lb mono depending on the bait size and type(walking, frog, etc.)
Small to medium sized swimbaits-12-15lb InvizX 100% fluorocarbon
Wakebaits and subsurface reaction baits-10-12lb InvizX 100% fluoro
Bladebaits-12-15lb InvizX fluoro
Jerkbaits-10-12lb InvizX fluoro
Crankbaits-10-12lb InvizX fluoro unless I'm using a crank like the 10xd where I'll use 15lb InvizX
I know a lot of guys will use lighter line than I do in some applications but I learned the hard way and I don't want to chance losing the fish of a lifetime because I used too light of line thinking I'm going to catch more fish. I'd rather catch less smaller fish and catch more keepers and up. Hope this helps you out...