# Mono or fluorocarbon?



## Stampede (Apr 11, 2004)

For ice fishing, which do you use, mono or fluorocarbon and why.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

Mono for Panfish and bass. Mono with a higher pound test Fluro spliced on for Wwalleye and Northerns.


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## TopRaider15 (Mar 10, 2015)

Mono period. Fluro sucks in really cold weather, never had an issue with eye's or pike on mono either.


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

I use mono for panfish and I use braid with a flourocarbon leader for everything else


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

They have floro specific for ice fishing, less chance of abrasion and sinks faster than mono


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## bumpus (Jan 17, 2015)

Fluorocarbon for everything, if I'm not in the shanty it freezes up less


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## TopRaider15 (Mar 10, 2015)

hatteras1 said:


> They have floro specific for ice fishing, less chance of abrasion and sinks faster than mono


Ice line sucks, every last one of them. Only time I ever use Fluro is when it's attached to braid as a leader while I'm trolling the Great Lakes. 

Save the money and headache and just spool up some Trilene XL mono and forget it.


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## hailtothethief (Jan 18, 2017)

bumpus said:


> Fluorocarbon for everything, if I'm not in the shanty it freezes up less


Dunno when it was 7 degrees and windy my whole floro leader froze solid. I think all line succumbs to harsh conditions eventually. I havent found a leader for freezing cold days i am happy with


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

https://tyepro.com/blogs/news/ice-line-vs-standard-line-whats-the-difference-and-should-you-buy

(to each his own)


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## bumpus (Jan 17, 2015)

hailtothethief said:


> Dunno when it was 7 degrees and windy my whole floro leader froze solid. I think all line succumbs to harsh conditions eventually. I havent found a leader for freezing cold days i am happy with


I've had ice form on it before but its never been as bad as what I've seen from guys using braid or mono, but whatever works for each person


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I caught my 1st walleye on 4# mono while crappie fishing. it was 9 1/2# 29 1/2" long. I used mono all the time. no need for fluro below the ice.
sherman


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## HeaVyMeTaLFiSHinGFiEnD (Oct 2, 2010)

Im almost 100% of the time using straight fireline crystal no matter the species or time of year. You just cant beat the sensitivity of braid.


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

I just got done respooling all my ice reels, I used some braid with flouro leaders on the heavy poles, 4# flouro on a couple of my Swedish pimple rods and two different brands of mono on my light action rods. I will report my findings soon. I hope. We need ice.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

I switched all my ice rods to braid also. No more spool memory and can feel the bites better. I used to be worried about the fish seeing the line in clear water.... but have not noticed any difference in clear water.


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## hatteras1 (Jan 18, 2011)

AtticaFish said:


> I switched all my ice rods to braid also. No more spool memory and can feel the bites better. I used to be worried about the fish seeing the line in clear water.... but have not noticed any difference in clear water.


(Not a lot of clear water left in Ohio).....


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

hatteras1 said:


> (Not a lot of clear water left in Ohio).....


hatteras1 - For the waters i fish close to home, the vast majority are all either reasonably clear.... or gin clear most of the time through the ice season. I fish a lot of above ground reservoirs that only get stirred up when they pump water in. I pretty much always do way better at dusk or dawn though, so maybe the low light helps hide my braid line.


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## BFG (Mar 29, 2006)

AtticaFish said:


> hatteras1 - For the waters i fish close to home, the vast majority are all either reasonably clear.... or gin clear most of the time through the ice season. I fish a lot of above ground reservoirs that only get stirred up when they pump water in. I pretty much always do way better at dusk or dawn though, so maybe the low light helps hide my braid line.


You fish in a shanty? Braid freezes up on me while hole hopping. In the shanty it's fine.


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## AtticaFish (Nov 23, 2008)

BFG said:


> You fish in a shanty? Braid freezes up on me while hole hopping. In the shanty it's fine.


BFG - I hole hop until i find fish usually, some days that means i never set up a shanty. haha. The braid does freeze up, but never enough of a bother for me to switch back to mono. Trying to cast with a spool of frozen braid is a different story because it simply does not work and your lure comes flying back at you sometimes. With the short rods though, i just pull line out the end up the rod half the time anyway and that clears the spool enough to let the line down. I absolutely HATE how mono keeps the spool memory and makes a jig sit and spin under the ice. Not sure if fluoro does the same thing or not, never tried it honestly.


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## Saugeyefisher (Jul 19, 2010)

AtticaFish said:


> BFG - I hole hop until i find fish usually, some days that means i never set up a shanty. haha. The braid does freeze up, but never enough of a bother for me to switch back to mono. Trying to cast with braid is a different story because it simply does not work and your lure comes flying back at you sometimes. With the short rods though, i just pull line out the end up the rod half the time anyway and that clears the spool enough to let the line down. I absolutely HATE how mono keeps the spool memory and makes a jig sit and spin under the ice. Not sure if fluoro does the same thing or not, never tried it honestly.


I'm with you on braid vs mono. My braid freezes. I just clear it. By either running my fingers over the line,or pulling through the eyes with the drag loose. Memory in mono sucks! Especially with small light panfish jigs.....


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## Dave_E (Apr 6, 2004)

Try using some REEL MAGIC (silicone) before you head out. Just spray it on your spooled line and line guides on the rods.
Helps with water and ice build up, and makes mono and floro way more manageable in the cold.
I've never tried it on braid.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

I used 4# trilene xl for all my ice fishing and I never noticed much of a problem with line memory. now I could see heavier line being a problem.
sherman


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## HamiltonKdog (Oct 15, 2014)

Not big on ice fishing, but fish a lot in freezing weather. First thing we tried was straight salt water, ok dumped half a salt shaker into a bottle of water. shook till salt dissovled. Dumped straight on spooled line (Braid) , worked for about an hour, reapplied as needed and fished the rest of the day. Rinsed reels when home.

Researched and KVD conditioner claims to prevent ice, not sure as I tried it before and it tended to make line float. Several guys Ive talked to have similar stories and all liked the salt water.. cheap and just a memory thing. Silicone spray works, but not long and kinda pricey. One guy claims that he soaks his spool in peak antifreeze, and gets a whole day of fishing in.

I spray my guides with pam cooking spray but found that a good automotive wax works better


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## TopRaider15 (Mar 10, 2015)

Im wondering what the heck you guys are doing to have this many line issues. I ice fish 60+ days a year and don't have to worry about guides icing up all that frequently. Memory in line is easily taken care of with a barrel swivel, walleye certainly don't care.


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

I’m not sure if it’s actual issues with my line or just lack of anything productive to do in my case. I have way too much time on my hands right now. Not a lot of houses need painted right now and there is no ice.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

Ok, ill give you guys a heads up on what ive been using on braid. We were all casting for walleyes last month in freezing temps out in Fairport. I had the only lil tiny spray bottle with rain-x in it. I gave a spritz to the spool and guides once through the night. I had zero problems with ice on my guides and braid freezing on the spool. Give it a try


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## swone (Jan 24, 2007)

allwayzfishin said:


> Ok, ill give you guys a heads up on what ive been using on braid. We were all casting for walleyes last month in freezing temps out in Fairport. I had the only lil tiny spray bottle with rain-x in it. I gave a spritz to the spool and guides once through the night. I had zero problems with ice on my guides and braid freezing on the spool. Give it a try


That's a top tip right there!


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## Govbarney (Jan 3, 2011)

Soak your guides and your braid line in unscented mineral oil (you can find it at CVS in the laxative section.) do it once maybe twice the whole season. I apply to guides and line with a micro fiber cloth. This will cut down on freezing guides and lines better than anything else to include line butter, conditioner or WD40.


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