WHat do you guys think about the berkley vanish flouro leader compared to the seaguar. Its a lot cheaper, but is the quality the same? Im mainly looking for abrasion reistance and 2nd visiblity. I used mostly the seaguar last season with no problems, but I did use the vanish a couple times with no apparent problems.

after hearing a "knowledgable" fisherman give me a little info, I am going to go without the flouro this year and just try some heavy mono...Hey, if you are gonna listen to someone talk, apply what they say...

I've used both without any problems.30lb Seaguar and 50lb
Vanish.

I've used both w/o problems but have switched over to the pink ande mono for the majority of my leaders now, they tie much easier and still offer very good abrasion resistance.

30 # Seaguar :kewl:

I haven't used the Berkley flouro but this year I'm using the Ande flouro. I've tied up a bunch of leaders using the Ande and I have found it to be a little harder to work with then the Seaguar. Takes a lot more spit to pull the knots tight. In pull test after I tie the leaders I haven't seen any difference in strenght between the two. At half the cost the Ande seems like it will do the job.

If you use Vanish it will vanish, go try to knot it and have it hold. I use Seagar and have yet to loose a fish over a knot, stupidity yes; knot or line failure no.

I have used the Segaur in the past and have tried both the Ande and Berkely Vanish this season. I got the Ande for a great price, used 50lb and 60lb on both boat and surf. I think it is a bit stiff, harder to tie, and I have had a few break-offs at the knot. I have used the Bekely Vanish this past season in 30lb at the Cape, and I have tried the 50lb and 60lb off the boat. I liked it much better than the Ande, alot easier to work with and no unexplained break-offs. The Segaur is good, just overpriced I think. My favorite is still the Orvis Mirage, I know it was and may still be on sale at Orvis. At $10.99 for a 30 meter spool, you just cant beat it...That is cheaper than all of the above mentioned which usually come in a 25 yard spool by the way. The Orvis is not stiff and is easy to tie, I have used it in the 44lb, 52lb, 60lb, and 80lb.
Floro is denser than mono and so it sinks, unlike mono. Hey, anything to get my eels down faster....along with other baits. I think it really makes a huge difference when fishing clear water, especially in the daytime. Some days or nights I go through at least a spool of floro...easily.

I just think its the little things that sometimes make the biggest difference!!!

Hey don't forget that flouro comes in 2 forms... as a main line and as a leader material. The leader type is much stiffer and probably more abrasion resistant than the type intended as a main line.

chef--if you're looking for soemthing cheaper than seaguar try the triplefish flouro. it's only 7 bucks for 25 yards or something like that. i used it for most of the fall run and it held up well.....

triplefish 80:)

Bart, I have used the Triplefish some time ago....The Floro and regular size spools look similiar. I dont think the Floro was $7....

Actually just looked on-line...Cabelas has the 50 yard spools...50lb is $15.49 and 60lb is $19.99. Not bad prices...

There are about 5 new flouro lines coming out this year.
Big name companies like Yozuri, Calcutta, P-Line.

Keep your eye out for the Yozuri Pink Fluro it looked great in the tests we put it thru.

You are also going to see a lot of line companies making a push for the high end market.

The reason are since Pure Fishing aquired Stren and they will no longer sell to some of the largest wholesalers in the country.
It has left the door open for these other companies to step up.

Thanks for the input guys. How much faster does flouro sink then mono

Flouro=waste of money for surf fishing, especially on the cape seeing it is all sand and much of the fishing is done at night. I've used big game in 25# and 30# test for leaders since the stuff was invented close to 20 years ago. If you maintain your knots well and inspect your line frequently, there is no call to go with real heavy leaders made from stiff material, in my opinion. In the canal, my exception is that I mostly fish 25 or 30 big game and always tie direct. Most of my beach fishing is done with 9' rods and 15# mono or very light braid. With gear this light, it is impossible to strain a leader to its breaking point, even if a large fish scrapes up the leader a little. When that happens, just tie in a new piece of leader. And no, mono will not cause your offering to sink slower and float higher in the water if you are using low diameter stuff. As far as boat fishing goes, it may be an ok choice, but mono still rules in my book because it handles easier, especially in the heavier tests.

I use both, I like the Berkly for light fishing, Flounder, Fluke ect. And I like Seguar for the heavey fish, Bass, ect anything with a good fight.

Macjoe, why do you think the seaguar is better then berkley for heavy fish???

It doesn't seem to get as many break off's, and the abrasion is much better, for the teeth of blues, and bass and tog's.

Seems to a much stronger line. IMO

I know floro makes a difference.i fish in a river near me an it has been gin clear over the past few yrs.If u don't have a light 30lb flouro leader on u may as well stay home.there's aplace by me has a big sale every yr in march an he has the triple fish in 50 yd spools very cheap i scoff em all up.50 lb is like 10 dollars which is about 7-8 bucks off.I mostly use 50 but will go to 65 if rocky and on top.I have lost alot of fish to rocks when all the mags told me i should be usin 30.Well that was a long time ago.i don't worry bout leaders or knots any longer.My 2 big fish this yr 38.10 an 36lbs I pulled back on a long line with some serious current all the while not worrying at all if my gear would hold up. I killed a 30 lber livelinen wit braid an a long Flouro leader in 50lb the whole time the fish was rapped around some rocks.my leader was a mess but i got the fish.I usta liveline wit 25 big game all the time an would hop around on the rocks like a billy goat so's not to nick the line.lost some monsters on the rocks wit it.My landings have gone up dramatically since goin to larger line.i got six over 30 this yr. All from the surf in yrs past i would have lost a few.fish what u like everyone has there one style but from the surf bigger is better .I almost never use 30 in the surf.

Kenny I got a catalog from a fly shop what are the corresponding #ers on the Orvis mirage everything is in a different rating.I guess its diameters.like .030,.027,.025.I think they are 80,60 an 52 lb tests respectively.but not sure.If U like it i'll try it.An I hate tryin new things really.But thats how we get better its the little things now.

There is no diameter difference between flouro and mono for the most part. I have a spool of 25 flouro, which I believe is .019, and my 25 big game is .020. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on the diameters. I think as you get into greater strength the flouro becomes thinner though. I also think people lose most of their fish because of incompetence in their selection and application of tackle, and not because of the tackle itself. My approach is to always fish as light as possible without tipping the scales too much in favor of the elements. I'm getting off subject a little, so I will still insist mono for the most part rules, and use the flouro for special applications like day fishing and such. 2500 yards of big game=$25.Roughly the same dollar amount of seagar will get you 25 yards. Its an economics thing...

Fluoro all the time. I used Vanish and on the smaller pound test ( 20lb. when fishing rubber like Sluggos and Ledgerunners) on the bigger stuff I use Seaguar exclusively. I bought some Triplefish last year and it was wicked stiff as opposed to the Seaguar. Seaguar always stood up in my saltwater flyfishing only decade so I trust it. I used Big Game and Ande clear for years and really had nop problem with it either. Just think there are times when the fluoro might give you that little something else and that could make the difference.:)

Chef:
Where do you mostly fish,that might influence your choice. I think that Surf fishing the Back Beachs of the Cape will have little to minimal abrasion on the leader,the Rocky Waters of SoCo will have a larger impact on abraison such as also the Canal will make an impact on dexterity & strength.

I really like 40# Segaur for the Canal,I used to use 40# Vanish by Berkely.I found myslef changing leaders more frequintly than w/ Seguar.Berkely is a little bit cheaper but for pice of mind IM sticking with Seguar.

I fish rocky areas 95% of the time, in jamestown, narragansett and newport, and occasionally further to the west and east on days off. I used 50lb seaguar last year and would still go through 3-7 leaders a night, gonna use 60lb and 80lb some spots this season.

NIB, .030 is 80lb, .027 is 60lb, .025 is 52lb, .023 is 44lb.

Cheferson, the Orvis Mirage is great stuff, I like it much better than the Segaur. Just try tying the 80lb Mirage, it is in know way stiff as some say ALL Fluoro is. I use up to the 80lb when fishing the rocks sometimes. I know some say it makes no difference, and at times it doesnt. When the fish are stacked, blitzing, competing for food It Does Make a Difference! Its at times that the fish are really picky that it does make a difference, usually on those flat calm moonlit nights when the water is crystal clear. Its those times when you can consistantly pull out nice big fish when everyone else is bitching that there are no fish around. Ive had nights when fish would not hit an eel with a heavier leader but they would if you dropped down to much thinner stuff. Sometimes fish wont touch a fresh dead eel but they will a lively one just hooked. Try dragging chunks with frozen stuff, youll catch stupid teen to mid 20lb fish, switch to fresh and youll get youre forty +. Sometimes hook size matters. Sometimes all the difference is waiting a five extra seconds before you start reeling, the speed of the retrieve. Some people refuse to try new things, they are stuck in their ways, dont expirement and therfore never advance, they just reach a plateu and stay at that level, never advancing, always talking about the good old days.

My Buddy use's 50#,what brand I have no idea.He fish's SoCo. what he found was too make a long leader,now IM not sure how long he make's it,but from what he tells me he make's it's as long as he can & is able to cast effetivly. Then as the leader become's frayed & damaged he cut's off the damaged portions & re-ties from there.
This system sounds good,I have never tried this but It sounds like it's whorth a shot.

Of the surf I will use the longest leader that I could cast effectively with a 10ft rod, usually close to 3 ft. I will also check for both running line and leader damage if I feel the fish on the rocks, if I had hooked a few bass, or if I got hit by blues. I always start with a fresh leader, never using one from the previous day. Off the boat I am using a leader no less than 3ft, usually around 4-5ft...

5/0 Thats generally what I do, if I'm not wading I'll start at ~5ft and scale back when it hits 3ft or so I start fresh...

Orvis Mirage. Worth every penny you pay for it.

Thanks cowhunter. Just ordered 80, 60 and a 52 came out to $40 with shipping, saved me over 20 bucks and got an extra 15 yards compared to seaguar!! Now i have some leaders to tie, already have 50 eel rigs done.

NIB...Wow, 6 fish over 30lbs this year... very impressive :smokin:

Thanks for the advice Cowhunter. I got it yesterday and tied up 90 leaders, i like it better then the seaguar. It seems easier to tie. Think im gonna have to order some more.