Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon line as leader

[FullFlavorPike]

Originally Posted by steve999

I also tried the lighter stuff for freshwater. Kept having unexpected breakoffs. Then tied a piece of vanish to a lighter weight Berkeley XL monofilament, and pulled on it till it broke. The vanish side broke every time. The mono in the test was 8 lb, and the vanish was 10 or 12. I'd get you the exact number for the vanish, except I can't because I threw it in the trash.

That's definitely not a ringing endorsement!

If I end up buying the spool, I'll waste forty yards or so doing some extended stress tests and see what happens. Have to break out the scale and measure some quasi-realistic breaking strengths and various lengths and stuff. I found that simply pulling with hands is a non-starter. Even 50# mono is a cinch to snap if you wrap it around your gloved hands and give it a tug. There's just not enough sensitivity there (at least not in my hands) to get a real feel for the line's consistency and real-world strength.

[speedydk]

Blue and Black box? I tried it once and was not happy with the results. I went to using the "professional" version in the gold box it worked out much better and I still use it to this day. For light line applications up to 15lb test. Also make sure you wet your knots before pulling them tight it makes a huge difference on these lines. It took me awhile to figure that one out too but its been fine ever since. Good luck!

[taggermike]

I've used vanish as a leader in 8 and 10lb and it worked well for me. Can't say if the heavy stuff works. Its deffinately tempting to get 200 yards for about the same price as a 25 yard leader spool. Mike