Could Monofilament Leader Line Be Better Than Fluorocarbon Leader?

Hey guys. You’re bringing up some good thoughts and points about lines. You might consider testing IGFA rated lines. Those lines ARE guaranteed to break at or a fraction of a pound under the stated rating. Years ago before braided lines came out, that’s all I used. I began guiding with 6-pound Ande Tournament. We rarely had issues catching big fish on it when good reels with good drags set properly were used. I used it because it had a small diameter and was very consistent in strength and because of it’s small diameter, I could get very long casts with it, plus get more line on a spool than a heavier line on the same reel. I wanted light tackle, and back then the only way to truly get light tackle was to use light line, because all I fished with were artificial lures. I believe that fish also found the smaller lines more difficult to detect. Ande Monofilament built their reputation on their IGFA lines. More world records were held on that line than any other for years. I haven’t kept up with records for a long time now so I don’t know if that’s still the case. I did some field-testing for some of their lines back in the 80’s and 90’s. Since Ande came out with their Backcountry blue line, that’s been my leader line of choice. Initially I used the straight line on a lot of my reels. It was soft enough for good lure presentations, castability, and knot strength, yet difficult to see in the water. The line diameter was greater than most monos for the stated rating when I field-tested it for them, so when I begin using it, if I would normally use 10-pound test on a baitcaster, I would drop down to 8 or 6-pound test when using that line. It was not IGFA rated, but in their premium line series, so it didn’t have to test at the stated rating. Manufacturers would put any rating on their lines they wanted as long as the lines broke at least at that stated rating. So, some lines would have 10-pound test on the packaging, yet it would actually break at 18-pounds. Then their advertising would claim that they had the strongest 10-pound line. To me it was deceiving, but the industry is riddled with deception of one kind or another in marketing.
I personally have a hard time seeing Ande Backcountry blue in the water. It’s a co-polymer line, with slight differences in characteristics as compared to mono lines. Co-polymers have less stretch than typical monofilament lines. Additionally, fluorocarbon lines stretch less than monofilament as well. Some lines may even test better with different knots, so a knot that works well for one line may not work as well or be as strong with another brand of line. I would say that line stretch is another factor that you should consider in your tests, adding it to your list of already 3 considerations. Stiffness of line to me is also important in that it can affect how both natural and artificial baits swim. Mason hard leader is a stiff leader, somewhat similar in that regard, to fluorocarbon, and one many fly anglers use. Some leader spools come in large diameter spools to reduce the size of the coils when the lines take memory. A quarter pound spool might have more “Slinky” like appearance than a leader spool. Stretching the line can help reduce the coils. Just some thoughts. I take a quarter-pound spool of Ande Bankcountry and put it in a coozie. When you pull the line out it comes off the end of the spool. Place it in the coozie. Pull the line out and it will stop when you stop pulling the line out. I can’t tell you how many times I had a spool of line out on the console in years past when I didn’t use a coozie and the line would take off while I was running, and before I knew it, I had a hundred yards of line out the back of the boat. This will end that possibility. While it’s getting a little more difficult to find, I still use Ande Backcountry. Give it a try.