Fluoro-Braid sinks but doesn’t stretch.
When it comes to fishing, Capt. Mike Gallo is kind of a mad scientist. He’s constantly scheming and searching for better ways to do things that have become routine for most anglers.
That quest for better methods has led Gallo to a product he feels is a real game-changer. It’s fishing line that’s unlike anything else he’s found on the market.
“This spring, I saw that SpiderWire came out with a product they call Fluoro-Braid,” Gallo said. “They claimed it would sink like fluorocarbon but have all the sensitivity and non-stretch of braid.
“So I bought some, and I thought, ‘Man, I can’t wait until the fall gets here, and I can give this stuff a try.’”
Fall, of course, is finally here, and Gallo has gotten the chance to see and feel it in action.
“I’ve fished with it for the last three days, and I think it’s a real winner,” he said Wednesday. “I fished it in 20 feet of water with a 3/8-ounce jighead in fairly strong current, and I got to the bottom with no problem.”
Though the line is called Fluoro-Braid, it actually more resembles the latter than the former.
“It looks and feels like braid, but the difference is that it sinks,” Gallo said.
The line he’s been fishing is 15-pound-test, but it has a diameter equivalent of 4-pound monofilament.
To overcome the opaque nature of the line, Gallo used a double-uni knot to tie a 3-foot section of 20-pound-test fluorocarbon leader between the terminal end of the line and the jighead.
He plans to put it to use in November when the speckled trout show up at the bridges in eastern Lake Pontchartrain.
“It’s perfect for jigging deep water,” he said.
The line retails for about $20 for a 125-yard spool.