November 11, 2011
By Lance Egan
This post is a bit of an axe grinding session, but I hope you find it interesting. If not, you can at least have a good laugh at a simple misinterpretation that bothers this fly fisher.
In 1939 DuPont introduced the first "monofilament" nylon fishing line. Previously most anglers used braided dacron for fishing line. For years and years the only "monofilament" available to anglers was made of nylon. Then in 1972 Kureha Corp. (Seaguar) introduced fluorocarbon "monofilament". This is where the confusion starts, for 33 years the only "monofilament" available to anglers was nylon. Since the addition of fluorocarbon, anglers and manufacturers commonly forget that both nylon and fluorocarbon are "monofilament".
What is "monofilament" you might ask?
The Google definition of "monofilament" is:
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mon·o·fil·a·ment/ËŒmänəˈfilÉ™mÉ™nt/
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| Noun: |
- A single strand of man-made fiber.
- A type of fishing line using such a strand.
| |
For fishing purposes "monofilament" only suggests that the line is a single strand rather than braided or twisted together.
When comparing nylon and fluorocarbon many of us use the term "monofilament" in place of nylon when in reality both nylon AND fluorocarbon are "monofilament". I know I've made this mistake before.
When selling line/leader/tippet in the shop, reading fishing articles or listening to podcasts I often see or hear anglers misinterpret the definition of "monofilament". Listen at the shop, watch as you read and soon you'll take notice of my current pet peeve! Now you can help me correct those who haven't yet had this lesson. Deep, I know€¦(insert sarcasm here)
Now that my axe is a bit sharper I'll use it to chop the tag ends of some blood knots ;)
