Its been a while since we’ve seen anything truly innovative in the world of leader and tippet material. However, the folks at ARC Fishing have come out with some pretty exciting new products that we think might change the way we look at what we’re attaching our fly to.
We think of couple of their products have a lot of potential, and today we’re going to tell you about them.
ARC Fluorocoat Tippet
Ever had trouble deciding whether to use nylon monofilament or fluorocarbon? What if you didn’t have to? ARC’s Fluorocoat Tippet is fluorocarbon coated nylon monofilament. So, in theory you get the best of both worlds. Nylon monofilament is known to have superior knotability compared to the much harder fluorocarbon. On the other hand, because fluorocarbon is a harder material, it is much less prone to ‘chipping’ when it comes in contact with rocks or other jagged objects while fishing. Therefore, the idea is by coating nylon monofilament with fluorocarbon you get a tippet that knots better, but is also more resistant from nicks on rocks or other structure.
Nylon monofilament also absorbs water causing it to weaken by as much as 15 percent, opposed to fluorocarbon which retains its strength when wet. According to ARC, coating the nylon monofilament with fluorocarbon creates a tippet that still retains almost 100 percent of its strength which we think is pretty awesome.
Also, a huge advantage of flurocarbon over standard nylon monofilament is that it has a light refractive index very close to that of water. In other words making it less visible when in water. By coating nylon monofilament in fluorocarbon, you essentially create a tippet that has the same diameter of a similar mono tippet, but is less visible, and that’s a good thing.
We’ve yet to put a full season of testing on the Fluorocoat Tippet (don’t worry, we will), but what we can say is that it certainly knots much better than pure fluorocarbon, seems as strong as any other comparable tippet, and actually seems like the fluorocarbon coating has resulted in less stretch which we really like. As of now, we’re pretty sold on the idea and can’t wait to hit the water with it!
ARC Camo Tippet
It may sound funny, but there are times when ‘clear’ is not the most stealthy option when it comes to tippet. Take sight fishing to weary trout on a bright sunny day. Bright sun can illuminate even a light tippet, causing a trout to spook. We’ve taken a permanent marker to our tippet before in such a situation, but what if you didn’t have to?
Enter ARC’s Camo Tippet. Sure, we’ve all seen colored leader and tippet before, but the Camo Tippet is the first multicolored tippet we’ve seen. It changes colors through a variety of earthy tones along it’s length to reduce light transmission, for ultimate stealthiness.
We think it has its place in certain situations where a high degree of stealth is needed. Think sight fishing dries on a bright sunny day, or nymphing though stained water in high sun.
Details
We look forward to putting ARC’s new tippet series to the test and encourage you to do the same. Each tippet series is available in sizes 0X through 7X and retails for $6.95 per spool of Fluorocoat Tippet and $5.95 per spool of Camo Tippet. For more information, visit ARC Fishing’s website, here.
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Anyone put this this stuff to the test for a full season yet? What’s the general consensus?
I just finished two weeks of hard testing Arc tippet in Montana. I used it for nymphs, but unlike fluorocarbon tippet in the past I was able to take a nymph off and tie on a dry fly without the obvious hardships of flouro on a dry fly. knotted batter than flouro, but was supple like nylon. I fished with a Deneki guide the last two days and switched back and forth between nymphs and dry flies without changing out tippet. I understand, but have never fished their fly lines, but understand the groove pattern is similar to AirFlo which I am sold on. Arc isn’t cost prohibitive, so as much as w fisherman spend I say give it a test for yourself.
Whitefishman