Kyle Welcher’s Fluorocarbon Cranking Advantage

Kyle Welcher, the 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year and 2024 NPFL Angler of the Year, has the full range of Sunline products with him at every tournament, and uses thousands upon thousands of yards of Shooter and Sniper each year. He’s learned to depend on them, and understands how each operates with different classes of lures under varying conditions.  

A key tipping point in those dual AOY campaigns, however, has been his frequent use of a third fluoro from the company’s lineup: Sunline Crank FC. 

“It’s kind of in the same ballpark as Sniper,” he explained, referring to the industry standard for a combination of low-memory suppleness and abrasion resistance. “The difference is the Plasma Rise coating. It’s completely different than any other fluorocarbon and makes it cast better than even monofilament. Sniper is still fantastic, but I’ve started using this with just about anything with treble hooks.” 

During the first NPFL tournament of the year, at Logan Martin, he finished 7th largely by fishing a balsa #5 Shad Rap on baitcasting gear. 

“Almost nobody throws that lure on baitcasting gear,” he said. “But with 8 pound test Crank FC I could easily cast it 80 or 90 feet. I won the AOY on the NPFL circuit thanks to a ton of cranking. Also, in the first Elite tournament of the year, at Toledo Bend, I didn’t have a very good tournament, but it would have been even worse without the Crank FC. I was throwing a jerkbait into a hard wind, and without that particular line I wouldn’t have been able to retain a lot of that distance.” 

As noted above, it’s become his choice for most fluorocarbon treble hook applications, but the fact that it casts so well and has slightly more stretch than his other favorite fluoros also lends itself perfectly to other techniques. “I also use a lot of 16 pound test Crank FC with small spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits.”  

Crank FC comes in both 200 and 660 yard spools, in strengths from 8 to 16 pound test.