Mono vs Braid? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

Squibby17 · 08-20-2007, 04:00 PM

Ok so I'm contemplating making the switch. I have fished Mono my entire life with decent success. I went bottom fishing (from a boat) the other week and tried power pro and was amazed at the feel and strength of the line. So my question is.

• Is braid only good for boats or do people use it surfcasting?

• If you get hung up on the bottom with braid is the lack of stretch good or bad?

• Do you use a fluro carbon leader with braid? and if so does it negate the feel of the braid.

I'm sure this has been discussed before so forgive me if we rehash.

Slipknot · 08-20-2007, 04:22 PM

Yes we use braid surfcasting also.

that is good

myself, I use both a flouro leader and other times I use a mono leader, it doesn't effect the no stretch.

I have been using fireline for 15 years, I love it

tattoobob · 08-20-2007, 04:46 PM

I can't use mono now that I use braid, I don't like the stretch that mono gives, I guess once you switch you will never go back

No need for florocarbon I just use mono for my leader

As long as your leader is less test than your main line hang ups
should not be a problem

MrHunters · 08-20-2007, 04:50 PM

here's a new question that i havent seen for the mono vs braid debate.

are there any benefits using either or for either convench or spinning?

gone fishin · 08-20-2007, 09:14 PM

When using braid for conventional gear it is choice of type or brand. Some braids are not round and they have a tendancy to dig into the reel after catching a good fish - the round braids don't do that. Some reels will give you fits if you use a real small lb. test line. If you cast a small diameter line in the high wind you will have to be careful of the cast - keep it low and thumb it down or it will backlash and then you will have a hell of a time picking the line out. I have found that I have to pay attention to a retrieve when thumbing braid back on the reel without a levelwind. If you allow the line to pack unevenly you are asking for a backlash.

with all that bullsh-- I fish only conventional gear and all reels are loaded with braid. The only tip I can offer is that you use a mono leader that comes back to the reel and makes a few wraps on the reel. It takes the shock of a cast with heavy jigs and saves the gear from the strain due to lack of stretch. It also saves the line and gear when you hang up and have to break off donating lead to the canal god.
Anyone try the new Berkley braid?

Nebe · 08-20-2007, 09:36 PM

After much thought on this i have this to say-

braid is great for fishing

mono is great for catching

SirWinston · 08-20-2007, 09:47 PM

Very happy with the Fireline Crystal - much better than last year's fireline, with none of the powder coming off on the hands and tattiness of the line (after two outings!)
I always manually tighten the line when I close the bail, and haven't had any wind knots yet.

I currently have 30 lb loaded on the reel with a 50 lb mono leader, with no complaints. On one hang-up it was the leader that had a clean break. Surprised the hell out of me.

I had been thinking of trying the Berkley braid, but could not find it being sold anywhere at the start of the season. Come to think about it, still haven't seen it!

ridler72 · 08-20-2007, 10:01 PM

I have a love hate relationship with braid. Love the fight with braid especially the noise Power Pro throws out and sensitivity but don't like losing monsters in boulder fields, even with leaders. I went back to co-polymore lines and some flourocoated especially around the rocks. Clear lines have come a long way, glad I'm back. I now use braid for light tackle fishing only on small spinners and baitcasters.

SBASS1 · 08-21-2007, 06:56 AM

If your fishing around rocks, there is only one choice... MONO! Check the SWE videos and see their comparison of Braid and Mono vs Rock you'll be suprised

Squibby17 · 08-21-2007, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebe

After much thought on this i have this to say-

braid is great for fishing

mono is great for catching

Nebe I would love for you to devulge a little of your reasoning for this statement as I know you fish often

Also I have several rods but pretty much fish two different reels. A Penn 650 and a Penn 440. I've heard that you can't fish a 440 with braid because it doesn't spool correctly, maybe it has to do with the roller, anyone found this to be true?

It seems as though I might stay with mono on the 650 because I often fish boulder fields in the surf but I would go for braid on the 440 which I use for chasing albies and top water stuff.

RIROCKHOUND · 08-21-2007, 08:23 AM

Braid is great for jigs.
I HATE braid for eels, plugs etc..
I dont like the fight, pulled hooks etc...

t.orlando · 08-21-2007, 08:38 AM

Braid for everything. Never had an issue in the rocks.

Mike P · 08-21-2007, 08:44 AM

Today's new braids are more abrasion resistant than first generation braids like Power Pro, Rip Cord, Spiderwire and Whiplash. Cortland Miracle Braid is amazingly tough. We tested it at the TFCTFN. That and Berkely Big Game tested out highest for abrasion resistance.

Take the old Cortland Spectron, make it rounder, and add a smoother finish to make it more thumb friendly, and you have Miracle Braid.

I fish 50# for jigging in the Canal, but 30# should be strong enough for most any other application. The plug guys run 30 on their Emblem Pros and love it. Nelson Field at Red Top highly recommends it, and Red Top sells almost every braid out there.

SeaWolf · 08-21-2007, 03:57 PM

first off, all braids will dig into themself on a spool, more specifically on casting or conventional-type reels. the larger the capacity and the more line let out and retrieved back in, the bigger the issue. you need to have braid packed on by a line machine initially and packed on tight! also, criss-crossing the line on non-level wind casting reels helps. a tight drag w/ a hard pulling fish can equal a burried and broken line. loose line is one of the number one reasons for braid loops/knots.

i've fished braid on boat reels for a long, long time. i have to - fast and deep tide rips in some areas. that's the main purpose. sensitivity is second to that. however, with fluking braid sensitivity is more important, but there are times thinner braid and lighter jigs were key. in either case mono is useless.

in the surf i've been fishing braid for about 5 years now on a vs250. last year i made the switch to sufix braid. it's a tough, abrasion resistant braid. one trip in particular i was pulling fish out of holes in rocky areas w/o a problem and only changing my leader, which i did maybe 5 times that night. finally, after about 2 hours of fishing a set the hook and the line popped. i should have checked the braid, but i got lazy. i figured if i was fishing power pro, whch i used to fish w/o much of a problem, it would have broke a lot sooner. i would have to say that my breakoffs with braid compared to when i used to use mono are a lot less. again, that's my experience. others have said the opposite. i know of one writer that only uses mono now and has good luck with it. i know of another shop owner i was talking to just the other day and he asked if i was using sufix. he said he was fishing next to someone that was using pp and they were catching fish that ran behind this underwater abutment. he was pulling fish out of there w/o a problem. the other guy popped off a couple times. that tells me something right there.

i have seen the edge's test and i admit i was surprised, however my experiences lead to braid being the better option. braid has worked well for me and i have yet to feel the need to change.

MeanStreak · 08-21-2007, 06:10 PM

I only use braid , always with a 70#spro swivel and 50#mono leader

I switch my braid from spring to fall , i am a brute on all my equpment . so braid works for me !!~!!!

fcap60 · 08-21-2007, 06:19 PM

Squibby:

I think there are advantages to both and IMO, there is no right answer. It's really a matter or preference as to what works for you and the type of fishing you do. I have my preferences under different condititions, but you'll have to decide for yourself.

diklarsen · 08-22-2007, 03:15 AM

i only use mono when chunking and i only use braid for plugging. there is deffinately advantages to both and they both have there time and place.

EricM · 08-23-2007, 06:50 AM

I have been using fireline for 7 years now and have had very few problems. Once I spooled up with a bad batch that I suspect was a fake, but other than that, good performance in the rocks when I did venture in there, and can't get used to the stretch of mono again.

JFigliuolo · 08-23-2007, 07:00 AM

FWIW... I fish 50lb suffix. My Partner 20lb Back Country. In a bone yard. can't say either one of us break off any more than the other.

plankton · 08-23-2007, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike P

Take the old Cortland Spectron, make it rounder, and add a smoother finish to make it more thumb friendly, and you have Miracle Braid.

Mike P, did a search for miracle braid and came up empty. Are you possibly talking about Cortland's new master braid? I'm a big fan of spectron but would love a rounder, smoother version.

JFigliuolo · 08-23-2007, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plankton

Mike P, did a search for miracle braid and came up empty. Are you possibly talking about Cortland's new master braid? I'm a big fan of spectron but would love a rounder, smoother version.

ditto on that, I couldn't find anything either.