Braided vs. MONO

[Palms44]

What are your thoughts on Braided versus monofilament....getting ready for a trip to VA to do some surfcasting and looking to load up my reels w/ some new line and want to hear everyones thoughts. Thanks

[TIMOTHY11]

No questions asked the braid is the only way to go. Just make sure you have a leader on the end of it and u will be fine. By far the best for casting and everything else

[ember]

There might be some sense in using what you are more familiar with for your trip,then starting the learning curve assoiciated with switchting to braid.

[Albiesickness]

Just made the switch to braid last week...love it!

[mumichog]

Braid has many advantages - it's all I use now. It's very easy to switch to and you'll notice the difference instantly. I agree with the leader idea- i use Seaguar Flourocarbon, it's tough as nails and knots well, 3-6ft is all you need. I use back to back uni-knots to put the leader on, they make a quick and reliable junction. Remember to leave just a little mono or dacron as backing under the braid as the braid might otherwise slip and not grip the spool.

[regulator 26]

Does anyone have the problems I have with braid coming off the spinning rod in clumps of knots? It is driving me crazy! We have 50lb. test on a Penn 9500 and light braid on the smallest Penn and it happens on both. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

[BobG]

IMHO, mono still has it's place.

When I throw big plugs on any of my conventionals, I still prefer mono. While working a surface plug, like a pencil popper for instance, in order that the lure work properly, it needs to be retieved in a herky-jerky motion. This causes the line to pack onto the reel in an uneven manner. The line packs from tight to loose on the reel as the lure pops side to side.
This often spells disaster on the next cast. The line flows off the revolving spool in an uneven manner, the braid will frequently over run, and......snappo! El Backlash. Even for the best of casters. In this case mono is far more forgiving, and thus superior.
However, while fishing lures where a constant tension is maintained on the lure and therefore the spool, braid is great. Plaus, the lack of stretch makes braid the only choice for jigging, where even the most subtle hit gets noticed.

[Ken Catch]

Gotta go with Bob on this one, but braid does have it's place. I love it for bottom fishing. Thats where the low stretch and sensitivty shine. For all of my spinning rods though it's mono. The stretch is forgiving on bigger fish and I find less hook pulls from overpowering a fish. Speaking of fish I have to roll some crab meat up in some fresh fluke. Laters :-%

[Soundking]

Gaddang! Ken that sounds good, bro!

I also made the switch to braid last season. A little mono backing, a bimini and a slim beauty make up my connection to 20 lb flouro. I run a tad longer leader than suggested, and I guess one could call it a topshot. Either way, its appx 10-15 feet. Don't really know why I do it, but when you have the longer leader you can change out more without having to replace the whole slim beauty connection on the water. Whatever minor benefit that might have. I find that I can work lures much better much further away and that I have a much better connection to my lure with braid than I do mono. Can really make 'em dance perfectly and do exactly what I want them to do with different wrist flicks. The key is you can feel the lure reacting from far away. Good stuff. I have never had a cluster or a problem with it, but I guess that just means I have been lucky. My .02

[tmillerzzz]

I changed 2 out of 3 spinning rods over to Power Pro to give it a test run. Like SK I run about a 15 foot leader of Fluro. Same reason, can retie many times before I have to tie on a new leader. I like the castability, sensitivity and durability of the braid, From what I understand it's good for 2 or 3 seasons.

My one reel with mono is now the last reel I go too, really like the braid and didn't take but an outing or two to get used to it.

Cheers

[Breakwater]

one thing about braid, particularly Berkley "fireline" (which the 20-lb RULES btw)

make sure you tie the palomar knot
-the typical "fishermans" or "clinch" knot will slip

[Slappy]

I made the switch to braid around 1990. The lines have improved a great deal since then.

As BobG noted, mono still has its applications and I still use it, but you can't beat braid for situations where you need to feel every tap.

Clumps on a spinning reel are user error and usually have several causes:
excessively twisted line,
a loop on the spool when you close the bail at the end of the cast.

Close the bail manually, then pull the line tight and start reeling. It will become automatic after a while.

[mumichog]

As for Regulator's question- some braid is junk, just like some mono is garbage, that's my first thought regarding your problem. Bad braid twists like the devil, as does poor mono. I use PowerPro braid ( never employed anything higher than 30lb for bass/blues/etc, mostly use the 20lb and a little 14lb) and have many fewer tangles than I used with mono. The Stren braid has been lousy in my experience.

One tip about braid, and the same thing also helps mono - remove any slack line before retrieving your lure. Closing the bail with a flip of your hand, instead of cranking it closed makes the reel come tight to the line quicker with less line twist and eliminates most slack line issues. Closing the bail (with the hand flip) just as the lure hits the water means your tight right away. This manuveur provides both fewer tangles since there's is no slack and the the added advantage (as any good surfman knows) of being ready for the big hit the instant the lure splashes down.

[albacized]

Just made the switch to braid last week...love it!

Congrats...I think you'll love it even more after you start nailing albies with it.

[albacized]

One tip about braid, and the same thing also helps mono - remove any slack line before retrieving your lure. Closing the bail with a flip of your hand, instead of cranking it closed makes the reel come tight to the line quicker with less line twist and eliminates most slack line issues. Closing the bail (with the hand flip) just as the lure hits the water means your tight right away. This manuveur provides both fewer tangles since there's is no slack and the the added advantage (as any good surfman knows) of being ready for the big hit the instant the lure splashes down.

I agree wholeheartedly...My life (at least as a user of braided line ;) ) got easier once I figured out that little trick.

[DAQ]

Reg 26,

One other trick I have found, especially with Penn reels is to slightly under fill the spool with the braid. The issue with many Penn reels is that the front spool lip is to rounded and this allows loose coils of line to slip off during the cast. Most new Japanese reels don't seem to have this issue, also the Penn Slammers don't have much of an issue.

Like Slappy, I have been using braid for a decade and a half and I agree that it has improved greatly. I can't fish salt water without it and use it for most fresh water fishing.

The advise about manually closing the bail and pulling a couple of inches off of the spool is sound and will save you many head aches.

As for leaders, I use 8-12 feet of mono attached with a double uni. I found that when I used fluoro of this length it sprung off of the spool to easily and tangled in the bottom guide.

D

[rhodyflyguy]

also, if you're using the penn ss's, try using fireline. 30 lb. on the 9500 would be good, as it actually breaks at over 50 lbs, or so i've been told, and i believe it. also, try using 4 or 6 lb. fireline on your tiny penn.