Braided Line or Mono

[issuefishing]

Hello everyone, I hate braided line but I do realize it's much much stronger than mono at much smaller diameters. I want some opinions. I bought some braided and it's a little hard to get used to. I fished for thirty years with mono and just assume you have to break off when hung. I can pull up a tree with this braided but I can't seem to get the hang of casting it very good. Tell me your thoughts. eugene

[Abbeysdad]

Are you trying to use braid on a spinning reel?

[nofearengineer]

Actually, I have had very good experiences with braid on spinning reels before, Abbey.

Issue, all I can really say is it's a practice thing. Braid feels a little different under your thumb, but nothing a few more casts won't fix. I can recommend you try Berkley Fireline braid...it is very smooth, it might cast more like mono for you.

[Abbeysdad]

Well as you know nofear, there is no under thumb on a spinning reel. Personally, unless it's coated, I don't think many braids work anywhere near as well on a spinning reel as it does on a casting reel (at least the braid I've used). Braid tends to 'dig in to itself on the spool' and not come off the spinning reel easily, typically resulting in shorter casts if not even dead stops when casting. This would be very different on a casting reel due to how it comes off the spool.

[TnTom]

I use braid on my spinning reels and my bait casting reels including my flipping/pitching rig without giving up any distance, ease of casting or performance usually adding a mono or FC leader depending (helps breaking off also).
My one complaint I have with braid is that it can be noisy running through titanium guides. Buff the guides with 2000 grit emery and it becomes a non issue. Keeps the line cost much lower also. I like Stren Original and the its last revision.

[skeeter944]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

Are you trying to use braid on a spinning reel?

Yea, I fish 10lb power pro on my spinning reels. I tie a fluorocarbon leader on with a blood knot, this is a very strong setup. I love braid on spinning reels

[Racemaster33]

On my fresh water reels, I have braid on two of them. I use it when fishing heavy cover or a jig. I tie a FC leader on it for both fresh and salt water. I use 10lb braid on all my salt water reels, just use a heavier FC leader.

You feel every tiny bump with braid and the strength to rip a fish from heavy cover isn't a problem. The only time I think it's an issue is after bringing in a giant redfish (fighting for 20+ minutes). They pull so hard that they make the line very tight on the reel and the next cast seems to be limited. I can also go much longer without changing line, the stuff is tough!

[TnTom]

Originally Posted by Racemaster33

I can also go much longer without changing line, the stuff is tough!

I re-color it when it starts to fade and get even more miles out of it. I don't understand the problems folks seem to have with it spinning or casting. good stuff

[WatterBoy]

I use 30-lb Power Pro on my spinning reel when I am froggin' because I'm fishing in heavy lily pad cover or other topwater slop. I've never had a problem with casting distance or performance either.

[WaffleJaw]

I can accomplish all my fishing styles with 17lb mono or less..I use braid on spinning reels for catfishing....But not for bass...Im not going to put that much stress on myself to pull up a log to save a $4 bait,plus the risk of slicing myself on braid....The only reason I would try braid for bass is while frogging,which sadly,I dont get to do often...

[bassboogieman]

I like 20# braid on spinning reels - the 10# gives me fits with wind knots. Sufix is my preference for braid. Also, try casting a lure as far as possible, give yourself another 10' and that's the lengh of braid I put on the reel. I use mono backing to fill the reel, then a wrap of electrical tape before adding the braid. This virtually eliminates the braid digging into the spool. Spinning gear for me means finesse plastics, so I tie on a 2' piece of 8# f/c leader - it makes breaking off a hangup much easier. Using the backing and minimum amount of braid on the reel allows me to spool more reels from one spool of braided line, making my line stretch (pun intended) a little farther.

[keithdog]

Originally Posted by issuefishing

Hello everyone, I hate braided line but I do realize it's much much stronger than mono at much smaller diameters. I want some opinions. I bought some braided and it's a little hard to get used to. I fished for thirty years with mono and just assume you have to break off when hung. I can pull up a tree with this braided but I can't seem to get the hang of casting it very good. Tell me your thoughts. eugene

I'm going to assume your trying to cast braid with a baitcaster. When I first tried braid on a baitcaster I had a bit of difficulty as well. I didn't get distance, had backlash issues, and it just felt weird casting the stuff. Like you, I had always used mono. All I can say is to keep using it. It didn't take me long to get used to it and when I did all was right again in the world. Now I love braid for specific purposes. I can cast a mile with it, and rarely back lash. You just need to develope the feel. I tried a couple different braids early on and it wasn't untill I spooled up with Power Pro that I really started to like braid. Now I won't use any other braid other than Power Pro. Keep it up and soon you'll like it just fine. As for spinning gear, I've never had a problem with braid. In fact, I have much less line twist issues with braid on spinning tackle than I do mono.

[BeaverIslander]

I love braid on spinning reels, and I use 10, 15, and 20# PowerPro on them. Whenever I use braid on spinning setups, I use a 8, 10, or 12# fluorocarbon leader thats 4-6 feet long. I consider that the best of both worlds...low stretch, low vis.
The only baitcasting setup with braid is my frogging combo, and I use 50# PowerPro on that with no leader. Otherwise I use straight mono and fluoro.

It takes a little break-in time for braided line, especially on spinning reels. It's a little stiff and waxy out of the box, but a few hours use and it's limp as can be. I also believe line conditioner helps, too.

I use PowerPro exclusively. I tried Fireline Braid and was very impressed with it at first. It's the smoothest and quietest braid I've seen. But I found out a day later, after casting a few lures off, that the line was full of scuffs and cuts, just like you would find if you had a crack in a line guide that was cutting the line. Its a new product so a few problems are expected. For now, PowerPro it is.

[BigBassin144]

Braid is the most managable line of the market,and I've never had any problems with it.

I use 10lb on a spinning reel for DS and love it. I tried 30lb on a different spinning reel and thought it was too much. I use 30lb braid on my jig/pitching rod and it works great. I've abandoned it for other areas of bass fishing (like t-rigs, spinnerbaits, etc) for fluoro because of line vis. issues.

If they can just figure out how to make a truly clear braid, that'll be awesome!

BB

[Bassboss]

I know what you mean about not liking braid. It's rough and makes your reel like it's not preforming up to par. But I like it just the same! It has it's time and place... as does mono. Like you said, it VERY strong. It's also very sensitive, and low stretch. Making it an ideal line for flipping & pitching. It's also good for casting worms and other bottom bouncing baits because of it's sensitivity. But because of it's roughness, I'm starting to use flouro rather than braid, but no doubt braid is more sensitive, and is my line of choice when ever I'm fishing in heavy weed/wood with worms, hence its strength and sensitivity.

Now mono is good stuff to! It's a great line for when your fishing top waters, cranks and spinnerbaits. Reason being it's stretchy. When using these fast moving baits, it helps because it give the fish a little more time to eat the bait before you set the hook. It also makes a for a good hook set too because the hook is kind of eased into the fish. As with braid, you have a good chance of jerking it away from the fish, because it has zero stretch.

Hope this helps you little. Good luck, & good fishin'!

[Abbeysdad]

I dunno, I've tried 20 & 30lb Spiderwire and it tends to bind coming off the spinning reel - maybe I need a different kind or smaller?

Sidebar (just curious) - does anybody use mono on a casting reel?

[TnTom]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

I dunno, I've tried 20 & 30lb Spiderwire and it tends to bind coming off the spinning reel - maybe I need a different kind or smaller?

Sidebar (just curious) - does anybody use mono on a casting reel?

Sure, mono on a casting reel is the norm for many.

Originally Posted by BeaverIslander

It takes a little break-in time for braided line, especially on spinning reels. It's a little stiff and waxy out of the box, but a few hours use and it's limp as can be. I also believe line conditioner helps, too.

Some braids require a little more break-in time but by the end of the day the stuff is good to go.

[BeaverIslander]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

Sidebar (just curious) - does anybody use mono on a casting reel?

I use mono for my topwater/buzzbait, spinnerbait, and cranking sticks. Tried Suffix Elite this year after using Trilene XT mostly. Suffix Elite with some conditioner used every trip is about the easiest casting line I've ever used, period. The extra casting distance has led to more fish this year, I'm convinced.

Bassboss stated it perfectly. Mono allows for the bass to inhale the bait better than braid and fluoro, even though fluoro has nearly the stretch of mono. The bass is less prone to throwing the hook with a stretchy line as opposed to superline also. With braid, it's much easier to get a bit of slack in the line when retrieving a hard-fighting, head-shaking fish. The stretch allows some forgiveness, so to speak, and keeps the fish on the hook.

Mono is also dirt cheap, especially when you use a even cheaper backing and only replacing the last 40 yards or so. On my rods that get a lot of action, I replace the line every 2-4 trips, for the cost of about $1.50 or less. You can find some 3000 yard spools of Trilene and Stren in bargain bins for $10.00 and use that as backing.

[Bob Smith]

I use 20# Power Pro Braid on my Spinning with 10# Seaguar flouro for my leaders. On a number of baitcasters I use 30 # Power Pro Braid. On both the bait casters and the Spinning reels I use a mono backing line (about 1/2 the spool capacity). This keeps the line from slipping on the spool and provides some cushion for your drag. I set my drag loose on the reels, so that that you can actually hear the reel zip on the hook sets. The reason for this is so that I don't have to keep adjusting my hooksets from what I would do with mono to what I would do with braid (no stretch). With today's sharp hooks and low/no stretch line, a loose drag will not compromise your hooking ability.
As for casting, about every 10 cast or so, I squeegie the line between my thumb and forefinger because it tends so soak up water and get heavy, this will affect your casting vs backlash. It also helps to spray the braid with good line conditioner before making that first cast of the day.
I'm going to try that 2000 grit on the titanium guides, I haven't thought about that, but they do tend to make noise with the spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
I love the sensitivity and would never go back to mono because of that especially with the presentations that require that level of sensitivity (shakey head, drop shot, C-rig, T-rig, jigs, Jigging spoons, Super flukes, Senkos, wacky rigs, on and on!).

[CMorg]

I can bring up a tree with 17# Flourocarbon..and bend jig hooks. I dont recommend many flouros with a spinning reel , maybe a copo would work ? The best of both worlds ? I know this wasnt your question , but maybe another suggestion.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

I dunno, I've tried 20 & 30lb Spiderwire and it tends to bind coming off the spinning reel - maybe I need a different kind or smaller?

Sidebar (just curious) - does anybody use mono on a casting reel?

Heck yes!

Top waters, spinnerabits, and buzzbaits!!

[Baron49]

Originally Posted by Abbeysdad

I dunno, I've tried 20 & 30lb Spiderwire and it tends to bind coming off the spinning reel - maybe I need a different kind or smaller?

I have worked with braided and fused lines ever since they came out and found that a fused line such as Berkley Fireline works extremely well on spinning reels in sizes from 4 and 6 lb test all the way to 20lb test...for me 30 lb Fireline is a bit bulky for a spinning reel. Unlike regular braided lines, Fireline is a flat line and has a little bit of memory that holds the line on the spool and rarely binds.

With a spinning reel if the line starts to get loose on the spool. You need to make a long cast and use your fingers to squeeze the line while you reel it in to make sure you get the line back on the spool tightly. I may need to do this once or twice during a long day on the water.

Originally Posted by issuefishing

Hello everyone, I hate braided line but I do realize it's much much stronger than mono at much smaller diameters. I want some opinions. I bought some braided and it's a little hard to get used to. I fished for thirty years with mono and just assume you have to break off when hung. I can pull up a tree with this braided but I can't seem to get the hang of casting it very good. Tell me your thoughts. eugene

There are a lot of braided lines on the market today and some cast easier then others. After years of playing around I settled on Power Pro for most of my bait-casting needs. 50 lb power pro has about a 12 lb mono diameter and is my most popular size. When spooling it on your bait-casting reel, a little bit of mono for backing works well and make sure you spool the braid on tightly. Once you have that set up take a practice plug of 1/2 oz out in the back yard and spend some time casting and pitching. There is a light coating on Power pro that starts to come off after a little use. This is normal and you will find the line will get a little softer and easier to work with. Takes a little time to get used to the noise of it going through the guides, but in the long run it is well worth the effort. I use Power Pro on most of my casting outfits for bass, salmon, walleyes, muskies, and stripers. It is tied directly to my baits and in my area crystal clear water to 20 feet is the norm.

About the only thing I use mono for now is for topwater, spinner baits, and crankbaits. For everything else on a bait-casting outfit I use 30-50-65lb Power Pro braid.

[andyfender]

But would you use Braided line when using drop shot or Lindy rig?

[nofearengineer]

Originally Posted by andyfender

But would you use Braided line when using drop shot or Lindy rig?

Absolutely! However, you should use a mono or fluoro leader for these two types of rigs.

[Baron49]

You probably could use a thin braided line for dropshotting. I drop shot with spinning tackle and prefer a fused line like Fireline as the little bit of memory it has allows the line to stay on the spool better.