Mono Or Braid?

[shaker]

I've been watching the thread on what color and kind of braid with interest. I'm planning a trip to Beaver next spring to mainly top water fish for stripers, which is best mono, braid, hybrid? I fish Truman a lot for hybrids and just about quit using braid unless I'm trolling, seems to me that when casting to fish that mono has a lot less fish get off than braid. I've tried a lot of different lines and have settled on Power Pro for a braid and Berkly Big Game for mono, 12 to 17# how much line do you need on a reel?