Mono vs. Braided

[oneshot]

Have always used Mono but have considered Braided but understand Knots slip more with Braided.

Which do you prefer and what about knots??

oneshot 

[fishinwrench]

I have no use for braid, or plain mono anymore, but lots of guys really love it.  

[MrGiggles]

Spiderwire stealth, Power pro, and Sufix are pretty popular.

I use mono most of the time, but braid has advantages. The slim profile gets more depth with less line out for trolling, and it's more sensitive. Braid does not degrade in the sun either.

There are a lot of specialized knots for braid, but I'm not that good at remembering them, so I just use a triline knot with a couple extra twists and leave a little tag line.

There are also fused lines that behave similar to braid like Fireline and Nanofil, if you want to experiment more.

[Al Agnew]

Braid is different and requires a bit of a learning curve.  Here are the differences between it and mono (or copoly) lines:

1.  Thinner diameter for its strength.  Good.

2.  Opaque, not translucent like mono.  Bad.

3.  Doesn't stretch much at all.  Good, but takes some getting used to.  Two nice things about non-stretch are that you can feel bites and feel the bottom you're dragging on better, and you can set hooks through soft plastics with a lighter power rod.  So, you can use a rod light enough to toss light lures easily, and still get good hooksets.

4.  Very tough to break when you WANT it to break, like when you're snagged.  Can be dangerous if you get it wrapped around a finger when applying power.

5.  Once broken in, it is much more limp than mono.  That can be very good with spinning tackle, because the line twist that is almost inherent to spinning tackle doesn't affect the performance of the line as much.  You'll seldom end up with loops in your line that cause those snarls on the next cast.  But it can be a bit bad, because the line is more likely to get wrapped around hooks and rod tips.

Knots are not a big problem if you tie good knots.  But the thin diameter allows the line to sometimes slip through the gap in the eye of many hooks.  And while the line is very strong on a straight pull, it's not so good with sudden shocks.  If you set the hook hard when you have a bit of slack line, it sometimes breaks.  And many braids are not too abrasion resistant, though they can take some fuzzing and still be reasonably strong.

Personally, I use braid on all my spinning tackle because of the line twist thing, and because I use spinning mostly for fishing stuff slow and on the bottom, where the sensitivity is important.  I don't use it on casting tackle, and to be honest, I don't particularly like it.  Good thing I only use spinning 5% of the time.

[slothman]

I have heard lots of reports that braid is great for use with spinning tackle when using a mono or flouro leader. I have considered trying it out on some of my spinning rods.

 

the only thing I use grand for currently is A-rig fishing. I don’t really like it at all. I thought it would be really great for Carolina rig fishing and for other stuff too, but I really don’t like it at all. 

 

I like using flouro quite quite a bit. I’ve never tried any of the copoly lines. I use mono 99% of the time now. A big part of that decision for me is the use of black lights when night fishing. I use the fluorescent line that lights up under a black lite. I do feel like I get bit better with a more low-vis line though. 

[fishinwrench]

1 hour ago, slothman said:

I do feel like I get bit better with a more low-vis line though. 

Yeah regardless of what anybody says, and even though I've had my butt kicked by guys using HOT GREEN or FLOURECENT YELLOW colored line.....line visability is a factor in my head that will not go away. 

[Dutch]

I use mono, fluoro, and braid.   I have 7 reels with braid on them.  I've never had a knot slip.  I use Power Pro in 8, 20, and 50#.  I use the Pitzen knot.  It works for all lines and can be tied in 12 seconds with gloves on.

[JestersHK]

I use 10lb spiderwire green ultra smoothe exclusively for throwing jerkbaits at night on a spinning setup.  I direct tie to the lure using a palomar knot and I have never had a knot slip or line break.  The extra feel and the lack of stretch give me great hooksets on smaller rods. 

I'll fish braid too in the daytime, but theres the whole line visibility thing to deal with.  For that reason I'll usually switch back to mono.  Catch rates for me are less during the day but theres also other factors that contribute to that.

[Bill Babler]

I have taken braid completely off of everything except frog-fluke and top water fishing. Braid really floats and makes the top water stay on top and works well.  If you are a hook setter its not good as it also has no stretch and if you snap at it on the strike your going to miss a lot of top water fish.  The mono is way more forgiving.  Just to many problems with snags and for sure knots in the reels both spinning and bait casting.  For folks that don't fish it much it can be a disaster on over runs and once it does good luck in digging it out.  I just have a really hard time with clients using it and they have just about zero problems with either mono or carbon.

If you have to join braid to either mono or carbon it is just another knot you have to deal with.  I hate to hear it going thru the guides.  If you are joining it a triple surgeon knot will hold  and never come loose or break.  Really have no problems with knots and braid as there are multiple that work well either attaching to a bait or joining lines of similar or different sizes.

 I have absolutely no problem with mono on spinning reels, none at all either lite trout to 2 lbs. with 1500 series reels or heavy up to 10lb on 3500 series reels.  I mostly use maxima 5 to 8 pounds however BP excel is really good in the 4 and 6 pound line class.  Much bigger excel or BP carbon  and it goes to heck fast.

As far as A-rig fishing I have also taken braid completely out of the equation.  Tired of the braid sucking down in to the spool and looping on the casts.  I'm fishing 25lb.Invizx on the rig and it is totally a God send compared to braid.

I'm using a Falcon MMC-7-176 or a CCM-8-175XH with a Lew's Super Duty for the A-Rig. Entire wt. of this outfit is under 10 oz.  You can throw it all day.  If your fishing a flash mob Jr. use 1/8 oz. heads and that bait is going to weight under 2 oz. making the entire outfit about 10 to 12 oz.  Way easier to throw and retrieve than a DD22.

My spinning reels are either 1500 series Daiwa Certate or Tatula for lite stuff or Shimano 2500/3000 Stradic or Stella for the heaver stuff.  Folks that have never fished a spinning reel with 5 minutes of coaching will never get a loop with these reels with the above mentioned mono.

Good Luck

[dan hufferd]

13 hours ago, MrGiggles said:

Spiderwire stealth

and a fluorocarbon leader

Double uni to join them.