Thread: Braid vs Mono - How to Choose the Best for YOU

Thanks for the advice!

Gridiron, for very clear waters, you would probably be better off with floro, although the fireline crystal is about the lowest viz superline you can get, in clear water, it'll look like a rope.

HB

Just bought the Pflueger President so one spool with fireline, one with flouro. That way I can see what works better and can always switch on sunny or cloudy day. Thanks for the info.

braid will tear holes in the membrane around the mouth allowing the fish to flop off, one of the main reasons that crappie poles are so flexable, I guess jiggin in the pads braid would work ok I just don't use it anymore after doing a side by side comparison. trip after trip flouro out fished braid 4 to 1. I use 4 or 6 lb berkley vanish on all of my poles and spray Reel Magic on the spools after every trip. flouro is the best of both worlds, its invisable, it sinks, and has less stretch than mono not zero like braid so you still feel the bite better. i switch out my line after every 5 or 6 trips, only about the first 20 or 25 yards to keep the cost to a minimum. some people like apples and some like oranges, whatever works best for you. my 2c

Originally Posted by mduncan62

I fish for Crappie only. Don't like the taste of Trout. Many years ago, we used to go out and catch trout with Corn and big old gold hooks in Minnesota, They didn't seem to finicky. I'd be willing to bet we could've used yarn for fishing line.

Both kinds of trout out there mduncan62... those you can catch with corn and gold Stren line and those that won't take a #18 dry fly on a 4lb tippet they're so finicky. Just depends on where you're fishing for them. I think it's the same with crappie. Some are spooky and some pay no attention.
I like the theory of using braid just because of the small diameter in relation to the strength. Will try for the 1st time this year so the jury's out for me. I'm thinking a 20 foot braid leader with mono backing and, if conditions dictate, a clear mono leader on front of the braid. I'm dissapointed reading some having problems using the braid for jigs like maybe its' too stiff and also someone wrote the red makes a mess on the reel... yikes... that's what I got! Anyhow we'll give er a shot this year and maybe mono will be a thing of the past and maybe not.

I use mono in all my reels. I used Suffix 8 lb. clear on 3 of my reels and green suffix on the others. Do you think that off-color line makes a difference compared to clear? I have used Stren in the past. I have heard good things about Suffix so I thought I would try it.

Limb Bream

Originally Posted by EnonEye

Both kinds of trout out there mduncan62... those you can catch with corn and gold Stren line and those that won't take a #18 dry fly on a 4lb tippet they're so finicky. Just depends on where you're fishing for them. I think it's the same with crappie. Some are spooky and some pay no attention.
I like the theory of using braid just because of the small diameter in relation to the strength. Will try for the 1st time this year so the jury's out for me. I'm thinking a 20 foot braid leader with mono backing and, if conditions dictate, a clear mono leader on front of the braid. I'm dissapointed reading some having problems using the braid for jigs like maybe its' too stiff and also someone wrote the red makes a mess on the reel... yikes... that's what I got! Anyhow we'll give er a shot this year and maybe mono will be a thing of the past and maybe not.

It's like anything else, you get used to it, it's deadly. Putting a mono leader on braid is funny as heck to me. One of the benefits of braid is no stretch when you get a bite. There's no doubting you have a bite with braid.

Originally Posted by snookinman

braid will tear holes in the membrane around the mouth allowing the fish to flop off, one of the main reasons that crappie poles are so flexable, I guess jiggin in the pads braid would work ok I just don't use it anymore after doing a side by side comparison. trip after trip flouro out fished braid 4 to 1. I use 4 or 6 lb berkley vanish on all of my poles and spray Reel Magic on the spools after every trip. flouro is the best of both worlds, its invisable, it sinks, and has less stretch than mono not zero like braid so you still feel the bite better. i switch out my line after every 5 or 6 trips, only about the first 20 or 25 yards to keep the cost to a minimum. some people like apples and some like oranges, whatever works best for you. my 2c

It's not the braid that's losing fish, I'm sorry but it's the man holding the rod. I have fished nothing but braid for 3 seasons, and I have lost maybe a couple fish. Way less then I did with mono. Try horsing a slab that's hung up in brush or cedar with mono line, LOL. Braid just isn't for you, based on your experience.