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

Fish I catch are so big that I just use rope.

yeap I use Drag line cable for the big fish I catch. It is a little harder to work with than rope.

I got tired of losing jigs to brush so I switched to #800 test:

Originally Posted by Hanr3

Call me old fashioned. I use mono for everything. Respool every year.

I'm with ya on that one.

Has anyone tried the Dykeema (sp) braid that is being advertised on ebay? It has to come from from China. The price seems to better than some of the brand names but am not sure about the quality???

Up till last year I was 100% mono as long as it was copolymer, but when I moved to Florida and started fishing salt I started using braid. I tried Momoi, and hated it then tried PowerPro and have been using it all year on several reels. Every time I go back to a reel using mono now it feels numb in my hands and can't wait to get back to braid. I tried braid over the years and rejected it because of too many knots, noise and visibility. Now I tie on flouro leaders which eliminated the visibility problem. PowerPro is smoother than the braids I tried previously, but still is noisy. I recently bought a spool of the brand new PowerPro Super8Slick and it is much smoother than the original. The new line also holds its color unlike the old PowerPro. It's not quite as smooth as mono, but it's much closer. As far as wind knots are concerned you need two things to avoid them. A quality reel that wraps the line tighter and more evenly, and the proper thickness of line. Super thin braids are going to get wind knots, but do you really need line that thin? Try a little thicker line and tie on a flouro leader. I also have been using Doug Hannons Wavespin reels and a MicroWave rod both of which significantly reduce reel loop pull offs and wind knots while casting further than traditional reels. The higher end Shimano and Daiwa reels also cast braids without any more wind knots than mono as well. They have advanced line oscillation, spool design and line control technologies that really make a difference. The one big negative to all this advancement is price. The line is ridiculously expensive. $40 or more for 300 yrds, which is the norm for the higher end braids like Sufix and Samauri and now PowerPro, and the reels cost more as well, $120 and up. The MicroWave reels are less than $100 and Shimano has improved the lower lines of reels recently, but they may not have all the line management tech the higher end reels have.

Right now I'm using 6 lb Trilene XL Mono on my spinning rod for cork and jig or just casting jigs. Sensitivity is not there and almost break off on every hang-up. I want to try a braid that will straighten out a #4 jig hook but cast, goes thru a slip bobber, and winds well on my spinning reel. I don't have top end rods and reels but they're pretty decent. Color is not a problem as I fish muddy to stained waters anyway. In fact my jig poles have 8 lb Yellow Hi-Vis Stren on them. Sounds like Power Pro might be what I need to look at but what size? Should I stick with one that is the same diameter as my Trilene XL mono or go a little smaller?

Originally Posted by slabbandit

Right now I'm using 6 lb Trilene XL Mono on my spinning rod for cork and jig or just casting jigs. Sensitivity is not there and almost break off on every hang-up. I want to try a braid that will straighten out a #4 jig hook but cast, goes thru a slip bobber, and winds well on my spinning reel. I don't have top end rods and reels but they're pretty decent. Color is not a problem as I fish muddy to stained waters anyway. In fact my jig poles have 8 lb Yellow Hi-Vis Stren on them. Sounds like Power Pro might be what I need to look at but what size? Should I stick with one that is the same diameter as my Trilene XL mono or go a little smaller?

Bandit .... I'm using 10/2 PowerPro on a Shimano Spirex 2000 / 7' Bionic Blade .. to throw 1/16oz Roadrunners & Charlie Brewer's Whirly Bee. Works fine for me. It comes in 8/1 - 10/2 - 15/4 - 20/6 (lbs test/eqiv mono diameter)

Just some things to remember/consider if you go with braid :

Make sure you have ceramic rings in your rod guides. (less noise)
Back off on the drag a little. (braid don't stretch)
Buy a pair of Fiskar Childs Scissors. (cuts clean & blunt tag ends)
Keep a wooden dowel handy. (to wrap it around when pulling baits free - keeps braid from cutting into your fingers/hand)
Leave at least 1/2 of your spool with mono (saves $$ & helps keep braid from slipping around your spool)

I'm sure there are some other "tips", but I can't think of them right now.

... cp