Double Uni-knot with braid and heavy mono?

[AU-N-Cdn]

I'm new and having a tough time with this. First I'd like to confirm that the advice given to me was reasonable: the 50lb braid on my spinning reel should be finished with an 80lb Berkley big game mono shock leader and I should tie them together with a double uni-knot. Well, I can tie that knot with smaller line, but when tying it with the thick stuff, the whole mono portion of the knot twists as I tighten it and the braid wraps around the main "spine" of mono at the core of the knot. The resulting knot is bulky (i.e. the mono doesn't come out looking like that perfectly layered set of coils in the knot diagrams) and, I believe, weak. Am I tying the wrong knot alltogether for thick mono or does this just take practice to get right?

Excellent board BTW - every fish I've caught on my recent vacations to the beach has been because of you guys - thanks!

[Otter]

http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26473&highlight=braid+shock+leader

Depending on who you ask and what ur fishin for you may not need a shock at all. If you do put one on, IMHO you don't need 80lb test. Maybe 50. I learned quite a bit from that thread....there's a lot of ways to look at this.

[derekxec]

otter is right....dont even bother with a shock leader i use 30lb all the way up to 150lb braid and i dont use a shock leader

the uni-uni is pretty strong but its gonna be bulky no matter how good you are at tying it especially with an 80lb shock...do like otter said and use 50lb but its really not needed

[Anthony]

50lb braid on a spinning reel may be over doing it. What type of fish do you target? Anyway a shock leader is good for a lot of things. It's definitely recommended for throwing heavy weights and can make landing large fish easier. I use an albright knot and maybe once in a blue moon it fails on me, but usually that is due to a bad knot.

[Buffalo]

I use 20# test mono on my surf reels with 40#
shockleader. Double uni knot works well with this. Need to be careful with braid when you are
fishing with others from the beach. When multiple fish are on, your braid will be slicing through other anglers:) lines and they are not going to be happy.

[FisherTim]

For surf fishing, 30# or 40# is all I ever use tied uni-to-uni to the braid. I use it mainly so I can safely grab the line w/ a big fish thrashing around. Been cut by the braid before..

[Drumdum]

What are you fishing for with 50llb braid?? I use 20 with 60 shocker,when fishing for big fish... I tie a bimini in the braid then a no-name knot to that.. Reason is the diameter of 60 is much bigger than that of the 20braid,so I double the line.. When using similar diameters,for spainish and such I'll use 20 or 30 mono with a double uni.. Like Fisher Tim,I have also been cut by braid when landing a fish,it ain't pleasant...

[AU-N-Cdn]

Excellent feedback... of course while it answers some questions it inspires even more :)
1. Is the bottom-line answer that it's just really tough (but possible) to tie a double-uni with mono that heavy?
2. Is that albright knot a safer choice for an inexperienced knot-guy like me?

BTW, concerning the choice of line strength, I believe I need heavy line and shock leader because we'll be throwing out big baits for sharks (early July in the Duck area in OBX I was told it's all we can catch in the surf) and last year we had a couple of break-offs on 30# line with what seemed (to me anyway) like some pretty hefty sharks. I'd love to target a different type of fish as well if there's anything else biting that time of year?

Thanks for the different perspectives and opinions - it makes learning this stuff a lot easier!

AU-N-Cdn

[GMinPA]

Excellent feedback... of course while it answers some questions it inspires even more :)

2. Is that albright knot a safer choice for an inexperienced knot-guy like me?
I'm far from anexperienced knot-guy, but I tried the Albright and found it WILL SLIP when using Power Pro. I'm experimenting with different makes of braided line, and a variation on the Albright knot. The variation is not mine and can be found on a larger fishing board with 12k members. I'm not sure the rules of this board allows posting a link to that knot, since that board does not allow posting of links. (Ya should know which BBS i am refering to by now! ;) )

BTW, concerning the choice of line strength, I believe I need heavy line and shock leader because we'll be throwing out big baits for sharks (early July in the Duck area in OBX I was told it's all we can catch in the surf) and last year we had a couple of break-offs on 30# line with what seemed (to me anyway) like some pretty hefty sharks. I'd love to target a different type of fish as well if there's anything else biting that time of year?

Thanks for the different perspectives and opinions - it makes learning this stuff a lot easier!

AU-N-CdnIf you are talking sharks, perhaps 50# is a good idea. I'd check to see what leader is being used, though. Toothy critters require wire leaders.

I have had experience with a coated wire that can be tied that I use for snelling hooks used when targeting bluefish. I have not been disappointed.

Then again, sharkin' isn't the same as going after blues.

[Samurai]

I use something simular to what you are using and this is how I tie mine. I double the line on the power pro side to more match the diameter of the mono.I then tie a uni knot and cinch this side down,I then tie a regular uni (not doubling) in the mono and cinch this side down.I then pull on both running lines to bring the knots together.Never had this knot fail.
As far as the Allbright goes.It's a good knot if using mono to mono.If going Power Pro to mono,I would Bimini Twist the Power Pro and use a Alberto Knot to the mono.

[Drumdum]

Comfortable with the uni-uni,right? You want to use 80lb shocker right? If so how much do you want to use? If you want,say 8',why not step it down.. In other words,use 8' of 50mono,tied directly to braid with uni,then another 8' of 80mono tied directly to 50mono with uni...
Sounds like a pain in the arse,but both would be much stronger connections than an albright. If you are comfortable with a bimini,it's no big problem,ya just double the line as was mentioned in a couple of post above,and tie uni-uni,no-name,alberto,"improved albright"..
When tieing something that heavy and stiff,like 80 bg,ya need to step it down or double,imo...

[Black Beard]

Just bear in mind, especially when chasing sharks, 'superbraids' have absolutely NO resistance to abrasion whatsoever when pulled tight. A roll up and a whack of the tail will see a trussed up shark swimming away to die and you standing on the beach knowing you screwed up.

So use a long heavy mono leader at least twice as long as the shark you anticipate latching onto.

For attaching mono leader to mono mainline use a spider hitch in the mainline so you are tying a double to the leader.

Plenty of instructional pics for knots on my site:

http://neilmackellow.sea-angler.org/

Good luck - Neil

Never underestimate a fish with teeth!

[AU-N-Cdn]

Hey - thanks everyone for the excellent and helpful info. It's given me lots of options to explore and probably some better paths than the one I was on.

Now who can recommend the the bar with the best bands/action to go to in Kitty Hawk or Nags Head? :D

Thanks again guys!