Braid or mono for spinning rigs?

[jeff_woodruff]

New to surf'n, what is preferred for spinning gear, braid or mono and the preferred brand? If you use braid do you run several wraps of mono to prevent braid slippage on the spool?

[clinder]

you can run mono to prevent slippage or a couple wraps of eletric tape. I use power pro braid. As far as advice goes I will say they both have pro and cons other than I have heard you can be used for chum with braid on the sands of hatteras!!!!!!!!!!!;)

[jeff_woodruff]

What do you mean by you can be used as chum on the sands of Hatteras? I'll be in Hatteras the second week of June.

[clinder]

if you got braid and cross mono it has a tendancy to cut it off...nobody wants to loose a big fish by having em run through braid with mono. Perfectly understandable to me also.

[jeff_woodruff]

I plan on fishing mostly the beach across from Lonesome Valley Rd. as soon as you are coming into Hatteras, since that is where we are staying. I would like to make it down to the point sometime during my trip.

[RuddeDogg]

ppl fishing the point at hatteras don't take kindly to braid being used -- affects too many others lines in close quarters.

Braid is great, but like Mom said if ya fish in close quarters with braid and ya run across someone elses lines you'll cut em like a hot knife goin through butter. I use braid when fishing from bridges, piers and jetties. When fishin I have told people I was using braid and they stood a little close and sure enough their lines got cut. I even had one kid grab my line and cut his fingers to the bone. Bottom line is if it's crowded where tou're fishin and you're using braid ya have to watch.

[fish bucket]

i use braid on every reel i own,spinner and conventional.
i have an outfit loaded with mono just in case i ever get to fish the point.only cause it isn't worth the aggrevation it would cause using braid.
have fished many times in very crowded conditions without any braid/mono problems but i'll go with the flow in obx.

[ffemtreed]

Mono for bait soaking and braid for lures!

[Charlie2]

If you want to meet a lot of new people, use braid on a crowded pier. Catch a fish an dlet it run down the pier, you'll meet more people.

Braid works on a spinner with Lowriders.

Otherwise, make a good backing for mono to increase line capacity. JJMHO C2

[SnookMook]

I use both types of line depending on the conditions. However, as mentioned above, I never use braid in crowded areas.

You'll find this column about mono vs. braid, I wrote recently of interest.

http://forshorefishing.theledger.com/default.asp?item=723217

[Lightload]

Braid used to be made from Kevlar. Kevlar is abrasive and while Kevlar was being used, reports of grooved guides were common. Braid is now made of fibers other than Kevlar such as Dyneema and Spectra fibers which are not abrasive. Modern braids are not abrasive but the bad press about braid cutting mono persists.

I was skeptical about reports of braid cutting mono so I decided to do a little test on my own. I took a length of 20lb Sufix Tri Plus and stretched it horizontally between two points, then I took a section of 20lb Power Pro and tied a two pound weight to one end. I passed the weight over the 20lb mono while I held onto the other end of the braid which created a pulley of sorts. As I raised and lowered the weight, the Power Pro was rubbing on the mono.

As I was setting up this little experiment, I figured that the PP would cut through the mono but it would take a while. I was thinking that heat would be generated (don't forget, this is happening out of the water) and the heat coupled with some abrasion would cut through the mono eventually. Well, it didn't work that way.

I lowered the weight one foot and then raised the weight one foot all the while trying to keep the PP wearing on the same spot of mono. I repeated the cycle continuously waiting for the mono to part. I raised and lowered the weight for 15mins and 442 cycles; that's 884 feet of PP passing over the mono with a two pound weight hanging from the PP.

I expected the mono to part but after 15mins I figured the test had gone on long enough. The results?........not only did the mono not break, there wasn't a mark on it! No damage at all!

I only tested Power Pro rubbing on Sufix Tri Plus. Maybe testing with other types of lines would come out differently but when it comes to PP, I believe that the belief that braid will easily cut through mono is just plain wrong!

Which doesn't mean that I think it's OK to use braid on the point. I firmly believe that braid DOES NOT cut through mono but it does have other issues that make it unsuitable for use at the point.

First, it has no stretch and it has a much thinner diameter so it drifts differently than mono. The reason two dozen people can fish the same hole at the point without continuous tangles is because everyone's rig is drifting the same way at the same speed.

The second reason why braid isn't any good at the point is because when the inevitable tangles do occur, braid, because of its much thinner diameter and extreme limpness is much more difficult if not impossible to untangle, especially at night.

So, no braid at the point, please! Anywhere else...you'll have to make up your own mind but you can fish braid next to me anytime.

[fish bucket]

absolutely great post!i suspected all along that braid cutting mono was vastly overstated,you've proven it.
i will still use mono at the point for reasons you stated.

[basstardo]

The other things to think of about braid is it is a pain in the arse to untangle. Fishing the conga line people can get tangled quite easily. Trying to unwrap a bunch of braid from a bunch of mono is a nightmare, especially if the conditions are bad on the beach. Best thing to do is use mono in a crowd, but knock yourself out with braid if you fish alone.

[RuddeDogg]

I used power pro until I tried the suffix braid. I speak from personal experience and I have seen both power pro and suffix cut mono becuase it was my braid cutting the mono. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. That has been my experience with braid.

[fish bucket]

i'm not saying braid can't cut mono,i'm just saying it's not as big a problem as people make it out to be.
i've gotten tangled with mono many times and have yet to see the line cut.it's also a lot easier to untangle mono/braid than braid/braid.

[AbuMike]

Big difference between just getting tangled and getting tangled with a big fish on. With a big fish on the mono goes pop when it comes in contact with braid.

[jeff_woodruff]

I guess my geography ain't so good. I thought the point was down by the inlet. Thanx for clearing that up. I can't wait to get down there. I would love to catch my first Hatteras Red.

[Drumdum]

I used power pro until I tried the suffix braid. I speak from personal experience and I have seen both power pro and suffix cut mono becuase it was my braid cutting the mono. I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't true. That has been my experience with braid.

My experience with braid is no different than with mono... Generally speaking 90% of the time the standing line vs the line that's moving is the one that get cut... Example: Had an albert smoking me on the pier with 6lb line.. We used to use 150 mono with wire attached to the end via albright for our pin rigs.. Well my albert went screaming past one of the pin rigs set up as stated,and clipped it,just like sissors... Imho,don't care if it is braid or mono,the line that is moving is the one that does the cutting... jmo,from what I have witnessed..

Now back to the original question.. The disadvantage of braid as stated above is that when it tangles with another line or rig,you got a mess.... ;)

The advantage is that it is that you can feel a bite ten times better,and the hook will penetrate ten times better as well.. Many times I've had nice sized fish "tap" not slam a jig,I've found braid much more effective than mono for any kind of lure fishing.. jmo

On all my spinners it's braid,wouldn't have it anyother way.. Some folks like the "rubberband" effect that mono has when catching a fish,works as a shock absorber.. With speckle trout,it's possible I have lost many a one due to no stretch..Bet I feel more bites and hook more of those hard to detect ones though.. ;)

[jeff_woodruff]

I noticed last year that there were hardly anyone on the beach fishing and if there were they were very far apart. I just don't want to lose a good one cause of mono breakage.

[SALTSHAKER]

I have used both. Prefer mono suffix 17lb over any braid brand out there. I have a small place in Buxton and spend a lot of time there on the beaches. I have met a couple of the guys there and they are nice people. If the rule is mono on the point, don't try to make a point, use the mono... easier all around. Like someone coming into your house and telling you the color on the walls is wrong..... jmo ...salt

[Fireline20]

Ok;

My name says it all...I use Fireline 20 lb exclusively :)
Where does it fit at OBX as to taboo.:confused: It is not braid, it is not mono, it is "superline":confused:

From my perspective, it is supple, casts like a dream, has no memory, ties a knot with ease and just gets better the more you use it. So I say why use anything else.:confused:

Someone enlighten me where this fits,,,,and why I should use anything else.:fishing:

[Lightload]

Braid is a generic term for "superline". While Fireline is technically not a braid (the fibers run parallel and are fused together) it is stll lumped in with all the rest of the superlines and referred to as "braid".

Fireline is not nearly as limp as some of the braids like Power Pro. It's especially stiff when it's new and has to be used for awhile to loosen it up and break it in. It does indeed get better with use.

Because it's not as limp as Power Pro, Fireline is much better to use on reels that may not be braid friendly or where you're doing a lot of casting and retrieving with lures or jigs. It doesn't have near as much of a tendency to come off in loops the way Power Pro does. My jetty reels are all spooled with Fireline, surf spinners are spooled with Power Pro.

To answer your question, Fireline is still very small diameter and difficult to untangle, it has no stretch and it will drift differently from mono so even though it's not actually a braid, it will still be considered a braid when it comes to fishing in a crowd.

[jeff_woodruff]

If I do decide to go with braid, is there any reason to use a shock leader? If I do need a shock leader should it be doubled?

[Fireline20]

..

[Fireline20]

Braid is a generic term for "superline". While Fireline is technically not a braid (the fibers run parallel and are fused together) it is stll lumped in with all the rest of the superlines and referred to as "braid".

Fireline is not nearly as limp as some of the braids like Power Pro. It's especially stiff when it's new and has to be used for awhile to loosen it up and break it in. It does indeed get better with use.

Because it's not as limp as Power Pro, Fireline is much better to use on reels that may not be braid friendly or where you're doing a lot of casting and retrieving with lures or jigs. It doesn't have near as much of a tendency to come off in loops the way Power Pro does. My jetty reels are all spooled with Fireline, surf spinners are spooled with Power Pro.

To answer your question, Fireline is still very small diameter and difficult to untangle, it has no stretch and it will drift differently from mono so even though it's not actually a braid, it will still be considered a braid when it comes to fishing in a crowd.
Excellent reply and answers all my questions.

God I love this forum,,,ask and you shall be educated

[Digger]

If I do decide to go with braid, is there any reason to use a shock leader? If I do need a shock leader should it be doubled?


Depends on what you are doing. If it is a heaver situation then yes.

I just use braid for lures and most of the time I use a short mono leader 18 inches long or so. It gives me a handle to deal with the fish. Oh I most of the time use a swivel to connect the mono and the braid since I have not settled on a knot.