# fishing line



## pa-fisherman (Mar 16, 2009)

What is the best kind of braid to use for fishing in the surf?


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

Braid vs Mono 2014 Spring Debate
:beer:


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## castingsfun (May 28, 2010)

I lost my mind! I teach people how to cast with 50lb mono and A squidder.



There is no best kind. There's A personal preference.

I don't recommend fishing bait with braid for the reason that the line lays on the ocean floor.
It sits over sand bars. It's thin diameter doesn't do well against chaffing. If you're A guy that
can really lay into the cast and are using the more modern rods that produce an unreal amount
of energy. A fully loaded or even possibly locked rod under these fishing applications can be
dangerous. On A conventional rod power casting you're going to quickly find out that the braid
is going to burry itself and that doesn't do you any good. If you blow up the reel with that amount
of energy be prepared for the bells and whistles in your reel to get thrown out of whack.

*You don't need heavier than 20lb mono on A heaver. On A moderate outfit 15lb. is sufficient.
The modern rods have superior fish fighting ability compared to the old school rods.
A shock leader is A necessity.*

My personal preference when fishing braid over mono. Is when I'm tossing artificials and my lures are
fished in different water columns. With of course A mono leader to assist with some of the abrasion
from the fish when landed. The braid also cuts through the wind nice and is super sensitive. Works
great for spinning outfits and is very user friendly. A finger guard will assist to keep your finger from
getting cut from the line when casting. HAVE FUN !!


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## RjTheMetalhead (Dec 3, 2011)

Braid vs Mono 2014 Spring Debate
:beer:


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

pa said:


> What is the best kind of braid to use for fishing in the surf?


the cheapest reputable line you can find.



RjTheMetalhead said:


> Braid vs Mono 2014 Spring Debate
> :beer:


braid is superior in almost every way.


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## castingsfun (May 28, 2010)

I couldn't agree with you more.
Straight from the horses mouth. I'm not A gambling man, but I'm also willing to bet that I'm stating facts.
Whatever else you read feel free and learn on your own. What you're going to be doing now is dedicating
time and money. As for my party the guess work is all ready done. Now let's re-write the books. 













http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multifilament_fishing_line


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

The kind that is not braid.....


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## dsurf (Aug 5, 2003)

castingsfun said:


> I lost my mind! I teach people how to cast with 50lb mono and A squidder.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


For that very reason, use a braid casting leader (some call it a shock leader).......I use 70/80 lb braid casting leader (5-10 wraps around the spool) tied to 20/30 braid running line when fishing bait. This makes for a very small knot (uni to uni). Your terminal tackle will be mono and you can make the mono leader of sufficient length so it can be 'grabbed', rather than grabbing the braid.


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## castingsfun (May 28, 2010)

Look at what I just picked up at Sports Authority.


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## Fishin'Beast (Jul 30, 2013)

It doesn't matter as long as you don't pick the thick, cheap stuff (i.e. zebco braids, china braids of ebay ect.). Find what you need, try out different brands if you'd like that's what I recommend. Good braids for the $ are Sufix, some Spiderwire, berkley, stuff like that. The other guys will educate you on other braids as I have not used many brands.


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## John81 (Apr 24, 2007)

Daiwa samarui braid is my favourite for surf fishing


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## DANtheJDMan (Aug 29, 2012)

I got some #30 PP Slick 8 and used it in fresh water at a dam where I live. I loved it. Those poor fish did not stand a chance once hooked. I did however cut the face off a big sucker that I think had gotten rapped up in the line.
I took the same rigs and lines to the beach at Port A Texas last October. There was a lot of sea weed and I'm a bait and wait kind of guy. I was always dragging in a big mess of seaweed and throwing back out. The braid seemed to work well but the guides on the reel were covered with yellow stuff. I caught a bunch of whiting and a few rays and had a good time.
I cleaned everything up dunked the reels in fresh water, reels seemed fine. Couple of weeks later I took the rigs to the dam here again. Baited up and made and easy cast, boing the braid breaks after about 10 ft. I strip some line off the reel and its like stuck to itself. I pulled off most of the braid until it finally was not stuck to itself.
I think the sand and pulling in large seaweed balls wore the outside covering off the slick 8. The covering all ended up on my guides. 
It was great for fresh water. Probably good for salt as long as it does not come in contact with the sand. 
It works and its strong but it is really cutty. When its good it flys off the reel but it has a short lifetime in harsh conditions. Slick 8 anyway.
This is just my opinion with not much experience. I could have had a bad spool of braid.
DAN


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## pa-fisherman (Mar 16, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. Will have to decide what to use before August


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

Look at it this way. use what you think is best for you. I use only mono, Have for years, no problems. I used braid 8 yrs ago, and didn't like it for me.My stepson swears by it.
If you go with mono, remember this. There have been a lot of fish cought with mono before braid.Good luck.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

"There is no best kind. There's A personal preference"

Yup.


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## js1172 (Jun 5, 2012)

I use braid for backing to gain capacity, but I run a mono topshot
js


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## js1172 (Jun 5, 2012)

I use braid for backing to gain capacity, but I run a mono topshot
js


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## Juan_EZ (Apr 10, 2006)

15# Suffix Tritanium Plus (HI-Vis) to a 50# Shock


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## kayak456 (Jun 5, 2012)

Brain on everything, my stradics and ambassadeurs too, as well as my Calcutta and all my reels. It just feels like fishing with a rubber band when I use mono

Where I live in maryland I use lures 90 percent of the time while stripers fishing and I use braid

When I flounder and sheapshead fish in NC I still use braid

Sometimes I like mono for bait fishing or surf fishing though...


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## Green Cart (May 14, 2002)

*Check out P&S Fishing Bible Forum*

Every year; circle hooks, knots, shock leader are brought up in addition to March Sandy Point State Park Madness. Take a look at the Fishing Bible at the discussion of various knots to use on the shock leader. 

P&S suggested that I consider answering a question or JUST JUMPING INTO A THREAD to pass on my knowledge to P&S.


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## IPNURWATER (Aug 20, 2013)

pa said:


> What is the best kind of braid to use for fishing in the surf?



Your gonna get hundreds of opinions. Might want to be more specific of what type of surf fishing your doing as what type of set up you will be using as well.
I use both mono and braid just depends on what setup and what I'm targeting.


Ex . If I'm surf casting with a heaver /conventional its mono all the way.If it is a spinner setup then braid (which is rare for me)

Ex. if I'm surf fishing with lures/jigs/plastic then braid (just because it's more sensitive to the fish bites) . Imo on the braid its power pro original its probably has the best resistance to abrasions and no memory then what I have experience to other braids brands like fireline, spiderwire and that power pro slick crap.plus the original power pro braid last longer than any other braid or crossbread braids I've used by far.

Plus if I'm around alot of people I will use mono since braid will cut other people line if you cross them with a big fish hooked on like butter.


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## surfnsam (Apr 28, 2008)

My personal preference was power pro but tried suffix 832 and like it a lot better.


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## garrysingh817 (Apr 3, 2014)

"There is no best kind. There's A personal preference"
:fishing:


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## mbrajer (Jul 10, 2009)

I've tried PP, Sufix, Fireline and JB. The PP I got had tons of breakoffs. Can't comment on the newer stuff. Sufix was alright but still had some breakoffs and it's a rough braid. Tried Fireline on my 705z and loved it. Look at 20lb for any surf spinning outfit. Tried JB solid because I could get it cheaper than PP. WIll never go back to PP or Sufix on my baitcasters. It's supple, very smooth, and has a noticeably smaller diameter than some of the other braids I've tried.


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

fireline for my spinners bait fishing


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## Mastrbaitr (May 7, 2014)

Best bang for your buck is spider wire. Some of them are very expensive but there is one that's about 35-40 bucks for a 300 yd spool. I use it with mono leaders because of the amount of line that can be put on the spool helps if you have a lot of snags or God forbid a breakage while reeling in a fatty. Remember though braided lines are flatter so they tend to catch the wind and waves but once you get used to it the sensitivity will be able you to bounce lures or weights off the bottom and with a few cast you can map out exactly what the bottom looks like and what kind of terrain.(rocky, sandy, muddy)


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## Ichabod (Sep 5, 2010)

In my experience braid doesn't have the abrasion resistance that mono does. So.....if you're soaking bait in the surf and your braid is being rubbed back and forth on the bottom, then....the integrity of the line becomes compromised. Therefore, having a long enough mono topshot is mucho importanto.


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## OHMatt (May 8, 2014)

Ichabod said:


> In my experience braid doesn't have the abrasion resistance that mono does. So.....if you're soaking bait in the surf and your braid is being rubbed back and forth on the bottom, then....the integrity of the line becomes compromised. Therefore, having a long enough mono topshot is mucho importanto.


There is the rub; I do have concern about abrasion of braid in the salt, will cutting line off frequently address this issue? Do you have any experience on how quickly abrasion takes to affect line integrity if soaking bait in the salt? When line breaks it is at the knot unless line integrity has otherwise been compromised. For best results you minimize knots and replace line before wear affects it. I replace all of the fluoro tippet attached to my furled leader every time I go fly fishing. I cut off the first 6 feet or so of my line (braid/mono) every time I go fishing freshwater, also immediately following a snag. I have braid on all of my reels save for the fly reels and spincasts. (it ate through the pickup pin on my son's Zebco so back to mono).

I'm heading to Naples in two weeks. I have 300 yards 40# braid on one reel (Okuma 55), and somewhere around 200 yards 20# on the other (Shimano 4000). I'll be attaching the braid to rigs (pompano and fish finder) which I've tied with 40# fluoro.

Thanks,
- Matt -


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

OHMatt said:


> There is the rub; I do have concern about abrasion of braid in the salt, will cutting line off frequently address this issue? Do you have any experience on how quickly abrasion takes to affect line integrity if soaking bait in the salt? When line breaks it is at the knot unless line integrity has otherwise been compromised. For best results you minimize knots and replace line before wear affects it. I replace all of the fluoro tippet attached to my furled leader every time I go fly fishing. I cut off the first 6 feet or so of my line (braid/mono) every time I go fishing freshwater, also immediately following a snag. I have braid on all of my reels save for the fly reels and spincasts. (it ate through the pickup pin on my son's Zebco so back to mono).
> 
> I'm heading to Naples in two weeks. I have 300 yards 40# braid on one reel (Okuma 55), and somewhere around 200 yards 20# on the other (Shimano 4000). I'll be attaching the braid to rigs (pompano and fish finder) which I've tied with 40# fluoro.
> 
> ...


One sharp shell edge on new braid or not and it's cut....


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## OHMatt (May 8, 2014)

RjTheMetalhead said:


> Braid vs Mono 2014 Spring Debate
> :beer:


Metalhead might have had it right. Let me start off by saying in addition to reduced abrasion resistance, braid has plenty of other drawbacks compared to mono; it is much more visible, much harder to knot, requires mitigation for fraying at the terminus, needing to tape your spool, etc. etc.). I'm new to the salt but have been fishing fresh for 35 years. Even with these drawbacks braid is on all of my reels.



AbuMike said:


> One sharp shell edge on new braid or not and it's cut....


Thank you for your reply, however I have to unequivocally disagree with that statement. Abrasion resistance is different than cutting, and braid is much harder to cut. If the shell is sharp enough to cut braid, it will cut mono - braid is in fact more likely to survive the sharp shell. Rubbing on sand, over time, *will *deteriorate braid at a faster rate than it would mono. Ichabod seems to know about the effect of sand on braid over time; quantifying the rate is valuable data.

If anything, braid's extreme resistance to cutting/severing can be annoying. My compact nippers that had no problem with 25# mono will not cut 10# braid. My nice combo foreceps/scissors tool also fell short even after disassembling and sharpening them on an Arkansas whetsone. Toenail clippers did sever it, but leave a frayed edge, which is not good. I ended up buying $20 kevlar thread scissors for the job.

- Matt -


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

Like you said....You are new to NaCl


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## OHMatt (May 8, 2014)

AbuMike said:


> Like you said....You are new to NaCl


Thanks Mike. Good point. The difference could be chemical!

My chemistry skills are also admittedly weak, perhaps you can explain how the properties of HMPE -(CH2-CH2)n- change when placed in a 2% aqueous solution NaCl to H2O. Does such a solution weaken each Van der Waals bond? I know different fishing line manufacturers use different compounds, would you know which one's bonds are least affected by said solution?
PE
IUPAC 
PVDF
UHMW
HPPE
HMWPE

"The NaCl", which I am new to, is all linked; however many other substances such as KCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, Na2SO4, K2SO4, MgSO4, CaSO4 are also present. The concentration of said elements varies measurably across coasts in the same continent. Which chemical formula (for all simply labeled "monofilament") will be best in the Gulf of Mexico considering the various concentration of these other compounds?

One thing is for certain, someone needs to prosecute Dyneema®'s -(CH2-CH2)n- compound for false claims, they report it "_shows excellent chemical stability in a wide pH range, which prompts the application for chemical industries. Because there is no degradation from sea water absorption, Dyneema® is an ideal material for marine and off-shore use._"

 Thanks! opcorn:


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

Not what I meant by NaCl, but ok.......


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## OHMatt (May 8, 2014)

AbuMike said:


> Not what I meant by NaCl, but ok.......


I know bud, one bad thing about the internet is that tone can't be conveyed. I'm having fun here and being tongue and cheek.

- Matt -


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## castingsfun (May 28, 2010)

Spider Wires my favorite. Made in the U.S.A.


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## AbuMike (Sep 3, 2007)

OHMatt said:


> I know bud, one bad thing about the internet is that tone can't be conveyed. I'm having fun here and being tongue and cheek.
> 
> - Matt -


, it did draw out the Troll....


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## castingsfun (May 28, 2010)

Lead core scopes better than wire.


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## Vinnx (Nov 11, 2012)

Power Pro is OK, cheap available everywhere.. not the best but it can get the job done. 

Suffix is slightly better than Power Pro in every way. 

I've heard good stuff about JB, but haven't found it in stores. 

Spider Wire is where my current interest for future braid is lying.. I've got to play around with some of their braids at various stores and I've realized something. They are very innovative.. but do some really idiotic things when it comes to Spool Size Offerings.

Spider Wire Braid - The Basic stuff is probably as good or worse feeling than PP

But the higher end gets interesting, the Invisi Braid and the Glovis braid are super smooth, almost comparable to Power Pro Super Slick and seem like good line, I don't think they have a waxy coating so that seemed impressive to me. 

The one braid I REALLY want to try is the Spider Wire Ultracast Ultimate braid! Because it's ultimate!!! Well, really because it's supposedly maybe higher quality braid compared to the glowvis or the Invisi but without the gimmicks, so I'm imagining a really smooth reliable braid that only comes in low-vis green. *The stupidity of it is, it comes in only 125yd spools, or 1500yd spools*. Seriously... why on earth did they think that was a good idea?!?! Either not enough braid or far too much, this is why it's not offered anywhere else but online >< Why on earth would they not offer the standard 300yd and 500yd high capacity spools.. I don't know. But it's what's preventing me from buying it.


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## OHMatt (May 8, 2014)

Vinnx said:


> The one braid I REALLY want to try is the Spider Wire Ultracast Ultimate braid! Because it's ultimate!!! Well, really because it's supposedly maybe higher quality braid compared to the glowvis or the Invisi but without the gimmicks, so I'm imagining a really smooth reliable braid that only comes in low-vis green. *The stupidity of it is, it comes in only 125yd spools, or 1500yd spools*. Seriously... why on earth did they think that was a good idea?!?! Either not enough braid or far too much, this is why it's not offered anywhere else but online >< Why on earth would they not offer the standard 300yd and 500yd high capacity spools.. I don't know. But it's what's preventing me from buying it.


The lack of forethought to consider the consumer when packaging the product makes me wonder if they are really the best. Perhaps they are targeting commercial/charter consumers who fill 3 reels with one spool? The 150 pound spools might be used by freshwater bass anglers who do a lot of pitching short distances into weeds. Still, they are missing a market in not offering the 300. Which line are you using now? I know from your reports that whatever line you have on your reel is getting the job done.


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## Vinnx (Nov 11, 2012)

OHMatt said:


> The lack of forethought to consider the consumer when packaging the product makes me wonder if they are really the best. Perhaps they are targeting commercial/charter consumers who fill 3 reels with one spool? The 150 pound spools might be used by freshwater bass anglers who do a lot of pitching short distances into weeds. Still, they are missing a market in not offering the 300. Which line are you using now? I know from your reports that whatever line you have on your reel is getting the job done.


Right now I'm using Power Pro and Suffix 832. They get the job done, but they both feel a little rough, suffix being slightly smoother. The Spider Wire offerings felt way smoother to me which is why I'm intrigued. Super Slick felt pretty nice too but the waxy coating thing concerns me.. If I can't try out the Ultimate Braid, I may just settle for the InvisiBraid.


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## Vinnx (Nov 11, 2012)

OHMatt said:


> The lack of forethought to consider the consumer when packaging the product makes me wonder if they are really the best. Perhaps they are targeting commercial/charter consumers who fill 3 reels with one spool? The 150 pound spools might be used by freshwater bass anglers who do a lot of pitching short distances into weeds. Still, they are missing a market in not offering the 300. Which line are you using now? I know from your reports that whatever line you have on your reel is getting the job done.


Right now I'm using Power Pro and Suffix 832. They get the job done, but they both feel a little rough, suffix being slightly smoother. The Spider Wire offerings felt way smoother to me which is why I'm intrigued. Super Slick felt pretty nice too but the waxy coating thing concerns me.. If I can't try out the Ultimate Braid, I may just settle for the InvisiBraid.... but I just remembered the Invisibraid is a loose weave so it's thicker than others line, might not fit my trio 40


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## 757drummin (Oct 8, 2012)

20lb suffix mono mainline to a 5-10wrap 40lb trilene shock and you are set


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