# Surf fishing with braid vs mono



## jebby76

I'm going to topsail in a few weeks and was thinking about switching my biggest surf rig from mono to braid to achieve a higher poundage for small sharks since my reel is only rated for 25lb test max. What pound braid could I increase to and what brands are better? Also what pound shock leader in mono or floro should I use? I have an 11ft medium spinning combo. I'm thinking about making my own single strand wire leaders also just to prolong the fight before they spool me lol. Any info and help is much appreciated. Thanks


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## SmoothLures

Stronger isn't really what you need, it's more capacity to let him tire himself out. Without knowing what reel you have, I can't say what to go with, but a 300 yard spool of 30-50 lb braid should be fine. You will probably need to fill it either on top or under with some mono backing, again depending on the reel... I like Sufix performance and 832 braid. Wire is a must if you want to land a shark.


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## jebby76

My real is a cabelas salt striker, it can hold 320yrds of 20lb. I hooked up last year a couple times and was broke off because my wire leader was to short. I imagine 50lb braid should be same diameter roughly as 20lb mono.


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## jryock

I'd go with 40-50# braid.

I try to go with something 15-20 lbs over what my drag can handle to account for knot strength and line flaws. 

My 12ft heaver has 50# hi-viz Power Pro on it with either a 80# or 50# shock leader (depending on weight being thrown)


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## jebby76

Thanks for info guys. Do you prefer mono or floro for your shock leader? And what size single strand wire do you suggest for this setup at 50lb braid? 
Thanks again


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## 1BadF350

Just go with mono on the shock. Floro is expensive and not needed for sharks. I imagine 80lb wire will be fine.


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## SmoothLures

You want the stretch of mono for your shock leader. I always run 131 lb wire for small-medium sharks. If you're after big ones, you'll want cable.


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## jebby76

You guys are awsome! Thanks for the replies. Another question I had, maybe you fellas have experienced. I read on an old thread that braid will float and give you problems in decent sized surf as we're mono sinks. Have you guys had problems with that?


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## SmoothLures

jebby76 said:


> You guys are awsome! Thanks for the replies. Another question I had, maybe you fellas have experienced. I read on an old thread that braid will float and give you problems in decent sized surf as we're mono sinks. Have you guys had problems with that?


I don't know that it floats, I think it's more that it's not as smooth as round mono and so it has more drag in the water.


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## ez2cdave

Mono TODAY, Mono TOMORROW, Mono FOREVER . . . ! ! !


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## jryock

Braid is lighter and has more surface area; so it stays on the surface unless weighed down or something breaks the surface tension. In moderate surf there really isn't that problem, or at least I haven't noticed it.


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## dawgfsh

In heavy surf braid will drag your sinker toward shore, but I don't think you'll have that problem at Topsail.
Run braid if you want but 17 -20# mono will land sharks in the 5-7' range without all the stress of braid


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## jebby76

Thanks dawgfish, I had no idea that landing sharks of that size on 20lb mono was possible. I prefer mono for pretty much all types of fishing but thought I needed to up poundage because I got broke off a lot last year. It was probably the fact I wasn't using a long enough leader. Surf fishing is relatively new to me so I have a lot to learn. Thanks again for input guys, very helpful.


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## SmoothLures

jebby76 said:


> Thanks dawgfish, I had no idea that landing sharks of that size on 20lb mono was possible. I prefer mono for pretty much all types of fishing but thought I needed to up poundage because I got broke off a lot last year. It was probably the fact I wasn't using a long enough leader. Surf fishing is relatively new to me so I have a lot to learn. Thanks again for input guys, very helpful.


You have to have a rub leader plus a bite leader for sharks. Their skin is like sandpaper and will rub through 20 lb mono in no time.


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