# New to surf fishing, line question



## DEN308 (Aug 15, 2009)

I have been a fresh water only fisherman and am now wanting to get in to surf fishing. In fresh water line choice has been a no brainer, 4, 6, or 8lb Stren.

Now I am turning my attention to salt water and surf casting, my rig is a Penn 7500SS High Speed(got it for a good price on e-bay) mated to a Penn 10' Power Stick 1 to 5 oz. lure weight.

My initial thought is just to spool her up with 17lb mono, or should I use a fluorocarbon line? I know that braided line is out of the question on a spinning reel.

So do I stick with mono or is fluorocarbon better?


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## Byrd Creek (Jun 20, 2008)

I use braid on all of my spinning reels. 20# power pro or suffix braid is what I would go with.


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## Oldmulletbreath (Jan 7, 2006)

You can use braid on a spinner, just need to back it with mono. Be carefull with it, it will cut you quite fast and deep. Most use some type of shock leader.


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## inshoreangler95 (Jun 15, 2008)

Braid is great on a spinning reels because you wont get any birds nest! Thing is you have to watch out and not put too much drag on it because you could bend a spool shaft if your reels is not "braid ready". Braid and surf fishing isn't that great a mix though, if your going to be plugging or throwing lures, then you'll be fine! But if your going to be bait fishing, you might want to consider mono because it has a much better abrasion Resistance!


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## inshoreangler95 (Jun 15, 2008)

Oldmulletbreath said:


> You can use braid on a spinner, just need to back it with mono. Be carefull with it, it will cut you quite fast and deep. Most use some type of shock leader.


Yup, what he said! I like a long shock leader! Protects you from the sand, fishes skin, and anything else that might hurt your braid, and $!


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## Jackman1950 (Sep 28, 2008)

Like most have said braided line works well on most spinners but put a shock leader about twice the length of your rod. This will protect you casting finger and give you something to grab when you catch something. I use 20# firelne with a 40# shocker for most of my reels. Never used braid on the OBX or on a pier-too crowded and braid can damage other peoples line.


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

Oldmulletbreath said:


> You can use braid on a spinner, just need to back it with mono. Be carefull with it, it will cut you quite fast and deep. Most use some type of shock leader.


Yep, I use either 15lb or 17lb mono and 50lb braid with the exception on my big heaver 13 ft, which I use 65lb braid. My smaller set ups, 7ft to 9ft are all braid now.


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## NcRon (Dec 15, 2007)

Just starting out i would load the penn up with a good quality mono 15 to 17lb.I like fluorocarbon as a leader sometimes.


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## Stickbom! (Aug 4, 2009)

DEN308 said:


> I have been a fresh water only fisherman and am now wanting to get in to surf fishing. In fresh water line choice has been a no brainer, 4, 6, or 8lb Stren.
> 
> Now I am turning my attention to salt water and surf casting, my rig is a Penn 7500SS High Speed(got it for a good price on e-bay) mated to a Penn 10' Power Stick 1 to 5 oz. lure weight.
> 
> ...


New to suf fishing but I've used penn spinfishers for other offshore applications before and they don't pack braids very well. Not sure if that'll affect your casting distance. Mono will sit nicer on the spool.


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## DEN308 (Aug 15, 2009)

Hey all, thanks for all of the replys, all very helpful, I think I will spool up with Andes 15lb. mono. I will get a ton of it on my reel and have read good things about it. I will be fishing western Long Island sound, mostly just chuckin' plugs and Kastmasters for smaller inshore Blues.

Is my thinking flawed with going with Andes? I want to stay away from braids as there is a lot of rocks around here. Any suggestions on other brands of mono?


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

your penn will be much better with mono.
braid is a great choice for spinners if they are braid friendly.
that particular penn is not.


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

DEN308 said:


> Hey all, thanks for all of the replys, all very helpful, I think I will spool up with Andes 15lb. mono.
> 
> Is my thinking flawed with going with Andes? Any suggestions on other brands of mono?


Ande is good line... Suffix Tritanium+, McCoy's mean green, P-Line XXX, are all good choices also...


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## NaplesFLfishin (Jun 24, 2009)

inshoreangler95 said:


> Braid is great on a spinning reels because you wont get any birds nest! Thing is you have to watch out and not put too much drag on it because you could bend a spool shaft if your reels is not "braid ready". Braid and surf fishing isn't that great a mix though, if your going to be plugging or throwing lures, then you'll be fine! But if your going to be bait fishing, you might want to consider mono because it has a much better abrasion Resistance!


mono has horrible abrasion resistance and with pressure on it it will pop soon as it hits a structure. braid beats mono 10 to 1


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## NaplesFLfishin (Jun 24, 2009)

Rockfish1 said:


> Ande is good line... Suffix Tritanium+, McCoy's mean green, P-Line XXX, are all good choices also...


what ever you do dont get ande, it has horrible memory and its stiff and turns brittle very easily. get berkley trilene big game


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## Jackman1950 (Sep 28, 2008)

he best fishing line is the one that's wet.


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## hunter1 (Jul 31, 2009)

*mono for Penn*

I still use Mono on all my reels, I have a Penn 750 filled with 15 or sometimes 17# Berkly Big Game. I think it's the best for the money.:fishing:


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

NaplesFLfishin said:


> mono has horrible abrasion resistance and with pressure on it it will pop soon as it hits a structure. braid beats mono 10 to 1


 Guess you need to tell that to all the Grouper that we pull out of the Rocks.
Also Ande Tournament Line is great for casting plugs and lures in general. Berkley B/G is also a great line. For your leaders and Rigs plain ol Ande Pink is the way to go.


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

17lb Mono or 20lb mono depending on the species and type of fishing. Also I like 8lb to 14lb test on my spinners also depenging on the type of fishing Im doing


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## NcRon (Dec 15, 2007)

hunter1 said:


> I still use Mono on all my reels, I have a Penn 750 filled with 15 or sometimes 17# Berkly Big Game. I think it's the best for the money.:fishing:


Berkley big game is a hard line to beat thats for sure!:fishing:


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## fairwxflyer (Jan 25, 2009)

NaplesFLfishin said:


> mono has horrible abrasion resistance and with pressure on it it will pop soon as it hits a structure. braid beats mono 10 to 1


There was a video on here a while back showing a guy rubbing mono and braid(different tests) along a jagged rock. The mono withstood the rock better than the braid. Now, that test could be bias. I dont know how much pressure this guy was putting on the individual lines. 
That being said, around pilings and rocks I use mono. On the surf, where the line take a tremendous, all day wear from the sandbars, braid has held up for the long haul a bit better.
Its all about what you like.


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## NaplesFLfishin (Jun 24, 2009)

seajay said:


> Guess you need to tell that to all the Grouper that we pull out of the Rocks.
> Also Ande Tournament Line is great for casting plugs and lures in general. Berkley B/G is also a great line. For your leaders and Rigs plain ol Ande Pink is the way to go.


trust me i pull plenty of grouper out with a mono leader too, but ive lost a 80 pound goliath grouper on a reef because of mono and while fishing for shark i caught the same fish and still had my hook in its mouth. of course i had a steel leader though


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