Braided vs Mono

[WalleyeLJ]

Hey Eveyone,

It looks like the site has changed a bit since I was on it last fall. Thanks to everyone who helped out and answered my questions last year. 26#s ended up being my big fish on my rookie trip. Not bad, but hopefully I'll tip 30#s this year!

On to my question...My Dad and I ran 30# mono last year and ended up losing a number of fish on the initial run. I had the drag set so loose that line was slowly ticking out on our sets. We've looked at some info that implies braided might be the way to go rather than mono (stonger, smaller diameter). We're not set up for wire, so were trying to figure out the best path to take. Any suggestions/opinions/ideas are welcome.

We'll be up August 24th - Sept 3rd. In the mean time, good luck to everyone lucky enough to be able to get out on the water now!

L.J.

[gokudl3]

Hey walleyeLJ , I use braid exclusivly. I love the sensitivity and there is no stretch. I use fireline 30#for trolling salmon and i cast with 10# fireline or spiderwire. I tie flaurocarbon leaders with bloodknots. Only time i have been using mono is when its to cold to use braid because it freezes worse. I hate the memory and twist of mono, braid has no twist or memory, at least the 10#. During the late fall and winter i bought 8# P-line and was not happy at all with it, only time i will use that is at the niagara with a 1 ounce weight at the end of it. I dont have a wire setup yet, and i dont do the open water summer trolling like these guys on the board, so they could help you a little more. I am interested in more opinons

Just my 2 cents, good luck this season

Doug

[Time Out]

Gonna have to say mono. The braided line might cause you to loose more fish because there is no stretch in the line. Like on wire, the fish can actually rip the lure out of its mouth because the line has no stretch. If you were loosing alot on the mono, you might not of had enough pressure on him and he just came off. Try tightening down your drags a little bit so there is a better hook set on the initial run before you get the rod. And remember, set the hook.

Jeff

[WalleyeLJ]

Thanks for the input! Time OUt, as far as losing the fish, I forgot to include we weren't just losing the fishing - they were taking the board and the lure set up with them!

[btfc1752]

GOTTA AGREE WITH GOKUDL3

30# BRAID IS THE WAY TO GO,

TRIED SUFFIX #30 THIS YEAR AND WAS HAPPY WITH THE LINE.

REMEMBER YA HAVE TO RESET THE RELEASES AFTER SWITHING FROM

MONO TO BRAID, BRAID SEEMS TO PULL OUT EASIER.AND KEEPING HEAVY MONO OR FLUORO FOR LEADERS 80% OF MY RODS ARE GOING TO BRAID

THATS MY TWO CENTS WHICH ISN'T WORTH A PENNY (':lol:')

GOOD LUCK FISHING THIS YEAR.

[Storm Warning II]

Its all about the application!

Braid is great, it can get you deep, is very low stretch and thin diameter like wire. I use it every trip. I prefer it for salmon because the braid is a TOUGH line and will take abrasion and the stress that salmon will cause a line. There isn't much doubt when a salmon hits a braid set.

Mono is great too, if you use it for what it was intended for. Mono "floats" primarily because of its thicker diameter. Mono, as a result, won't get as deep. Mono has more stretch, as an added shock absorber (in lieu of a snubber). I use mono a lot when fish are in the top 50 of water. It is great for 'eyes and steelies on Erie and you can use it for salmon as long as you are targetting them high in the water column. I like to use a slightly higher drag set on mono because of the "shock absorber" quality. It will take the hit and set the hook with more tension on the drag. If you have a screamer on, make sure you loosen it up a notch once you have made contact with the salmon.

[WalleyeLJ]

Thanks Storm Warning! I appreciate the input. I think we're definitely going to give the braided a try this year. Good luck on Lake.

L.J.

[jimski2]

Braid may have no stretch but it has less drag in the water, especially when you have a lot of line out and a bigfish puts a belly in the line. The strain of the belly of the line added to your reel's drag may be enough to break the mono. Tests done on just line towed behind a boat in Hawaii showed the line breaking at 700 yards of line out, no fish or lures. Lots of fellows will not take the boat out of gear and let out hundreds of feet of line and then it breaks and don't know why. The drag of the line plus your reel's drag setting add up to failure. The diameter of the line is the key, the larger diameter, the larger the drag created. 30# mono can break faster than 20# mono when a lot of line is out.

[Guest ReelDiel]

lj,

i would either stick with the mono or switch to wire. i am assuming by your post your talking about your diver set ups. here are my thoughts.

You will be fishing during flea season. When you used the 30lb mono fleas dont attach to that. If you switch to 30lb braid i think your gonna notice the little critters drive you nuts cleaning them off. Personally I would switch to wire. You dont really need anything extra to switch them over. Wire is not that much more money then braid. You dont need to switch the tips over for a couple season if you only fish a few days a year. If you go with braid I would get a couple clear snubbers same with wire. The wire can get your lures pretty deep around a 100' or a little better. Fish are normaly holding deep that time of year your fishing. I have braided divers I use in the spring with slide divers after the intial spring fishing is over they are not used for the rest of the season its wire, wire, wire.

30lb mono: no fleas, wont get that deep, CHEAP!

30lb braid: Possible flea problems, gets deeper then mono, 300yds=$30

30lb wire: little to no fleas, gets the deepest, most versitile, 300yds=$38

If you were talking Downrigger lines...stick with 30lb mono