I'd say mono to start out with. I also just bought my first baitcaster and birds nest are a real pain. If you look on YouTube you can find a video of a trick to clear backlashes where you tighten down the drag and turn the handle a couple times while thumbing the spool. Don't know why it works but it does about 85-90% of the time. The really bad ones you may have to cut out which equals wasted line and braid isn't cheap. Another tip is that after a good long cast, put a piece of tape across the spool. That way if a backlash does occur, it won't be able to go very deep. Hope this helps.