Monofilament Or Braided Line? - The Tough Decision

[FlipnLimits]

Do you really think that a bass inhaling a bait uses so much force that it will stretch the line? I don't know that a shop vac could do that. A bass hitting a moving crankbait does not inhale it, he swims up to it and takes it in his mouth. 

Many years ago a book was written by a guy who tested lures to find out exactly how deep they ran. The only line available at the time was mono. They pulled baits and ran a boat with a depth finder over the bait to see how deep they ran. When they were testing 10 and 14 pound lines, they could see fish hit the lures on the graph but the guy holding the rod never felt a thing. With heavier lines that did not stretch as easily, the guy holding the rod felt the hit almost every time. 

I do remember such a video.  I don't remember the line used but regardless, it was a great video.  No idea how much force is used by a bass to eat a bait but do believe braid could pull a crank away too fast.  Similar to a frog bite and having to delay a moment.  I'm happy to learn something new, these are my thoughts.

[0119]

Wait just a minute before you discard mono for it's elasticity.  Sometimes that is exactly what you will want.  Setting the hook on crankbaits, I want my line to have some stretch.  It allows me to use a slightly stiffer rod (for sensitivity) and I don't have to sacrifice hook setting power.  With braid, you will either tear the hooks out of the fish or will have to use a very whippy rod to avoid it. 

 

FL

 

RoLo disagrees with you but I agree with you 100%.  I'm glad everyone prefers braid. It leaves more mono on the shelf for me.

[frogflogger]

They all have there place. Limiting yourself to one type of line is fine but being bass fishermen we love to fine tune and you can do that by using mono, fluoro, and braid where their characteristics are an advantage for you.

[Hyrule Bass]

id go with mono all day. i've read about people having so many problems with braid, i never have those with mono. i figure it this way, mono works great for me for all the fishing i do, why do i want to pay 4 or 5 times the price or whatever for braid that seems to constantly give people problems? i dont, so im sticking with my mono. back in the day people were fishing all the same techniques that people do now but with mono, before braid ever came along, it worked for them as well...

[iceintheveins]

I am a mono man. I only use braid for frogs, heavy vegetation punching/flipping, and hard jerkbaits. I use fluoro only for large hard jerkbaits, drop shotting, and deep cranking. Mono for everything else. It's cheaper and more manageable then fluorocarbon, and I like having a little stretch in the line most of the time, with braid they can also feel you easier and drop the bait. However like I said, for frogs, small hard jerkbaits, and punching, it is the ONLY way to go.

[jbsoonerfan]

Here is my take on the subject. If I have a setup that I know I won't be retying a lot, I will use braid with a fluoro leader. I will do this on say a texas rig or a shakey head for example where I am just changing the bait and not the weight or hook. If it is a setup where I think I may switch lures and have to retie, like a spinnerbait/chatterbait/lipless/buzzbait rod, then I will use mono so that I don't have to change leaders as often.

[RoLo]

RoLo disagrees with you but I agree with you 100%.  I'm glad everyone prefers braid. It leaves more mono on the shelf for me.

 

I probably have more mono in my den than you'll find on the shelf  

[FlipnLimits]

I'm just surprised so many people use braid for crankin!

 

Also, I like the 3000yd spools, I change line constantly and it saves some cash this way. 

 

FL

[0119]

I'm just surprised so many people use braid for cranking

 

It's a style thing.  Like having to have your combo color matched, spending bucco bucks to make a baitcaster throw -1/4oz, or filling up your casting deck with so many rods you cant walk around!  

[Hyrule Bass]

I'm just surprised so many people use braid for crankin!

 

Also, I like the 3000yd spools, I change line constantly and it saves some cash this way. 

 

FL

 

youre probably wasting cash by changing line too frequently...

[buzzfrog]

is Japanese mono realy smaller than US?? Makes since, since when I hear pros talking about using mono, i hear alot say 17,20,25 lb, my reaction was dang, only 50 yards on reel lol

[FlipnLimits]

youre probably wasting cash by changing line too frequently...

it's a confidence thing.  I change any used line before every tournament.  Tends to be often but feeling the little bumps in the line from the layers of line makes me think its strength has been compromised.

 

0119, you're correct, it's just a style thing.  And there are no matching combos in my boat that I know of

 

 

is Japanese mono realy smaller than US?? Makes since, since when I hear pros talking about using mono, i hear alot say 17,20,25 lb, my reaction was dang, only 50 yards on reel lol

I don't know if Japanese mono is thinner but I use 25# mono for flippin' when working heavy wood.  I never needed more than 20 yds, so 50 would be plenty in this case.

[Tywithay]

is Japanese mono realy smaller than US?? Makes since, since when I hear pros talking about using mono, i hear alot say 17,20,25 lb, my reaction was dang, only 50 yards on reel lol

It's not really thinner, it's just properly rated. 10lb Japanese line breaks at 10lbs. 10lb US line typically breaks around 14lb, and has a similar diameter to that of 14lb Japanese line. Been telling people for years not to look at the pound ratings, because they're basically useless. Diameter is universal.

[SirSnookalot]

What's the point of having 250 yards of line on a spool though? Even using a 15' surf rod you likely won't cast 100 yards. .016 diameter is 25lb for most Japanese lines, so a 20lb line in those brands is still quite a bit thinner as well.

100 yards is a piece of cake for a surf rod given the right lure, don't really need a surf rod to get real close to that distance.

 

Back to the issue, the solution is easy, just experiment and you'll have your answer, making this way to complicated.

[tugsandpulls]

i used all braid last year had a good results tried going back to floro this year hate it hate it hate it switiching back to all braid

[primetime]

I find that Braid is great for Flipping and Frogging on casting gear, and I like to go 50-65lb simply for Diameter purposes as I find #30 braid to be too thin for casting gear and causes me issues. I also have a Flipping set up with 20lb Yo-zuri Hybrid that works great, and on my other casting rods for cranks, Jerkbaits, and shakey rigs etc, I use Mono from 10-17, and Hybrid from 10-20 with 10,15 my favorite all around line sizes for Hybrid. I rarely use leader and will color my line with sharpies to match water conditions and usually some green and brown will make my braid just fine without a leader, although I fish topwaters with straight Mono or copolymer since I get more hits and if not tossing a frog will often go to spinning tackle with 10-30 braid and only use Mono Leader for topwaters since it floats and I find that I can get away with heavy leader in the 20lb range and be fine.

 

For Spinning, i still use some Hybrid in #4, #6, and #10, and rarely go over 20lb for braid, and I use mono, fluoro, copoly leaders and have had success with all. The key is to tie good knots, check for abrasions, and when in doubt, go with your gut as far as lb test based on worst case scenario.....If I am fishing a small Finesse worm on #6 test for more strikes, I also have to be aware that if I get a large fish, I am not stopping that fish from taking me into cover, so unless you are confident you have open water, I rarely feel good less than 10lb test...Hope that helps a bit..I guess I find use for all of it, just not fluoro main line as I don't see any benefit personally, but know that plenty love it and it works great for them. I will always try new products and really love the Daiwa Samurai Braid and 8 Strand Suffix 832 and power pro Plus braids...It is so smooth on casting gear I could never go back for flipping and pitching.

[frankiebass]

What guys is your favorite line when bank fishing?
I know braided line is smaller in diameter and allows longer casts, plus it's very sensitive because it doesn't stretch. For many Pro's fluorocarbon is the one to go for. Ok, obviously I'm not a Pro but after trying them both I switched back to mono...

[gunsndrums1]

Personally, for bass fishing i use Berkely fireline 20 lb braid, which is the same diameter as 6lb mono. Braid is great becuase of the lack of memory it has, no stretching, durability, not breaking down in the sun, and is cheaper in the long run to spend a little more now. but for other stuff like trout or panfishing lighter mono is just fine. or if you are hitting a spot where you are positive that there arent big bass, then its great to have a good fight with light line.

[Patrick Morrow]

I use braid too. It isn`t actually fully proven that bass sees and avoids the braid in clear water. So not using it just because anglers think bass may see and avoid it is way too big assumption.

[0119]

Even in gin clear water there is plenty of debris floating around throughout the water column. Fine braid must blend into that "field" of debris to a point especially when you are targeting a reflexive bite. Still it's a confidence thing. I have to admit re reading this old post you've brought back from the dead, there are plenty of points that make me think I ought top try braid again *gasp*

[Angry John]

Even in gin clear water there is plenty of debris floating around throughout the water column. Fine braid must blend into that "field" of debris to a point especially when you are targeting a reflexive bite. Still it's a confidence thing. I have to admit re reading this old post you've brought back from the dead, there are plenty of points that make me think I ought top try braid again *gasp*

here in the northwest I find I don't get any bites on braid. VI's here is +15 feet or more. Sadly I do best on 6lb mono or flouro. When I get in the pads and weeds I can get away with braid sometimes.

[Ozark_Basser]

Its hard to say if bass care that much about the visibility of braid. I doubt it will deter a hungry bass from getting what it thinks to be a meal unless its learned to correlate the long strand of visible braided line with an artificial bait. I'd say this is possible in clear, highly pressured waters. It depends on the bait for me, but I always have a fluoro leader tied on for bottom contact baits.

[J Francho]

Yes. I use them all.

[SirSnookalot]

Personally I don't think it makes much of difference what line is used, with or with out a leader.  I choose braid for 1 reason, I like it and dislike the stretch with mono.