Trash Talking Mono??

[Brent Bartman]

So I use almost every type of line on the market. I feel like they all have there applications

I normally use the following:

Braid-powerpro

Flouro-Seagar Invisx

Mono-Triline XL in the florescent blue

I have always been under the impression let the fish tell you to use heavier line. I would rather get bites on 12# mono and worry about getting him to the boat than use 80# braid and never get bit.

Story about this. Earlier this year me and my dad were fishing in Florida in tough post frontal conditions. we were frogging eel grass and lilly pads with matted hydrilla.  I was using 65# braid and he had 12# mono. twitching frogs and letting them sit dead for as long as we could stand it. He was getting crushed and I wasn't getting a single bite. After he had 6 fish and I didnt even have a blowup .   I swapped reels and started getting crushed. that day really showed me line matters as much as baits. maybe even more. We lost no fish that day. We couldn't horse them thru the mats and had to go get a few out. Fishing Florida hydrilla mats with 12# mono I couldn't believe it. 

Today I was picking up a spool and the guy at the tackle store scoffed and says no one uses mono.

Am I the only one? I hear of pro's using mono and I have probably caught more fish on 14# triline XL than any other line. anyone strictly braid? or do most people use everything?

[A-Jay]

Nope

A-Jay

[Brent Bartman]

How do you like the Stren? the thing that keeps me with Triline XL is the color. the blue florescent can be seen in the worst lighting conditions and disapears as soon as it goes under. 

[new2BC4bass]

Vast majority of my reels have mono or co-polymer on them.  I've been visiting relation in Florida for the past several years.  I always carry at least one reel with braid.  Use it all the time for throwing into the lily pads.  This past year I occasionally used a reel with 12# mono, but must admit to being careful where I threw my lure.  I sometimes threw it into the pads, but not as far in as I would braid.  Fishing was tough.  Lots of cold fronts.  I didn't notice an advantage in hits for either type....but I didn't use a frog.  I use 30# and 40# braid.

Statistically 37.5% of my spinning reels have braid while less than 1% of my baitcast reels have braid.  Spinning is high because I don't have very many.

[A-Jay]

3 minutes ago, Brent Bartman said:

How do you like the Stren? the thing that keeps me with Triline XL is the color. the blue florescent can be seen in the worst lighting conditions and disapears as soon as it goes under. 

Like the Stren -

I don't always use mono but when I do it's all about the Magnaflex 

A-Jay

[Brent Bartman]

I have trouble with line twist and wind knots with mono on spinning reels so i stay away.

 

and I might have to give the Stren a try.

[Poolshark]

I fish South  Florida and use mono all the time. I usually keep 12 to 20lb test and never have any problems. I don't usually throw 12 pound test directly into mats though. I will use 20 pound test for that. I'm not digging for bass if I don't have to. Lol. To many toothy critters swimming around. 

[Brent Bartman]

1 minute ago, Poolshark said:

I fish South  Florida and use mono all the time. I usually keep 12 to 20lb test and never have any problems. I don't usually throw 12 pound test directly into mats though. I will use 20 pound test for that. I'm not digging for bass if I don't have to. Lol. To many toothy critters swimming around. 

Yeah. being from Florida I have never really worried about gators. But I have been in VA for the last 6 years so i forgot about them. I just moved to SC and last weekend I hooked a 5 foot gator that decided he wanted my pitboss in the grass and it about scared me to death.

[Knightiac]

I love mono. It's Trilene XL Florescent Blue on my spinning gear and Suffix Elite on my casting gear. 

[Bluebasser86]

I use mono and copolymer for a majority of my fishing. Frogging is certainly not one of those applications I use it for though. 

[Bankbeater]

I'm another one that uses mostly co-poly and mono.

[Capt.Bob]

Every reel I own is filled with 832 sufix, and everyone has a 4' to 12' Fluoro or Mono leader on it, 4# to 25# test. always use a fuse,,,,

[new2BC4bass]

14 minutes ago, Capt.Bob said:

Every reel I own is filled with 832 sufix, and everyone has a 4' to 12' Fluoro or Mono leader on it, 4# to 25# test. always use a fuse,,,,

Yeah.  Trying to break braid with your bare hand isn't what I call fun.  A short piece of wood sure comes in handy if you can't go get the lure.

[0119]

8 hours ago, Poolshark said:

I fish South  Florida and use mono all the time. I usually keep 12 to 20lb test and never have any problems. I don't usually throw 12 pound test directly into mats though. I will use 20 pound test for that. I'm not digging for bass if I don't have to. Lol. To many toothy critters swimming around. 

I rarely fish any kind of matted stuff because there isn't any within 5 counties of me.  I see no logic in throwing braid on any reel let alone one for a situation that doesn't exist.  I always enjoy laughing out loud when I see a "tackle shop expert" tell somebody they need braid, just so they can get cut off on all the zebra mussels, freshwater oysters or better yet play garbage man and yank the hundreds of shopping carts out of the drink.

[Master Bait'r]

Nah.  Heck, I stopped using Tatsu because I felt I got everything I was looking for in CXX (albeit in smaller diameters) and the last time I bought both, Tatsu was around $40/150m and CXX was $5/300m that's less than 1/10th the price.  Also CCX has even less stretch so it's almost like fishing a clear braid or something...  To each his own, but shame on the tackle store employee speaking ill of the godfather of fishing line!  It's still the cheapest and most effective way to attach bait to spool.  While I don't use it for everything, it will ALWAYS have a place in my arsenal.  

[buzzed bait]

12 or 15lb big game has never let me down!  That said, i just picked up some 12# sufix siege to give it a try....  but mono certainly works for most applications, but i'll probably still stick with braid on the frogs.  trying to drive those larger hooks home on a bombed cast with mono can be a little cumbersome...

as for what folks in the tackle shop usually say, meh, everybody has opinions....  i don't generally listen to them though.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

No matter how many commercials or salesman push braid i can garentee that mono just plain old mono outsells flouro and braid combined without even misssing a beat everyday all day

[South FLA]

A tool for each situation, so yes mono or co-polymer should play a part just as much as braid or flouro.

[crypt]

I  use mono,big game, more than anything on casting tackle.on spinning I use braid, 12lb. is size that gets the nod 90% of the time.now when flipping or punching use braid all the time. but use smallest line i can get away with.

[bowhunter63]

Been using Big Game along time.Never let me down

[Brent Bartman]

3 hours ago, Maxximus Redneckus said:

No matter how many commercials or salesman push braid i can garentee that mono just plain old mono outsells flouro and braid combined without even misssing a beat everyday all day

I would like to think it probably catches more fish. 

[J Francho]

I don't use any nylon mono for bass fishing.  A majority of my reels have fluoro or a copolymer line. Probably a third have braid. I still use mojo for steelhead, but even then, I'm using a fluoro leader. yhey all have a purpose and solve a fishing issue, making it more enjoyable to fish.  

[WRB]

22 hours ago, Brent Bartman said:

I have trouble with line twist and wind knots with mono on spinning reels so i stay away.

 

and I might have to give the Stren a try.

Spinning reels twist every type of line tied direct to lures. Spinning reel spools are fixed and the bail wraps the line onto the spool, each turn = 1 twist if the end of the line can't unwind.

Braid also twist using a spinning reel, the line is very soft with low memory so you don't notice the twists. Cut the lures off the spinning line and drag about 50 yards behind your boat at walking speed for a few minutes at the end of each outing and the line will untwist.

Wind knots are usually related to braid. Loops from the bail flippiing over creates problems, at the end of your cast manually flip the bail to prevent loops.

Line dressing like Tangle Free on mono or FC helps to reduce line memory and twist are less of a problem.

I use mono for several applications from big swimbaits to crankbaits and top water lures.

12 lb Big Game and 25 lb Sunline Defier Nylon. My avatar bass (19 + lbs) was caught using 12 lb Big Game mono.

Tom

[RyneB]

I have mono on my top water setup that i throw prop baits, poppers, walkers etc. And then a spinning setup with mono that I'll throw a wacky worm, Ned rig, or shakey head. I prefer Suffix Elite

[Deleted account]

21 hours ago, buzzed bait said:

12 or 15lb big game has never let me down!  That said, i just picked up some 12# sufix siege to give it a try....  but mono certainly works for most applications, but i'll probably still stick with braid on the frogs.  trying to drive those larger hooks home on a bombed cast with mono can be a little cumbersome...

as for what folks in the tackle shop usually say, meh, everybody has opinions....  i don't generally listen to them though.

This ^.

I use 12 and 15 lb Big Game 90% of the time. I use 10, 8 and 6 mono on some things, and braid for frogs, deep jigging, around crazy cover, and a few other things, flouro, in a word, nope.