Braided VS Mono

[Fisher Guy]

anyone have preference of braided line over mono? have a braided and mono lined rods.  braided seems to vibrate on the eyes of the pole i don't love it.  am i using it wrong? caught a 5.2 lb lm on mono this morning

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

I much prefer braid over mono. The best use for mono is as backing for braid. Cant really think of what else to use mono for that fc or braid wont cover in my uses.

[Fisher Guy]

my braided in bright green I'm afraid the fish see it ?  also what test do u recommend and what color? catching large mouth 

 

i can feel my braided vibrating my pole and don't like that either does all braided do that?  

 

[flyfisher]

don't you think that feeling the vibrations with braid would be beneficial?  I know i do.  I like braid and hybrid lines myself.  I personally haven't caught any less fish because of the alleged visibility of braid.  I know many think it matters and use a flouro leader.

As far as lb test goes i usually go by diameter...spinning gets anywhere from 4-6lb diameter and bait casters i use anywhere from 8-12lb diameter braid.  Color, i usually go with greens or browns and have used hi vis yellow which really helps for line watching techniques.

[Fisher Guy]

is there any mono as strong as braid?

the vibration is ok but my gear is so good and light i seem to do better with mono.  i want to have confidence in braid.  mine is equivalent and as strong as 20 lb test so maybe that is my problem? too thick?

[IndianaFinesse]

15 minutes ago, Fisher Guy said:

anyone have preference of braided line over mono?

I mostly use braid, but for crankbaits/spinnerbaits I prefer mono because the stretch helps to keep the hooks from ripping out and my setting the hook to soon.

8 minutes ago, Fisher Guy said:

my braided in bright green I'm afraid the fish see it ?  also what test do u recommend and what color? catching large mouth 

 

i can feel my braided vibrating my pole and don't like that either does all braided do that?  

 

I don't think fish can see or at least don't care about braided line in most conditions, but there are many who disagree with me.  My advice to determine weather it matters for you is to tie a mono or fluorocarbon leader (using the alberto knot) next time you go fishing.  Once you start catching fish cut the leader off and fish with straight braid, if your catch rate decreases then you know that you should use a leader and if it stays the same you know that the fish don't care in those conditions with that bait.  I will warn you that when using walking baits or jerkbaits the braided line will get tangled around the treble hooks because of its limpness, so I prefer to use at least a short leader with them.

As for your question about what pound test to use it depends on what lures and how thick of cover you plan on fishing in.  A few examples are with a ned rig you want to use 6-10 pound braid, a frog a minimum of about fifty (with spinning gear I will drop it to 20-30 pound test when using junior sized frogs), and so on.  If I had to pick three I would pick 8 pound test for my spinning rod, 20 pound and 50-60 pound test.  If you can tell us what lures you are planning on fishing and what kind of cover you fish in I will tell you what i would recommend.  I really don't think color matters that much, but I usually use green with the occasional bright color such as blaze orange.

3 minutes ago, Fisher Guy said:

is there any mono as strong as braid?

the vibration is ok but my gear is so good and light i seem to do better with mono.  i want to have confidence in braid.  mine is equivalent and as strong as 20 lb test so maybe that is my problem? too thick?

By diameter braid is far stronger than mono.  I also usually find it is as much as twice as strong as its advertised rating when I test it.  If you do not have confidence in braid do not use it.  Many people do very well using almost solely mono, Including @Catt.

[Jbower]

I use 8 or 10lb nanofil on my finese spinning setups with a 8 lb flouro leader. I use white so I can see the line clearly. 

[soflabasser]

I use both mono( Berkeley Big Game) and braid(PowerPro),but prefer to use braid when I can get away with it.If the water is extremely clear I use mono more often and mono has the advantage of being more abrasion resistant than braided line. 

[JustJames]

I use braid on spinning reels and hybrid/coplymer on bait castings except one casting which I have 30lbs on for top water and deep water jig.

[BrianSnat]

I tried braid on my spinning tackle and disliked the vibration  and noise, so went back to mono on my spinning outfits. I still use braid on my bait casters and the vibration and noise isn't nearly as loud and doesn't bother me.

[Bluebasser86]

They both have their purposes. Comparing the two is kind of like comparing a spinnerbait to a senko. Yeah you can use one to do what the other does, but it's not the right tool for the job. 

[Oregon Native]

Have used braid exclusivly now for about five years....(with a fluro Leader) on all my rods.  I personally use PP as it likes the double uni knot in all sizes.  As for color I use yellow and couldn't be happier with how the line fishes.....and my spool is always full as the line lasts forever.  Spinning reels get ten pound PP with anywhere from 6 to 12 pound leaders and casting reels get 15 to 30 depending on use.  Love it!!

[Fisher Guy]

i fish mostly plastics, senkos etc.  i agree with brian on the vibration noise.  was fishing two rods this weekend.  one with braid one with mono.  mono pulled in a sweet 5.2 lb large mouth. caught a few with braided but more with mono.  maybe its in my head.  Thanks for all the feedback! 

[HeavyDluxe]

I fish strictly mono (2lbs on my UL, 6lb on my M/F, 10-12lb MH/F) for a lot of reasons.

I'm cheap, and mono - even highly-reputable brand mono - is inexpensive.  I also grew up as the son of a DuPont employee who worked on the machines that made Stren back in the day.  I remember salt-water fishing with Dad on spinning gear and 14lb, yellow Stren mono.  "If you can fight it in on 14lb Stren and a good rod and reel, I don't want it in the boat with us anyway."

And we caught a lot with 14lb Stren.   

To be honest, I also am a sucky knot guy... and since I fish in mostly gin clear water here in New England, I do feel like a leader would be warranted if I was fishing braid.  So, that gives me the willies, too.

I tried braid with mono backing and had issues with it... I tried a full spool of braid with electrical tape backing, had more issues, and just didn't like the feel/performance of it.

I think that, as @Bluebasser86 wrote above, there are better tools for certain jobs but you can make a number of different tools 'work'.  So, choose what's important to you and see what best suits your game. Unless you're a pro seeking to make bank on your angling skills, this is only a (wonderful, awesome) hobby.  And so, if you're happy, then that's a win.

 

Full disclosure:  I am definitely going to try punching really think mats/pads more next year.  I'll probably try braid for that application and, if it works well, maybe give it a shot on another rig.  I want to work on my knots this winter, anyway.  So, next year I might be try to go back and delete all these mono posts and just act like a lifelong advocate for braid.

[J Francho]

It's sort of like asking, which is better: Hammer or screwdriver?

Different tools. 

[Catt]

I fish Berkley Big Game 15# for everything except punching, I know it's strengths, it's weaknesses, & how to adjust my techniques for both.

[crypt]

15 hours ago, soflabasser said:

I use both mono( Berkeley Big Game) and braid(PowerPro),but prefer to use braid when I can get away with it.If the water is extremely clear I use mono more often and mono has the advantage of being more abrasion resistant than braided line. 

see above.........................

[Fisher Guy]

thanks again.  I guess thats it.  My lake is very clear and i can't get my head around the bright color the way it doesn't sink. i also am not great at knots to line to line.   when its in your head i think i should just stick with what i like.  if i was a pro i would go braid so for now i need to find the very very best 8 lb mono?  any advice?  

[HeavyDluxe]

There are 'luxury brands' of mono... But, I use Trilene XL.  There is a Trilene XT line that is supposed to be 'tougher' if you need extra abrasion resistance, etc.

[Caliyak]

Trilene mono and spire wire for me. I use braid for flipping, pitching t,-rig and worms. I use mono for cranks, spinner baits, chatter and top water. I'm not a fan of fluoro, too many weaknesses for the price. 

If fish bite on an a-rig full of metal, braid will not be a problem. 

[Fisher Guy]

thanks all very helpful.  just ordered some 11 lb Sunline 

[Cardiologist]

Fish can't see braid. Their vision is not strong enough to resolve that. They've done studies on this. Fish can't see it.

Just to drive the point home, we use 50-75 pound stainless steel leaders with huge metal clips, fish still bite. 

[Molay1292]

10 minutes ago, Cardiologist said:

Fish can't see braid. Their vision is not strong enough to resolve that. They've done studies on this. Fish can't see it.

Just to drive the point home, we use 50-75 pound stainless steel leaders with huge metal clips, fish still bite. 

OK, thanks for sharing.  Welcome to the Forums, I am sure you are going to be popular.

 

[adrenalizd]

I say the fish don't care much about the line since I have caught bass before on catfish trotlines when using bluegill.  If they can't see that rope I am not worried about my line.  However that is live bait,  artificial will move differently depending on the diameter and material.  That can affect strikes. Have you ever tried the hybrid lines? 

[Fisher Guy]

using a hybrid and a straight mono now.  like mono better.  smoother