Favorite mono for BFS?

[QED]

I continue to use 4 and 6 lb stren mono.  It is inexpensive and has been consistent over time.

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, QED said:

I continue to use 4 and 6 lb stren mono.  It is inexpensive and has been consistent over time.

? You can't put that cheap stuff on that high end gear of yours!!! That's like filling a Ferrari with E15!!! ?

[krustysurfer]

On 3/19/2020 at 5:11 PM, desmobob said:

If you have to ask, you'll never know...  

Those who know dont say... Those who say dont know ?

[bulldog1935]

On 3/19/2020 at 6:48 AM, desmobob said:

I was always a little leery of using braid because the typical BFS reel's spool is so weak.  I guess the drag would prevent any damage... unless you got spooled by a big fish.  And where I fish, that's a possibility.  

 

I've hooked some bruiser sheephead (freshwater drum) and big channel catfish while Ned Rig fishing, for example.  Another surprise bi-catch are bowfin, a larger one of which could easily spool you if hooked at the end of a cast.  The lake I usually fish is also full of big Northern Pike.

 

Slim odds, I know, but I'd rather be safe than sorry...

I'm afraid you had this backwards. 

Mono/fluoro will stretch under tension.  On the BFS spool, it can relax and crush the spool - keeping context specifically for you, it's the same as mono blowing out the sideplates on fly reel spools. 

Braid, on the other hand, can be loaded under tension and it doesn't stretch or crush spools. 

Best finesse mono/fluoro I've used down to 3-lb include Kamikaze copolymer from Oz, and currently Toray ExThread fluoro. 

[desmobob]

2 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

I'm afraid you had this backwards. 

Mono/fluoro will stretch under tension.  On the BFS spool, it can relax and crush the spool - keeping context specifically for you, it's the same as mono blowing out the sideplates on fly reel spools. 

Braid, on the other hand, can be loaded under tension and it doesn't stretch or crush spools. 

<SNIP>

Best finesse mono/fluoro I've used down to 3-lb include Kamikaze copolymer from Oz, and currently Toray ExThread fluoro. 

 

Thanks Ron,

I'm familiar with the issue of mono stretch and crushing/popping spools (learned about it many, many years ago with a plastic spinning reel spool).  I was more concerned about the braid being much stronger than its rating and possibly bending a delicate, super-lightweight BFS spool with the strong pull of a big fish or snag.

 

It must be a non-issue...

[redmeansdistortion]

21 minutes ago, desmobob said:

 I was more concerned about the braid being much stronger than its rating and possibly bending a delicate, super-lightweight BFS spool with the strong pull of a big fish or snag.

I carry a 6" length of 3/4" dowel for pulling snags.  That way you aren't unintentionally digging in your braid or damaging the spool.  As for the pull of a big fish, as long as your drag is set correctly it's a non issue.