Who still uses nothing but mono?

[ISuckAtBassFishingBoise]

I switched to 10# braid on my spinning setups with a 8# invixz fluoro leader and I will not be going back to mono on them.  Been using Daiwa J-braid Grand and its working great.   Its like power pro super slick v2 but less than half the price.   Still running izorline mono on the square bill rod.   832 on the frog sticks.    #50 832 frays off and makes a mess with the line guide on my baitcasters but its only $13 during the spring sales and lasts a season or two.

[APK62]

There is nothing wrong with mono (Co-Poly) the fishing industry needs to generate revenue and they have brain washed us. Braid with a leader is overkill IMHO. It requires a lot of attention, especially if you are throwing small plastics and tend to get snagged. During a TX I don't have the time or patience to keep tying on new leaders especially is bad weather. 

[Deke]

Tried Spider and other braid and it ate through the rings on my finest rods. So I only use Monofilament on my fishing gear. Ande and Trilene XT are my favs in Saltwater. Penn and Ugly. Green or Clear.

[Woody B]

Old thread is back.  I keep trying to like braid but I just can't.   I HATED every brand of braid I tried until Sufix 832.  I can kinda tolerate it, but doubt I'll use any more.   I like the sensitivity, but that's about it.  I hate the way it feels.  I haven't had problems with any knots but usually tie a palomar just because you're "supposed" to use it with braid.   I've had guide problems recently with 2 rods.  Both had problems while using braid.   Week before last I broke a guide.  I changed rods, and inspected my line.  Saturday I broke my line on a hookset.   A few minutes later my lure floated to the surface.  It had 20 feet of so of line on it.   There was probably a nick in the line I missed.  I'm out of braid and won't be buying anymore.  

 

Plenty of people catch plenty of fish using braid.  I'm convinced I simply don't catch as many.  Regardless of whether braid has anything to do with it confidence is a big factor.  

 

I recently got active target.  With mono I can see my lure in the water.   With braid (Sufix 832, 40 pound) I can see my line and lure.   

 

I'm currently working through a spool of Trilene Big Game.   It seems a little stiffer than XL, but it's OK.  

[Captain Phil]

Over the last six months, I have begun to experiment more with braided line.  Previously, I only used it when frog fishing. Here are some of my observations.  Vibrating lures like Rattle Traps have more vibration with braid than mono.  Hook sets are firmer and I get more fish in the boat with braid.  Braid is a big advantage when flipping.  I often catch fish that I don't even know are on the line until I pull out the bait.  More of these fish were lost with mono. Braid does hang up on cover more.  This is offset by it's ability to cut through cover.  I think tying leaders to braid is wishful thinking.   20 pound braid is thin enough with no leader.   I see no reason to use braid over 30 pound test when bass fishing. I doubt I would use braid for open water worm fishing in clear water.  This may be a confidence thing with me, but that's the way I feel.  Fluorocarbon line is a waste of money unless you are fishing in very clear water.   Knots are not a problem with braid as long as you tie the right knot.   If you use a standard clinch knot with braid, you are almost guaranteed to lose a fish.  I don't use standard knots when flipping with braid, I snell my hooks.  Overall, my experience with braid has been good.   So far, all I have used has been Power Pro.  It's works fine for me.

[TnRiver46]

14 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

Over the last six months, I have begun to experiment more with braided line.  Previously, I only used it when frog fishing. Here are some of my observations.  Vibrating lures like Rattle Traps have more vibration with braid than mono.  Hook sets are firmer and I get more fish in the boat with braid.  Braid is a big advantage when flipping.  I often catch fish that I don't even know are on the line until I pull out the bait.  More of these fish were lost with mono. Braid does hang up on cover more.  This is offset by it's ability to cut through cover.  I think tying leaders to braid is wishful thinking.   20 pound braid is thin enough with no leader.   I see no reason to use braid over 30 pound test when bass fishing. I doubt I would use braid for open water worm fishing in clear water.  This may be a confidence thing with me, but that's the way I feel.  Fluorocarbon line is a waste of money unless you are fishing in very clear water.   Knots are not a problem with braid as long as you tie the right knot.   If you use a standard clinch knot with braid, you are almost guaranteed to lose a fish.  I don't use standard knots when flipping with braid, I snell my hooks.  Overall, my experience with braid has been good.   So far, all I have used has been Power Pro.  It's works fine for me.

BedRock ledges can cut through 30 lb braid pretty easily .

 

I would also imagine “punching” in FLA with a 1+ oz weight would not work with 30 lb braid, most use 50 and up I believe 

[Captain Phil]

  

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I would also imagine “punching” in FLA with a 1+ oz weight would not work with 30 lb braid, most use 50 and up I believe 

 

We don't have rock ledges in Florida.  The heaviest cover I flip here in Florida are hydrilla mats.  I have never used a sinker heavier than 3/4 oz. when flipping for bass.  A little wiggle and a 3/4 oz. sinker drops right in.  I see no reason to use any weight heavier than 1 oz. in Florida.  I always use the lightest weight I can get away with.  For Kissimmee grass I use 5/16 or 3/8 oz. weights.  I have flipped with 1/8 oz weights in pads. The lighter the weight, the more bites you will get.

 

Up until recently, I always used 25 pound Big Game mono for flipping.  I have never lost a bass flipping due to broken line and have caught many double digit bass flipping.  If 25 pound mono works, 30 pound braid will as well.  The idea that you need heavy line and big weights to catch bass must be a macho thing?  In my opinion, bigger is not always better. ☺️

[gim]

30 pound braid isn't heavy enough for up here with certain types of moving lures.  Pike will snip right through it.  I tried.  I even tried 40 pound braid and that didn't last either to the pack of teeth.  I know there aren't pike in Florida, I'm just telling you that there is a reason to use something else like a flurocarbon leader.  I use Seaguar Blue Label for those applications and haven't been bit off once yet.  Just the other day I landed a 34 inch pike using a white chatterbait and I can say with 100% positivity that if I had not been using the blue label above the lure as a leader, that fish would have bit through my braid.  Would have been a lost $12 lure and a lost pike.  Even the fluoro was worn because of those teeth, but it held.  I quickly re-tied another one.

 

Braid isn't very resistant to rocks or zebra mussels either, so in those cases I am using a fluorcarbon leader as well.  Generally if there are zebes, the water is also quite clear so they go hand in hand.

[Captain Phil]

17 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I know there aren't pike in Florida, I'm just telling you that there is a reason to use something else like a flurocarbon leader. 

 

We have a species of small pike called Chain Pickerel. The largest of those I have caught was about 4 pounds.  They love spinnerbaits and will bite though mono like nothing.  Fortunately, they aren't too numerous where I fish.  I have fished for large pike in Canada.  I have one mounted on my office wall that weighted 25 pounds.  I used steel  leader when fishing there.   Florida is not Canada.  In the summer, I often wish it was. ?

 

 

[Skunkmaster-k]

I like mono perty good. Sometimes I go off the reservation and try something new but always seem to come back to mono for one reason or the other. 

[gim]

13 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

I have fished for large pike in Canada.  I have one mounted on my office wall that weighted 25 pounds.

Holy cow how old is that thing?  The spots are barely visible anymore lol

[TnRiver46]

48 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

  

 

We don't have rock ledges in Florida.  The heaviest cover I flip here in Florida are hydrilla mats.  I have never used a sinker heavier than 3/4 oz. when flipping for bass.  A little wiggle and a 3/4 oz. sinker drops right in.  I see no reason to use any weight heavier than 1 oz. in Florida.  I always use the lightest weight I can get away with.  For Kissimmee grass I use 5/16 or 3/8 oz. weights.  I have flipped with 1/8 oz weights in pads. The lighter the weight, the more bites you will get.

 

Up until recently, I always used 25 pound Big Game mono for flipping.  I have never lost a bass flipping due to broken line and have caught many double digit bass flipping.  If 25 pound mono works, 30 pound braid will as well.  The idea that you need heavy line and big weights to catch bass must be a macho thing?  In my opinion, bigger is not always better. ☺️

25 mono is significantly thicker than 30 braid. I think 65 braid is diameter of 12 lbs mono. I haven’t been to florida in many years but I would imagine 30 braid could break trying to winch a bass out of a thick mat if you tried it long enough 

[volzfan59]

I've tried it all, have no use for floro. Other than my carolina rig/ flipping rod, I've gone back to all mono. As soon as I run out of braid, I'll be changing that rod back too. 

[Captain Phil]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

Holy cow how old is that thing?  The spots are barely visible anymore lol

 

Lac Seul Canada about 30 years ago.  I have an 11 pound bass on my wall mounted by Archie Phillips that was caught in the 80s.  I don't mount my fish anymore. ☺️

 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I haven’t been to florida in many years but I would imagine 30 braid could break trying to winch a bass out of a thick mat if you tried it long enough 

 

I have never broken 25 pound Big Game mono.   

[TnRiver46]

34 minutes ago, Captain Phil said:

 

Lac Seul Canada about 30 years ago.  I have an 11 pound bass on my wall mounted by Archie Phillips that was caught in the 80s.  I don't mount my fish anymore. ☺️

 

 

I have never broken 25 pound Big Game mono.   

I know, 25 pound mono is way stronger than 30 braid. The mono is probably 2x-3x times thicker. 30 braid diameter is equal to probably 8 lb mono diameter

[Darth-Baiter]

living where i live, inventory is all over the place.  green powerpro is the most readily avaiable.  so that is what i typically get.

 

on my Spinning, i did get Suffix and it seems to last forever, beside losing color.  i am good for at least another year on it.  

[Captain Phil]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I know, 25 pound mono is way stronger than 30 braid. The mono is probably 2x-3x times thicker. 30 braid diameter is equal to probably 8 lb mono diameter

 

I started experimenting with braid when flipping a few months ago.  Fifty pound Power Pro seems like cable to me, so I went to 30.  I rarely flip heavy hydrilla mats.  I have on Lake Toho and 25 pound Big Game was never a problem. Most of our local cover is Kissimmee grass and pads.  Braided line is so much more sensitive than mono.  Snelling the hook made a huge difference in my hookup ratio.  I don't believe I've missed a fish since snelling braid. It's amazing how many fish have the bait in their mouth and I don't realize it until I lift the rod. 

 

I understand anglers who wish to stay with mono.  It took me years to even try braid.   It's all about what you have confidence in. 

[T-Billy]

4 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

 

I started experimenting with braid when flipping a few months ago.  Fifty pound Power Pro seems like cable to me, so I went to 30.  I rarely flip heavy hydrilla mats.  I have on Lake Toho and 25 pound Big Game was never a problem. Most of our local cover is Kissimmee grass and pads.  Braided line is so much more sensitive than mono.  Snelling the hook made a huge difference in my hookup ratio.  I don't believe I've missed a fish since snelling braid. It's amazing how many fish have the bait in their mouth and I don't realize it until I lift the rod. 

 

I understand anglers who wish to stay with mono.  It took me years to even try braid.   It's all about what you have confidence in. 

#STRAIGHTBRAIDBRIGADE!!! ? I've tried a bunch of brands and sizes and settled on 40# 832 for all my fishing in cover. All the strength I could want, enough diameter for good abrasion resistance and preventing line dig, and it handles better than any other braid I've found. That Gore fiber lives up to the advertising hype. 40# is only .001 larger than 30#. The difference in handling and casting distance is negligable so I opt for the extra 10# rating. I use 20# 832 on casting reels with shallow braid spools for open water,  light to moderate cover, and light weights.

Give 832 a try next time you spool up with braid Captain Phil. I think you'll be impressed. It handles much better than power pro, is smoother, rounder, quieter, and more abrasion resistant.

[redmeansdistortion]

You guys would laugh at the braid I use, my buddy calls it frog hair lol.  #1.0 is about the thickest I use, and that's a similar diameter to 2lb mono.  Leaders range in size from 4 to 8lb depending on how much wood is in the water.  The bass don't get as big up here in the tundra, and I've wrestled big smallies out of the reeds on many occasions.

[Jweller]

15 lb Big Game for almost everything I like to throw on casting gear.  If I spent more time throwing a hollow-body frog I’d have a rod with braid but I don’t. 
 

braid to mono on all spinning. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Growing up it was either Stren Original, or Trilene XL, and Stren was terrible.   

 

After taking a long break from heavy Bass fishing, I bought a roll of Stren Original in 8lb test, mind you the diameter is .011 IIrc, but this is the most impressive roll of mono I can ever remember buying.  

 

Back in the day I couldn't put Stren on a spinning reel without major headaches, this roll is just like any other roll of good mono.

 

To answer the question, no I don't because I think a mix of Mono, Copoly like Pline stuff, and then high end Flourocarbon all have their places in my lineup.   

[Will Ketchum]

Nothing ever but mono. I'm old and resist change. I still have Brand "X" 1,000 yard bulk spools from decades ago.

[JMac603]

Mono everything except for ned rig here. I WANT to go straight mono for ned but I worry I won't feel the bite soon enough and they'll swallow the tiny jig. I haven't tried it yet...just a paranoia I have. 

[Bankbeater]

I have mono spooled on all of my reels except the punch rig.  This year I didn't get to fish water with any large mats growing in them so I didn't use braid at all.

[new2BC4bass]

Better late than never to the party.    I'm not 100% mono/co-polymer, but close.  I've got braid on two frog rods.  I've got braid on two reels that I use for casting into lily pads and other crap.  A used reel I bought came with braid.  Still on the reel as I'm not going to throw away perfectly good line.    All casting reels

 

I decided to try braid on some spinning reels (3) since everyone seems to love it on theirs.  I still prefer nylons....8# or less for my fishing.