Mark_VTfisherman
Lieutenant
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2008
- Messages
- 1,489
Re: Braided fishing line vs Regular fishing line
Read the other follow up posts this AM and thought I would write a dissertation based on the OP's question. I know nothing of surf fishing- although I missed a chance to fish off Rhode Island this fall due to weather. Although that would have been running fish from a boat and not surf casting...anyway...I learned a lot from the reading- not trying to counter anyone. Just trying to share what works for me.
As far as inland fishing, braid has the advantage to me of three basic characteristics:
1] Strong for diameter- less lost lures and rigs, and lures run to depth better with the camparatively small diameter.
2] Sensitive- you can FEEL everything, like when bottom bouncing for walleye, or the slight taps of salmon or trout who are chasing and miss once or twice before they get hooked when you are trolling lakes. If you *happen* to have the rod in hand, often a slight pull ahead and then dropping back the rod a few feet will get a hookup. Mono doesn't transmit ths very well.
3] When running dipseys(I don't like Dipseys, but others do well with them), Big Jon Mini Diver Disks, or Walker Deeper Divers, the "risk" of breakng off tackle that adds up $$ quickly is reduced. You are more connected to the fish. Mono is stretchy and after a certain amount of line out, it loses the power to move a fish or trip a release.
4] Braid doesn't transmit visible and UV light from above the surface to below the water where the fish are. Most mono and some fluorocarbon act like glowing fiber-optic cable below the water.
Ok, well that was four!
Mono, on the other hand, has some advantages:
1] The same springy feeling you get from mono can be advantageous as it keeps tension on the fish when it thrashes. I compensate for the no-stretch of braid by using long, comparitively "soft" rods for my braided line setups, but you have to pay attention. In this way mono is more "forgiving."
2] Mono works well on a downrigger- acheiving depth is being accomplished by the weight, so its resistance and ability to float is negated. The stretch you can put in mono from the rod tip to release actually helps set the hook, and the sudden release of the rod is a nice "alarm" that you have had a strike. Most of the time- I have actually had salmon leap out of the water before the rod has popped!
3] Mono is good for long-line/flat-line trolling when water temps bring fish close to the surface as it runs less deeply per-pound-test, and it tends to float.
4] Mono has "memory." Braid does not. Braid just falls limply in whatever direction it wants, creates reel bird's nests even on spinining reels at times, and knots up readily. Mono, even if it has some "curl" in it, won't knot itself up, won't wrap over a rod tip and lock itself up nearly permanently, and mono knots can be tied strong with just a little wetting as a lubricant. Braid grabs itself like dockline and just won't slide through sometimes.
5] Mono (or fluorocarbon) leaders give better action to some lures like small salmon spoons. Braid lets a lure "flop" around in the water, while even a six foot lenght of mono or fluoro leader with a small wire clip on the end most often gives better flash and action to a spoon or trolling plug.
6] Mono or fluorocarbon is less visible than heavy braid depending on the circumstances at the time. Bass fishermen, for example, often use braid right to the lure with no discernable difference in catch rate. Salmon and trout fishermen would disagree!
Then there are "hybrids." I have decided to never use these again as many have the tendency to jump right off the spool on spinning reels, making lovely knots and nests often comparible to braided line. Most hated: Yozuri Hybrid mono/fluoro. Unless you like coils. Even nasty on a baitcaster.
My most often used rods, and the ones that live in my boat all the time, mostly have braided line. Using Power Pro now, used to use Stren Super Braid all the time. I tried spiderwire and I am sure I will never buy another foot of that stuff.
Braided vs Mono: My rods used for casting lures for trout or whatever are primarily spinning setups with 6# or 8# mono. A couple ultralights have 6# mono. I have a spinning rod specifically for Carolina rigs- 27# Stren Super Braid mainline, 12# or 15# fluoro leader below the swivel and bead. Pair of downrigger rods with 12# BPS Excel. A fast tip medium 6-1/2-foot 'glass spinning rod and a cheap 7-foot heavy spinning rod both with braid handle bottom bouncer duties for walleye. Two 10'6" graphite Quantum "steelhead/salmon" rods with line counters have braid. A 9'4" 'glass 5-6 fly rod blank in a trolling handle rigged with a spinning reel has braid: it covers a lot of applications. I have two other spinning rods with braid; one is a Quantum 6'6" medium graphite with 1000-series reel that I use for casting to walleyes or bass, the other gets used for trolling cranks and plugs, even on a downrigger sometimes.
Having said all that, I HATE braided line for it's difficulty of use in wind, its ability to unintentionally knot, and the fact that it can pull a lure right from a fish's mouth. But it does what it does so well that most of my rods are spooled with braid, and they will stay that way. Only where mono or fluorocarbon is an advantage will I not use braid.
Conclusion: it is not one versus the other. It is what works for a particular application that you should consider. /rant
Read the other follow up posts this AM and thought I would write a dissertation based on the OP's question. I know nothing of surf fishing- although I missed a chance to fish off Rhode Island this fall due to weather. Although that would have been running fish from a boat and not surf casting...anyway...I learned a lot from the reading- not trying to counter anyone. Just trying to share what works for me.
As far as inland fishing, braid has the advantage to me of three basic characteristics:
1] Strong for diameter- less lost lures and rigs, and lures run to depth better with the camparatively small diameter.
2] Sensitive- you can FEEL everything, like when bottom bouncing for walleye, or the slight taps of salmon or trout who are chasing and miss once or twice before they get hooked when you are trolling lakes. If you *happen* to have the rod in hand, often a slight pull ahead and then dropping back the rod a few feet will get a hookup. Mono doesn't transmit ths very well.
3] When running dipseys(I don't like Dipseys, but others do well with them), Big Jon Mini Diver Disks, or Walker Deeper Divers, the "risk" of breakng off tackle that adds up $$ quickly is reduced. You are more connected to the fish. Mono is stretchy and after a certain amount of line out, it loses the power to move a fish or trip a release.
4] Braid doesn't transmit visible and UV light from above the surface to below the water where the fish are. Most mono and some fluorocarbon act like glowing fiber-optic cable below the water.
Ok, well that was four!
Mono, on the other hand, has some advantages:
1] The same springy feeling you get from mono can be advantageous as it keeps tension on the fish when it thrashes. I compensate for the no-stretch of braid by using long, comparitively "soft" rods for my braided line setups, but you have to pay attention. In this way mono is more "forgiving."
2] Mono works well on a downrigger- acheiving depth is being accomplished by the weight, so its resistance and ability to float is negated. The stretch you can put in mono from the rod tip to release actually helps set the hook, and the sudden release of the rod is a nice "alarm" that you have had a strike. Most of the time- I have actually had salmon leap out of the water before the rod has popped!
3] Mono is good for long-line/flat-line trolling when water temps bring fish close to the surface as it runs less deeply per-pound-test, and it tends to float.
4] Mono has "memory." Braid does not. Braid just falls limply in whatever direction it wants, creates reel bird's nests even on spinining reels at times, and knots up readily. Mono, even if it has some "curl" in it, won't knot itself up, won't wrap over a rod tip and lock itself up nearly permanently, and mono knots can be tied strong with just a little wetting as a lubricant. Braid grabs itself like dockline and just won't slide through sometimes.
5] Mono (or fluorocarbon) leaders give better action to some lures like small salmon spoons. Braid lets a lure "flop" around in the water, while even a six foot lenght of mono or fluoro leader with a small wire clip on the end most often gives better flash and action to a spoon or trolling plug.
6] Mono or fluorocarbon is less visible than heavy braid depending on the circumstances at the time. Bass fishermen, for example, often use braid right to the lure with no discernable difference in catch rate. Salmon and trout fishermen would disagree!
Then there are "hybrids." I have decided to never use these again as many have the tendency to jump right off the spool on spinning reels, making lovely knots and nests often comparible to braided line. Most hated: Yozuri Hybrid mono/fluoro. Unless you like coils. Even nasty on a baitcaster.
My most often used rods, and the ones that live in my boat all the time, mostly have braided line. Using Power Pro now, used to use Stren Super Braid all the time. I tried spiderwire and I am sure I will never buy another foot of that stuff.
Braided vs Mono: My rods used for casting lures for trout or whatever are primarily spinning setups with 6# or 8# mono. A couple ultralights have 6# mono. I have a spinning rod specifically for Carolina rigs- 27# Stren Super Braid mainline, 12# or 15# fluoro leader below the swivel and bead. Pair of downrigger rods with 12# BPS Excel. A fast tip medium 6-1/2-foot 'glass spinning rod and a cheap 7-foot heavy spinning rod both with braid handle bottom bouncer duties for walleye. Two 10'6" graphite Quantum "steelhead/salmon" rods with line counters have braid. A 9'4" 'glass 5-6 fly rod blank in a trolling handle rigged with a spinning reel has braid: it covers a lot of applications. I have two other spinning rods with braid; one is a Quantum 6'6" medium graphite with 1000-series reel that I use for casting to walleyes or bass, the other gets used for trolling cranks and plugs, even on a downrigger sometimes.
Having said all that, I HATE braided line for it's difficulty of use in wind, its ability to unintentionally knot, and the fact that it can pull a lure right from a fish's mouth. But it does what it does so well that most of my rods are spooled with braid, and they will stay that way. Only where mono or fluorocarbon is an advantage will I not use braid.
Conclusion: it is not one versus the other. It is what works for a particular application that you should consider. /rant