[HUSKER77]

this Might Be An Old Subject On The Boc, But I Am Relatively A

New Member (please Cut Me Some Slack!). I Was Just Wanting Some

Personal Opinions On Monofilament Or Braided Line? I Have Always

Used Monofilament Line But I Just Want Other Opinions! I

Appreciate All The Information I Receive On The Boc!!!

Best Catfishing Website!!!!!!!! Hands Down!!!!!

(p.s. Is 20# Test Efficient For Flats In A Lake???)

 

[flatheadhunterx]

i prefer the mono, i have tried the braided line its good stuff but it has no stretch. you got to take in consideration when useing. cant set hook as hard, or you can rip the hook out of his mouth. if you get hung it is very hard to break loose, it wears the guides on the rods alot quicker, but i never had a fish to break it. also it is alot more costly. i have 15 baitcasters i have to spool that would cost a small fortune, that i can spool with 30 lb. cajun line for 39 dollars and still have line to respool some if i have to. i would suggest using it on one or two and see i you like it before using it on all of your rods.

 

[Mr Phatkat]

I agree with FlatHunter...but for additional reasons. I got caught up in that braided line move a couple of years ago and my results were as follows: The stuff ate through the top eye of my rod a little and made it so that whenever i had a decent fish on it would pop like thread at that spot...Id have a good fish on and he'd be cuttin around in rocks and sticks and as soon as the line rubbed against the rocks it would pop like thread( you can do a little experiment. take a little of the braided stuff and pull it with little pressure accros a rock and itll rip easily, do the same with 30lb mono and it wont happen nearly as easily). i sometimes would use a slip bobber rig with live bait suspended inches above brushpiles or weedbeds and the braides line floats more than mono which causes the bobber to get tangled up with 15'plus of line hangin down.Try gettin in a flathead with your bobber stuck at the tip of your rod and 15' of line still down in the water...actually id rather suggest you dont try it because you'll probably cut your hand up like i did!...well, thats just my take....Oh yeah, its rediculously expensive and knots up and backlashes(i use ambassador 6500's and 7000's which are made for good casting). Well, again, thats my take.

 

[centralcalcat]

When fishing Alaska, I loved braid on salmon for strength, but you would havee to loosen your drag or rip right through the mouth. SInce down here in California and catfishing, Braid has been nothing, but a head ache for me, I used to use spiderwire and had non stop problems, with knots cutting line wear, etc. I am now a strictly mono guy. I am now switching to Trilene Big Game an dAbrasion Resistant almost exclusively.

 

[Mark J]

I just plain detest the braids. I model alot of what I will use and wont use from the guys that are the best BETA testers in the fishing world.
The saltwater big game fisherman.
From their knots to their equipment it's proven itself.

One of the biggest laughs I get is the save our streams talks, pick up garbage talk, don't use WD40 talk and then you spool up with 80 pound power pro go cast as far as you can, get hung, cant break the line off anywhere close to the hook so you have to cut it at the spool.
Then you got 50 yards of power pro hung up in the river you cant retrieve but atleast you have a bag of garbage you picked up from those that DIDN'T put it in the river.

 

[PGPugsley]

I prefer the braided lines

No memory.
With the brake set properly, No backlash.
Strenth versus diameter nuff said.
No stretch, Will communicate the slightest hit.
Personal preference


It is a little low in abrasion properties but Mono will snap just as well as Braided when under load and hits a sharp rock or whatever.

The strenth versus diameter is what really sells me and some of the new lines are pretty good on their abrasion properties.

Some things about braided that I dont like:

Loops around end of rod tip more easily than Mono.
Will cut into the reel spool more easily causing havoc on the next cast.
Low abrasion resistance.
Cutting into rod tip eyelet. Have to use ceramic or SS steel tip eyelet, Not a big problem but it is a modification to a perfectly good rod.

All in all I prefer the bradided line (superlines). Everyone has opinions though. It all boils down to personal preference

 

[JAYNC]

I use braid but only from the swivel to the hook, I kept getting tired of fish coming off when the go down into the snags, I use 80# gorilla braid and havent had one get off yet with it. I use a 3 way swivel one side with 80# to the hook and one side with 10# to the sinker, that way if your sinker gets hung you mostly just loose the sinker instead of the whole rig.

 

[CJ21]

I pefer Monofliament! its much better than braid.

 

[master_cat]

mono here i use stren 14 pound test and i pulled blues up to 27 pounds up out of the depths with it 27 is the bigest iv cought yet so only time will tell if it will pull up bigger mostly it in seting the drag

 

[bigfatcat]

i use stren 20 nd i have got some big fish on it. im thinking of changing to 30 to the swivel and then a 20lb leader witch comes on the looper rigs

 

[nuthinlikeacat]

I agree with JAYNC totally, I run 50 lb Big Game mono, with a 2 ft 80 lb Gorilla braid liter from swivel to hook.

HAd 80 lb Spiderwire on my line for 2 months. The result, No fish and 5 cut lines setting the hook.

 

[HOPPY4]

Braid on 90% of my reels! This is for Cats, Carp and Saltwater applications. I have not had a problem with guide damage and use the lure rod for long periods of time during this period of the year. The problem with hang-ups is true and you will definitely need to use some form of tool to break the line other than the "Pull until it comes loose addige of years before". It will also do damage to your hands if not careful. Will I go back to Mono? I think not! Does the brand of braid that you use make a difference? YES! My brand of choice is PowerPro!!!!!!!!!!!!! JMHO!

HOPPY4

 

[thunderchicken]

I use mono, anywhere from 40 to 60# test. It does stretch a bit but is a little forgiving, especially if you like to set the hook hard. It is a lot less expensive so you can always have fresh line. The one thing you must watch out for in hot climates is sun or heat damage. It will or at least can drastically reduce the break point from heat damage so check it often and if not certain replace it. You don't wanna lose a big fish from rotten line.

 

[badkarma]

I've been using braids and mono for about 47 years(my granddaddy didn't use anything but braid) and I like both so I have some of my reels spooled with mono and some with braid.Have Penn 209s and 309 (no breakes) and I have no casting problems unless I've had to much beer.You should see me casting from my wheelchair but you best stay well back from me.hehe

 

[flathunter]

I have used berkly biggame mono for many years, and have never had it fail me, I have had no reason to ever switch to braids.

 

[turtle1173]

It is true, everyone has an opinion, LOL.

I always used mono growing up in CA. We fished the bays and Delta for Stripers & Sturgeon. Never thought much about line then.

I live in SE Missouri now and fish the mighty Mississippi. The main reason I even tried braid was because of the small diameter. Although not really an issue in slack or slow water, small diameter braid has allowed me to fish faster current with smaller sinkers. I'm able to fish 8 ounce sinkers with my braid in places where only 12 ounces would have worked with mono.

That's my main reason for using it. You have to be careful with the small diameter line, in my opinion, because it can get too small and offer no abrasion resistance at all. My line of choice is 80lb Power Pro. I tried 50 lb Power Pro several months back and it wasn't a good choice for the reason just stated. I also use about a 2' piece of 40 lb Berkley Big Game for a leader, so if the hook gets hung up, I get my braid and swivels back. I use a sliding 3-way (some call it a break-away rig) setup. Yes, it is expensive but it lasts for a very long time.

 

[jtrew]

I really like the fact that there's no stretch in braided line. The first time I used it, I realized that catfish fight with their fins locked open; I could feel the line catching on them. If you're using a small capacity reel like an Abu 6500, the small diameter of braided really helps to get enough line on the reel for casting. Also, due to its small diameter and lack of memory, it works very well on spinning reels.
It's expensive, so I put a swivel at the end of the braided line and attach a mono leader that's a little lighter test. That way, when I get hung up and have to break off, I won't break off any of my expensive braided line.

 

[jim]

I wasn't gonna but I guess I might as well say a few words.First I dont care what kind of line you use,that is your choice as it should be.What concerns me is the tendency for the urban legend to become the truth so lets look at a few concerning braids.

1."Braid wears grooves in guides".This is true,or at least partially true.The first braids had a tendency to pick up dirt which in passing thru some types of guides did wear grooves, due to the sandpaper effect.Cheaper rods do not have real ceramic or aluminium oxide guides.The braid will eat right thru soft chrome or plastic inserts.I have a PENN rod that has genuine FUJI ceramic guides on it and the tip top as well.After 8 years of braid there is no wear,none,smooth as a babies ass.The rod costs 60$.nuff said about guides.

2. "Braid cuts into the spool more than mono".The truth is braid being of higher pound test for a given diameter allows you to exert more force when attempting to unsnag.This causes the line, being of thinner diameter to dig in more.This can cause a problem on the next cast.I have had this same problem with mono but the solution is to simply unsnag, then by HAND unspool the line a little then reel the line in.This frees up the dug in part.If you have this problem MORE than once it is YOUR fault.

3."Braid cuts your hands". True absolutely true to the point that most line manufacturers publish warnings about this.You know in those little folded booklets that fall out of the box when you take the line out.If I had ten dollars for everytime I have posted use a dowel or piece of mophandle when attempting to free snags with braid I could buy enough for all of you.If you cut yourself MORE than ONCE it is your fault and pardon me but you are also stupid.

4."I couldn't break off so I had to cut the braid at the spool leaving 10yds,100yds,400yds,a mile of braid in the water".I had this problem ONCE,then I simply added a swivel and leader which required three knots counting the one at the hook.That is three weak points. Now grasping my dowel firmly and giving a good jerk 99 44/100s % of my snags break at the swivel if the hook doesnt straighten out.If you have this problem more than ONCE see 3 above.

5."Braid is expensive" True.HOWEVER it lasts 3-10 times longer than mono ,is not suceptible to UV,doesn't absorb water so it doesn't get weaker as it gets wet. 39$ for 1000yds of Cajun red,100$ for 1000yds of braid.replace the mono every year keep the braid for three years.You do the math.I have seen some original spiderwire on a Santee guides reels that has been in use for over 6 yrs and still going strong.

6."Braid causes knots,backlashes etc" It seems to me, and this is no criticism of fishing methods but the baitcasters have the most problem.I have never had a problem with my spinning reels and braid.I am still waiting for the first windknot or to wrap it around a rod tip.Others will have to comment here because i dont use baitcasters.

7.FACT,there are excellent braids by reputable manufaturers and there are less than satisfactory braids by companies trying to cash in.It is so with everything,let the buyer beware.

8."Braids are not abrasion resistant".Braids are in fact thinner than equivalent mono lines.Mass does matter when it comes to abrasion resistance.Now if BOTH lines are the same diameter ,which as far as I know nobody on the BOC has conducted this experiment,the resistance would be more similiar.Different monos have different resistance also due to formulation etc.So Again there is truth in the statement.If you want more resistance go up in diameter.FINS make s a braid called Deep Drop that I will put up against mono of equiv dia.

9.Finally once again you pays your money and take your chances.When new people ask for advice I think we owe them the most accurate answers we can give them,not repeated legends which may or may not have any basis in fact TODAY.I would never close my mind to anything as opposed to categorically disliking something out of hand or based on some anecdotal stories I have heard.Braids are not perfect for every application which the manufaturers clearly stated from the beginning.I DON'T sell braid or even use it for everything and it took a while for me to get used to it.Mark I would bet you there are 100 MILES of mono out there in our waters for every mile of braid so to imply that it is a pollution or hazard isn't fair.I WOULD rather have all our members pick up a bag of garbage if the only cost would be leaving a little braid in the water.

10.If you want to start up another "Urban Legend" thread lets use "4 Strokes are more fuel efficient than 2 Strokes".See you next time.LOL

 

[GaryF]

Jim

Excellent post on the topic. I agree with all of your points. Hey, I use the 200lb Fins Deep Drop for leader material. It's incredibly tough, ties and holds knots well, and the 500yd spool will last just about forever, lol

 

[tncatfishing]

Well a while back I switched to spider line and have been happy with it. Since their is no stretch you get positive hookup when you pull. When you have mono line and alot of it out in the water the stretch factor adds up. I have had no worn guides as of yet. And the line I use only costs a little over ten dollars at walmart to spool one of my reals. For the leader I use a heavy 200lb line, overkill I know. But where I have been fishing as of late I needed something with heavy abrasion resistance cause I was loosing way to much gear. Yes the line is hard to snap, you just have to wrap it around something and pull hard.