A visit back to mono

BooBoo

I’ve grown weary of windknots and the expense of braid. I’m going to go back to mono on my lighter rods that I cast a lot of artificials on and see if I miss braid. I know I may miss the sensitivity, but it doesn’t take a lot of sensitivity to feel a snook grab a soft plastic. 

I put 15 pound Power Pro on my BG 3000/ Star Segis combo and in a couple weeks lost enough line to windknots that I just couldn’t get out, that the spool was running a little low. Last night I was stuck while throwing a jig. When I went to break off the line, it broke back by the rod. I probably lost another 30 yards. So, perfect time to retry good ole’ mono. I had a spool of12 lb Berkeley Big Game on hand so that’s what it’s wearing now. I can respool with a LOT of mono for the price of a single braid fill up. So, we will see. Heck, before about 6 years ago, mono was all I’ve ever known. I’ll still keep braid on my rods for bigger stuff as I can really see the benefits there. 

One Drop

I use mono on a couple inshore rods, never really noticed a difference except when I hooked a behemoth. The braid seems to get them in a little quicker but no difference in ratio of landings vs lost fish. I use strictly mono on my surf rods. Hate losing $50 worth of line to seaweed or sharks. Also, not sure how many of you do this but I out mono backing on all my reels with braid. You never get to the bottom so why waste it, you get two fills off a spool. Another thing I do is rotate the line reach season. In other words I reel the line into another reel and that line at the bottom of the spool is like new line when laid back on top. 

bswiv

For some types of lures mono seems to fit the requirements better. Among them......topwater plugs......yes......I know....you can use a leader so that the sinking and fouling of braid is not such a nightmare. But why bother? The terminal few feet, which is where most of your failures will be is going to be mono anyway.

Jerkbaits such as Rapala Flashtails. A light spinned spinning rod with a fast tip and 10# mono will actually catch you more speckled trout as you'll rip it away from and out of fewer of them. Yes.....I know.....same argument as before......and as before.....why bother with all the leader nonsense in this sort of application?

That said......I've braid on most of my rods.

And another vote here for having it on top of mono as a way to save a little. If it's that stout a fish to where it's going to run to the knot between the two lines you've plenty of time to take note and reduce the drag. Besides that, for almost all inshore trout/reds/flounder/drum and the like you'll get 100 yards run off a spool only a time or two in a lifetime and those will not be by something worth catching anyway.

 

Captjames

I tried to like Braid for flats fishing and casting lures, but grew to absolutely hate it.  Every trip I'd have a wind knot and have to cut it out.  I didn't notice any sensitivity loss that was detrimental to catching.  I switched to 10lb Suffix and have put some serious pressure on that mono, locked spool and trying to get a lure out of the mangroves......etc..... and have never lost a fish due to it. So Mono for me all day, except for dedicated bottom fishing rods. 

Missed

Not trying to get on anyone's case here - the wind knots come from getting a loop of line misplaced on the spool.  Usually comes from having slack line and dropping the rod when reeling.  Takes a little extra attention.  I get em too, just not as often as say my cousin who won't listen when I tell him to do stuff.

Another unwanted suggestion - you can use your old braid as a backer, use uni-to-uni knot and put a new 100-150 yd spool on there.  W 15# braid, the uni uni knot will be tiny.

lemaymiami

Yes, braid has its drawbacks, but you can deal with them using a few tricks... Even with beginners I've come to prefer it for the ability to cast farther (and actually set a hook even at a distance - something mono doesn't do well at all... 

Here are a few "tricks" to try.. My first one is that I never spool a reel with all braid (that gets entirely too expensive for me.. Instead each spool is filled 2/3 of the way with mono - then the last 100 yards is braid spliced onto it (the reverse of how offshore types use braid...).  When the braid is down to the point that you're hitting the knots that connect to the mono when you cast - I cut off the braid and and re-spool new braid onto the mono.  Let's face it, you'll rarely see the last half of the line on any reel unless you hook something really large and cranky... At that point in the fight all you're doing it trying to recover the line back onto the spool as you maneuver to get closer to the fish where the braid is all you're dealing with... I went to this system at least five years ago now and it's worked well.   I can't remember when I had to replace the mono by the way unless we got broken off after a long, long run and we were well into the bottom half of the line on the spool... 

The next tactic takes some doing... For years and years every new spinning reel came with a spare spool - not the case today so you end up having to buy that second spool (or third spool...).   Any time we have a tangle that I can't un-do - instead of breaking it off I simply remove that spool of line, replace it with a new spool (with leader already attached in my shop) and I'm ready to roll again - very quickly.  The tangled spool comes home and with two needles I can usually tease out any tangle or wind knot while I'm watching TV - then that becomes my spare spool... Since we only lose line when a fish breaks us off (or we're snagged up and I can't reach the snag with my push pole...) we rarely lose much line at all.. By the way, braid itself doesn't form knots very well since it tends to slip unless you're using the right knots.   Many times out on the water I can clear a wind knot or other problem by just using the nice sharp point of a brand new hook -using it like a knitting needle to tease apart a knot if it's not too tight... and that rig is back in service on the spot... 

Lastly I avoid buying braid in small spool amounts.  Any time I'm buying the 10, 20, or 30lb braid we normally use - it's in the 1200 yard spools (and each of these larger spools will service 12 reels that need new braid - quite a dollar savings (after I lay out as much as $90 a spool (or more - prices on everything just keep going up since our money is just worth less each day - thank you Brandon..).

Jonsredfishin

I can put you on a really good bass bite right now using finesse worms with no weight in open water. The funny thing is that they rarely hit it when using braid. A rod using mono will get three times as many bites. I guess they like the way it falls using mono. 

lemaymiami

No doubt there are situations where mono has some advantages... 

DES51

Spool capacity and hooksets! Other than that I see no other advantages to using braid. Having to constantly check the line for abrasion is also a PIA! I'm all done with it. 

tag

Man I just spooled my new reel with braid. Y’all making me second guess my decision.

swampdog

Both have their place. I have a couple of rods spooled with braid, but more using mono. Being a little bit of a dinosaur crossed with a “cheapskate” I really never left mono. 

tankered

DES51 said:

Spool capacity and hooksets! Other than that I see no other advantages to using braid. Having to constantly check the line for abrasion is also a PIA! I'm all done with it. 

And casting distance, lack of memory. Plus when you hang a jig up in the rocks you can pop it off with braid close to 50% of the time, maybe more.

That said, I have exactly one inshore rod spooled with braid, all the rest of my rigs are mono. I vastly prefer mono for trolling and bottom fishing. Sometimes the stretch is a good thing. 

tankeryanker

I hate braid. I only have one deep drop jig rod loaded with it. Everything else is mono. 

 My preference is Berkeley Big Game. Been using it for decades. 

kellercl

Isn't casting distance far superior with braid compared to mono, since lb. to lb. it is a lot thinner?  I have only really used braid.  I really like it.  

BooBoo

Without question casting distance is further with braid vs comparable poundage mono. I put 12 pound Big Game on my reel vs the 15 pound braid. I estimate casting distance is 1/3 less. Also, the sensitivity is much less for me than braid. Doing some research, good ole’ Stren original ranked very high in mono lines. I may try that in 10 lb. 

Since swapping, I’ve caught probably 10-12 fish. I know I’m not feeling my small soft plastics being taken as well as I did with braid. I know I can’t cast as far….but do I have to? I can still feel what is going on with the hook end “fairly well”, but not nearly as well as braid. Hook sets are not as “snappy” for sure but I don’t know that I’ve missed any fish because of it either?  Heck, maybe I’ve hooked fish I otherwise wouldn’t have??? I do think I got into liking the poundage of lines I could use easily with braid due to the small diameter. But I also know, I can land a pretty big critter on 10-12 mono and it will handle 95 percent of what I might tangle with using a rod and reel intended for use with such lines. Most time I hook bigger stuff it’s because I was targeting bigger stuff and use different equipment. If I hook a 100 lb shark with my rods using 15-20 lb braid, that fish is going to win anyways. So, the verdict is still out. I appreciate all the input on this. 

lemaymiami

We beat 100 to 300lb sharks all day long using only 20 or 30lb braid... Of course you'll need to get your track shoes on unless you're in a boat and can simply keep after one until it slows down - then the real fight begins... Leader?  A rod's length of 80lb mono.. then a short trace of #6 wire if you're actually planning on fighting one to the boat....

 Yesterday, though, these guys just beat us up - using that same 80lb leader and heavy spinning rod loaded with 30lb braid... We were hooking up at point blank range right on top of fish holding on the bottom of the river in only ten feet of water... I got beaten up by three fish in a row that just took me to school before my partner, local angler Mike Cole, got this small one... 


From the fight they put up I'm guessing the ones I had on were a lot bigger than this one -and of course, they're still just babies (I figure any of them under 50lbs are just that "babies" and the backcountry of the Everglades is just loaded with them... ).   These might just be the baddest fish in the 'glades, tougher than an old rubber boot - they'll fight you all the way, every day you encounter them.  And of course - everyone is carefully released since they're still protected (while they're over-running many of the places I take my anglers each day)...

Just nothing like the 'glades.. 
"Be a hero... take a kid fishing"

kellercl

BooBoo said:

Without question casting distance is further with braid vs comparable poundage mono. I put 12 pound Big Game on my reel vs the 15 pound braid. I estimate casting distance is 1/3 less. Also, the sensitivity is much less for me than braid. Doing some research, good ole’ Stren original ranked very high in mono lines. I may try that in 10 lb. 

Since swapping, I’ve caught probably 10-12 fish. I know I’m not feeling my small soft plastics being taken as well as I did with braid. I know I can’t cast as far….but do I have to? I can still feel what is going on with the hook end “fairly well”, but not nearly as well as braid. Hook sets are not as “snappy” for sure but I don’t know that I’ve missed any fish because of it either?  Heck, maybe I’ve hooked fish I otherwise wouldn’t have??? I do think I got into liking the poundage of lines I could use easily with braid due to the small diameter. But I also know, I can land a pretty big critter on 10-12 mono and it will handle 95 percent of what I might tangle with using a rod and reel intended for use with such lines. Most time I hook bigger stuff it’s because I was targeting bigger stuff and use different equipment. If I hook a 100 lb shark with my rods using 15-20 lb braid, that fish is going to win anyways. So, the verdict is still out. I appreciate all the input on this. 

Casting distance is important to me.  Most of my florida fishing is on my father in-law's pontoon.  The draft is a bit high so we cannot get as close to structure as I'd like.  When I kayak fish it isn't a problem, given I need about 4 inches of water to float.  

Fisherman007

Braid is so much more sensitive and the hook set is better.  I would never go back to mono

Sonnyboy16

From the fight they put up I'm guessing the ones I had on were a lot bigger than this one -and of course, they're still just babies (I figure any of them under 50lbs are just that "babies" and the backcountry of the Everglades is just loaded with them... ).   These might just be the baddest fish in the 'glades, tougher than an old rubber boot - they'll fight you all the way, every day you encounter them.  And of course - everyone is carefully released since they're still protected (while they're over-running many of the places I take my anglers each day)...

That size Goliath would be "really good eats". Even if you could keep only 1 per boat per trip - you would not even put a dent in the population. If the FWC ever implemented such a regulation (not likely - look at how they have eff'ed up Red Snapper) there would be no reason to haul a** way out on either coast, in the hope of catching a legal sized grouper.

lemaymiami

That's exactly what I suggested to the FWC in open session a few years back - one fish per boat per day  -with their marine biologists setting the slot size, season(s) if any, etc.  Not the slightest hint that anyone was listening since then... The "goliath opening" they finally established with a hefty tag fee to take one fish is just a bad joke - and most I've talked to about it agree on that... Wish it weren't so. 


Goliath grouper (jewfish for all you old timers) have been protected now for more than  30 years and that has created a situation where we're over-run with juvenile goliaths ( fish up to fifty pounds...) -and they displace other species whenever they move into a spot and take up residence... They need to act to bring a balance back into the Everglades where in many places they've become the dominant species - because of well meaning protection that has created this situation.  I've offered to show their researchers what I'm concerned about - but haven't heard a word from them at all... 

Lostconch

The other part that is wrong is so many of our Northern Visitors don't know what they are catching and think it is a legal grouper. I see pictures that people post with them from time to time. Of course I have lived in my current location on the water for 7 seven years and have seen the FWC 2 times so chances of getting caught are pretty slim. 

Sonnyboy16

That's exactly what I suggested to the FWC in open session a few years back - one fish per boat per day  -with their marine biologists setting the slot size, season(s) if any, etc.  Not the slightest hint that anyone was listening since then... The "goliath opening" they finally established with a hefty tag fee to take one fish is just a bad joke - and most I've talked to about it agree on that... Wish it weren't so. 

Mr. Lemay, I also wish this weren't so. Instead of the FWC taking advice from someone such as yourself, with decades of "on the water" experience, they will listen to (take the advice of....) a 26 year old Ph.D. (aka Pile it Higher and Deeper) that has never caught - therefore cannot discern - the difference between a pinfish and pompano.

lemaymiami

Have to speak up a bit for the FWC... In the case of the Goliath... all the data and all the research has been done up in central west Florida - and has been mostly all about the big ones -and that's also been backed up by a few fishing guides and similar types who've made a point of booking charters to tangle with "monsters"... and video the catches- then use them as advertising on any TV show that will take the footage... etc. etc.  "and so it goes" . 

I have not heard one bit of info about the babies and suspect that the Everglades / Ten Thousand Islands area may just be the only place where juveniles can easily be found in numbers (even the little bitty ones that are less than 12" long...).  Matter of fact, I have a fly fishing charter coming up and I'll try to put my angler on a few of the little ones (pretty simple... stay along shallow shorelines with downed trees and just keep tossing flies at structure and they'll come boiling out and attack anything that even looks like food in some areas up inside).

Yeah, I'm not fond either of very well educated folks that seem to lack much in the way of common sense or wisdom to go with their education (a lot of that going around these days -particularly in the world of politics).  One of my customers some years ago reminded me "There's no room for politics on a 17' skiff"  and that was pretty good advice - that I really have tried to follow (sometimes not very well..).  It gets even worse when the ideas they’re spouting (what they've been taught) are just plain wrong....

Thanks for the comment though.  Sometimes I wonder if anyone at all is listening...

Lostconch

We are seeing and catching juveniles in upper Charlotte Harbor.

Mackeral Snatcher

I have never used braid.

MontgomeryMark

100% mono here.

Tony Roma

I use braid on my big spinning rod. 40# for tarpon, cobia. Everything else is mono. 

stc1993

I've never used braid either.  Been using Stren as long as I can remember.  It's good line.

CaptJ

I use braid when casting for Pompano on the West Coast, and pink Ande mono when fishing for Snapper here in the Keys. Pink Fluro for leaders.

Fisherman007

Those of you who use mono for inshore fishing should try braid imo (with floro or mono leader)

Jonsredfishin

I think we can all agree that braid, mono and fluoro each have their specific lures/applications that they thrive in and if you can’t then you probably haven’t tried them all.