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[island boy]

got a new spinning rod and reel for coho and don't know whether to line it with braid or mono.what are some pros and cons that you guys have come upon.

[obie1fish]

At the moment I'm enjoying using 10 lb. braid and use an FG knot to attach about 5 feet of 10 lb. fluorocarbon. While I have never liked the sound of braid when retrieving it, I love its sensitivity, durability, and it casts a mile.

Best of luck!

[island boy]

so you get longer casting? even with a spinner?

[Hike_and_fish]

so you get longer casting? even with a spinner?

Yes.

My setups for example. The spinning rods I use for the canal to target Coho have 25 pound braid and 12 pound fluro leader. You'll be able to cast far ( that's what you want at the mouth sometimes ).

The spinning setups I use for casting from a river bank I spool with straight mono. But that's just me.

[DanL]

so you get longer casting? even with a spinner?

Generally yes. Braid is much thinner than mono for the same rated line strength. ie. 20lb braid might have the same thickness as 6 or 8 lb mono. Also very limp, no memory, and no stretch so braid is a great choice for spinning applications.

If you are worried about line visibility, use a few feet of mono or fluoro between mainline and lure. You should do so anyways, to have a weak point in your setup so if you get hung up on something, you arent breaking off and potentially leaving 50 ft of braid in the river.

Cons are that braid is obviously much more expensive and if it tangles or you get knots you'll likely have to cut it off. I've also heard it suggested that braid is more abrasive as it picks up debris/grit from the water but I have not noticed any increased wear on guides or reels so far...

[Shinny]

I run 20lb power pro braid. Equivalent to 6lbs mono. I ran a mono leader (12lb) for a while but lost two fish where the leader broke at the knot to braid. Really pissed me off , now I just run the braid right to the lure. If the fish is committed to the bite I don’t think my braid is going to scare them off but I could be wrong. I might try a leader again this year and see how I do.


  As stated above if you snag up you could have to cut a lot of line off and that braid will stay in the water system forever.

[obie1fish]

As the others have said, yes, it casts a lot farther. I tend to use while fishing #3 spinners and smaller spoons in the Vedder Canal, and it's been very good. Dan Gave some very good points.

Like Shinny, I had problems with the mono leader breaking at the junction. I tried different knots- double uni, Albright, and others. Probably my fault. I worked on the FG knot, and, if tied properly, it hasn't let me down yet. Just keep tightening it up as you do the wraps, especially before the half hitches. That being said, Rod Toth doesn't use mono at all when guiding, and his guests seem to do pretty well.

Also, I usually use mono or braid backing on my spinning reel to take up some of the spool space and use the good braid as a top shot- usually about 20 yards more than I can cast. Braid lasts longer as it isn't affected by the elements as much as mono. You'll also have to loosen the drag a bit more. Give it a try.

[island boy]

i'll give the braid a go on one of my set ups and see. thanks.

[Fatso]

Yes i would go with braid because its harder to set the hook with mono as there is quite a bit of stretch, especially if you have a lot of line out there on a long cast because you are chucking buzzbombs.

[Noahs Arc]

I had bad luck with braid while twitching jigs. Maybe it’s my technique but the slack line being reeled up would tangle and knot on the spool. Very frustrating. Went back to Maxima and have been happy since:

[RalphH]

Generally it's best to more or less, match the braid diameter to the diameter of the mono you would normally use. Avoid spooling up your reel with 10lb braid for example as it may have a diameter equivalent t0 4lb mono; costs extra $ to load more line and causes problems on the water.

[VAGAbond]

I have tried quite a number of different braid brands and found considerable difference in the performance.  Some I didn't like due to tangling etc. but it does depend on what line weight you are using, a different brand would probably be optimal for 10 lb. compared to 50 lb.  I presume each brand has been designed to optimize performance for one of the many fishing applications, you have to find the best for your usage.  My present choice is one of the more expensive for my bait caster.

[sbc hris]

I don’t think I’ll ever go back to mono on my spinning reels...

[Madmardigan]

I just want to add a few things about braid that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Braid has a nasty trait that causes it to not play nice with the rest of the peeps fishing the hole using mono. It acts like sandpaper when it contacts mono and just destroys it.

Coho's like to bounce around a lot. That zero stretch braid will lose fish if your rod isn't able to absorb that action while landing the fish. Mono is much more forgiving. 

It's also very visible to fish. 

 

[Shinny]

Braid has a nasty trait that causes it to not play nice with the rest of the peeps fishing the hole using mono. It acts like sandpaper when it contacts mono and just destroys it.

Where are you fishing that everyone is tossing lines on top of each other fishing the same hole.... Geez.. Sounds terrible. Besides... He who has the highest test line shall win in the tangle.