Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => General Discussion => Topic started by: island boy on September 09, 2018, 03:39:36 PM
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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.
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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!
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so you get longer casting? even with a spinner?
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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i'll give the braid a go on one of my set ups and see. thanks.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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I don’t think I’ll ever go back to mono on my spinning reels...
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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.
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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.
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The last five coho seasons I have been running PowerPro 15lb test as my main, followed by 10ft of 10 or 12lb test Seaguar Fluorocarbon STS as the leader. I still have the same braided line on the reel actually, it has been fantastic and will never use mono again for spinning.
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The last five coho seasons I have been running PowerPro 15lb test as my main, followed by 10ft of 10 or 12lb test Seaguar Fluorocarbon STS as the leader. I still have the same braided line on the reel actually, it has been fantastic and will never use mono again for spinning.
This is the exact setup I’ve been running as well.
Some are arguing that you may lose more fish because of the lack of stretch in the line. I haven’t found that to be a problem at all. Just have your drag set properly and use your rod like a shock absorber as it’s intended to. I actually found my landing percentage went way up when I started using braid, I think part of this has to do with bite detection and the rock solid hook sets that you get using braid.
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My landing ratio has gone way up because of switching to this setup.
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Rod, what knot are you using between braid and mono?
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Improved Albright Knot.
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Not a swivel?
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With a short leader a swivel may be fine but with a long leader a swivel aint so good as it will run through the guides
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I run 30 lb. Tuff XP as my main and 10 lb. fluorocarbon as leader
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Ditching the swivel would certainly solve some issues...
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I've used braid for my main line in all salt and freshwater applications for 20 years. With 2%-4% stretch, it can't be beat for detecting strikes, and for that reason alone gets the nod. It's also thin for its strength, so it casts a long way, too. BTW, Braid doesn't abrade guides. (That was the original wonderline, Kevlar, in the 1970s . . . now found in ballistic vests and not tackle shops.)
On the downside:
1. You need different knots, both for leaders and to the lure/hook (if that's how you roll). For those who go direct, I suggest folding the line over and doubling the line for regular knots like the clinch. IMO fish see the line (mono or braid) and don't know what it is. What deters them from biting (sometimes) is line drag in the water, not the color of the braid.
I'm a big advocate of tying on a 10' leader (I use Chameleon for salmon and steelhead) for these reasons: (a) puts stretch in your system; (b) easier to tie knots to lures than if going direct with braid; and (c) allows you to leader your fish without fear of line cuts. (Suggestion: wear fingerless gloves when fishing with braid: if you snag up, you can break it by wrapping around your palm and giving it a direct pull.)
To join mono/FC <25lbs to braid, use a 4x Surgeon's Knot. That's an overhand knot with 4 wraps. (Prior to tying the knot, interlink the braid-mono by wrapping one around the other 20 or so times to increase the surface area contact and boost friction.) This knot, cinched very tight, breaks at 85% the actual breaking strength of the weaker line (usually the mono). Trim the tag ends very close, and you can wind it onto the spool and cast fine, even with a baitcaster.
If using heavier leaders than 25lbs, first double the braid with a Bimini twist (second best: spider hitch) and join the leader using a "Reverse Albright" (Aussie-speak) or an "Alberto's knot" (Google it). A very strong join IF tightened up as hard as you can pull.
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I have more details on braid knots I can share. PM me if interested.
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I don’t think I’ll ever go back to mono on my spinning reels...
X 2. The braid detects even the slightest touch. I run 15 lbs leader when throwing hardware and jigs. About 3ish feet with a swivel.
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I use 30 lb powerpro, with a 7-10ft leader of 10, 15, or 20 lb floro.
I connect the lines with a loop to loop and never had any problems.
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Improved Albright Knot.
FG knot;this is the knot that both tests the strongest and is the thinnest:
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-tie-the-fg-knot/
I have also used the Yucatan knot.
Based on how fish fail to react to a sinking line - I doubt they would react to braid if a swivel is used with 3 or 4 feet of leader.
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I want to try this set up this year, would a small swivel be hard on the rod eyes?
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I want to try this set up this year, would a small swivel be hard on the rod eyes?
Not a good idea to cast a swivel through the eyes. Use a short leader 2-3' (which is plenty IMHO) or if you insist on a long leader, use a line-to-line knot like others have suggested.
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I use the double uni, which even though it has 30% less breaking resistance than the FG, I don't care because I run 30 lb braid to 15 lb mono in everything except ultra clear water then I use 12 or 15 lbs orange seagar.
some excellent information on different knots with different set ups and their relative strengths (link is to the braid to leader section):
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/fishing-knots/#braidtoleader
Just like Timmies you need to go with the double double.....
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-tie-a-double-uni-knot/
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FG knot;this is the knot that both tests the strongest and is the thinnest:
Finally got around to trying this knot and so far it's the best braid-mono connector I've tried. PITA to tie, but it is extremely thin and casts through the guides nice. After a couple dozen hookups and a handful of lost jigs to snags this week, my leader is scraped and beat to hell but the knot held up to all that abuse. Took three times to tie it right the first time, so dont think I could tie it properly on the water, but will use it when I can.
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Just remembered something that is real important. I am hooked on using braid, for spoons and twitching jigs but it absolutely and utterly sucks when the temp drops below zero. It will ice up and the spool will accumulate spaces between the wraps on your spool and then at some point during a cast the outbound line will strip off a couple of these loose wraps and you will get an almighty birds nest which will be tough to recover from. So if you do a lot of sub-zero fishing, do yourself a favour and have a back up reel with mono or a spare spool of mono.
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went with the braid and don't know if i could go back. casts a mile and the head shakes are unreal. thanks for all the feedback from you guys.
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After being anti braid for years, I might just try braid for spinning gear.
I'm not a fan of it for float fishing.
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15lb Sufix braid and 10lb Seaguar blue label. I use a FG knot with one rods length of leader. Yeah the FG knot takes a bit of time to tie, but if you leave enough leader you'll have enough for plenty of lure changes. A well tied FG will go through the rod guides with ease and you'll barely be able to feel it.
The flourocarbon (or even mono) provides a good bumper to help give your line a bit of stretch, while not sacrificing any of the sensitivity that braid gives you. It's about as good as it gets... except in the freezing cold. But that sounds like center pin weather to me!
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20lb braid and tie directly to the mainline, coho are not leader shy.
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20lb braid and tie directly to the mainline, coho are not leader shy.
Agreed. I run 15lbs braid and that’s equal to 6lbs mono in terms of thickness. If a coho is committed to a strike I don’t think the braid is going to persuade him otherwise. I lost a beauty of a fish when my braid to mono knot came undone when I used to run leaders. That was the last day I ran a mono leader with a braid mainline.