View Full Version : Mono or Braid (mainline)
Personally i'm a braid man. After reading all the reports on braid as a mainline a few years ago, and most of them scaring me to death, i thought it was about time to find out for myself, and have never looked back since.
Braid as a mainline is simply awsome.
Let me know your views?
Paulm
Too right mate! Braid is wicked as a mainline,i use sundance super braid in 20lb strain, and it has never let me down.Also it is very cheap, 15 quid for 200metres.
Many people ask me why i use cheese wire for a mainline(use tubing or leadcore and the fish is protected) i always reply by saying why do they use cheese wire for hooklinks then....nice thought.
Cheers.....MAXIMUS.
I use either at times as they both have their merits.Braid is worse in snags but is better at stopping them,(no stretch factor),but I use braid by pads as it cuts straight through them.
I also use braid for distance and for sensitive bite detection.
Mono is more forgiving and I mostly use this but it also depends on what rod I'm using.My soft Bob James's are great for braid but I have some that are not and although I've landed big carp on them...I'm always worried about hookpulls and am sure this would happen if I had to bully it.
All said and done....I ALWAYS use braid for pike fishing as it offers direct contact,needed to put the hooks home in such a bony jaw.It''s also excellent for bream bites but takes practise to avoid pulling the hook out on the strike the bites are magnified that much!
The water,weed ,snags etc....all affect my decision at the time.
Cheers,
Smarts
DanTheMan
15-01-2001, 13:52
smarts - im with you there mate. i have two spools for each reel, one with 15 lb daiwa sensor with i think is pukka - cheap and a lot better than a LOT of lines i have tried , anyone else tried it??
i mainly use 20 lb fireline, with i also think is pukka! casts like a dream (even for a s**t caster like me!) and is awesome for feeling for those little gravel patches, silt etc.
they both have their pros' and cons but the braid is the one for me at the mo. just dont strike with it, tighten up gently, and always , always use leadore or tubing to protect the fish.
be lucky guys
Dan - bored office worker!
With you there. Braid for marker, more sensitivity for feature finding, however I much prefer mono for rigged rods as i'm not too keen on the direct contact, I prefer a bit of give. But I suppose it's personal preference and what you are used to. But ask DanTheMan, I by far out fish him and he's on braid, the results speak for themselves!!!!! (Ooo that hurt)
Dave R
I'm not a braid user I'm afraid I have see the stuff in action and its great but I have out fished people with braid when I've been on mono most people tell me to use braid a lot of people say I would do much better switching to braid but I now use fluro I find it just as good and a lot of people have switched to it now. But I would like to hear a bit more about braided mainline for surface fishing.
Fluoro is a mono made from pure Fluorocarbon and has the
same light refraction properties as water, making it almost invisible. A good product, but I tend to prefer snakebite on most occasions. I also use braid for my marker, mono the rest.
Be lucky, Jay
I use fluro as a mainline its great stuff you should give it a go I also use a leadcore leader to pin down the last two foot.
does anyone use vanish as i have been looking at the stuff to use as a mainline?
Pesonally i use mono for all of my carping appart from the marker. I just prefer the small amount of give when i'm playing a fish. i also feel much more confident with it.
keep it british
SAM
is it thicker than most normal monos?
is it good for top and bottom fishing?
what do you think its like?
SAM
Now I thought the same thing when I started using it I won't need to pin down the fluro because the fish won't see it but after one session I changed my mind because the fish were grubbing on the bed of bait I put down but they were swimming into it and spooking so I now use it with leadcore but the reason I use it as a mainline is because it casts better and has a lower memory than most mono's it is also good snag fishing line for some reason it cuts snags easier.
I hope this has helped you understand fluro if not tell me what you don't understand and I'll try my best to explain it for you.
Alex.
It is not much thicker than normal mono but it is good for bottom fishing I have not tried it on the surface yet but I'll see how it goes down Yateley.
Alex.
I may be wrong, but I would say a mono with no or little stretch as long as it was strong enough has got to be the best for snag fishing. I am not familiar with braid at all, is it right to say braid has less stretch than mono?
Tony
Braid has what is known as zero stretch...
Paulm
CarponlineEditor
18-01-2001, 20:01
I use Spiderwire on one of my rods for distance fishing. It has the diameter of 10lb line but the breaking strain of 14lbs. If I am fishing a bit closer in though then I use a sinking braid, at the moment I use the Gardner GR500s. Another reason for using the Spiderwire for the distance rod though is because it is much more bouyant so if there are weed beds or bars inbetween you and your rig then this helps to avoid them.
As Ian says though you have your heart in your mouth for the first few fish because there is no give in the line. You can feel every lunge of the fish, every time the line touches the fishes dorsal etc is transmitted down the line and you can feel it all.
I have tried Spiderwire Fusion in the smoke colour (20lb b.s. 6lb dia), but found that you have to be very careful what knots you use...I think that on the packet it recommends a triple palomar, it had no diagram of this knot, so knowing a single palomar, I tried what I thought was a 'triple' version...this snapped like cotton.
Now I only use Fireline in the 20lb for Pike fishing/snag fishing/fishing at distance or towing. Each braid on the market seems to have it's own drawback, the only problem with Fireline I have found is it's bouyancy...with regard to the knot problem, Fireline it would seem will be OK with any knot you try...even the dreaded Half Blood.
Even the braids which claim to sink, I have found, start to float after all.
Interesting to say the least. I think I will get some braid, I think if that is the case with no stretch Ian don't you think it may be a good idea to make it compulsary whilst snag fishing? Or am I stirring a hornets nest again....... I could never use it trout fishing or on the fly rod, you need a fair bit of give when hooking a running fish whist moving a bait.
Tony
....this is where you open the prverbial 'can of worms'.....the major down side of braid is that in the wrong hands it can be lethal..... to for instance, a tethered fish.....not a hope in hell of snapping the stuff....even 10-14lb fireline I have tried does not break under 20lb!
Point taken simon, I would only use it for snag fishing and if I snag fish I sit with my rod, yes I will only use one and make sure I am there if I get a take.... goes back to my swingtipping days, all night with the rod on my lap, it's a good job I aint running a fishery, it would be one rod only and never leave it unattended even for a minute if you are snag fishing, I have seen many an injured fish before due to people asleep in their domes.... sorry lads but think about it when you have multiple rods up against snags or even if one is in the open and another in a snag, what if you are playing a fish and get a run on the rod fished to the snags..... This is only my opinion by the way /images/forum/icons/frown.gif
Tony
...just in case anyone is interested, the shop I mentioned in another post - Janssen Sport can do 300m of Fireline for £20 - half the retail over here.
CarponlineEditor
19-01-2001, 01:12
Mine is the Spiderwire fusion. It is Ghost green and when you roll it between your fingers you can feel that it is slightly off circular.
CarponlineEditor
19-01-2001, 01:16
Hmmm got me thinking now. Maybe i should try the other version of the Spiderwire. Does it float like the fusion and is it called original or what?
CarponlineEditor
19-01-2001, 01:29
You mention that the braids float but you have seen me using the Grdner braid? I havent had any problems with that one floating you know. The only thing that I have found with this one is that it does change colour after a while and also that it is thicker for its breaking strain than the Spiderwire ones.
Besides though in some circumstances it is good for the line to be bouyant as I mentioned before it can be used to keep it up above weed beds and gravel bars etc. You would have to use a heavy back lead though to stop it from floating ion the surface. It is also useful for floater fishing as I have had some awsome catches using this as I reckon the no stretch properties come into their own when floater fishing.
...most braids I have encountered have floated eventually, I put this down to the way the braid is weaved together when manufactured...this traps air and all sorts of rubbish, which makes it float.
I think from seeing your Gardener braid, It did seem to sink well as you say,it is as you say a lot thicker than others, probably giving it the extra density it requires to sink, but with the downside that it does not cast as well as the thinner diameter braids.
...on the mono note has anybody seen the Berley Vanish stuff 4 sale over here or used it? I have seen it on a site in the USA....& it looks like a reasonable product, once again a lot cheaper over there though......
If you are interested check out:
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://store.basstackle.com/basstackle/vanish.html>http://store.basstackle.com/basstackle/vanish.html</A>
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by scorpio on 19/01/01 12:43 PM.</FONT></P>
DarrenWilson
19-01-2001, 08:45
Sim0n
I have used Vanish since last spring and have found it superb for both hooklinks & mainline. Casts like a dream, but only one problem , if it gets slightly kinked it loses a fair chunk of it's Breaking Strain. It is still my first choice for mono hooklinks though.
If you are struggling to find some, let me know as my local tackle shop is struggling to get rid of his stock due to the fact that it is mainly match anglers that use him. The Tackle Box in Kent also stock this line.
Darren Wilson
Co-Webmaster
The Carpers Lodge<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by IanWelch on 19/01/01 11:21 AM.</FONT></P>
CarponlineEditor
19-01-2001, 16:36
I agree that an inch of movement on a bobbin is unlikely to mean an inch of movement at thr ig end but, I am sure that there is a real advantage of seeing bites that you may not see with mono. Mono does have some give in it and if you are casting say 100 yards then that is a fair amount of line which hangs in water. Even though braid hangs to some degree it must be a more direct puul from the fish to the bobbin therefore meaning that you should see a bite sooner.
Hi all, I'm a fused braid man myself, I love Berkley Fireline.
As has been said it's a bit scary at first, I've now had mine for 18mths and I'm about to reverse it on my spools.
However, mono has far more abrasion resistance than braid in terms of diameter.
I was under the impression that Berkley Vanish is a Flourocarbon coated mono, not a true flourocarbon!
The mono inside is very thin which makes it difficult to see, but is certainly doesn't have to same refractive index as water.
I've also heard that after a while it shreads as it has very poor abrasion resistance, but that is just hear say, I haven't used the stuff myself.
All the best,
Gaffer.
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