Mono, fluorocarbon, or braid....?

[mhoffman]

Hey guys, I am trying to decide on which type of line to go with this year. Last year was my first time using fluorocarbon, as a friend of mine suggested it due to the low visibility and sinking nature it has. Previously, in my 15-20 years of fishing, I would use mono or braid. I've found advantages to each, but I really like the strength and small diameter braid offers (especially since I like to use ultra light rods). The only problem I have had (which is kind of a doosy) is with braid, after a while the line gets "loose" on the reel and when I go to set the hook on a fish, it buries itself in the braid on the spool and I miss the fish. The braid I have tried is fireline. Anybody have the same issue with braid, and if so is there a solution to this problem? FYI 90% of my fishing is with spinning reels, and I have been told that braid is good for baitcasting reels as well, especially if you are flipping in the thick stuff. Please any opinions/experience is welcomed.

[sparky1423]

This should be interesting, that's something I would ask too. Personally, I have used mono all my life, but just spooled my baitcasters with fluorocarbon for the first time. I plan on fishing some suspended jerkbaits soon for bass, and the fluoro will help with the sinking presentation of the lure (I hope). I still am using mono when fishing worms and creatures because I like seeing the line floating on the water waiting for that gentle "tappy tap tap".

I have been too cheap to buy braid, but I have a feeling that will change once I get some quality time on the bay with the good people here.

[bigfluke45]

I think there a couple solutions to the problem of braid spinning on the spool, and others on here may advise differently, but I put a backing of mono on all my reels that have braid. This will prevent the braid from spinning and also limits the amount of braided line it takes to fill the spool as braid is usually a good bit more expensive than mono.

[M_Duong60]

I think it depends on your preference but they do both have pros and cons. I myself prefer braid for my saltwater rods (heavier) and with lighter ones I don't mind using mono because it is already pretty thin. But about what Bigfluke45 said I also heard about backing a reel with electrical tape I wonder if it works...)

I have used the fireline brand (20# braid) a couple of years ago but had a bad experience with it. For some reason it would snap very easily and it leaves a black residue on my fingers when I touched it so I think it was a bad spool but nontheless I didn't buy it again.

[mhoffman]

My issue is not the braid spinning on the reel....the problem is when setting the hook on a fish, the braid buries itself in the rest of the braid already on the spool. I guess this could be the result of having no backing though. Maybe backing would help it spool tighter when reeling in after every cast?

[bigfluke45]

I' sorry misunderstood when I first read it. I think to solve this you need to spool the braid tighter on the reel. It have also read it can help to back off on the drag with braid so that the spool spins before the braid can bury itself.

[Capt C-Hawk]

Back when flouro carbon first came out on spools fit for filling a reel I ioaded a bait caster. I couldn't wait to get it off that reel and try it on a spinning reel. Early FC was stiff and hard to tame on a casting reel. It tended to move faster than the spool causing a lot of overruns. Worked fine on the spinner.
As for braid, you need something under it to keep it from slipping on the spool. Tape works fine but leaves a lot of spool to fill. Better to back your braid with mono and have enough braid to fill two spools. I use a uni to uni knot to tie onto the backing and again to add a flouro carbon leader. That knot well tied will go through your guides without interfering with your cast. I find a 4' leader allows for many lure changes before it's too short to be effective. Another advantage to using the leader is you can grab it to swing your fish in without cutting your finger off. I'm sure the FC is better now, but I'm not up to giving it another chance.

[Sidemadder]

Mhoffman - I read a thread that addressed this on SOL. I remember that a contributing factor in this is that line is put on the real tighter when a spool is first loaded and over time as it is in use it is retrieved repeatedly it spools more loosely. Then when a lot of pressure is put on the line, like setting the hook, the braid can dig into itself. I'm not sure I remember the complete advice on this but part of it was to check how tightly packed your spool is and if needed do the following: Usually it is only the top portion of line being cast and let out while fishing that is involved. Cast and/or pull out the loose line and apply tension by holding the line a couple of guides up the rod. Then reel it back on the spool under this pressure, which is greater that when you retrieve a bait or lure.

Hope that helps some and maybe someone can add to that.

I am starting to use more braid and there are new things to be learned. Like knots joining leaders and backing etc. Also, I read the use of electrical tape, Teflon tape, or mono backing can be used on the arbor to prevent the arbor slippage issue. Depends on your preferences and how you are fishing.

[Rockchaser]

The only fix for loose braid I have found is to tie on a weight and drop it down with the bail open and start peddling/paddling. When you get down to where it looks good start reeling it back in. The weight will put drag on the line and it will spool up tight again.

Hope that helps.

[Raptor]

Does braided line slip on the arbor if you use a proper "arbor knot"? I also red that some guys take a double wrap around the arbor before they tie an arbor knot to prevent slippage.

[Capt C-Hawk]

What I've found is that it needs something to dig into. That's probably not your spool. It might not slip, but why take the chance. I had a reel spooled with braid and an arbor knot that was fine all summer. When I used it in Feb in a wwd I nearly lost it all to a 5# fish. I'm guessing the spool shrunk a little in the cold air.

[Rockchaser]

Yes, some guys will pre wrap with mono. I use medical tape to wrap the arbor, it has worked well for two seasons now.

[ronaultmtd]

I use braid on everything- haven't had any problems at all- On my low profile Revo's and Curados I use 30# Cabelas Ripcord SI- I use about 25 yards of 20# Berkley Trilene mono as backing on the baitcasters- on my Pfleuger Supreme 8225MG UL Spinning reel I used the new Berkley 6 lb. test NanoFil fused line- it was expensive at $19.99 for 100 yards but I love it- on my medium spinning reels I use 15# test Cabelas Ripchord SI braid- Never had a single issue with my line on anything- doesn't cut into the spool, knot strength is great (I use Uni to Uni knots on my leaders), thin diameter trolls great- what is not to like?

[bignose]

Flouro is a bit too stiff to spool up with on an ultra light spinning reel for my tastes, especially in cold weather.
Last year I converted all of my reels to 10 lb. Suffix Neon Orange. It's extremely bright, although it does eventually fade to a dull salmon color, but it's still pretty bright. The Suffix is a round line and doesn't seem to dig in or fray like the Fireline and Spiderwire does.
I'll use a 2 foot flouro leader if fishing around some snaggy areas like docks and tree limbs. I connect the braid to the leader with loops.
The newer spinning reels lay the line on with a slower winding pattern, and seem to work better with braid. When initially winding braid onto a reel, it helps to do so under a bit of tension. Helps eliminate the line from digging into the coils.

A couple of weeks ago someone on this site mentioned using silicone tape as an arbor for the braided line so that it gets some "gription" against the spool. Works great. Home Depot, about $7.00 a roll which can do 10 or more reels.
Using mono on a plastic spool as an underlayment may put a lot of tension on the spool. No problem on a metal spool.

[ComeOnFish]

Here is my take

Mono VS Fluoro-Carbon:

Do this test yourself. Put 10" long mono and fluoro-carbon lines ( diameters don't matter for this test) in to a clear glass cup. fill the cup with the water.

Now look at the lines inside the cup while moving the cup up and down, side to side. Make sure you have a strong light source - that mimics Sun.

According to the claims by the manufacturers, you won't see one while you see the other most of time. In my test, there is no difference. I twisted two lines before I put into a cup. I see both lines all the time. Why did I conduct the test? Because on a TV fishing show, the host said that he used Fluoro-Carbon because it was invisible. But I can see the leader clearly on an underwater footage. I thought fish can't see better than human in the water

During tog fishing I found that Mono took abrasion better than Fluoro-Carbon. Many people agreed that

Mono VS Braided (to me)

1. Only for small fish (small/light lures) I use mono (4-8# test) on ultra light tackles). On ultra light tackles, mono out performs in casting

2. Braided make a huge difference when I fish in deep water, current is strong, and trolling. For example if the current is strong I need to put a heavier sinker or jig. I can't imagine(when tog fishing at CBBT) I use 40# test mono instead of 40# test braided in 30-40' of water when the current is strong. The tog rig won't reached the bottom right where the pilings are . I am heading for Lake Anna right now. I will be trolling the most of time in 20-50' of water today. If I use 20# test mono instead of 20# test braided, I need to put out more line to reached the same depth, i.e., 200' instead of 140'. Or use a heavier sinker

I guess it depends on fishing water, type of fishing, and species.

3. To me braided is cheaper than mono in the long run. I no longer use mono as backing. I use electrical tape and full braided on a spool.

You can't have too many knots on a spool when you use mono. You can have many knots on a spool when you use braided. You can reuse remnant braided (as short as 50') by connecting them together.

It is PIA when connecting two long braided lines (by using Surgeon's Knot) especially while sitting on a kayak and wind blows. On the following video, think the spool as a water bottle wrapped with remnant braided line. On most of my spools there are 2-3 knots. I have no issues on both spinning and bait-casting reels when casting and retrieving: