Braid Or Mono

[Big Berg]

Hi Guys,

I receantly caught my very first jew fish (85cm) and am now hooked. I have never really targeted Jews before but the rush of catching these big fish are too good to resist. With this in mind I have receantly purchased a Penn 760 Slammer with a 11 foot slammer rod (rated up to 12kg) for the beach and rocks. I just need some advice on whether to use mono or braid. I have never used braid but I want to be able to get as much line on the reel as possible. According to the reel specs I can fit around 470 yards of 50lb braid (more with a lighter line) and only 300 yards of 20lb mono (maybe more with a thinner diameter mono).

Given that I will mainly be rock fishing and beach fishing would it be best that I stick to the mono?

I also noticed that there is a big difference in price between the mono and braid (at least $50 difference). Also if i decided to go the braid option I am looking at approx $130 for 500 yard spool of 50lb braid. I don't mind spending that much but is braid really that good?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[woodch0p]

For the rocks especially I prefer mono, due to it being more abrasion resistant then braid. If your looking for capacity why not run braid with a top shot of say 50-100m of mono. It means you will have the abrasion resistance when fighting in close to the rocks, but if the fish decides to run wide away from the rocks you will have the line capacity to handle it. Also jews have pretty strong gill plates which the abrasion resistance will assist with and the absorbing properties for strong runs under high drag. A lot of tackle stores can spool your reel up with braid from bulk spools, which works out a lot cheaper then buying a spool of one length.

There are people who swear by braid and people who swear by mono, there have been many topics in this forum about one vs the other, at the end of the day its all about finding a line which suits your fishing and that your confident with.

[Jewhunter]

I would use braid but if fishing the rocks run a much longer shock leader to avoid the rough stuff.

I haven't used mono as a main line for years & can't see myself doing so for a long time.

Cheers,

Grant.

[Catchin Jack]

There are people who swear by braid and people who swear by mono, there have been many topics in this forum about one vs the other, at the end of the day its all about finding a line which suits your fishing and that your confident with.

I'll second that, great reply Woodch0p.

[newbiebreamhunter]

are you casting lure or bait at the rocks? if you are casting lure, braid, if your casting bait you can use mono or braid

[Big Berg]

Thanks for the replies fellow raiders. I will be mostly be using bait. I'm kinda leaning towards braid with a longer wind on leader. Any suggestions on what braid is best for the 30-50lb class? I heard power pro is pretty good.

[Stippy]

See here

For mine I'm content to use mono off the beach, don't really do much rock fishing but if I ever do I will be confident that the line will withstand the abrasions. Having said that I wonder if braid might better allow me to distinguish bites from the tug of the waves. I know it works out to be an expensive exercise if you fish shortly after a good rain/storm as the amount of debris/weed in the water will surely put knots in braid.

Cheers,

Adam.

[steze]

If you spool your reel properly with braid, you will find that there won't be much knots etc. I recently switched over to using braid from fishing with mono for 2-3 years. SInce then I have never gone back to using mono. Braid will give you alot more casting distance and sensitivity. You can also fit alot more on your reel then you would with mono. There is alot of braid being sold on the market. Just make sure you purchase something decent otherwise it will cause you alot more hassle.

Good luck with it anyway

[IVZ350]

ya cant beat the braid for direct contact, the feeling is unbelievable ya can feel every little touch or bump, and it screams off the reel lovely giving you great casting distance compared to the mono.

[newbiebreamhunter]

ya cant beat the braid for direct contact, the feeling is unbelievable ya can feel every little touch or bump, and it screams off the reel lovely giving you great casting distance compared to the mono.

having that said, it also means that it puts alot of pressure on your reel. you have to have a good reel and take care of it.

[turningbay]

Go with mono, it is easier to work with. There will be less tangles than braid where you get wind knots and also when you are fishing at the rocks, your might catch a kingfish and they fight dirty and a braided line will be cut easily where a mono line stands a chance. Not to mention mono is cheaper than braid.

[IVZ350]

having that said, it also means that it puts alot of pressure on your reel. you have to have a good reel and take care of it.

iv never had any problems with either a 6500 baitrunner, stradic, steez or saltist all of them are spooled with braid il never go back to mono/fluoro