Braid, mono or fluro for jewies

[Pickles]

When I started fishing seriously (in 1970), mono was the only choice in lines (my dad used to refer to fishing with “gut” or cord lines when he was a kid).
When I caught the kingfish passion (over 2000 boated now, but most of those were sub legal rats), I quickly realised the advantages of braid and now have 95% of all my reels spooled with various brands from 10lb to 200lb braid. HOWEVER, recently I have been targeting jewfish (Mrs Pickles prefers to eat Jewies than Kingies and got to keep the boss happy) and have been enjoying using 12-15lb mono due to the light line and extra stretch that it provides, but not game to tempt using anything other than fluro leader (60-130lb) for Kingies. I do however use mono on my blackfish reels as I am sick of the line knots l when fishing so light.

I’d be interested in others thoughts on mono for jewfish.

 

[Restyle]

i find when i go out for jew they tend to smack the bait once and I quickly strike. With me mostly fishing from kayak I can grab the rod in half a second when they do that big thump and set the hook and its mostly fish on from there.

I use to use mono as a kid when id fish with my dad from land and boat. I never used any high quality stuff, but line memory was a huge reason and is why I now only use braid along with benefits of sensitivity, casting distance and i feel more comfortable with braid & never get knots in it . I don't see a benefit from using ether braid or mono from the boat when going for jew as you don't need the bite sensitivity or the casting distance that braid provides nor do you really need the stretch & the shock resistance of mono. 

it took me a while to get use to the sensitivity of braid and i had a few times when a strike hard and end up ripping the hook right out the fishes mouth, but that habit goes pretty quickly. Not long ago i bought some nylon line for a bait runner for the beach and I just didn't like it at all. thick & clunky and didn't feel right so I changed it.

 

 

[frankS]

Think the last Jew I caught it was on mono 20lb and was just a smallish fish around the 65cm mark. I tend to use mostly mono for river fishing and braid for ocean reef fishing, mainly mono for trolling. I like braid on my baitcasters when flicking to snags in lakes and rivers, with the eggbeaters I am not fussed if it's loaded with braid OR mono.

Jeeze sounds like I'm not fussed and that's right, whatever line is on a particular outfit that is in reach.

Frank

PS and of coarse never even use braid on an Alvey.

Edited February 27, 2022 by frankS

[Green Hornet]

All my jewie fishing is done land based, whether that be ocean breakwall, rocky estuary entrance or beach depends on conditions and time of year.

Since I'm using bait, a long rod and an Alvey, its always mono for me. 20lb off the beach and 30 around the rocks.

I have been having a dabble at throwing vibes in hope for a fish and when fishing lures, its got to be braid and a longish fluro leader.

 

[Rebel]

I use Mono all the time.

There are some really good Mono brands on the market.

Tried braid.

To tell you the truth had problems, never went back to it.

If you use Alvey's like I do you have to use Mono.

The right Mono on spin gear works well.

I don't have knot problems or line twist problems with Mono.

When you are fishing the Rocks or breakwalls you must have the right gear

My ten cents.

Cheers.

[big Neil]

12 hours ago, Rebel said:

I use Mono all the time.

There are some really good Mono brands on the market.

Tried braid.

To tell you the truth had problems, never went back to it.

If you use Alvey's like I do you have to use Mono.

The right Mono on spin gear works well.

I don't have knot problems or line twist problems with Mono.

When you are fishing the Rocks or breakwalls you must have the right gear

My ten cents.

Cheers.

So what's your preferred mono, Rebel? There are so many, and a lot are too stiff or have problems with memory. I generally use MAXIMA mono (20lb) when baitfishing in freshwater. Obviously I use braid with a leader for my baitcaster outfits.

Cheers, bn

[Fab1]

26 minutes ago, big Neil said:

So what's your preferred mono, Rebel? There are so many, and a lot are too stiff or have problems with memory. I generally use MAXIMA mono (20lb) when baitfishing in freshwater. Obviously I use braid with a leader for my baitcaster outfits.

Cheers, bn

All mono has memory from what I've seen due to the nature of being wound on the spool it's sold from then being wound on your reel.

 I may be wrong but those coils you see are memory from the spool.

  I interested in others opinions.

.

[Fab1]

On 2/27/2022 at 5:38 PM, Pickles said:

When I started fishing seriously (in 1970), mono was the only choice in lines (my dad used to refer to fishing with “gut” or cord lines when he was a kid).
When I caught the kingfish passion (over 2000 boated now, but most of those were sub legal rats), I quickly realised the advantages of braid and now have 95% of all my reels spooled with various brands from 10lb to 200lb braid. HOWEVER, recently I have been targeting jewfish (Mrs Pickles prefers to eat Jewies than Kingies and got to keep the boss happy) and have been enjoying using 12-15lb mono due to the light line and extra stretch that it provides, but not game to tempt using anything other than fluro leader (60-130lb) for Kingies. I do however use mono on my blackfish reels as I am sick of the line knots l when fishing so light.

I’d be interested in others thoughts on mono for jewfish.

 

Jewfish would of been caught on anything and everything waaaaay before braid or fluro was even a thought in someone's brain.

  My advice is don't over think it and there's only one way to find out.

  Ditch the fluro and run mono straight through and see what happens.

I'm a shit fisherman and caught a 55/60 cm jewfish(by catch) about 15yrs ago on 8lb mono mainline and leader.I was fishing a running sinker rig at the time so I know it will catch them.

  I don't fish fancy lines just platypus.

 Good luck mate and keen to hear others thoughts.Nice fish in photo.

[Green Hornet]

5 hours ago, Fab1 said:

Jewfish would of been caught on anything and everything waaaaay before braid or fluro was even a thought in someone's brain.

  My advice is don't over think it and there's only one way to find out.

  Ditch the fluro and run mono straight through and see what happens.

I'm a shit fisherman and caught a 55/60 cm jewfish(by catch) about 15yrs ago on 8lb mono mainline and leader.I was fishing a running sinker rig at the time so I know it will catch them.

  I don't fish fancy lines just platypus.

 Good luck mate and keen to hear others thoughts.Nice fish in photo.

As a kid I'll always remember an aboriginal gentleman who was a great fisherman and a mentor to me catching jewfish on a thin cord handline.

Regarding memory in mono, you're right they all have it, but some are worse than others. Softer lines like @big Neil's Maxima and Platypus Platinum have minimal memory, whereas lines that are stiffer like Tortue and Schneider can have it quite bad. The trade off is the stiffer the line the more abrasion resistant, so when choosing mono you need to take this into account depending on the terrain you plan to fish.

This is one reason why the Alvey sidecasts fish so well with mono. Their spools are large and you don't get the annoying memory loops that you do with a spin reel.

For the record, I like Tortue for fishing around the rocks and Platypus Platinum or Low Stretch from the beach on my Alveys. 

[Rebel]

@big NeilI use the following Mono.

Platypus Petest. Sometimes you canbut this on special, 500M for $10. Different sizes.

Torture.

Schneider

Shimano Exage

Penn Super X Use this off the rocks, tough line.

Trilene XT ( Buy it from England ) Different sizes. Another good line.

Cheers.

[Fab1]

9 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

As a kid I'll always remember an aboriginal gentleman who was a great fisherman and a mentor to me catching jewfish on a thin cord handline.

Regarding memory in mono, you're right they all have it, but some are worse than others. Softer lines like @big Neil's Maxima and Platypus Platinum have minimal memory, whereas lines that are stiffer like Tortue and Schneider can have it quite bad. The trade off is the stiffer the line the more abrasion resistant, so when choosing mono you need to take this into account depending on the terrain you plan to fish.

This is one reason why the Alvey sidecasts fish so well with mono. Their spools are large and you don't get the annoying memory loops that you do with a spin reel.

For the record, I like Tortue for fishing around the rocks and Platypus Platinum or Low Stretch from the beach on my Alveys. 

You get memory loops on any reel including alvey's mate.The coils are just bigger.You could have a spool a kilometer in diameter spooled with mono and you would just have memory in the mono of a kilometer in  circumference coils.The longer the line is on there and the older it gets the worse the memory is.

Nature of the best of coiling pretty much anything.Mono,extension cords, rope,etc.All have memory to some extent.

Let a us know when you catch a Jewie on straight through mono.

Cheers.

[Green Hornet]

@Fab1Without trying to sound cocky, I've been a builder all my life and totally understand the "memory" you get in all coiled products.

That's why I actually said ANNOYING memory. Obviously an Alvey with a 6.5 or 7 inch spool is going to suffer less than the average spin reel that's half the diameter. 

Even with the stiffest line on my large Alveys, memory is barely noticeable, if at all. Definitely not annoying.

[Fab1]

4 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

@Fab1Without trying to sound cocky, I've been a builder all my life and totally understand the "memory" you get in all coiled products.

That's why I actually said ANNOYING memory. Obviously an Alvey with a 6.5 or 7 inch spool is going to suffer less than the average spin reel that's half the diameter. 

Even with the stiffest line on my large Alveys, memory is barely noticeable, if at all. Definitely not annoying.

Agree 100% mate.The bigger the better but its still there as you know.

Please let us know how your experiment goes.

Cheers.

[Little_Flatty]

I've actually read that for alveys, a bit of memory is actually preferable. Is that true in Raiders' experience?

In my mono days I really liked Berkeley Trilene. It didn't have much memory.

These days the only mono outfits in our collection are my 1kg flats whiting outfit (for bait) and my daughter's kids combo.

[Green Hornet]

43 minutes ago, Fab1 said:

Agree 100% mate.The bigger the better but its still there as you know.

Please let us know how your experiment goes.

Cheers.

By the experiment, do you mean casting vibes from the beach? If yes I have landed a few bream and flathead along with a stack of salmon and tailor as bycatch and one good hit that took enough line to possibly be a jew before the hooks pulled. Its still in its infancy and really only got into it last winter.

 

38 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

I've actually read that for alveys, a bit of memory is actually preferable. Is that true in Raiders' experience?

In my mono days I really liked Berkeley Trilene. It didn't have much memory.

These days the only mono outfits in our collection are my 1kg flats whiting outfit (for bait) and my daughter's kids combo.

As you probably know, when casting an Alvey, 1 full twist is put into the line for every rotation of the line leaving the spool and when you turn the reel on the rod to retrieve, that twist isn't taken out, unlike a spin reel. A swivel above any other part of the rig must be used to remove this twist effectively.

Along with good abrasion resistance, a lot of anglers like a stiff line on their Alveys because it offers more "torque" in the line to help the swivel do its job. Personally I've never had issues using a softer line, though you must use a swivel small enough to spin efficiently and when beach fishing ensure your swivel doesn't clog with sand.

[Fab1]

By the experiment, do you mean casting vibes from the beach?I meant running mono straight through for Jews.Good stuff on the vibes though mate.

[Green Hornet]

1 minute ago, Fab1 said:

By the experiment, do you mean casting vibes from the beach?I meant running mono straight through for Jews.Good stuff on the vibes though mate.

I've caught plenty of jew on mono, as back when I fished hard for them braid didn't exist. Not mono straight through though, as I always used a leader/trace of some sort. 

Off the rocks and breakwalls I always used live tailor for bait (before there was a size limit) under a bobby cork with 50lb leader. Same 50lb off the beach but with a running paternoster rig and tailor slabs or squid heads.

With the stretch in mono you always had to strike hard to ensure you set the hook. 

[Fab1]

Just now, Green Hornet said:

I've caught plenty of jew on mono, as back when I fished hard for them braid didn't exist. Not mono straight through though, as I always used a leader/trace of some sort. 

Off the rocks and breakwalls I always used live tailor for bait (before there was a size limit) under a bobby cork with 50lb leader. Same 50lb off the beach but with a running paternoster rig and tailor slabs or squid heads.

With the stretch in mono you always had to strike hard to ensure you set the hook. 

What leader material did you use back then?

[Green Hornet]

3 minutes ago, Fab1 said:

What leader material did you use back then?

To be honest I can't remember, I think it was either DAM or Stren. There wasn't a lot to choose from back then and most guys used left overs from spooling up reels, as long as it wasn't too visible a colour.

I used to same stuff for jew and land based game. Line was just line to me.

[JonD]

Only use braid for all fishing. The jews down here are a bit fewer and harder to find than when I lived in Sydney but even when I lived up there I only ever used braid. Whole yakka and reel in gear with about 3-4lb drag which was cranked up to 7-8lb once a fish was on if needed. Now I head to northern NSW for my mulloway fix these days.