This may not be a rod building question directorly, maybe indirectorly. I'm building my second spiral rod, this one for myself. It is a 6'6" im6 blank. I will be using Fuji Concept Alconite guides and with split cork handle and Fuji reel seat. I plan to use a new Pflueger "summit" reel on the rod for bassin. My question is regarding fishing line. I know the charastic difference between "mono" and "braided" line. But why would one use one type line over the other. Is it just a matter of preference or more than that.
Reggie M. Finch

It is more than that. Braided gives you so much more abrasion and just plain strengh difference that the application of it is extremely useful in some situations. I dont use braided in all applications as some folks do. I only use it when I have lilly pads and want to throw a rat, buzzbait or spinnerbait. If I catch a good fish here, there will be one big tangle of lilly pads and I need something that can hold on until I get to it. The same thinking applies to grass mats, junk piles at rip rap and anywhere there might be a large amount of hangups or extra stuff with the fish. It also will cut thru the different grasses and heavy plants if you hang up.
I sometimes use it for top water or cranks if the water is very dirty or again if there is some floating debris where I can hang up. The other time I use it is when there is a lot of sharp rock or some types of dead brush which have an extremely high abrasion factor. We have one lake in south Texas where your mono is trashed if it even touches the brush. In these cases, if I am using a Carolina rig, I will use a mono leader at the business end of the line so I dont spook fish with the braid. I also sometimes use this arrangement in deep water (say 25-50ft) just so I dont have the mono stretch factor to deal with when setting the hook. Braid is also about 10 times more sensitive so I can feel the bottom and bites a lot better.
You could just as easily use 20, 25 or 30 lb mono in the same applications above. The difference is that the abrasion resistance only goes up a little compared to a lot for braid. Mono also goes up in line diameter a bunch as the strength increases so at some point you are throwing the equivalent of copper wire and not line. With the braid, I usually use 50lb which has about the same diameter as 10-12 lb mono. Braid is different than mono in another area--backlashing. It can dig into the line on the spool and you can get some awful backlashes. But then again, I dont want to even think about the number of times I have just cut mono off a spool!! It is still personal preference but I prefer to use it in these situations.

Reggie,

Most people would say braided line will be quite a bit more sensitive than mono, so "slack line" techniques like t-rig, worm, and jig could possibly benfit from braid. Fluorocarbon has also become a solid choice for these techniques.

If you already know the characteristics for each of the lines listed, I would argue it is all about personal preference. I'm sure we all know guys that use braid for 100% of their bass fishing, likewise with mono and fluoro.

Just my humble $0.02

Jason

EDIT: after seeing the last post, I just want to say braided line on my reels and the rocks of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers have NOT gotten along well. In my experiences, braid is not the line I look for if abrasion resistance is important. Again, we all base our opinions on personal experiences--what works for some might not work for others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2009 12:32AM by Jason Brazzale.

I agree with both posts above - to some degree.
1. In general - for the same lb test line - braid is more flexible.
2. In the previous post about fishing lilly pads, braid really excells due to its thin diameter and ability to cut through trash. i.e. if you have 20-50 lb braid on a rod and get it caught on a pad, you can likely simply slice the pad off with the line.
3. With respect to sand, zebra mussle, and rock abrasion resistance - I also agree with the 2nd post in that Braid is NOT the line to use for this application. i.e braid seems to cut fairly easily when working sharp rocks and bottom structure.
Rather - for a leader touching the bottom structure - florocarbon line is a much tougher alternative for abraision resistance. However, compared to similar lb test line - the florocarbon line is many times stiffer. That is why the floro is good for a leader to resist abraision, but may not be the best line to use for full length reel filling.
4. With respect to sensitivity braided line - compared to similar lb test mono line has much less stretch. Less stretch means that it is easier to feel what is going on at the end of the line. Hence, better sensitivity with braided line.
But, with respect to stretch - braid is NOT the line to use for applications where there is a desire or need to use lighter lb weight line for bigger fish. i.e. with stretch in the line - it is possible to successfully land larger fish than the same lb test line that has less stretch. i.e. the stretch in the line allows bigger fish to surge without breaking the line.

So, plan your needs, access your bottom structure, size your fish and your fishing style and use the type line that works best for your particular application. i.e. there is no one line that works best for all fishing.
Also, don't discount the use of different lines on the same rod at the same time. i.e. the use of a main line of one type line and the use of a leader of a different type line to meet a particular fishing need.

Another good example is the use of a high visibility main line for light bite detection, with the use of an invisible or clear leader to avoid spooking fish.

With respect to building rods and concern about guide wear etc. Most of todays lines really don't present problems to todays guide materials. The earliest braids used material that - combined with dirt on the line - would cause abraison problems. However, most of todays braids present few problems to guide wear. The big issue today with guide wear - if any - is the problem where the line picks up sand and or dirt from the water and thus becomes like sand paper when going through the guides. If there is a wear issue - this is the time when any such wear is likely to occur.

Take care
Roger

Jason, open up your e-mail as it is hidden or e-mail me and get in contact with me.

Thanks, fellow rod builders for your very informative informations regarding fishing lines. Some of you mentioned 20# to 50# lines. Both of the casting reels I have say for line capacity -- 100 yds/ 12#. So I should be able to sore more braided than mono of the same weight, right or wrong. And what about "spider wire" for more line strength compared to mono and etc.

Man Reggie, this is a big can of worms you've opened. Fishing line is a whole section with 1000s of post in some of the big fishing threads. To further expand on your question, most fresh water fishing lines fall into four categories, monos, super lines, fluorocarbon and copolymers. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. You'll find certain lines have characteristics that work great for some situations and and not others. The key is to match your line, rod, reel, bait and environment to give you the best chance of catching fish. Below is a quick summary of each group.

Super Lines, commonly called braid, are the leaders among all lines for strength to diameter. Super Lines are great when you need a thin line with relatively high strength. They are also known for the lack of stretch with all but a few coming in under 1% stretch. Because braid doesn't stretch, it transmits "bites" better than other lines, but the trade off is visibility. Generally, it is the most visible of the 4 categories of lines though some "clear" braids have recently been introduced to improve this. Because of visibility, it's also common to use braid with a leader material, usually fluorocarbon. I use braid to fish very heavy cover like you find on Falcon. I also use some of the very small diameter lines to finesse fish some of the clear lakes in the area.

Fluorocarbon lines have a few characteristics that distinguish them from both monos and copolymers, it's the least visible of all lines under water and it's generally more dense than the other "clear" lines. This density causes the line to sink and also allows it transmit bites better. It's the increased "sensitivity" and virtual invisibility under water that are the two biggest selling points for fluoro. You'll sometimes see reference to fluoro not stretching as much as mono and while this may be true for some of the higher stretch monos, it isn't when compared to Big Game and some of the other more popular monos. Tackle Tour did an extensive fluoro test and threw in Big Game to compare. When it tested stretch, Big Game was about middle of the pack with fluoros that stretched more and others that stretched less. The next thing to keep in mind with fluoros is that there are great differences. Some are very stiff and others are very limp. Some are very abrasion resistant, but others fray with the slightest cover contact. One thing to remember, knot strength for fluoros is generally a weakness and makes knot selection and tying very very important. Because fluoro is fairly expensive, it's important to figure out what characteristics are important to you and do plenty of research on your favorite fishing forum to find the fluoro that will best match your needs. Finally, there aren't many factories that make fluoro and you'll often see reference to so and so making a store brand (example Seaguer makes Cabela's fluoros and Toray makes Bass Pro's fluoros) and the person will then claim it is the same as ______ (generally a premium line offering from the manufacturer). Just like with rod blanks, being made in the same factory does not make 2 lines the same. I use fluoro for just about everything but top water baits. Fluorocarbon is my go to line because of the invisibility and bite detection. Some of the fluoros I've used and liked are Vicious, by far the cheapest (550 yards at Cabela's for under $20), Bass Pro's XPS, Seaguer INVIZX, Gamma and Cabela's No Vis Xtra. Though I've fished many of the most popular fluoros, the only 2 I did not like were Cabela's No Vis which was very stiff and unmanageable and Berkley Vanish which was prone to breaking.

Mono is the traditional fishing line that until about 15 years or so ago was the only line most of us fresh water fishermen used. It's not as dense as fluoro and therefore isn't as "sensitive" and doesn't sink. It's available in 100s of different choices with different characteristics. Some is very stretchy and limp, some very stiff. You can find mono that is very abrasion resistant and mono that is nearly invisible under water. It's all about picking what characteristics you're looking for and find the matching line. I use a high stretch mono to top water fish and throw crankbaits. I especially like it for throwing cranks in heavy cover as the stretch allows the bait to more easily bounce off cover without hooking up.

Copolymer lines bridge fluoros and monos. A copolymer adds fluorocarbon or another material to the traditional monofilament nylon. Copolymers can have the characteristics of both monos and fluoros, but at a cost that is much lower than fluorocarbon. I've found copolymers to generally be more sensitive and abrasion resistant than monos. I use a copolymer with crankbaits when I need a little more sensitivity than mono. In fact, I'd say about 60-70% of the time I'm throwing cranks, it's on a copolymer line with the other split evenly between a mono and fluoro.

Hope that helps. I'm sure I missed some things and others can fill in.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2009 12:29PM by Robert Russell.

Excellent write ups.

I use braid for similar applications (mono vs. braid). Braid is used for throwing single hook lures into junk - stickups, pilings, millfoil, weeds, etc. (and saltwater with a leader). Mono is used for non-junk single and treble hook lure applications with medium to stained water as a general rule.

Just have to careful with braid. It so much thinner than mono that if going by line dia. you quickly exceed the test rating of your rod thereby making your ROD the weakest link of the chain - ie, when wrestling that 10 lb hawg out of the lily pads it will be your rod that breaks instead of the line when really torquing on the rod/reel.

Eddie

Thanks again for all of your help and useful information, and especially thanks to Robert Russell for explaining the different fishing line. I copied this materian and will save it in my library of information. Again thanks. Reggie

Reggie

I float fish a couple of the local rivers for smallmouth bass. I tried braided line just once, and immediately went back to mono after that trip! If your type of fishing involves a moving boat, when you snag the bottom you have absolutely no time to react to the snag. There is no forgiving stretch to the braid. I constantly was afraid of breaking rods or losing them over the side of the boat. Braided line is definitely seems more sensitive as far as feeling what is going on at the fishy end of your line, but the mono stretch keeps your blood pressure down when floating down the river!!

Rog

You will learn how to tie really good knots if you use gel-spun braid. Or you won't land any fish. You will learn how to untangle sub-microscopic backlashes if you use braided line. Or you will tie off your line to your tip-top. Just kidding, but you must learn how to carefully manage line while it is being spooled and while it is leaving the spool.

I don't bass fish but redfishing and trout fishing are fairly close cousins.
I use 20# Sufix Performance braid and 20# or 25# Seagar Fluro for leaders. IMHO, braid is hands better for top water, spoons and suspending baits. All of this is done with spinning reels. It also excels in the deep water for grouper or snapper fishing as it's 0 strecth is great for winching those rock dwellers up for the bottom.
If I'm taking a newbie fishing, I'll spool them up some Ande 8# or 10# tie on a popping cork w/ a fluro leader and jig head and let thme go to town. The mono is just easier to cast than braid for people new to fishing. Windknots are no fun.
Mono get the call again for trolling lipped plugs for grouper as the strecth factor doesn't rip the hooks out of the fish.

Did I make this anymore complicated?