Mono vs. braid

PierPirate4578 · February 18, 2018, 12:26:49 AM

What's going on fellas. Looking to do a little surf casting with some big spinners. I've used braid in the past but was wanting to maybe try mono out this time due to reel capacity and price. I'll be targeting up to 5ish maybe 6 feet sharks (max) and bull reds. Would I be able to get away with 30 lb. mono and still be able to cast a good distance and would 30lb still handle fish in this class?

Rivverrat · February 18, 2018, 12:32:53 AM

I would still use a short wire leader of 3' attached to at least 10' of heavier mono or fluorocarbon. Depending on capacity of your reel this should work on the size fish your looking at. Distance of your cast will depend on your ability, & the combo your using... Jeff

handi2 · February 18, 2018, 12:34:54 AM

30lb mono will catch and land them but it depends on how long you want to fight the fish. I would be worried about the sand abrasion on the line. I guess mono is better than braid when it comes to abrasion.

PierPirate4578 · February 18, 2018, 01:02:54 AM

The reel calls for 600 yards of 20 lb mono. I kinda wanted the little extra security of 30 though. If y'all think the 20 pound would work I'm definitely not opposed to trying it either. I've found the 20 lb has a little less memory and cast better. And as far as fight time is concerned; I'd like to be able to get them in and still make a healthy release. The sharks around here (Carolina Coast) are kinda skinny, for the most part. Ill have the reel (Fin 950os) on a 9-11' rod also.

Rivverrat · February 18, 2018, 01:11:49 AM

Personally I wouldnt use 20 for what your describing. 30 lb. line will allow you to set your drag at 10 lbs. A reel with 10 lbs. of drag & good line capacity can slay a lot of fish.

oc1 · February 18, 2018, 07:24:25 AM

I think braid is more abrasion resistant than mono at comparable line diameters. But, it sounds like you have plenty of 30# mono reel capacity for the task at hand. If you went up to 40# you would loose casting distance. If you went down to 20# it would be fragile and really stretchy.
-steve

Jeri · February 21, 2018, 02:53:43 AM

Surf casting for smaller sharks and edible species is often a compromise between distance attainable with the cast, and strength of line to cope with the target species. Generally, you will cast furthest with the thinnest lines, but obviously have the bigger issue of not having the strength of line to cope with the fish/sharks that you catch.

Genreally, with a longer surf rod, you can't pull such high loads on the line, because of the leverage against you, and the longer the rod, the worse the situation becomes.

So, there are the basic compromises that you have to consider, which is why a lot of folks tend away from nylon towards braid. We have seen this as a huge factor in our local surf fisheries over the last 5 years, where folks are actually getting significant improvements in the casting distances by changing over to braid, but even more so when they avoid the trap of 'abrasion issues', and not going for higher braking strain braids.

If you fishing situation can cope with a 30lb main line, then using anything heavier than 30lb braid is a waste of money, and a loss of distance available to you.

A couple of years ago we did a test with some seriously big chaps testing rods, and just what power they could actually pull through a surf rod, bearing in mind we were also testing some seriously strong rods. 14' rods tended to max out at about 22-25lbs that the anglerr could actually bring to bear. Then only by going down to 11' long could we get any significant improvement up to 33-35lb. So, unless you are using a seriously strong surf rod, there is little point is actually using more than 30=35lb main line, braid or mono.

Hope that helps.

Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri

Rivverrat · February 21, 2018, 03:45:58 AM

Jeri, are fellas using straight braid with no wire or short heavy leader for these smaller to midsize sharks ? ... Jeff

sharkman · February 21, 2018, 11:48:39 AM

I have used 20 lb mono during the winter months fishing for small sharks 4ft and smaller. Usually for the smaller guys I run the mainline to swivel then small solid wire to hook. I call this my grandson rig because usually use this when he wants to go sharking. Due to the rig being short it makes for a very castable set up.

thorhammer · February 21, 2018, 04:32:26 PM

Hey Pirate, where exactly are you fishing? i throw 25 lb mono on baitcasters for drum as good balance of strength and distance, and have caught really large rays over a hundred on it (but it takes time). If you go 30lb mono try the limpest you can find and still get some abrasion resistance. i would recco Suffix or Cabelas Saltline over Ande or BG for castability on a spinner. The latter two are very tough offshore lines in 30lb, which actually have a break point near 40 in those brands, and subsequently aren't as pliable.

Jeri · February 22, 2018, 09:20:52 AM

Quote from: Rivverrat on February 21, 2018, 03:45:58 AM
Jeri, are fellas using straight braid with no wire or short heavy leader for these smaller to midsize sharks ? ... Jeff

We would use something like 35lb braid main line, then 75-100lb braid casting leader, which also acts as a rubbing section - about 6 metres. Then our normal shark trace, depending on species nylon or wire hook length.

When we go up for the larger sharks - 6-12', then most folks go to 50lb mainline, 150-200lb casting leader then full wire trace, with a swivel and nylon dropper on the trace to carry the wired sinker. There is a stop on the wire trace half way down to keep the sinker swivel on the top half. This makes for a 3-4' long trace that can be effectively be cast to distance, 2' of wire to cope with shark teeth, and allows the shark to pick up and move a small amount before they feel the anchored sinker.

Hope that helps.

Jeri