Monofilament

Warren Lane - graduate

Is there any need or anybody that still uses or likes using mono?

March 1, 2019 09:29:29 PM

I still use monofilament and co-polymer! I like Berkley Big Game and P-Line CXX. I only use it on small topwaters like poppers(15-17#), spinnerbaits (20#) and big swimbaits (25#). Every now and then when I'm cranking around abrasive cover, I will use 10# mono as well. That may sound like I use it a lot, but for my fishing those situations only make up for 5% of how I fish throughout the year. How do you use mono?

March 6, 2019 10:59:15 AM
Burgerboy - doctor

$8.99 for 330 yards of Sufix Elite, still use it, I get ribbed in classes for it, but it catches fish. Would I catch more with Invix or some of the other great flouros out there? I am sure I would but for the price and the amount I use, I am happy with it. How many Classics to Rick Clunn win on Mono ? Probably 3 and maybe all four. Davy Hite won on Big Game. $19.99 for 200 yards just is not worth it for me. Now if I was a fishing bigger tournaments and things like that I may switch a few reels out, but as a whole I will stick to my red label Sufix.

September 22, 2019 07:34:09 PM
C. Saucier - junior

I use 12-17lb for leaders on topwaters (try 30-40lb Braid to a 2’ mono leader via FG knot) you’ll be able to throw smaller baits more accurately and your baits will walk SO much better)

15-20lb for leaders on Carolina rigs for buoyancy and straight 15-20lb mono for tweaking cranking depths and buzzbaits too (I feel like for buzzbaits the stretch helps them get the bait a little better)

January 10, 2020 01:30:49 AM
Jondoe67 - graduate

Well said Burgerboy
I kinda feel the same way. I like suffix as well, over the old standby brands . But I got caught up in the floro a bit and hate it . Now fishing with braid to floro leader and still hate it.
Will I go back to Suffix exclusively ? All depends how this year pans out . Sometimes as fisherman we get things in our head and hard to shake them. Super Clear smallmouth fishing might make a big difference , maybe even vertical drop shot.
But on the other side of things I finally got the courage up to believe in David Fritz fishing braid to a crank bait....cant wait to try it this year. But I must say I never have fished over 12lbs of anything
So maybe I catch fish on Mono because I use no heavier than 10lb Suffix regardless if I miss bringing in a Big Bass without a snap of the line.

January 28, 2020 04:42:10 PM
Jason Admin - admin

I started using braid to fluoro on spinning tackle in 2019. The amount of headaches eliminated by braid is amazing. Even mono coils up and tangles. Fished all last year with Suffix braid, only cut off about 10 yards all year, and I plan to fish it this year as well. I actually left some of the old line on the spool and filled it up with braid, so I didn't even use that much (you're not going to fish down to the spool). Braid may seem expensive, but when you're getting a full season + out of it and only putting 100yds on, it's probably the cheapest line. I can't tell you how many times I've birds nested with fluoro and completely lost a spool of line that wasn't that old, and didn't have that rod available the rest of the day. Lastly, it casts much better/further.

January 29, 2020 10:05:12 AM
PatinParkton - graduate

I am going back to mono/copoly more and more. 30 years ago I used Stren Magnathin, Excalibur Silver Thread, Maxima,...... and loved em. Recently I have tried Sunline Mono and Izorline. Love them too. Caught plenty of fish on these lines. I have never been able to say that about any fluoro. So, going back to my old school roots and not looking back.

February 1, 2020 11:45:01 AM
kjack_74 - graduate

I used to use a braid to mono leader on some of my rods prior to upgrading and getting better more technique-specific rods it let me build stretch into a hook set on a rod that didn't have the right taper for some uses. Additionally, this lets me carry fewer rods when tournament fishing from the back of the boat you simply tie on different leader types (floro, mono, or going straight braid) amd lengths to customize one rod for several different presentations and to let the line compensate for what the rod might be lacking.

February 26, 2020 08:22:27 AM
Blupro1 - doctor

To the veterans who remember... I have a bulk spool of 12lb Berkley Trimax mono from years ago. Stored in its box in a basement for years. Seems to be the same as when I bought it; clear and soft with no memory. Any thoughts or concerns.?

April 30, 2020 06:20:13 PM
PatinParkton - graduate

Please send it to me! Thanks

April 30, 2020 06:35:49 PM
Jason Admin - admin

As long as the climate was fairly steady, I'd give it a try. I believe my dad still spools from a big spool of Silver Thread AN-40, I have no idea how old that line is, but it's kept in a drawer inside the house and seems fine.

April 30, 2020 06:49:46 PM
Dustin newer - graduate

Still using mono.

July 1, 2020 09:48:19 PM

After trying 100% flouro, braid w/flouro leader, I have now returned using 100% Berkely Trilene XL mono on all spinning rods, exactly what I used 40 years ago.

Flourocarbon line is absolutely maddening to me. It is terrible with twist, brittle in cold water, (below 50 degrees) and ridiculously expensive. I have seen no advantage in it's alledged invisibility, fishing for LM and Spotted bass. I admit to not having used it in the deep clear Northern lakes for smallies though, so I limit my statement to Southern impoundments.

Braid is more castable, but very difficult too see for me, and being a line watcher, thats just a non-starter for me. And although it is supposed to be stronger, having to tie a flouro or mono leader to it creatss thr distinct possibilty that in practice, it might actually be WEAKER depending on the quality of the knot you tied with freezing hands while your boat is being rocked by Wake-Boarders. Also, trying to cast a knot through increasingly tiny rod guides is unacceptable to me, which forces me to use leaders shorter than I'm comfortable with.

Trilene XL is limber, casts very well, and twists less than any Flouro or mono line I've ever used, and visible enough so I don't strain my eyes. (Older guys will get this)

Does it stretch? Yup. But when finesse fishing with Shaky Heads, Ned Rigs, Drop Shots, Wacky/Neko rigs on light line, I'm not face-busting bass with hard hooksets anyway.

I use 4000/400/40 series spinning reels which some will think are too large or heavy, but the large spool size helps cut down on line twist.

Try mono. Cheaper, simpler, easier......better.

If line stretch or "toughness" is as issue for you, then you're probably not finesse fishing, and should be using bait casting equipment.

December 8, 2021 01:57:14 PM
Jason Admin - admin

RichK LK Gaston VA/NC ,
I've been fortunate to always use neon colors of braid, which means I've never had the issue with seeing the line. I like bright yellow.  I'm not big on the microguides craze. I'm happy with my older spinning rods that have what I would consider average-sized guides.  I don't have a rod with guides so small that my 10lb braid and 6-8lb fluoro joined with an Alberto knot will not glide through effortlessly. I don't hate mono, but in a full day of dropshotting or fishing a spoon, my line is so coiled with mono that I can't keep 6 coils from being wrapped around my rod tip. I use 2500 reels unless I really want to heave a bait a long way. I do think that the bigger spools have the advantage with line coming off more smoothly and with the same gear ratio, you get a lot faster line pickup. I recently started using the 6.2:1 Daiwa Regal reels, which I believe perform well above their price point https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=c1UQEdGla5o&mid=38416&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tackledirect.com%2Fdaiwa-regal-lt-spinning-reel.html

December 8, 2021 02:31:35 PM
OkiePapist - senior

I like everyone else above a certain age grew up fishing mono. I left the sport in the 90s and have just gotten back into it this year. I started with mono because that is what I knew. As I started learning more I heard about braid and flouro. I have tried straight braid, straight flouro, and every other combo. I have settled on my mainline being braid and tying on either flouro or mono leader. I'm likely to mostly use mono once I run out of flouro. I can't justify the cost of flouro over mono when in my fishing I've seen little to no difference. I would echo all of the positives of braid everyone else mentioned. The more I use it, the more I refer to flouro as Satan's Butt Hair. It is a constant pain the the butt.

Mono is not dead, mono is making a comeback.

December 8, 2021 03:28:26 PM
PatinParkton - graduate

Loved the characterization of Fluoro as "Satan's Butt Hair". Can't stop laughing about that one. I shared that opinion for many years. It is overhyped and expensive, (and many who hype it are so sponsored.) Last year I tried Sufix Advanced Fluorocarbon. Pete Gluszek reminded me of our 40% BASSU member discount at Rapala, so the expense argument is gone. But the really good news is that this line is great. I used every lb test from 6 to 20, fell in love with 12 lb test , and highly recommend it. Remember, I have been a staunch fluoro critic, but really like this brand. Check it out!

December 8, 2021 04:11:37 PM
OkiePapist - senior

For that discount I might have to take a look.

December 8, 2021 04:37:53 PM

Jason,

Good point on using neon colored braid. I don't see it on the shelves where I shop, so I guess I'll try to find it online. Any suggestion on brand?

One thing I forgot to mention regarding braid; Anyone else using braid on spinning gear notice this:
After landing a fish, on braid, your next cast goes about 8 feet and dies? It seems that braid "packs" on spinning reels from the tension of fighting a fish and it can take several casts before it casts normally again.
That was a real turn off for me, but it doesn't seem to be as bad on casting reels.

December 20, 2021 09:40:25 AM
Jason Admin - admin

I use mono backing on anything with braid (for one to save money, because I'm only ever going to fish the last 75yds or so on a reel). I don't know if that's the difference, but I don't experience this too much on spinning reels. I have more problem with it on baitcasting tackle. I use 2500 size spinning reels, not sure if that plays a part. Lastly, and this probably plays the biggest role, most techniques I'm using braid on spinning tackle, I'm not snap-setting the hook. It's a lean in and reel, which covers dropshot, neko rig, ned rig and more. I will do a little snap set on a shaky head, just to get the hook through the plastic, but I'm using a light wire hook, so it's almost like a faster lean into the fish than a snap set. I think this is the difference because when I set the hook pitching a jig or a soft plastic with baitcasting tackle, I don't even bother pitching again until I pull the line out, it's almost like knowing you have a backlash, I just pick it out because I know it's going to stop instantly when it gets to that place on the spool.

December 20, 2021 10:00:29 AM
OkiePapist - senior

@RichK - this is due to there not being enough tension on the braid when it is put on the spool. I had that same problem, then when I spooled it up with a ton of tension on the line, I've not had that problem since and I am casting weightless Senkos and Flukes.

December 20, 2021 11:44:37 AM
Thomas R - graduate

I started using fluorocarbon when it first was brought to market. I had been fishing with mono for 50 years. I can say that I have broken off more fish with fluoro than all the years before using mono. I've tried several different brands since it was introduced and I haven't found one that I like. I like it's sensitivity but that is it's only redeeming virtue. Mono stretches', where fluoro breaks. Maybe lighter action rods would help, but there goes your sensitivity, so why pay more for the same thing. David Fritz says fluoro weakens a little on each cast and will eventually break after repeated cast during a days fishing. I may e wrong, but the pros are sponsored by line companies and I suspect that they are required to promote fluoro. I'm sure fluoro has it's place, just not on my reels.

January 24, 2022 09:55:46 PM
OkiePapist - senior

Thomas, that is great info, and nothing beat decades of experience. Fluoro sinks, is less visible than mono, but my experience with it is the same as yours. The only lures I have lost during a cast were on fluoro leaders, never happened on mono leaders. That said, I have bent out more than a few hooks on my 40# braid to 20# fluoro leaders setup. I have a bunch of 20# fluoro that I will use up as leader material, but after that I will likely stick to mono for leaders. For finesse setups on spinning or BFS, I'm running braid to mono leaders in the 6-8# range and nary a problem.

January 25, 2022 09:16:48 AM
Jason Admin - admin

Seagaur has a new value line out called Seagaur Basix that's about $10/200yds. I'm curious about the quality, 2 good reviews so far on Tackle Warehouse. If price is the barrier, that's certainly better than the $30+ per spool brands.
https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=c1UQEdGla5o&mid=38416&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tackledirect.com%2Fseaguar-basix-fluorocarbon.html

January 28, 2022 08:49:29 AM

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