Mono Vs Braid

[Jordan]

OK, once and for all... I fish saltwater with mono (Cajun line and berkley big game). I was down in Venice this past weekend and everyone I seen was using Power pro (which is braided). Went to cabelas to get some of this "Magic line" that everyone said wouldnt break. I seen people in our boat and in another boat lock on to some huge reds and it snapped that sh*t like thread. My Questions. Which is better? What does everyone on this site use? Which one is better in your opinion? Is the power pro worth the money in your opinion? Fill me in before I switch !!!!

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VS

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[cmdrost]

I use 30 lb (8 lb mono equivalent) power pro with a mono leader. Love it! Stonger, more sensitive, less stretch. Can handle it all.

[Jordan]

thats what they used when I was down the road in Venice.

[all star rod]

I use Berkley Big game 12# & 15#.

[jpeff31787]

Braid with flouro leader! Can't beat it. The braid has absolutely zero stretch and A LOT of sensitivity (main reasons i like it). Its very abrasive resistant and its thinner in diameter. BUT you have to tie a certain knot or it will snap on bream lol I forget the name of the knot but I'm sure someone on here will tell you.

[BIGJ]

Berkley Big Game 12# is all I use. The only way it will break is if its a monster red or it gets cut on rocks.:)

[Jordan]

i use cajun line 14# and big game 15#... works good

[Hebert]

30lb power pro! you can feel a fish fart on your line :)

[jpeff31787]

30lb power pro! You can feel a fish fart on your line :)



you said it!

[Jordan]

im going to go spend the $30 for new line

["W"]

I use Big Game mono 10lb test with a 20lb Flo Carb leader......

Power Pro is just not for me.....If you want to tow a boat in...make sure you have a spool!!! Ask Bruce about the time Steve's power pro got caught in the Sea Pickle's prop:*****::*****::*****:

[matt wahl]

Spyderwire 15lb!!!!!!

[Jordan]

ugh.... still not sure....... give me the pros and cons on what everyone uses.... im still leaning towards mono (big game or cajun line)

[Gerald]

About a year ago, I bought some 30 lb Power pro to see what all the fuss was about.

I put it on my Curado. I tried it in the yard and it worked well....but fishing with it work be a better test.

Most of the time it cast as good or better than 12 # mono. But sometimes it would backlash but so does mono. Most of the time when you make a "bad" cast.....it will backlash....and it is your fault....not the line's fault.

But with the Power Pro.....it just seamed to backlash sometimes when mono would not backlash.

The short story......after the 3 rd fishing trip, I took the PP off and put mono Big Game 12# mono back on.

I have used braded line offshore......and it worked fine. But offshore, you are not casting long distances very much.

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

i use 12 or 15 pound Big game, super cheap and super strong. ive only broke 1 fish off and it was a huge red that ran too far out, and this line was a year old.

Now i change my line every 10 trips or so

[Big Kahunaz]

I use power pro 30lb test w/ 20lb flouro leader ...best knot for braid to mono is the surgeons knot...real simple and you can reel it up through the eyes and doesn't effect casting. You will get small back lashes every once in a while when you first spool your line when trying to cast too hard....but after a couple of trips and the waxy coat begins to fade...this won't be a problem. The guys breaking off on reds probably were breaking at the leader knot...you can youtube the surgeons knot and see how easy it is. I use about a 4 or 5 foot leader and I use the P-Line flouro. I tried all others...berkley leader line and its too stretchy...P-line is tough as nails w/ less stretch and more abbraision resistent. I was all about mono a few years back....now I'll never look back again! Hope this helps!

[Hopedale Hustler]

i use 2 lb. mono..stren......with 25 lb. fluro carb leader.

[cmdrost]

double uni knot works really well too.

backlashes are harder to get out with pp, but still worth it, and like big kahuna sayz, shouldn't happen after you've broken in the spool.

[jpeff31787]

pros: SENSITIVE!!!!
Won't break as easily if rubbed up on structures
Won't break as easily PERIOD
Smaller line diameters
Some brands will cast further than some monos
its easier to take the backlashes out cuz you don't backlash often
(once you learn how to work it)
will last MUCH longer than monos
less memory
some brands are softer than monos
good for topwaters since it floats
ZERO stretch (always get a good hook set no matter the distance)
cast great in spinning reels!
spinning reels hold more braid than it would mono
will cut through grass much better than mono if you bass fish
can horse fish around if you need to
Give me extra confidence when a big fish is on

cons: will cut into your fingers if your not careful
more expensive
not as clear (which is why most ppl use 20lbs flouro leaders)
have to tie different knots
have to remember to tie different knots
usually have to spool baitcaster with half mono
have to spool on tightly
can eat up rod guides if you buy crappy braids like fireline (DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT BUY THAT CRAP!!!)

hope this helps.. My personal favorite braid for baitcasters is Spiderwire's invisibraid 20-30lb test. Its the softest, smoothest, lightest, has less memory, and cast the best on baitcasters. For spinning reels.. power pro or Pline is about the same. But I have braid on all my poles, and I consistently catch more fish than people around me so I know it doesn't hurt anything. I fish probably 100 times a year at least mainly specs and bass fishing, so you know i catch the usual reds, choupique, gar, jack crevalles, and whatever else is down there. I've never had a problem with my braid. Whenever I hook into a big fish I have the confidence that my line is NOT going to just pop and if I have to I can usually horse a big fish in if i need to. Just because it says 20 30 pound test, I know I can put some pressure on that line and I'm not worried at all. I've pulled in 40 pound drum in just minutes with 20lb braid on my abu garcia 5600s. I have A LOT more confidence in it. I can pull a 5lb bass with 15lbs of grass and skim it on top the water and I KNOW FOR A FACT that the braid is not going to pop.


Any other questions....

I'm bored at work.:help:

[Jordan]

thanks JP... yeah where are the fish biting in big lake and can you help me replace my trim motor for my outboard.... oh yeah, can I have a million bucks??? thats all.. !!! Thanks bro ,lol

[jpeff31787]

lmao

millionare- got a dollar or two
trim- I have an excellent boat mechanic as a family member
Big Lake- wish i knew cuz i'd go tomorrow

no but for real give braid a chance.. i think you'll like it just as much as the rest of us. Its tough stuff!! Most of the time you'll bend your hook straight before it pops lol If you have baitcaster put some invisibraid on one and see how much you like it.

[Jordan]

roger that, how far u live away from lake charles ?

[Ray]

I use 12 lb. Berkely with 20 lb. camo leader.

[LaAngler]

mono!

[Capt. Ryan Rachunek]

8/30 Suffix Braid w/leader of 20lb P-Line CFX....

[Nasty]

I'm with the monofilament guys. Mono rocks! I tried the power pro and couldn't stand it. Big Game or P-line is the ticket for me.

[Salty]

double uni knot works really well too.

backlashes are harder to get out with pp, but still worth it, and like big kahuna sayz, shouldn't happen after you've broken in the spool.


Power Pro is the reel deel. These guys know.

[cordgrass]

big game.

[SULPHITE]

tried the cajun line...never again...

[Dink]

Samarai braid..........I use it and won't buy power crap or mono again...........it's a braid sure, but smooth as mono....go rub your fingers on some power crap, then on the Samarai......you'll feel th edifference....The 15lb is the diam or 4lb mono...........it's 35bucks for 150 yds, but that's all you'll need for years!!! It doesn't fray like power crap, it doesn't fade like power crap and you can feel everything!!!!!

["W"]

Samarai braid..........I use it and won't buy power crap or mono again...........it's a braid sure, but smooth as mono....go rub your fingers on some power crap, then on the Samarai......you'll feel th edifference....The 15lb is the diam or 4lb mono...........it's 35bucks for 150 yds, but that's all you'll need for years!!! It doesn't fray like power crap, it doesn't fade like power crap and you can feel everything!!!!!

Tim you also used a steal leader with a pop n cork:*****:

[huntin fool]

tried the cajun line...never again...



never again will i buy that junk either!



berkley big game 12 lb test. Freshwater and salt.

[Bigrat]

12# ande backcountry

[Salty]

never again will i buy that junk either!



berkley big game 12 lb test. Freshwater and salt.


Fool, fishin' with W.....1.2# test will do just fine.

[SULPHITE]

12# yozuri hybrid...can't backlash it...

[B-Stealth]

Braided line is great for topwater; you can cast farther, work your bait better, and hooksets are instant. I dont like every reel spooled braid, but it defiantly has its place.

Uni-Knot for your baits.

Double Uni-Knot for your leader.

[Big Kahunaz]

Fool, fishin' with W.....1.2# test will do just fine.

:cry::*****::*****::cry::*****::*****::*****::work ::*****::rotfl::*****::rotfl::*****::cry::*****:

[Big Kahunaz]

Braided line is great for topwater; you can cast farther, work your bait better, and hooksets are instant. I dont like every reel spooled braid, but it defiantly has its place.

Uni-Knot for your baits.

Double Uni-Knot for your leader.

Holy Crap....Stealth! Your out the woodworks again!

[Jordan]

i manage to break off less with cajun line. even the cheaper line from wally world (200 yards for $3.00) is even better than big game

[bay_slayer]

P-Line.......if you dont want to fish to snap your line just put P-Line on. I have had this stuff rubbed against pilings and all and it stays strong. All I can tell you is dont get snagged on something. I'm not even sure if you can cut this stuff with a razor.....j/j. I love P-Line and cant see going to something else in the near future.

[fishinpox]

on my casting reels i use power pro 20 lb with a 15 -20 lb fluro leader tied on with a uni to uni knot the only reel i have mono on is my topwater setup i found that braid just dosnt work a top water the way i like it to . i also use braid on spinning gear. i started using braid on my casting gear when i was fishing venice this winter jigging in 25 -30 ft of water with a strong current is very hard to feel a wintertime speck bite but with the braid it was alot better

[FlatoutFishin]

When switching from mono to braid for the first time it's different. It takes a little getting used to, but once you do... braid rocks. 30# suffix direct tied or using the quickswirl swivel if grass isn't a problem ...you'll feel a fish fart before he takes the bait!
Other thing ...braid and recoil tip eye's don't mix. You definitely need a Fuji to eliminate drag.

[jsmoke222000]

I recently bought a 300 yd roll of Suffix Pro Performance Braid from Lake Charles Tackle. Dude behind the counter said it was the baddest **** on earth. I couldn't disagree more. I lost more fish in the one day I used that line that I have lost in the last 5 years throwing Big Game mono 20 lb test! I don't know if it was the knots I was using or if I was fishing on a reef covered with razorblades, but that line broke atleast 10 times. I took it off. They got me for $38. Never again. I've got half a roll of that crap in my tackle box. I might try it for crabbing string. :((

[Jordan]

Bringing back an old post..... i bought that power-crap... tied it on... got my eel all tied on, rared back to cast and hummed that baby out there... done my retrieve... never felt a strike and brought in half an eel.... ya'll said this line is supposed to be sensitive?? I beg to differ...

[jpeff31787]

Bringing back an old post..... i bought that power-crap... tied it on... got my eel all tied on, rared back to cast and hummed that baby out there... done my retrieve... never felt a strike and brought in half an eel.... ya'll said this line is supposed to be sensitive?? I beg to differ...


your supposed to keep you line tight to feel it man!! Come on level 1 of fishing lol j/k but that fish must of had some sharp teeth!! Possibly a Spanish?? happens with them, they hit so fast.. Don't take it off though! I promise you'll learn to love and trust it

[Jordan]

i fished and fished and fished with it, never could feel a bite.... maybe its the shimano rod ??? Big game... i feel the minnows running into my line... im going to keep it on there and try it in big lake.. coulda been a spanny... i put a regular eel.... not a jr... brought back 2" of it... lol

[Capt. Matt Caire]

I have one pole with braid and one with mono. I like mono for trout and i use braid when i fish for reds. The thing with down here where we are at it doesnt matter if you use mono or braid. Our fish are usually not that particular. Every now and then you may get some trout that will bite the mono better than braid, but for the mosr part they dont. The thing i think about power pro is that hate it because it has broke on me several times when it shouldnt have. I now use Stren braid. Whatever it is called now. Now braid i think. I also use it in 40 pound. The reason for that is i find 30 pound will break pretty easy on a snag when the 40 pound will bend the hook off. I think 40 is the perfect size diameter wise. I think its 12 or 10 pound diameter. I use to always be a braid guy until them windy days when it wraps around your rodtip a hundred time, and started moving back to mono, then we have been doing alot of redfishing lately and with that mono we would lose anywhere from 4 to 9 fish a day on mono. Hard to get limits like that. I will stick to my Stren Sonic braid for them big fish, since mono and power pro let me down. I heard from a customer from Florida that Power Pro was having a problem a year or two ago with degeneration of the line. Supposidly this guy new the man that started Power Pro. Dunno. All my customer rods now have braid on the, i save a lot more hooks and fish. Couldnt hurt to be equipped with both. Especially with them big nastys yall were catching this past weekend.

[dbarham]

Fins braid for me 2nd choice power pro

[007]

My curado casts better with braid but, my H2o's will out cast it with mono....so I'm kinda mixed.

[Jordan]

i got h2o reels and shimano reels and they do identical of what yours do 007.... Matt... u see that 44 lber we brought in?? Black drum.... b*tch was a beast cussss !!!

[TROUTDEATH]

I agree..i never thought i would use it but its the best stuff ever..i also use the 30lb and a 3 ft section of 20 lb p-line for lures and for hangups..so much more action..when you move the rod the lure is moving...it literally feels like you can feel the stretch when you use mono again..feels like a rubber band


I use 30 lb (8 lb mono equivalent) power pro with a mono leader. Love it! Stonger, more sensitive, less stretch. Can handle it all.

[007]

I agree..i never thought i would use it but its the best stuff ever..i also use the 30lb and a 3 ft section of 20 lb p-line for lures and for hangups..so much more action..when you move the rod the lure is moving...it literally feels like you can feel the stretch when you use mono again..feels like a rubber band

You can feel it if a fly sneezes on power pro

[Capt. Matt Caire]

yeah i saw that big nasty. that catagory was a close one. a lot of black drum died that weekend. haha glad yall placed. nice meeting you. holla at me if u come back down

[Jordan]

10-4 cuss... my cousin Erin won most of the prizes, i caught her 1st place red, 1st place flounder and her 1st place 44 lb big nasty !!

[FlatoutFishin]

Once you get used to it, there is no other.

[Gilbert]

About a year ago, I bought some 30 lb Power pro to see what all the fuss was about.

I put it on my Curado. I tried it in the yard and it worked well....but fishing with it work be a better test.

Most of the time it cast as good or better than 12 # mono. But sometimes it would backlash but so does mono. Most of the time when you make a "bad" cast.....it will backlash....and it is your fault....not the line's fault.

But with the Power Pro.....it just seamed to backlash sometimes when mono would not backlash.

The short story......after the 3 rd fishing trip, I took the PP off and put mono Big Game 12# mono back on.

I have used braded line offshore......and it worked fine. But offshore, you are not casting long distances very much.


after about 20 or so casts, cast down wind and reel in with tension on the line to tighten it up. Braid doesn't pack down while working lures. It keeps those backlashes down from popping out of no where.

[Gilbert]

Bringing back an old post..... i bought that power-crap... tied it on... got my eel all tied on, rared back to cast and hummed that baby out there... done my retrieve... never felt a strike and brought in half an eel.... ya'll said this line is supposed to be sensitive?? I beg to differ...


I get the same thing sometimes. those little fish like piggy's tear up a plastic and you don't feel it.

[Gilbert]

another thing about braid, you have to wear off that wax coating it has before it works really good. I was told the yellow power pro doesn't have that coating so that is what I will try next once I wear out the line I have now. But that could be a while. :redface:

[PUREBAY2200]

power pro....30 lb.....u choose ur leader depending on what like.
power pro is the best line out there.....PERIOD!

[FlatoutFishin]

after about 20 or so casts, cast down wind and reel in with tension on the line to tighten it up. Braid doesn't pack down while working lures. It keeps those backlashes down from popping out of no where.

What he's sayin is....use a big coffee can at first then move to a smaller can like a 16 oz size. That way when your feeshin all day with the homey's, you want get worn down and suffer from carpul tamale wrist. What mexycans get during tamale season!