Braid v Mono advise

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

Probably been discussed a million times BUT here goes -I find my Schneider mono has a lot of memory retention ie looks like a rope uncoiling when coming off the reel. This I believe is the reason it loops over the rod tip when slack or re baiting.I was told not to bother with braid for the depths I usually fish out from Nth Haven for Whiting Squid etc. Every now & then a Snapper trip with Mog a bit deeper.My rods & reels are not the top of the range gear (mostly from Lord Black Billy, thanx for that) and a Shimano seaquest with a 2500 fx ( told this was an allround combo by tackle shop).SO, do I respool with the cheap stuff I have? try a different mono? or go braid?The others I take out are even less experienced than me.Try not to make me look a dill or over complicate things for this "OLD" newbie!!!!As usual thanx for your expert adviceAndrew

[catch fillet release 22]

depends on depths and structurefishing where theres wrecks/reef etc its better with mono , if doing depth with clear bottom then braids good i have gone back to mono on most of mine, tangles are damn hard to get out braid cuts into skin and hurts like hellcfr

[plankton 725]

If you're not happy with the mono you are using then definitely make a switch. As far as what to do I can only relate my experience with mono and braid.Braid is great, it has excellent sensitivity, casts well and lasts much much longer than mono. I use braid for almost everything, with the only exception being soaking baits in the surf.Mono has it's place, as I mentioned above, it is much cheaper than braid although it needs to be replaced much more frequently. If you don't want to take a chance on braid then try another brand of mono. I'm not very familiar with Schneider, but if it has heaps of memory then try switching to a copolymer mono, they usually have less. Ask at your local and they can help you.If you do decide to switch to braid forget your local shop and have a look on ebay, much cheaper to buy braid from the US even with shipping charges. I prefer Power Pro and good old original Fireline.

[bent87 0]

I prefer the 'feel' of mono- and use it for everything except deep reef bottom bashing. Might try braid on a finely tuned spin outfit to give it another crack

[ashleycraig80 0]

Braid for most applications except for reefy bottoms where the braid can get wear and tear marks and weaken the raid. Braid has been my best move i've made since giving away the cheap jarvis walker outfits for proper shimano gear.Expensive i know to buy but its worth it, you wont be spooling up every year with new line. You might have to brush up on your knotts as you will need to put a backing of mono down on the spool first (unless you want to spend $30+ on 300m of braid, better getting 150m and making up the rest with backed mono). Any get some flurocarbon for a leader. You can use mono for some applications, but fluro works well for me.

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

As usual quick responses from you guys, thanx BUT backing?, leaders?, looks like Google will be my freind!!! As said "newbie" here, started fishing with line wound on a beer bottle and only knew patanoster rig. Trying to learn running rigs & different hooks as well.And have you ever Googled fishing knots? Also why do I need 200 mts of line on the spool to fish for table fish in less than 20 meters of water?thanx guys

[plankton 725]

BUT backing?' date=' leaders?, looks like Google will be my freind!!! Also why do I need 200 mts of line on the spool to fish for table fish in less than 20 meters of water?[/quote']Threadline reels cast best with a full spool, once you get down more than a third of the way into a spool they start to cast like crap because of the angle the line has to take to clear the spool lip. If you are dropping lures/baits straight down this is much less of a concern. I like to have around 300m of line on all my reels for a few reasons, mainly because as we all know when fishing, sh!t can an will happen. Often for one reason or another you need to cut back some of your line or it gets busted off. If this happens a few times in a session you can have lost enough line to seriously affect your casting. If I'm using a reel with 300m of braid on it then I have to loose more than 100m to have issues, where if my reel only has 100m on it then it wouldn't take much line loss to be in trouble.Backing is line put on the reel first to take up some space or to have stronger line for long fights with tough fish. Because of the cost most people will buy 150m spools of braid and back that up with mono to fill the reel. When using braid you need to have a leader on the business end, although braid is thin it is also very visible and tying it directly to you hook/lure will likely spook most fish. So at the end of your braid you tie a length of mono or fluorocarbon to keep your presentation stealthy.Hope that's not too much information, some times I tend to ramble on.

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

well explained,thanx Plankton,this old fella keeps learning stuff :woohoo: now to learn those knots!!!!!!!!

[brenton 637]

I'd stick with the mono when fishing under 15metres personally,i've always found 12lb Platypus platinum to be a great mono.I only use braid for lures,deep bottom bashing or KG in over 15 metres even then you need the right gear that will lay the braid well on the spool. cheers brenton

[trihull 177]

Poops, nothing wrong with Schneider Line..... used it for years both here and on Sth Coast NSW, pity I cant find their old style multi colour ... grr only green or blue..Steer clear of the cheap monofilament !! Platypus / Schneider / Ande & Stren are all premium lines, can't go wrong with those choices...Hope that helps

[Jimmy. 173]

Try fireline, its kinda inbetween ive found and use it on most of my light rods. Its the same stuff you used of mine in the Port river for St's. It just had a 1m vanish trace on it.

[Wahoo 146]

If your schneider's getting memory retention it can possibly be that it's too heavy a breaking strain for the diameter of the spool. I've used it in the past without too many problems.I've been using 6lb braid for KGW for years now & have now changed to braid on all my regular outfits, I wouldn't go back but it's a personal thing & you probably need to try braid on 1 outfit first & see how you go with it.If your existing schneider is in good condition you could strip off the top 60metres or so & then top shot with 150metres of braid. Knots are the clincher, you need extra wraps/turns and lubrication. Learn some good leader to braid knots, there are a few out there & Geoff Wilson's book Fishing Knots and Rigs is a worthwhile investment. Fishing World website also has some knot videos that are good value.Hope this helps.Wahoo

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

"If your existing schneider is in good condition you could strip off the top 60metres or so & then top shot with 150metres of braid"that sounds like the go, thanx Wahoo

[Wahoo 146]

Your Welcome. It's what I did when I started.

[Just Me 0]

http://videofishingknots.com/The menu is to the right hand corner. Very easy to follow.Poppa, braid can be a bugger to spool if you've never done it before so i'd suggest getting spooled from a tackle store or get someone to help.

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

hi again,found some Platypus Pretest 4kg in the shed I bought last year on the advise from a shop. 1 - What dose the 4kg actually mean?2 - What should this line be used for? Whiting? Gar? ST's? etc or could it handle something larger?3 - It is marked "factory maximum of 3 tests 8.06.6thanx again "Gurus"

[Just Me 0]

No guru Poppa but here goes.The 4kg is the breaking strain. The factory maximum is a test of every 1000 mt spool and the highest is recorded of 3 tests ie just over 8lbs. That is for anglers chasing igfa records.8lb would be fine for all those species you mentioned. I like 4-6lb for gar but that'll be fine.

[Softy 2,991]

4kg would be 8lb line. I use 8lb vanish on all my light combos for my rigs to chase the fish you mentioned. I have caught my big carp on the same line.

[Poppa Snake 1,399]

ta mate ....but....it's 4kg on the label but actually tested at 8lb? am I right in thinking that?and does it work like this? 2 cars hit head on at 60kph so impact is 120kph?So......1 kg fish plus its pulling power plus water drag plus me pulling the other way could be more than 4kg of force and would bust off. Never been explained to me before so excuse my dumbness. Just trying to understand you guys and Worsteling etc when you start talking line & reel sizes.

[Just Me 0]

There is the rule of 3, but this explains it better than i could.As a general guide there's 2 rules to remember.1.'Rule of 3' states that you can usually handle fish to 3 times line rating.Given that the biggest snapper you're ever likely to encounter would be about 15kg, that means a minimum of 5kg line weight is required.Go 4-8 & you've got a good 'snapper' weight. If you also want to use the outfit for say gummies (max size say 30kg) then you'll need a 10kg outfit.So, an outfit of 6-10kg would handle pretty much everything you'd ever find in regard to snapper & gummys.Now, please realise the 'Rule of 3' is only a guide, not a hard & fast rule.No doubt there's guys out there after 100kg fish with 4kg outfits chasing records. They'll loose a heap of fish to get that magic one that will 'put em in the books'. But as a guide the Rule of 3 works well.2.Rule of 1/3.This states that you generally require a reel that wil deliver & maintain, at least 1/3rd line rating in drag.So, assuming you've chosen say a 6kg line & rod for your snapper then the reel will need to be able to deliver & maintain a minimum of 2kg drag weight. Should you choose say a 9kg line weight to handle gummys as well as snapper then the reel must deliver & maintain a min of 3kg drag. Note I say & maintain when it comes to drag weight. Tere's no point using a reel that starts off delivering it's 2-3kg drag but due to being too small the drag overheats & looses drag friction (just as car brakes overheat & suffer 'brake fade').So, this means not going down to 1000 size threadline reels, etc.Yeah you'll get the odd snapper in with tiny reels, as Winga's mate in Arno Bay will testify, but that reel will have a well cooked drag if it's constantly having to cope with 14+kg snapper. So, a reel of approx 3500-6500 size will fit the bill far better. For snapper alone a 4500 size is about perfect I reckon.

[Just Me 0]

ta mate ....but....it's 4kg on the label but actually tested at 8lb? am I right in thinking that?and does it work like this?

Sorry missed that bit Poppa. Yes that is correct. It's about 2.2lb/kg.