INDIANANGLER

I just got back from Bombay had a very uneventful fishing trip and attended an awesome wedding.

To mess up my fishing trip completely was the fact that the trip got cancelled even before it started because some issues that came up with one of the guys who was going to be driving, then it sorted it self out and we were back on. However to make matters worse I did not get on my flight and had to postpone it to the next day. This meant that we had to cancel going to Vijaydurg and go to Jaigad. Jaigad was a mess nothing worth wile happened except on the last day we had some Barra action spinning but failed to get a strike.

Right through this trip I did not use a mono leader and fished braid directly. I managed to connect to only one small Rock cod (I presume) but did not get a chance to see it as it managed to shake the lure off. Other than that, nothing. The water everywhere was like Champagne, even Fred said the same for Durg.

When we got back to Bombay I did a couple of rounds to some of my old haunts but failed again, the only success we had was with my Godson who succeeded with some small Mangrove Jacks. This got me thinking, he was the only one using mono and my son and myself were using braid direct to the lure. Again the water here was very clear.

Just wonder if any of you guys can share your experience, did you or if you think back do you notice a difference in strikes when you use braid and mono? For me I am always going to use a mono leader from now on when I fish braid.

On any given day, I will prefer using Mono or Fluorocarbon than tying my lure directly to the braid line. In the last two trips of Vijay Durg, we lost many fishes where the braid was cut off or snapped when a big one decided to take the lure. The case in point is when I lost a big GT, on a popper, when 100lb braid snapped or Fredd lost a fish this time when his 150 lb braid was cut off immediately after a big strike.

As for as I am concerned, the only disadvantage other than the diameter of the line, Mono has, is hookups while trolling, as it has got stretch. In case of braid, the hook ups are instant and one does not have to execute a strike. On other front that is visibility and shock resistance, mono score much above the braid.

This time I lost something big in Vijay Durg, as my drags Jams and I did not had the time to do any thing. In the same scenario, I may have landed the brute if I was using a Mono Line.

As Santosh will vouch for, the best way is to use a Fluorocarbon leader and some length of mono with braid backup.

Regards,

Ali.

Hi Ali,

I normally always use a Mono leader, was just lazy this time and paid the price, but I never had put down visibility of Braid to that of mono.

Bobby

In moving water, braid will also cause a hum. This may also be the reason for no strikes. Using a long mono leader really helps.

IA

Hello,

I'm not an expert yet. but my opinion is better to use Mono than Braid.

I'm experiencing frequent nots in braid which is not so easy to remove. Atleast once in 10 cast i end up in line jammed. I feel that i'm not good enough in casting with braids. Please tell me your opinion about this.

Luck is also not towards braid. Whenever i use braid i close the day with empty hands or no experience to share with. But when using mono, most of the time i get stike atleast. This is purely coincidence. but i'm ok to go with coincidence.

My vote is to MONO lines.

Salmonmani

The problem with braid is that it loses it's colour real fast and becomes very visible in clear water. One trick is to carry permanent markers in the right colours, green and black, and at the end of every session do a quick and easy re-colour.

But there is nothing better than the near invisibility of good mono.

Question.
I normally use moss green braid and mono. Recently I loaded a reel with red braid. Has anyone used this colour and what are its advantages?

Thanks guys. This is the first time I used braid direct extensively. From now on will remember this lesson and always use a Fluorocarbon or Mono leader. Never used fluorocarbon in the past because I found it a bit too stiff and I thought it would affect the action of smaller lures. However I understand that there are more 'supple' fluorocarbon lines available now so I need to look this up.

Some useful info:

Refractive index of water is: 1.30
Refractive index of Fluorocarbon is: 1.42
Refractive index of Mono is: 1.52 approx
I could not find any info in refractive index of braid but I presume it would be a lot higher and so most visible in water.

The closer the refractive index to water the lesser will be its visibility.

Salmonmani - Braid over Mono over Fluorocarbon or vice versa is a matter of personal choice, for e.g. a lot of people like braid because of it's no stretch quality and faster contact with the fish, however I like the stretch mono offers.

I do not understand your knotting problems with braid. However I think the reason you get jammed is because you have not wrapped the line properly or tightly enough onto your spool. I recommend that you take all the line off and re-wrap it. Also make use you secure the knot with some tape or mono onto the spool so the braid does not slip over the spool when playing a large fish on a tight drag.

Based on the last 3 trips that i have done, I have absolutely no doubt that fluorocarbon leader makes a big difference compared to wire, braid & even Mono.

Bobby you are correct, Fluoro has lot of issues with knots and yes its bit too stiff. I had some problems with the knots but now that has been sorted out. Ali has also showed me a very effective way of tying a knot which will not slip.

To put it more simply, the fish count on three trips have been 20 by me using Fluoro (add 5 more which opened the hooks) to 6 fish on wire/mono/braid leader by others fishing with me.

I have only lost one lure since I have started using Fluorocarbon leader.

With regards to main line, I prefer braid for a longer cast.

Santosh

I feel Red should do better than green. Red is the first colour to disappear under water.

Santosh

My experience is that fluo ls the best, but ass other has mentioned is has a knot isue, so for gt`s i or other similur fish i use mono. The length off my leader is currently 150 cm and getting longer as times pases,i make it that long because i change leader after each trip but the braid once a year.

Thanks Santosh! I hope I get to see how it works soon.

This is turning out to be a very nice thread. I will use the GT knot to join my fluro to braid. I carry a lighter in my kit always, I think burning the ends will hold and prevent any slips.

Superglue is also recommended for softening the cutting effect of braid into mono or fluro. Superglue is safe and will not damage lines, I use to use it to stick my live corals together, it makes a good and harmless underwater glue.

Now your experience shows that the mono induces more strikes than braid.

Regards,

Ali.

Bobby! Can you explain this. I always put a small drop of Super Glue on my knots (all of the ones tied at home, that is). Is this what you mean?

Hi Ali,

You are right?

For me, Luck is good when used mono than braid.

Mani

Now that is what I call Mr. Spock type logic

MK, besides acting like a glue and holding the knot together superglue superglue is also used to prevent the thinner diameter of braid from cutting into another line by coating the braid and preventing it from biting into the other line as it would otherwise. Applying this theory to all knots you tie with braid it should also prevent it from cutting into itself. Though I have not tested it, I would apply superglue onto the knot just before tightening so that the line gets an even coat especially with Fire line and similar braids.

Thanks Bobby.

Hi Guys,

Iam a mono man myself. However I fish most exclusievly braid for two reasons , for loading more line into small reels (20lb to 30lb)for shore casting .The thinner dia gives you casting distance. I also pack heavy line ( 80lb)into big spinning reels for casting poppers and ( 50 Lb)for jigging.
Now on the subject of tying braid to the lure directly - well thats generally not done .you need a leader,and fluro is good since its less visible and hence you can fish higher poundage leader. once you tie the fluro leader give it a serious stretch and that will keep the line some what limp and the lure will swim well on retrieval.
Braid is highly prone to wind knots ( these are knots that form on the line while casting) this happens if the line is not wound in tightly while spooling new line into reel. All knots on the braid are easy to unravel if you handle the knot very lightly without tugging it or jerking it ,also a small pin or a tooth pick will help you pick at the knots.

There are many knots on the net that will tell you how to join braid to mono or fluro I generally use the mid knot for joining heavy braid to mono leader for popping ( 80lb braid to 130lb mono ) and the finger knot to join lighter braid ( 20 lb or 30 lb braid to 40lb Fluro)

cheers,

Jeen

The best way to me is using Braid as backup and fluro/ mono as leader. I would like to add that for fome fishes, namly Barracuda, using shining wire leader is better than any other leader.

Regards,

Ali.