Thread: Surfcasting : Braid vs Mono

If you fish places with reasonable waves and swells, then mono is your friend. Braid has zero stretch, meaning your sinker will simply pull out, or your rod will fall over in your sand spike. The elasticity of mono is perfect for absorbing the waves. Don't get me wrong, braid is amazing for jigging and topwater etc, but I don't really use it in the surf. Just my $0.02.

I've been using a long fluoro shock leader to braid mainline to surfcast off the beach. By "long", I mean the shock leader is a couple of turns onto the reel itself at the moment of casting, otherwise I figure a shock leader is useless. I really don't like this setup as the entire shock leader and the knot clatters through the guides and robs me of distance. Also, after a few cut-offs and re-rigs, the shock leader shortens too much and you end up having to change the leader more often than you need. I'm considering using just braid now. Haven't tried it yet and not sure if the braid can handle the oomph I put into my casts. Maybe someone can share their experience on that.

Originally Posted by Pepo1

I've been using a long fluoro shock leader to braid mainline to surfcast off the beach. By "long", I mean the shock leader is a couple of turns onto the reel itself at the moment of casting, otherwise I figure a shock leader is useless. I really don't like this setup as the entire shock leader and the knot clatters through the guides and robs me of distance. Also, after a few cut-offs and re-rigs, the shock leader shortens too much and you end up having to change the leader more often than you need. I'm considering using just braid now. Haven't tried it yet and not sure if the braid can handle the oomph I put into my casts. Maybe someone can share their experience on that.

This guy uses braid when surfcasting. Seems to work for him, but he fishes sandy beaches. Old rule of thumb was 10lb leader for every 1oz sinker. I'd up that if using braid straight through.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=294555732466638

agree with Strummer mono for me same reason I only use braid deepwater from a boat