@mt, you never cease to amaze me with your knowledge and experience.. we are lucky to have a resource like you on this forum.

i view mono as a 'jack of all trades master of none' that is pretty forgiving, where as braid and flourocarbon are more specialty lines and can be pretty problematic at times.

i will probably end up spooling up with 6lb suffix siege and i wont change because im a creature of habit. i have braid on the baitcasters so i will probably just use them for anything requiring the benefits of braid

Trilene XL Low vis green: used this for decades (prefer XL over XT)
Fireline: use it on and off and like it
Tuf-line: tried once (couple years ago) and liked it
Suffix-832 (last year): liked it but not worth the price imo
origional stren and spiderwire: years ago tired these and didn't care for em
If XL was the only thing available i'd be fine with that...
(no lab-coat review, just a preference list)

Looks like I'm missing out on all the fun.......to much worky worky for this lad.......

One must be very careful with Flourocarbon. It is not all that it is cracked up to be. Knots can be particularly finicky especially in low tests. Avoid Vanish like the flu. Poor knot strength........lots of bass pros use floro and with good results.

As per loop knots I like the Perfection loop knot and use it all the time with 20 and 30lb floro with excellent results in salt water.......be advised, any loop knot is inherently weaker.

QuetiKurt turned me onto the Suffix 832. I bought the stuff and spooled up and was less than impressed. Power pro is certainly stronger stuff and ties well to fluorocarbon. When I pass through Dalton Georgia Kurt has accepted the knot challenge......the only question is will we be asked to leave Cracker Barrel?

Mono vs the newer lines? Each have their advantages. Braided lines allow for greater depth trolling cranks and certainly deepwater jigging spoon applications it is unsurpassed. But better than mono for most applications I say no.

I rather like a little stretch and with some good old fashioned experience have little trouble with missing bites. But for me in canoe country mono is all about walleye and smallmouth. The best time I have had walleye fishing in canoe country was over a deepwater  reef in Basswood with 8lb green XT and a rainbow trout colored taildancer........Lots of nice ones including my personal best legit 7lb and lots of 5's and 6's for 2 hours straight. I came back a week later and again right at dark but couldn't beg a bite even though I was marking them........the difference was braid. Did they not want to bite because of the braid or were they just not eating? I dunno........

Toying with finally getting to WCP this summer and doing some musky/pike fishing. That will be done with 50lb braid. Big lures, big bait caster and line that won't end up digging into itself. Could be interesting.

My advice is to try out everything before you head into canoe country.......make sure your complicated braid to floro knot system works, don't just assume because some guy on U tube says so....and don't forget your fingerless gloves so you can tighten your braided knots and test them (you do test your knots dont you?)

Hey speaking of U tube  ........I had great luck with this knot tying 100lb mono to 80lb braid. I haven't used it for lighter applications but it might prove to be better than my usual uni to uni set up which can be fickle at times. Check it out.......

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Quote:


There are more than one version of this knot.
One is called the Rapala knot and another is an improved version called the non-slip mono knot.

I'm no fishing knot expert or any knot for that matter, so I have this excellent resource marked in my Favorites.

They explain knots and have a visual guide to there tying. You can speed/slow the video and stop/reverse it as well.

I see a knot I want to learn for whatever, I use a long round shoelace(s) to practice. Much easier than actual fishing line and far more forgiving.

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I use a heavy braid for my trolling spinning rod, because if I set the drag right, it will slow me down enough to worn me I'm hung up solid and strong enough it'll pull use minor snags.
For walleyes/smallies, I like a light action rod with either 6 lb mono or equivalent in braid.
Both my reels have a spare spool, so I can choose between mono/braid.
I'm partial to Power Pro braid. For the money it's a good value.

I think my choice for line weight might be different ( probably lighter) If I was a tandem paddler because your partner can help with canoe handling.

Solo, I find that often the canoe is working against me and I lose a lot of lures with light line.

I am ridiculed often by my boys when I use mono, but I never seem to fall behind in the numbers. They are Fire-Line fans. I've used Fire-Line, various braids, and some fluorocarbon lines but seem to prefer mono. Guess I'm a die-hard traditionalist.

As far as the muted feel and the stretch, I kind of like those properties. I can feel a bite (or see it) or the bottom but I just have to pay closer attention. Finesse, I think it's called. When I set the hook, the stretch offers some forgiveness so I don't end up ripping it out of it's mouth.

As far a modern chemistry, it's a good thing and I take advantage when I want but on my fishing trips.... i use a canoe - not a power boat, I sleep on the ground in a tent - not in a fluffy lodge bed, I cook over a fire and eat out of the pan while sitting on the ground - not at a table having prepared food served to me.

I'm stubborn, primitive and set in my ways and I like it that way.

I used clear blue Stren, and then later Trilene XL for 25 years of fishing from kid till I was in my late 20's, then I used one of my dad's reels he'd had spooled with spiderwire for ice fishing and man I was sold. I'd never in my life felt the lure or the bottom before like that. After that, I had trouble going back.

Kerry wrote on Jan 26^th, 2014 at 9:40pm:


i have braid on my baitcasters and i use suffix 832. never was a big fan of power pro and i didnt like the 'flatness' of fireline. have been nothing but happy with suffix 832. maybe ill consider running a mainline braid and using a leader of flouro or mono from there.

@whit, i was reading about it last night and everything you said about mono was pretty spot on with the water absorption and stretch. i guess it worked for me and never really thought/cared much about the chemistry.

this is good discussion! cant wait to hear MT's take

Old Salt I get outfished about as often as not by my buddy Gnawbone Jack who is a monofilament man from waaay back. Whatever works for a brother!

Forgot to say that I like mono. It's all I use. Back to my corner...

When I head into backcountry I only carry one rod and reel (bait caster) so it has to be to be a compromise  - whether I'm casting, trolling, jigging, whether bass, walleye, trout or pike, whatever, it's the same rig.  Over the past couple of years I've been using Suffix 832 and I love it.  I use 30 lb not because I need the strength (although when my lure gets buried in junk it's nice) but because that's a diameter that I can tie easily (the same diameter as 8 lb mono.)  I also don't use leaders but the 832 is very resistant to bite off (I haven't had more than a couple Pike bite me off in the last two years.)  During a 3 week trip I just cut back the abraded line.  But even when it's time to add a new spool I only put on half, which I tie to the remaining unsullied half spool with a double uni.  If you like braid I'd recommend 832.