Westwood wrote on Jul 12^th, 2019 at 7:51pm:

I just want to add my two cents on using a mono leader for trolling for the benefit of guests to this site.  Lots of people use mono leaders and they all think that they catch more fish because of the mono leader is harder for fish to see.  I personally see no benefit to using a mono leader.  I know lots of people on this site will disagree with me.  I just think that braided line is so much better than mono.  So if you are new to trolling for lake trout go ahead and use braided line tied directly to a snap.  In my opinion there is no benefit to using a mono leader and several disadvantages.

I thought is was more for the give or stretch at the hook set so it doesn't rip out of the mouth. I gave up on mono mainly because of the "memory" and line tangles.  I'm trying Berkley's "Nanofil" line on one of my reels this summer.  It is not mono or braid and absolutely limp with no memory.  The knock on it is that it nicks or abrades easily. It's very very thin diameter too.