LURE FISHING LINES:
BRAIDS vs MONOS ?
“No Contest!”
reckons Les Hunt

Ever since braids like Spiderwire hit the scene back in the last century, I've binned my monofils and have never really looked back for one moment!

Well, that's not entirely true but as far as lines for lure fishing go, I reckon that braids are just about unbeatable; OK, so they do have a couple of downsides — they're not cheap and their abrasion resistance is not as good as monofils of the same BS — but, apart from that, I reckon that they're one of the best things to hit the lure fishing scene in ages.

I've also tried out a couple of these fusion lines too and I still think that I'll stick with braids — here's why:-

REASONS FOR BRAIDS
Why are braids so good for lure fishing? Well, for starters their strength to diameter ratio is something else! It's two or three times higher, or maybe even more, than regular monofils. This means that you can cast further, more easily and with lighter lures too.

Before I did what I call my Quantum Leap into braids, I had read an awful lot of stuff about them. At first I was put off because of the cost, but the more I read, the more I thought I would give them a try.

Compared with nylon and copolymer monofils, braids woven from Spectra™ or Dyneema™ have much less stretch, up to 5 times less! This means that it's ultra sensitive to "takes" even at long range. And if you're into big lures, jerkbaits and the like, braids are best for transmitting action to your lure.

This low stretch means that you've got to be a tad more careful all round, though — run your drag settings on the soft side and be very careful not to snag your lure behind you as you cast! With these near zero stretch braids this could lead to a big shock to your rod if everything comes to a sudden halt as you are power casting! And don't think that your line's bound to snap before your rods does; you may be disappointed!

Brands of Braids
After the early front runners on the braid scene came many others, some good some not so good, and among those that have survived because of their excellent performance, is Sufix Herculine which is marketed in the UK by Relum. I've been using Herculine on and off for about three or four years and I can't fault it. Of course the Big Daddy of them all, Spiderwire, is still very much on the scene although it's a bit more expensive, probably worth it for one of the best braids though.

Recently I've been trying out some other braids such as Berkley Whiplash, PowerPro and Cortland Spectron as they're available in much higher BSs for my jerk-bait fishing etc. They're all pretty good, although they do vary a bit in comparative price.

I've also used NewTech Power Cable which is a soft and relatively fat braid but quite nice to use. I tend to use it for my sea fishing with lures but as I've said, mostly I use Herculine because of its price and performance.

Monofils do have their Moments
I haven't missed my old monofils for one second! Sad, perhaps, as they did the business in their day, but life and technology move on, especially in lure~fishing.

I can't imagine going back to monos except possibly for some serious snaggy venues where my line is likely to get some severe abrasion. Then, maybe, I'll be forced to revert to some Trilene Big Game, Sufix Synergy, Fox Soft Steel, Nash Bullet or suchlike, but then again, it would mean buying a new spool as what I've still got must be well past its Use By Date!

In my opinion, there's a lot of confusion and rubbish talked about lines and abrasion resistance as far as lure~fishing is concerned anyway. I don't know about everybody else but when I'm out with my lures I don't tend to hit too many snags that are likely to give my line much abrasion.

OK, so like everyone I do cast round the odd branch or two by mistake and bump into the occasional supermarket trolley etc but if I do get snagged up it's usually serious and I have to pull to break, never mind having to worry about abrasion resistance etc. By the way, you have to be a tad careful when you're pulling to break with braids because they can cut your hand like cheese wire; I usually wrap my line round my arm when I'm doing this so I don't cut my hand. Oh and pull your line from between your rod tip and the snag — don't use your rod!

Another thing I like about braids is that they are much more resistant to ageing than monos. Monos get weakened by temperature, ultra~violet light, water and air, whereas braids seem much tougher and last a lot longer, and as far as I'm concerned, this at least partially compensates for their higher cost.

Forget Fusion Lines
After I got into braids, I found out a bit more about the pros and cons of braids vs. fusion lines. Braids as their name implies are braided microfilaments whereas fusion lines are microfilaments coated with a resin. This makes them behave much more like normal monofils but they have a lot of the advantages of braids.

Since then I've tried out SpiderWire Fusion from the States and the most common fusion line in the UK which seems to be Berkley FireLine which I've also used a lot but I always go back to my faithful Herculine braid in the end.

Also from what I can gather and my own albeit fairly limited experiences with fusion lines, there doesn't seem to be much difference between them and braids as far as abrasion resistance is concerned. I know some more experienced users of fusion lines such as FireLine claim a slightly better resistance to abrasion than braids but from several different sets of professional lab test results that I've seen (thanks, Steve), monofils still have a big advantage over braids and fusion lines in this respect.

CONCLUSION ? NO CONTEST !
Also from what I can remember, fusion lines were cheaper than braids at first but now as far as I can see, there doesn't seem to be much difference nowadays. That's why personally I go for braids but some lure~anglers that I know really rate fusion lines quite highly so don't take my word for it — try them out for yourself! And, as I've said, even monos may have their moments. But overall and for me personally, it's “ NO CONTEST ! ” between Braids and The Rest !

I realise of course that not every lure~angler will agree with me and that many of you will have your own valid personal opinions and preferences, and you can write to Nick with them! Most of all, though, I hope that you have loads of lure~fishing fun whatever lines you're using!

Nick's Notes: Well, well ! Now we all know ! Back in your pram now, Les !

Please click the Key-Chem logo button
to go back to our Home Page