Casting Distance: Braid vs. Mono vs. Fluorocarbon

[DaiwaFreak]

I've noticed from reading reviews on TT and browsing through the forum, that most people in the states use Mono or Fluorocarbon lines on their Baitcasting and Spinning reels. Over here in Australia, Braided lines (especially Japanese PE) is the way to go for lure fishing. There are some who use straight fluorocarbon lines, and mono does get used for baiting and game trolling. But I've always wondered, why do the Americans like to use Mono and Fluorocarbon lines for lure fishing? Also, I've always thought that braid casts better than mono or fluorocarbon lines for both spinning and baitcasting reels? If anybody could shed some light on this it would be very helpful.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

[KCL655321]

From my perspective, I like using mono when I'm fishing a lure, most likely a treble bait, where I want to keep the lure up in the water column or topwater & don't mind that extra stretch. Fluoro I use because it has great sensitivity on slack line & sinks, so there's less bow between me & the lure. Braid I use when I'm fishing heavy cover with thick wire hooks & need the extra strength to set the hook & get them out. Casting distance, fluoro is way behind the other two for me while mono casts better than braid when comparing similar diameters, although you're usually getting 4x the breaking strength from the braid, so it's pretty easy to go down a size or two to gain extra distance.

[Cracker]

I use mostly top quality Japanese braid lines (Varivas, YGK).
And braid hands down wins in casting distance, if you compare let say 10lb braid over 10 fluorocarbon or mono.

[Tokugawa]

I've noticed from reading reviews on TT and browsing through the forum, that most people in the states use Mono or Fluorocarbon lines on their Baitcasting and Spinning reels. Over here in Australia, Braided lines (especially Japanese PE) is the way to go for lure fishing. There are some who use straight fluorocarbon lines, and mono does get used for baiting and game trolling. But I've always wondered, why do the Americans like to use Mono and Fluorocarbon lines for lure fishing? Also, I've always thought that braid casts better than mono or fluorocarbon lines for both spinning and baitcasting reels? If anybody could shed some light on this it would be very helpful.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

I'm not sure your premise is 100% accurate. There are a lot of people in the US that use only braid...quite a few on this forum angle that way.

Personally, I select a line for its intended end use. Braid, FC, co-poly and nylon monos all have a place.

[damian_megabass]

I've noticed from reading reviews on TT and browsing through the forum, that most people in the states use Mono or Fluorocarbon lines on their Baitcasting and Spinning reels. Over here in Australia, Braided lines (especially Japanese PE) is the way to go for lure fishing. There are some who use straight fluorocarbon lines, and mono does get used for baiting and game trolling. But I've always wondered, why do the Americans like to use Mono and Fluorocarbon lines for lure fishing? Also, I've always thought that braid casts better than mono or fluorocarbon lines for both spinning and baitcasting reels? If anybody could shed some light on this it would be very helpful.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

I'm not sure your premise is 100% accurate. There are a lot of people in the US that use only braid...quite a few on this forum angle that way.

Personally, I select a line for its intended end use. Braid, FC, co-poly and nylon monos all have a place.

I agree. Every line has their place and type of fishing.

[branover]

I've noticed from reading reviews on TT and browsing through the forum, that most people in the states use Mono or Fluorocarbon lines on their Baitcasting and Spinning reels. Over here in Australia, Braided lines (especially Japanese PE) is the way to go for lure fishing. There are some who use straight fluorocarbon lines, and mono does get used for baiting and game trolling. But I've always wondered, why do the Americans like to use Mono and Fluorocarbon lines for lure fishing? Also, I've always thought that braid casts better than mono or fluorocarbon lines for both spinning and baitcasting reels? If anybody could shed some light on this it would be very helpful.

Cheers,

Daiwafreak

I'm not sure your premise is 100% accurate. There are a lot of people in the US that use only braid...quite a few on this forum angle that way.

Personally, I select a line for its intended end use. Braid, FC, co-poly and nylon monos all have a place.

I agree. Every line has their place and type of fishing.

I agree as well. I thought I was in love with braid for awhile but sometimes it's just not the right thing to use. Now I only have it on my frog set up. Been on a FC kick now and only have one reel with mono on it. Everything certainly has it's place

[BRONZEBACK32]

Braid hands down IMO.

Love me some new PowerPro Timber Brown Super-Slick in 20lb

[Inspectorlee]

Braid does cast farther for me.

I had switched to 6 lb Berkley Vanish FC to see what all the FC fuss was about (didn't realize that it has such a bad reputation at the time). This was spooled on a size 25 Tica ultralight reel. I used it for about a month and a half, fishing about 3-4 days per week, about 4 hours per day. There is a pond that I frequent, and the bass like to stack up against a large tree in the water. I fish from the shore, casting towards this tree. My lure usually drops about 4-5 feet short of the branches, so I never have to worry about snagging a limb and snapping my line.

Fast forward a month and a half: I grew tired of the Berkley Vanish, it didn't perform as well as I had hoped. I switch back to my old line, 8 lb Power Pro (1 lb stated diameter equivalent) . This was spooled on the same reel (I only had one rod and reel at the time). I go back to the bass pond, use the exact same lure and even the same rigging method. I cast out towards the same tree, and bounce my lure off the trunk! It literally surprised me because I was so used to always falling short of the branches, so I never had to worry about the distance of the cast. I tried three more casts, and each time, I had to pull the lure short, otherwise it would hit the branches of the sunken tree. I know that the lines aren't directly comparable diameter-wise, but this is the only direct experience, back to back, using the same rod and reel, that showed such a drastic difference in distance.