Walleye Fishing
braid vs. mono
Good point Eyesman- I never thought of that. The rougher surface of braid will cause some water resistance therefore negating the smaller diameter advantages of running deeper. Totally true-Plus the floating action of braid will also cause more resistance.Good points. I would say a good conclusion would be that a smaller diameter braid of the same poundage will run deeper overall, just not by a huge amount overall. That is what I have felt and experienced. The difference is in inches not feet.
TF- Good choice on Braid and Leader. In my opinion you cannot beat Power Pro with a Seaugars flouro leader. I use TATSU 15LB as leader material because I have half a spool laying around from when I tried it as main line a few years back. It was good for Flouro- which it better be for that price, but Power Pro braid is way better. Once you catch fish on braid its hard to go back, plus its the best for the swimbait technique that I Fish the most. If I get bit off on the 15lb tatsu I will switch to the normal seagars leader material in 20-25LB. I was frog fishing with my Spro frogs this past weekend for largemouth over the slop and man I forgot how addicting that is- super fun..
My go to line for walleye jigging is Berkeley 6lb XL moss green. Most all of my walleye fishing is the spring run on the Wolf River. Occasionally I do walleye fish on some inland lakes and that same line is adequate there also. The only exception is river fishing late spring into summer patterns when I fish weedless jigs in the wood. The no stretch advantage of braid gets better hooksets with the weedless. The only other time braid has an advantage is deep water vertical jigging. When choosing braid or mono remember that the same lb test braid is of smaller diameter. The advantage gained by that is then lost as braid is semi porous and rough on the surface. That adds resistance in the water negating the smaller diameter advantage. Likewise with equal diameter lines the braid will then offer more resistance.
True- they all stretch. But The high end flouro like Seaugars Tatsu and others definitely stretch less than any mono. Much quicker hooksets and way more powerful. As the diameter of any line gets thicker it will force the lure to run shallower due to more water resistance. Another factor is whether the line floats or sinks. Mono floats so it will naturally make the lures run shallower. The thicker diameter lines can also affect the lures actions. This is true with crank;s and swimbaits. With the berkley flatback shad you cant go to heavy with the leader because it will affect the action of the lure so much hat the tall wont even kick and the swimbait will just turn over and over- this is only with the 1/2 oz head, 3/4 oz and up not so much. This is due to more water resistance from the thicker line. You will also notice you catch more fish with the thinner leaders beacuse the action of the lure is better. But you have an increased risk of getting sheared off by big pike.
I've seen the posted information that flouro lines stretch less than mono lines. That is pure myth. Many tests have been done that show FC lines stretch just as much as mono. Some more some just a tiny bit less, but they all stretch.
For you guys who troll using mono, the extra thickness of the line compared to braid means the lures will not run as deep. Also, the stretch of the mono means you can't feel the hits as easily. Years ago, (1989) a book was published that showed the actual depths that 200 of the most often used lures ran while trolled or cast. Lures were trolled 100 feet in back of a boat with a boat over the lures marking the depths with a depthfinder. While conducting the tests, fish would hit the lures and be seen by the boat with the depthfinder. When using 10lb test mono, usually the person holding the rod never felt the hit due to the stretch of the line. When using heavier 17lb test, that doesn't stretch as easily, the hits were felt more often. At the time the book was published, braided super lines (not Dacron) were not in use.
For those interested, the book, "Crankbaits A Guide to Casting & Trolling Depths of 200 Popular Lures" written by Mike McClelland has a lot of useful information that I have not seen anywhere else. It dispels a lot of commonly held misconceptions by scientific discovery. Many of the lures tested are no longer made or used. It is out of print but available through Amazon if you want to pay the price.
This depends on what you are doing. If you are vertical jigging in water less then 20 ft and getting fish with mono then keep using mono. If you are in deeper water and you start missing fish because your hook set is not fast enough or powerful enough, then switch to braid. Braid is much faster and has a much more powerful hookset then mono because of the no stretch. Floro is in between mono and braid in terms of stretch. Also depends on the lure you are using and the amount of hooks on the lure. If your lure is covered in trebles you probably will have no problem hooking big walleyes with mono. If you are using a single hook swimbait Braid is better because it gives you the speed and power to drive the hook into the most bony of jaws on walleye and northern. I prefer braid because with a swimbait- I bomb cast 50-60 yards then start my retreive. When I get a hit I need that speed and power on the hookset because the lure is so far away. Braid is also better in deeper water with swimbaits- again for that instant speed and power you get on the hookset. If what you are doing works then dont change but dont forget there are other tools out there for different jobs..
Bt most of the lakes I fish for eyes are relatively shallow. all 6 of my jigging/ slip bobber rods have 6# clear stren. Never had trouble feeling bites or missing fish. The only reels I have with braid are a jigging rod I use on big green for lakers and lake Michigan set ups.
During a recent trip to Eagle Lake in Ontario, we had a guide who swore by good old fashioned monofilament for walleyes. He was fighting his third fish of the morning and I mentioned to by dad that when he gets a bite, he shouldn't have trouble feeling it since I had rigged his rod with Nanofil and and fluoro leader. The guide said, "well that's your problem, I bet I'll out-fish you 3-1 today with mono. These fish just don't like superlines". I even pointed out that I had about 5 feet of fluoro leader and he said that it didn't matter. He gave my dad a rod rigged with nothing but mono and he almost instantly hooked a fish. I was stubborn and wouldn't switch because all of the videos that I watched in preparation for the trip said to rig up with a superline and a fluoro leader. After the guide and my dad caught three more fish a piece, he asked me if I was ready to switch yet. I gave in and had a fish on the first cast. Anyone else have an experience like this? Eagle is a pretty clear lake compared to many of the lakes that I fish in WI.
