Thread: Surfcasting : Braid vs Mono

Be interested to hear why as well ?

Braid with a couple metre mono leader. Casts miles and the mono is more abrasion resistant in the surf.

For surfcasting with mono on fixed spool, also use braid on free spool,
braid not so forgiving with abrasion round the rocks and tend to bind in spool when get snag,,,best over sand.

the monos idiot proof
braid more for those that know what there doing and know there knots and twists.

I don't do a lot of surfcasting as I'm rubbish at it, but think braided mainline with a long mono shock leader gives you the best of both worlds as long as abrasion isn't a big issue.

Ahh,,, shock leader that was the term I was wanting to come to me.
Definatly a good mono shock leader, that braid can cut you like a knife if you get it wrong.

The vast bulk of my fishing has been surfcasting. I can't count the 1000s of dollars worth of tackle I've lost in the sea over the years. For fishing off the rocks mono offers the best abrasion resistance. I would usually run 30lb mainline then either step down for the trace to 20lbs if it's sandy or up to 50lbs if rocky. Off somewhere like Castle point with a big lift up the rocks, I would run a double 50Lb shock leader about 10m long then a single 50lb trace on the end. Most of my surfcasting has been off the west coast Dorkland coast. Piha, Cornwallis, Whatapu etc....
Learning about boat fishing these days.

braid tangles are horrible if you get it wrong and it's not good with rocks so mono for surf for me

I also prefer mono especially as I prefer fishing near to rocky outcrops.
Braid for the boat reels.

Cod bashing at the pass off the rocks mono simple rig ..mono main line sinker hook ..catchem or snag ..easy to re rig by catch of Kahawai , ..good for fishing sandy bottom running rig .

Braid stray lines ..wicked until a Kahawai or snake takes you around Berley pot and mate rig ..

Surf casting braid shock leader over sand / mud bottom ..rock bottom mono ..

braid, only braid. I was set up with a mono leader years ago, I hated the not going through the eyes when casting. braid much better for casting, never had a problem with braid trace as well.

For surf fishing definitely mono, I like to run 30lb mono with a 50lb shock leader to take the force of casting.

Most surfcasting reels (ones sold for surf casting, you can upgrade to a saltiga) don’t have very grunty gears so the shock that braid can deliver can strip them as it has no stretch and all the force goes straight onto the gears.

If chasing big sharks or kingis and need more line on the spool I run 100m of mono over 400m of 50lb braid for backing as it takes up less space on the spool.

Just straight mono for most of our other surf fishing.


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Braid with nylon or fluorcarbon leader for me.
Dont think I will ever go back to fishing with a rubber band on my reel.

Have you tried using a break away sinker ? they are the ones with the 4 wires poking out the side to dig into the ground to stop ya bait getting washed around with the current. Over rocks I use a spoon looking sinker so when you wind fast the trace raises up and goes over the top of the snags ( when rechecking bait) and a break away sinker for river mouths or with strong surf.

Originally Posted by hamsav

Thats mostly where I have been . Just wrong days I think , couldnt stop the trace from washing up down the beach . Part of the issue is that the beach is pea gravel and trying to cast on one leg leaves well short on distance, ......gunna have to get another boat .

The doughnut ones with the pimples are useless. With the breakout sinkers, you want at least a 6 Oz and I usually bend the wires out so the are nearly 90 degrees out from the body of the weight. They usually come bent in quite close to the weight so don't stick out very wide. Above about 8 knots of current you are gonna be struggling to hold ya line straight without it getting dragged along.

Originally Posted by hamsav

I tried the breakaway type and the donut ones with pimples , but it was a shit of a day, lot of surf and wind,combined with a lack of casting distance sorta ruined it .

If you fish places with reasonable waves and swells, then mono is your friend. Braid has zero stretch, meaning your sinker will simply pull out, or your rod will fall over in your sand spike. The elasticity of mono is perfect for absorbing the waves. Don't get me wrong, braid is amazing for jigging and topwater etc, but I don't really use it in the surf. Just my $0.02.