# Mono vs Braid for Pier Fishing?



## UTGrad

I’ve been using hi vis yellow Power Pro in my spinning reels for years for saltwater. I spent a week on the pier in Navarre and saw many folks using mono. I saw a guy get a 60-70 lb tarpon up to the pier after fighting it for an hour with 20lb mono. 

I hooked up on a tarpon myself and he broke my 50lb Power Pro when I was fighting him honestly cause I think my line had no stretch and I was tightening the drag. 

Anyone prefer mono to braid off the pier? I see benefits of both but I can see where mono is safer for fingers/hands when landing fish, won’t cut neighboring lines, stretches and has good knot strength. 


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## Boat-Dude

I always used mono at dah pier/inshore, Suffix Superior 20# which is badass line, I personally think the stretch helps some for fish that rip drag. I use braid offshore because you never know whats gonna hit and I like the no stretch for yanking the fish off the reefs, wrecks.


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## Hawkseye

20lb mono on my king rod. Braid for everything else.


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## UTGrad

Thanks. Anymore mono recommendations?


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## HighCotton

20 lb Sufix Tritanium Plus ... Clear.


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## Capnmichael

Mono is easier to untangle from other mono braid just makes a mess.

I like hi vis mono to reduce the chances of people crossing my line in the first place.

I like mono for drifting baits. Since braid is lighter it gets bowed out more by the wind.

Ande is my go to


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## UTGrad

I just ordered a spook of Momoi Diamond Hi Vis 20lbs. 


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## reelthrill

Hawkseye said:


> 20lb mono on my king rod. Braid for everything else.


This! Mono is great for kings, bonita, etc... You will normally fight a tarpon 3 times longer with mono than braid. Trust me, ive been tarpon fishing for 45 years off the pier and still fish regularly.


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## UTGrad

reelthrill said:


> This! Mono is great for kings, bonita, etc... You will normally fight a tarpon 3 times longer with mono than braid. Trust me, ive been tarpon fishing for 45 years off the pier and still fish regularly.


A guy at the pier fought a 60-70 lb tarpon on 20lb mono for an hour before he got it up to the pier for a picture.


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## UTGrad

Ive got a Penn Spinfisher 850ssm. Will it hold enough 20lb mono to keep from getting spooled by tarpon?


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## kingfish501

I think one of problems of braid vs mono is that people are using heavy drag and bringing in green fish. I've seen more cobes lost at gaff than back in the mono days.

That being said, most of my reels are spooled with braid, but only 30 lb. I use the braid more for capacity than strength. Tarpon reel is spooled with mono so I can pop the tarpon off rather than cutting it and him having 25 feet of braid trailing him.


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## Boat-Dude

Mono made you have patients and working the drag, now with braid just wench them in.


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## Mullethead

Following this thread - what about casting distance ? I use to pier fish a fair bit, only using 20 lb mono on 706Zs.
thought about spooling 250-300 yards of 30 lb power pro super smooth braid to get some more distance throwing a cig ... 
really love mono for pier fishing for the reasons stated above (stretch, shock absorption, and less tangles/can untangle better) but may trade for an extra 10 yards of casting a cig out ? 
Opinions ?


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## Capnmichael

Smaller diameter lines always cast better and braid has a smaller diameter compared to mono of the same lb test.

I dont have experience with the 706z but ive heard they dont play too well with braids. A lot of people use original heat fused Berkley fireline with great results .


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## fairpoint

UTGrad said:


> Ive got a Penn Spinfisher 850ssm. Will it hold enough 20lb mono to keep from getting spooled by tarpon?


I got spooled by a 130plus pounder last year that jumped once and headed to portofino and never jumped again or stopped...That was on a mitchell 396 which is veryclose to the same size as your 850....Most of the time that doesn't happen,but if its a big 120 plus fish if he doesnt jump ,then you just gonna watch line dissappear and hope for the best....


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## John B.

Mono if you want to fight a fish until you and the fish are about dead.... braid if you want to destroy reels and get the fish in quick.

I fish braid for tarpon. I'm too old and fat to fight them things for 2 hours on mono. 

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## kingfish501

John B. said:


> Mono if you want to fight a fish until you and the fish are about dead.... braid if you want to destroy reels and get the fish in quick.
> 
> I fish braid for tarpon. I'm too old and fat to fight them things for 2 hours on mono.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


John...you're getting too old to catch spanish. You've got about 2 years left until cigar minnows and LYs whip you.


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## John B.

kingfish501 said:


> John...you're getting too old to catch spanish. You've got about 2 years left until cigar minnows and LYs whip you.


I got wrapped on the piling Sunday by 3 cigs on a sabiki... no lie. Of course, I was using 4lb lol.

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## Dmoney

15 or 20 # pink Ande is hard to beat. 15 throws better, has visibility, and will pull a plow. 20 on your King pole will give you a little more backbone but that pink Ande is excellent line. For Tarpon on the pier, the right fish will spool you because you can't follow him.


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