Braid Vs Mono Options

[Spudly]

What are your thoughts on the braid vs mono topic?

Currently im using braid on my light rods, for lures and for bait, however when i get some deticated plastic/lure and bait rods
i will use mono on my bait rods which will also double for light trolling and braid on my lure/plastic rods.

On My heavier gear I am using mono trolling and livebaiting, however i am considering putting 30lb braid on one that i can use
for jigging, livebaiting and casting poppers etc.

[catchnrelease]

Braid for everything except heavy trolling applications and rock fishing. ;)

[Spudly]

if useing a running sinker with a swivel above the hook how does the sinker affect the braid as it runs on it,

I have been attacking a meter or so of mono above the swivel, also help keep the braid clear of the structure on bottom? is this nessacary or just complicating things

[SUMOFISHIN]

Everyone went crazy over braid, but can you justify the expense for general use, It has no stretch so is therefore no use for trolling, it is abrasive and does do damage to rods and guides, it is too expensive for bottom bouncing as regards to snagging although the no stretch properties are an asset, I like many other fishermen went all out using Braid but have slowly rerigged most of my rods with good quality Mono which is now widely available in Low Memory, Low Stretch, and Low Diameter, It is available in many top Brands With many varieties and colours,
there is much World Development still being done with Mono, and World class IGFA grade line is being Produced in USA,Germany, Italy, England,Holland Sweden,and Australia, plus countries I have failed to Mention. This development and testing that is being done in all of these countries, just goes to to show that the trend is reverting back to Chemically Produced Products, which have many qualities without going to rediculous expense.

[Spudly]

Well put sumo. That puts alot into perspective doesnt it..

I think its main advantage would be for feel with plastics and lures, but as you did, i went out and bought a bulk package of fireline, at a good price and i am thinking of taking it off a few reels.

[catchnrelease]

if useing a running sinker with a swivel above the hook how does the sinker affect the braid as it runs on it,

I have been attacking a meter or so of mono above the swivel, also help keep the braid clear of the structure on bottom? is this nessacary or just complicating things

If sinkers run over braid...don't expect the braid to last too long. I use a stopped running rig. It goes mainline-swivel-30cm of line with sinker-swivel-leader-hook. Works for me.

B) B) B)

This post has been edited by catchnrelease: Jul 3 2007, 01:00 AM

[catchnrelease]

Everyone went crazy over braid, but can you justify the expense for general use, It has no stretch so is therefore no use for trolling, it is abrasive and does do damage to rods and guides, it is too expensive for bottom bouncing as regards to snagging although the no stretch properties are an asset, I like many other fishermen went all out using Braid but have slowly rerigged most of my rods with good quality Mono which is now widely available in Low Memory, Low Stretch, and Low Diameter, It is available in many top Brands With many varieties and colours,
there is much World Development still being done with Mono, and World class IGFA grade line is being Produced in USA,Germany, Italy, England,Holland Sweden,and Australia, plus countries I have failed to Mention. This development and testing that is being done in all of these countries, just goes to to show that the trend is reverting back to Chemically Produced Products, which have many qualities without going to rediculous expense.

Good point, but I still use braid because:

A- I use lures a lot.
B- If using bait, I can feel every little nibble.
C- The thin diameters means more line and further casting.

True it has its downsides, but i still like braid over mono.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Use braid on my spin outfits only & wouldn't give it to a Jap on ANZAC to use on a bait outfit thats how crap a bait line I think Braid is.

Have to agree withy SUMO as well & if you ask me the only reason braid is so popular these days is merely because of marketing esp with the amount of fishing shows on the idiot box these days.

No offence to those TV hosts but they're earning a living selling you what they want you to buy & if they say braid is the in thing then peeps echo the same thing.

[fish]

BRAID4 ALL APPLICATIONS IMAO ... AND THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT. :o

[STEVE.P]

What Fish said

[Spudly]

well theres a few from all ends hey

[catchnrelease]

BRAID4 ALL APPLICATIONS IMAO ... AND THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THAT. :o

Even trolling? :huh:

[SUMOFISHIN]

Yes you have heard from all sides Chad, BUT how much research have they done, and how much trolling do they do, and how many Snapper have they lost in the rocks, and how much money have they wasted unnecessarily, and how many CUSTOMERS have they had to Please explain too.

[Spudly]

yea, i got a heaps of fireline cheap and put it on all my reels and now im taking it off some of them..

makes a good discussion though!

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Yes you have heard from all sides Chad, BUT how much research have they done, and how much trolling do they do, and how many Snapper have they lost in the rocks, and how much money have they wasted unnecessarily, and how many CUSTOMERS have they had to Please explain too.

Geez SUMO this is the 2nd time I've had to agee with you in this thread & well said ???

Money is not the issue with me when it comes to line I've always & still do buy Pre Test even though I dont fish comp or the rules anymore old habits are hard to break I guess.

Getting back to the arguement let me point out that none or very few game boats use Braid for the Simple reason it dosen't break @ the kg it is sold @ or supposed to it breaks well over depriving the angler of making a claim for a point score or record fish.

Now if your one of those anglers who dosn't give a hoot about records etc like me nowadays then by all means go use Braid BUT dont go around claming you caught a bla bla bla kg fish on say 10 kg braid when the stuff is breaking @ 20 kg.

I still rate a capture size of fish to line class again old habit not only that it lets me know what sort of fisherman you are there's a big difference when I comment to someone Nice Fish or Good Capture

Again this goes back to my fishing the rules days, for years I wouldn't climb down from the flybridge when I had my big boat to pick up a rod simply because we were fishing 37 kg tackle & as far as I was concerned all the guy on the rod was ?

A Bloody Winch Handle

Think that's answered my thoughts on Braid as far as a trolling line goes now lets get to it's faults as a bait line.

It's a bastard as far as tangles go mono will not tangle anywhere near as bad as braid & being a finer dia line it's a bugger to untangle.

Most of my bait fishing is floating baits & I've found that the braid sink alot faster & on the shallow reefs I was always getting snagged not good when your bait is supposed to be of the bottom not to mention the amount of line you keep losing with the braid due to the snags.

Again being a finer dia line a nick in the braid is more dire than on mono

[fish]

Geez SUMO this is the 2nd time I've had to agee with you in this thread & well said ???

Money is not the issue with me when it comes to line I've always & still do buy Pre Test even though I dont fish comp or the rules anymore old habits are hard to break I guess.

Getting back to the arguement let me point out that none or very few game boats use Braid for the Simple reason it dosen't break @ the kg it is sold @ or supposed to it breaks well over depriving the angler of making a claim for a point score or record fish.

Now if your one of those anglers who dosn't give a hoot about records etc like me nowadays then by all means go use Braid BUT dont go around claming you caught a bla bla bla kg fish on say 10 kg braid when the stuff is breaking @ 20 kg.

I still rate a capture size of fish to line class again old habit not only that it lets me know what sort of fisherman you are there's a big difference when I comment to someone Nice Fish or Good Capture

Again this goes back to my fishing the rules days, for years I wouldn't climb down from the flybridge when I had my big boat to pick up a rod simply because we were fishing 37 kg tackle & as far as I was concerned all the guy on the rod was ?

A Bloody Winch Handle

Think that's answered my thoughts on Braid as far as a trolling line goes now lets get to it's faults as a bait line.

It's a bastard as far as tangles go mono will not tangle anywhere near as bad as braid & being a finer dia line it's a bugger to untangle.

Most of my bait fishing is floating baits & I've found that the braid sink alot faster & on the shallow reefs I was always getting snagged not good when your bait is supposed to be of the bottom not to mention the amount of line you keep losing with the braid due to the snags.

Again being a finer dia line a nick in the braid is more dire than on mono

[STEVE.P]

I just wana catch a fish

[catchnrelease]

Ditto.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

fish you want to play silly buggers ??
Well no one plays that game better than me & I reckon you're talking out of your :drop the daks: & it looks like that STEVE & catchnrelease fell out of there cause they seem to be echoing the same Sh*t Sierra Foxtrot Alpha.

Between the 3 of you not one decent arguement for braid has been put forward but hey if you insist on catching fish on rope why stop there ??

Why not spool up with 49 strand wire & make sure no fish busts you off

[SUMOFISHIN]

Whalers use BRAID attached to their Harpoon, coiled on the deck and connected to the Harpoon Gun it works well for stopping WHALES, NO STRETCH.

This post has been edited by SUMOFISHIN: Jul 6 2007, 03:03 PM

[fish]

Yes I love playing silly buggers....I dont like having my posts deleted though :admin power:

This post has been edited by fish: Jul 6 2007, 05:31 PM

[poly]

braid or mono that is the question
i find for casting braid is a lot better than mono i can't say i have had a lot of trouble with tangles ether, however it dose fray easily, to start with i thought it might be a crook runner so next trip i used a different rod and got the same result, the line i am using is platyus super braid, it may be that i need to move up to a better brand is there one that u would recommend

[Spudly]

may have been uncalled for :(

This post has been edited by Rum Dust N Ruckus: Jul 7 2007, 01:21 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Yes I love playing silly buggers....I dont like having my posts deleted though :admin power:

Well if you're going to persist in turning the more serious threads into a joke then it will happen every time.

We agreed this wouldn't happen a while back REMEMBER ?

I dont mind a joke just like everyone else but you went to far calling those who opposed Braid Bastards.

If you want to use Braid thats your choice but dont go around making out it's the ants pants, I've yet to hear one good debatable point in Braids favour & doubt that I will.

I use it on my spin outfits & gave good reasons why I dont like it for anything else you'll find even when I'm joking around I still give reasons why my thoughts go a certain way & it's up to anyone reading what I post to either agree or disagree with my logic.

[Mully]

The main problem with people giving up with braid is they dont kow how to fish properly with it,do we contradict fly fishermen and say why bother with floating or timed singing lines when mono can do the same thing[doubt it]

The main problems I have heard is no stretch and digging in on the spool

The main problem is reel and rod match ups...
You need a FAST TAPER LIGHT ROD TO ABSORB MORE SHOCK
you need a REEL WITH A DECENT DRAG SYSTEM SMOOTH NOT CATCHY

Most problems if all can be solved simply backing off the drag and having a proper rod match up [fast taper] and learn to strike properly its like most things it takes practice and its not for everyone either but when mastered It has benefets..


1. more line on my size 500 or 1500 reels for the same poundage
2. greater life span if decent braid purchased and looked after properly [wash it out and store out of sunlight]
3. I can use lighter equiptment giving me more ability to flick SP,s or hardbodys around all day.
4. used with a proper rod made especially for braid [guides] will give benefits also ,,many tackle stores sell anything that they can not what is required,I own a tackle store also and worked a few so I know[[[[and I said many not all]]]
5. great feel for the lures action if tangled with weed and casting pinpoint accuracy due to its light and smooth casting nature
6. jigging in 150 meters of water for samson or deepwater fish there is not substitute unless you buy a very large O/H I can do it on a spinning reel....
7. When I look like i need a update i will end to end a same size spool so the less used end is now the new end...

Again not for all but another option for us to master...




I wont use braid for trolling as a 35 foot rod to absorb shock isnt practical
I wont use it for bait,for bait mono is better in my opinion [I let my fish run with the baits before a strike]

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 22 2007, 11:45 PM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

I find the biggest prob with it is aimply wind knots & it's not my tackle either

Dont have a wind knot prob with baitcasters just the threadlines

[Mully]

Very true mate but just one fof those things with light line but there is no memory like monos or fluro...

I dont get many air knots I may just be lucky or using a different type of braid to others [it does happen occasionally] but ive been quite lucky..

It also outcasts mono no second thoughts...

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 23 2007, 12:27 AM

[Smelly]

Yep some good points from both sides but i agree with Mully totaly,being able to feel that little tail wobbling through braid is a reel confidence booster for me,way better than hoping it's working .

Jumpus i too used to complain about what i thought where wind knots till i relised what they realy where,and this is just my experiance,maybe not the cause of your probs but hey it might help someone.

But i found that most of the knots were occuring because i was watching the line all the time and not the spool,see if you wind in the slack under no pressure it will form loose coils on the spool that WILL cause a knot on the next cast or soon after.

After discovering this after say 1/2hour of casting i'll make a big cast rip a heap of line off and then wind it all back on under a bit of tension,it's been working a treat,i hardly ever get a knot now .

[Mully]

I also do this exact thing retensioning after a few casts will greatly improve your casting and help with dig in also

Air knots are created from loops on the tip of your rods,when you cast you automatically tighten these loops creating the knot..loose wind on will aid in tip loops and therfore what we do by tightening the line on the spool after a while does greatly help out.

How many people get loops on the end of their rods with mono difference is mono will snap and loose your rig or lure braid on the other hand knots,,,id rather a knot than a lost lure.My reasoning is 10 meters of braid is cheaper than a megabass griffon zero

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 23 2007, 12:38 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

I dont get many air knots I may just be lucky or using a different type of braid to others

Mully I wenr nearly 8 months or so without a wind knot then about 3 months back I had Arnie mut on the boat & he got a ripp snorta of a wind knot had to replace the whole lot.

And ever since then I'm continually getting them & I think it's made worse by the fact a couple of the outfits now have 2kg braid on them.last weekend alone reckon I wasted 2 spools of the stuff.

[catchnrelease]

JG what brand braid are you using? And what kind of condition is it in? If your braid is starting to fluff up and you can see small fibres starting to peel off it, this seriously stuffs it up.

This post has been edited by catchnrelease: Oct 23 2007, 12:54 AM

[Mully]

That really sux have you figured out if its the type of braid or just the extreme suptleness thats the problem...
What are you doing different somethings messed up your good run

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 23 2007, 12:52 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

goldfish !

The 1st brand I ever used was the Nitlon that was in 10 lb class & still on that outfit & going good not that I use that rod much anymore

Since then I've used the Platyl which is supposed to be the best used Royal & one other brand cant think off

Even went out & bought a new spool of 4lb Nitlon last week thinking that brand is the go well that spool lasted all of one day spent most of the day plucking out the knots ended up re-spooling with mono.

I think a good mono is just as good & think most people do talk out of their arses when it comes down to braid & only boast about it because they have it.

If I think a product is overated then I'll say so dont need to big note it because I have some

I like & use SNDE mono & thats what I'll be respooling with.

By the way I took kkw with me on a trip down to Greenwell Pt the other week put a new reel on a rod for him to try out & ended up spooling it up with mono cause a brand new spool of braid was breaking like cotton & I'm not talking anout the knots either ask kk he'll tell ewe's the braid itself was snapping.

Recall earlier this year fishing for Mahi's SREVE was popping one fish after again bad braid & dont know what brand he was using think it was a K-Mart special not a joke it stuffs up your days fishing.

Oh by the way I have to admit kk outfished on that day using mono & thats a feat on it's own because he's bloody hopeless

[Mully]

lol

yeah a lot is rubbish finding a decent one is the hard part..
I use both so I never push one or the other I love each for their own applications

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Yeah Mully !

Tell you what I've got no confidence in the lighter stuff anymore cause in the back of my mind when fighting a fish I'm thinking is the braid gonna pop & where ??

Dont have those woes with mono

[Mully]

have you tried dyneema on the 6lb stuff mate??? not being a smart ass honestly want your opinions..I use dyneema or the climax braid and dont have much problems...I know you have converted back and I fully understand if I had that many problems id give it away also .... I honestly cannot figure out why ?????

Ill send you some dyneema lol

[Mully]

whats your mono prefernace nowdays mate im a maxima man or the pre test platypussy in yellow I really like also...

my leader has changed to seaguar from 4lb to 12lb max any heavier I use my jenkai [love the stuff]

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 23 2007, 02:16 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Mully all braeds have dyneema in there composition

Steve knows a bit more aboit it than me but from whar he rells me you cant get the 100% dyneema these days prob because it's to expensive

If you take note of labeling on any braid spool the name dyneema is used

Now I have a spool of Royal which says it's 100% dyneema but not so sure about that I'll dig up the spool when next on the boat

[Mully]

now your taking the pee out of me ,,I know about dyneema being in all braids , i was talking pure stuff not the braid composites gel spuns etc etc etc ...
Although some gel spuns do help with air knots lol

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 23 2007, 02:37 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Like I said Steve will be able to tell you better than me he's been using the stuff for a decade

Me only 12 months & not that impressed with it

[kkw]

Oh by the way I have to admit kk outfished on that day using mono & thats a feat on it's own because he's bloody hopeless

Silly old man. You only took me out once. Wait until you take me out again, and I outfish you. And then again, and again, and again. I was catching frigate macks on a spool of my mums cotton and a safety pin, before you were born. I cut off one of my sisters braids and caught a flathead on it. Pffffft - hopeless indeed.

[Smelly]

whats your mono prefernace nowdays mate im a maxima man or the pre test platypussy in yellow I really like also...

my leader has changed to seaguar from 4lb to 12lb max any heavier I use my jenkai [love the stuff]

Yeah i used ta love that pink maxima,i used it back when i fished the bay,think it was lo-stretch,top stuff

I see youse are talking leaders too,whats your thoughts on Fluorocarbon leaders,since this stuff i won't use anything else,but hey i'm easilly convinced,seaguar is fluorocarbon right??.

Don't know bugger all about this jenkai stuff,seen it mentioned alot tho???

[Smelly]

Silly old man. You only took me out once. Wait until you take me out again, and I outfish you. And then again, and again, and again. I was catching frigate macks on a spool of my mums cotton and a safety pin, before you were born. I cut off one of my sisters braids and caught a flathead on it. Pffffft - hopeless indeed.

[Mully]

seaguar is fluro carbon the first and most researched an improved out the lot....[[there are a lot of good ones around mate I dont oown shares in it just like it ]]
Jenkai is just mono but for mulloway and bigger fish it is realy subtle and ties knots magically really quality mono for leaders and my only choice...I hate wiirey trace even if it i s heavy some of my mully trace is 60lb and around 2 mtrs long because I fish structure with livies and some mullys get to 75 plus pounds here....

If you like soft but very abrasive resistant line jenkai is good value 100 mtrs of 40 to 100 lb is about $20 or a tad under but its worth every cent.
I used to use black magic and have tried the soft and tough trace both are too wirey for me and too thick in diameter ,I like wind on leader even thick stuff so i go as low diameter as possable...

[kkw]

To be serious (for once) I have a couple of reels spooled up with 10lb Raptor braid, 17lb and 30lb. It is a terrific braid and has caused me no problems at all. The 10lb is the one which gets the most use - mostly on spinning with SP and HB lures. I always use a 10lb flourocarbon leader (Vanish). I have found that over several months, it is a good idea to pull off around 20m of the braid and cut it off. The UV and salt water does deteriorate it, and it breaks easier. That' my experience with braid.
Having used Jumpy's braid a few weeks back, I was amazed at how easily it broke. Even just pulling the knots tight, would break it. Not necessarily at the knot either. There was definately something not right with his braid. The Raptor brand has never behaved like his braid does/did.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

whats your mono prefernace nowdays mate im a maxima man or the pre test platypussy in yellow I really like also...

Have to say I'm only using that ANDE mono these days I buy my mono in bulk spools of around 10,000 meters but do still have quite a few spools of Platil Marine left it's a pre test & not a bad line either.

Both rhe ANDE & Platil are pretest kinda like the ANDE better though only got ir in 3 & 6 kg @ present but will go all line class's when the Platil runs out

Wouldn't pay to much attention to that Kay Kay Winks chappy re rolled up to go fishing with me said he was going to bring his own outfit & rolled up with some rope wrapped around a stick

[Smelly]

seaguar is fluro carbon the first and most researched an improved out the lot....[[there are a lot of good ones around mate I dont oown shares in it just like it ]]
Jenkai is just mono but for mulloway and bigger fish it is realy subtle and ties knots magically really quality mono for leaders and my only choice...I hate wiirey trace even if it i s heavy some of my mully trace is 60lb and around 2 mtrs long because I fish structure with livies and some mullys get to 75 plus pounds here....

Thanx Mully,thought so,I've used it once.


Like KKW,i use Vanish and have found it to be good.

[Mully]

I also use vanish but have found knot strength to braid is stronger with seaguar.Especially with lighter braids

[Mully]

I also use vanish but have found knot strength to braid is stronger with seaguar.Especially with lighter braids

[catchnrelease]

Vanish is sh*thouse. Nothing but poor knots, poor line strength and piss weak abrasion resistance. Yamatoyo all the way for my light line fluroro's.

[Spudly]

hahaha your like 15 and you said piss weak!

I use schnider! cause i flogged heaps of it!

;)

[Smelly]

I also use vanish but have found knot strength to braid is stronger with seaguar.Especially with lighter braids

Thanx for the tip MULLY,very well said unlike this crap below

Vanish is sh*thouse. Nothing but poor knots, poor line strength and piss weak abrasion resistance. Yamatoyo all the way for my light line fluroro's

Oh yes catch you wise one you,i'll rush out and get some 2morrow..NOT

[Mully]

Yamatoyo is not anything special,it is good fluro also but there are better quality gear cheaper than yammi...
Yo-zuri hybrid and h2o are nice also and a good price for amount you are getting...
Nitlon DFC is nice stuff also sooooo many to choose from..

When you say poor knot strength what do you mean what knot are you tying to your braid ???? I have yet to come across this problem the only vanish that I found a bit flimsy is the transitions line the standard blue pack is quite tough...

seaguar is and has been around forever they invented the stuff and again for my money its worth it...[its not expensive]

I heard jenkai are or have brought out a fluro look forward to testing it as I love their mono trace/leader

What I think is use what you feel comfortable with saying one is sh*t is crazy I have a lot of friends in the trade and who love fishing I dont rush out and buy every new fluro dont have to I try my mates and he might try mine if I like it I may swap but I wont tell him its shit if he loves the stuff thats just plain bloody rude [[[read my signature]]

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 24 2007, 04:04 AM

[Smelly]

Again good reading there Mully,very informative ,thanx.


Yeah i was gonna suggest that catch should learn to tie his knots better,instead of doing the same knot that he does his




SCHOOL SHOES up with.

[Jumpus GooDarus]

I was down the club tonight & having a word with one of the guys who dies line testing for National records etc

Anyways I brought up the topic of braid & got this reply

Mono tests pretty well spot on only losing 5 % on breaking strain @ the knot in other words lets say 10 kg mono will break just under or on the 10 kg matk as all pretest should do cause if it breaks over then the record claim is disallowed.

Now this is measured on mainline only dont know if ewes know how the machine works ??

I've used one & what you need to do is wrap about 4 turns of the line around a drum either end so as to get an even pressure with no knots in the line

That 5 % I mentioned is if you allowed a knot between the drums & lines weakest point is @ the knot so the line will break @ 9.5 kg pressure.

Now braid on the other hand will break @ 50 % of it's line strength due to it's poor knot strength

BUT !

When you buy a spool of the pre-test braid which is rated @ 10 kg the actual braid itself will break @ 15 kg of pressure so what happens is the manufacturers rate the pre-test stuff @ the knot.

So next time you guys pull off some braid & think wow how strong is this stuff bear in mind how weak ir is @ the knot 50 % weaker

[Mully]

True in every respect but if you tie a bimini I would re test my stats...
Actual fact a bimini twist to leader will with decent lines break at 95% load,,simple things like this will change your % of lost fish

Not trying to be a smart ass mate but knots do play a major role in the measure of strength..
I also have done knot strength tests and different knots will change the results dramatically..

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 24 2007, 04:18 AM

[Spudly]

i think what jumpys is saying in there is that if you go for a RECORD, then your braid may cause you to not get it as the way they test their lines does not meet the standards.

[Mully]

Yes I understand mate,just clarifying the knot strewngth tests data also ,,,very hard to get an accurate breaking strain on braid unlike mono or fluro's...Sorry I didnt explain better I have a habit of doing that ,,,sorry peoples

This post has been edited by Mully: Oct 24 2007, 04:21 AM

[Jumpus GooDarus]

Mully those figures are not mine they were given to me & there is a report on the findings whiche I asked for a copy off.

It's irrellevant what not you tie what I was told & also expirienced alot of in past couple of weeks & kk will back me up on this one every knot Ihe or I tied on our day out broke on the breaid B4 the knot.

He tied uni knots I tied Binimi's

With all my game gear all my doubles are plaited & @ least 6" off plait not a big fan of spider hitch's unless I really have to & my swivels are tied via the catspaw knot

[TomMc]

I use both,
my small spin outfits have braid but i will purchase another one eventually to put flureocarbon on it.
My larger reels all have mono.
I lke braid for lures and mono for bait and have tried both for either.