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nigelr
29-01-2006, 01:19 PM
Wanting to use a fine diameter mono for bottom bashing in 40 - 60 metres, as I don't want to shell out the bucks for braid!
Wondering which mono you all use for this appllication, and which brand you believe has the least stretch.
Looking for a nuetral colour, as opposed to a fluoro line, in the 8 - 15kg range.
Tending towards Platypus Pink, but keen for any informed opinions!
Cheers, Nigel.

Randy_Kickass
29-01-2006, 02:55 PM
As its 60 m deep bite the bullet and buy 100 m and top shot your reel .
Its much thinner so less afected by water flow ,but the big big big advantage is bite detection in deep water.
Most brand name braids stretch 2 to 3 percent most monos 30 percent and the best low stretch monos still stretch 20 percent,
that amount kills all feel .

Huggy_B
29-01-2006, 04:42 PM
Looking for a nuetral colour, as opposed to a fluoro line, in the 8 - 15kg range.
Tending towards Platypus Pink, but keen for any informed opinions!
Cheers, Nigel.

You want neutral colours but you are looking at platypus pink?!? You do know that the line is pink right??

When bottom bashing, the cheap route clearly isnt the ideal. You spend good money to get out there and then want to scrimp on line - makes no sense. The only thing connecting you and the fish over that 60m is the very item you want to cut corners on........... ::)

Buy a 500m spool of playpus pre-test (24kg in clear) for $35, then a 270m spool of 50lb Fins PRT braid (in yellow or green - ideally yellow so you can see where your line is going, and trust me fish dont really "see" fishing line, to interested in the bait) for $65 to topshot the reel and keep the leftover pre-test to use as your leader.

$100 all up - Seems pretty reasonable to me.

CHRIS_aka_GWH
29-01-2006, 05:33 PM
pink is a good colour for bottom bashing as the line virtually disappears after 2m as the red spectrum is absorbed

NeilD
29-01-2006, 08:56 PM
Platypus Pink is the lowest stretch mono in their range. It is thinner than pretest and as Chris said the pink colour is designed to be unobtrusive under water

Neil

bignick
30-01-2006, 05:47 AM
I have found the best monofilament line to fish offshore is Shogun Pro-Red. It's got a reasonably fine diameter and seems to have very little stretch and it doesn't cost the Earth. As stated already, all red colours disappear by 10 metres of water depth, so the colour is not a problem. I've found it to have really good feel in deep water as well as very good abrasion reistance. Anything in the 35-55 pound line class will be sufficient.

Cheers,
NICK.

Huggy_B
30-01-2006, 07:17 PM
Who cares if its unobtrusive, I think you guys are giving fish waaaaaaay too much credit, they simply are not that smart - marlin excepted. Having seen footage of fish underwater, the bait is there number one priority - they dont even look up to see why there is something attached to it.....use highlighter pink, yellow orange whatever, wont make a scrap of difference.

nigelr
30-01-2006, 07:56 PM
Sincere thanks gents for your informed comments. :)
Regards to all, Nigel.

JewseeTHAT
31-01-2006, 12:12 PM
Berkley Trilene Sensation has bugger-all stretch. If you topshot a spool with braid using pre-test as backing you'd best not have any pre-test in the water, as the stuff is like an elastic band.. great line, but not what you're after.

Reefmaster
01-02-2006, 07:55 PM
Nigel
What size line do you wish to use and do you fish in areas which can have strong currents?

Yes Braid has advantages but it also has many disadvantages which people don't seem to talk about. Mono is still fantastic, cheap and can be really effective in the depth you have mentioned. I have lost count of the amount I have converted from Braid back to Mono and their results have jumped up alot.

I have used Platypus Pink for many years and found it a great all round line which has caught fantastic fish of all sizes and species but my choice of line is Schnieder 55lb. Yes it's one of the thickest lines on the market but the reason why i use this is because it has good abrasion resistance and it has very little stretch until you load it up with a decent amount of weight. So i figure if the line is sensitive enough to feel bites and also has great stretch ability when you require it with a decent weight of fish on then what more could you want. Many winning competition anglers still use mono so that's gotta be saying something.

Don't be told Braid is the only way to go because it's total rubbish. ;) :)

Regards Greg

steve_n
01-02-2006, 09:56 PM
That suffix brand or penn 10X is tough as and good stuff!!
Not thin but great around reef.
Steve :)

nigelr
02-02-2006, 06:01 AM
Thanks Greg and Steve, think I'll stick with the mono. Probly using 10 - 15kg main line with heavier trace, might go to circle hooks if hook-up rate is low. As I'm in a 4.2m open boat and these grounds are 11km to sea, accessed via a bar crossing, it's a pretty rare day I can fish them, hence my reluctance to part with many $$$s!
Sincere thanks for all replies. :)

uripper
02-02-2006, 07:41 AM
Yes Braid has advantages but it also has many disadvantages which people don't seem to talk about.
Regards Greg

Greg (and others)
Apart from price what do consider are the disadvantages of Braid?
How do cope in strong currents with the Schnieder 55lb ??
Mal M

Jeremy
02-02-2006, 08:30 AM
Thank God there are others out there who are not totally taken in with all the hype about braid being the only line to use. Thanks Greg!

Advantages of mono:
low cost
stretch - avoid pulling hooks on strike or close to the boat
better abrasion resistance
the only fishing line available in pre-test so it breaks under the specified breaking strain

Advantages of braid:
thin diameter for given breaking strain.
low stretch - increased feel of the business end

Probably missing a few pros and cons of each, but stretch in line can be an advantage or disadvantage in certain situations. I know some people use long mono leaders, but why use braid at all then if you have a long mono leader to give some stretch and mono backing? I used to believe braid would reign supreme in deep water bottom bashing, particularly in current, but that may not be true as per Greg's post. I also acknowledge the increased feel at the business end of braid, but other than for a few specific situations (eg bream luring), when would this be critical? Most fish belt a lure anyway. The thin diameter is also a factor which gives much higher breaking strain for the same diameter - increased stopping power and longer casts.

The advantages of stretch, low cost and also the pre-test issue means mono is the only one for me.

Huggy_B
02-02-2006, 09:08 AM
In 20 - 30m of water I would agree that mono is the better choice, but I dont agree with it in 50m+ of water. The chances of you pulling a hook over that distance is pretty remote, so the advantages that braid bring to the table far out-weigh mono in the deeper water.

Jeremy
02-02-2006, 07:35 PM
Most brand name braids stretch 2 to 3 percent most monos 30 percent and the best low stretch monos still stretch 20 percent,
that amount kills all feel .

i'd like to know where you got those figures from randy :o

i have just done some tests myself (ala Cheech).
6 kg Hawk premium stretched 13% before it broke.
2 kg platypus pretest stretched 22% before it broke.

In my experience, lighter mono stretches more, so the figures you quoted are way off the money.

Jeremy

rockape
06-02-2006, 10:40 AM
In my experience the main problem with braid is tangles!! On a recent trip, a rather lively livey (me fail english? that's unpossible!) cost my mate about 100m of braid after it took a swim around two other mono lines, of which, both were easily untangled. Once you get a tangle with braid it's pretty much all over - grab the scissors!

IMO good quality mono still has enough sensativity to fish the depths required to catch a decent haul! I like momoi but others have their favourites too.

uripper
08-02-2006, 04:36 PM
Wanting to use a fine diameter mono for bottom bashing in 40 - 60 metres, as I don't want to shell out the bucks for braid!
Wondering which mono you all use for this appllication, and which brand you believe has the least stretch.
Looking for a nuetral colour, as opposed to a fluoro line, in the 8 - 15kg range.
Tending towards Platypus Pink, but keen for any informed opinions!
Cheers, Nigel.

Nigel
Have been musing over similar thoughts for a while, so dropped into Australian Monofil today (makers of Platypus, Bionic etc - www.fishplatypus.com.au ) & as suspected Platypus Pink is the thinnest, lowest stretch (approx 22%) mono on the market and it does come in clear but not normally sold in Australia.
I've been using it for 2yrs & am very happy with 8kg response, feel, cast-ability, knot-ability, general-all-purpose line BUT be advised its designed to IFGA specs so it should break BELOW the stated strength not above as will many other lines. #Think you would have to be into some very serious sportfishing to bypass it as a quality value-for-money fishing line. #
cheers MalM

ScottXVII
08-02-2006, 05:10 PM
pink all the way

nigelr
09-02-2006, 07:29 AM
Thanks gents. Agree the pink is hard to refuse............ :)

snakecatcher
09-02-2006, 02:24 PM
Pink although a bright colour is one of the first to disappear once it gets underwater. Colours disappear in this order Red (pink), Green, Blue, and Purple so going for pink is definitely good for fishing deep water - if you are using it in shallow water then you should probably add a clear leader

Cheers