fluffing around the tip. Upon 
closer inspection I saw that the 
tip guide insert had cracked and 
was weakening the line. It would 
have been a lot more difficult to 
detect damaged braid in the same 
scenario. We managed to get the 
fish in safely and retire the rod, 
so no further mishaps occurred.
Mono is heavier and elastic, 
which is more difficult to feel hits 
and stretches more so has the 
disadvantage of dulling the action 
of your lure especially when 
fishing in deeper water. For the 
hard-core lure fishers still using 
mono I would encourage you to 
swap over and feel the difference. 
It does come at an increased 
cost; however, the price of braid 
has been steadily decreasing 
over the years and now there 
are some quality brands of braid 
that don’t cost an arm and a leg. 
Braid also doesn’t deteriorate in 
the sun as quickly as mono and 
needs replacing less often, I have 
some braid that is close to 10yrs 
old and yet there has been no 
noticeable weakening of the line.
BRAID FOR BETTER 
SURFCASTING
Surfcasting is another area 
where there are still anglers who 
cling to the use of mono - apart 
from cost, there aren’t really 
any advantages of fishing mono 
over braid when casting over the 
sand. Braid casts further than 
mono any day of the week on 
a spinning reel which is one of 
the biggest advantages when 
surfcasting. Reaching deeper 
water means more fish 90% of the 
time when fishing in the daylight.
"Fishing with lures has been around for an exceptionally long time. In most 
situations braid is better for lure fishing (jigging, softbaiting, top water) than 
mono with no stretch and keeping in direct contact with the lure."
 /FISHINGINGODZONE  29

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