Changing out Mono

[New River Rat]

LDUBS, before I learned about lactic acid build up in stressing smallmouth, I used light tackle and 4# Trilene XL. I changed 1/2 spool for every reel, every trip. Overkill? Yes, but I had peace of mind and confidence built up before every trip. And, FWIW, I'm certain that UV and heat are mono's worst enemy.

 

[-CN-]

I use Power Pro moss green on everything, and no leaders.
I re-tie when it gets nicks or tooth marks on the end. Not very often. I also reverse the line on the reel each year so I'm using it from both ends.

 

[LDUBS]

LDUBS, before I learned about lactic acid build up in stressing smallmouth, I used light tackle and 4# Trilene XL. I changed 1/2 spool for every reel, every trip. Overkill? Yes, but I had peace of mind and confidence built up before every trip. And, FWIW, I'm certain that UV and heat are mono's worst enemy.

Thanks. Same issue when releasing trout. Don't want to overplay them. I use 8# mono when trolling with down riggers. Otherwise, use 4# for tossing lures at trout. A lot of guys use 2#.

 

[eshaw]

I'd never even heard of a FG knot, nice to know. Have any of you found a way to tell when your mono is getting stretched too much? I don't fish with it a lot and this is a reason why I don't use it much. Nothing I hate more than getting a fish on and zing, there it goes!

 

[richg99]

I can't ever remember having mono break. But when I used it, I was changing it a number of times every year.

I had lots of my bad knots come undone though.

I use braid now for almost everything except top waters. I usually use a Fluorcarbon leader with the braid.

 

[LDUBS]

Same here. i have never experience a break with mono. I have frequently stripped off sections that I thought might be abraded or nicked by dragging across a log or something. But never a break off while fighting a fish. I would like to test this by landing a 10 pound trout. Haha