Mono line size for bottom fishing trip?

[C-Money]

I am going out of Westport in a few weeks on a bottom fishing trip.  I am taking my own rod & reel. The reel is a Penn level wind 330, and the pole is a little heaver action than a down rigger rod. I have 40lb trilene big game on it now and have caught salmon and sturgeon on it. The line needs replaced, and I was thinking about 20lb trilene big game for a bottom trip. I wont use a braid or a super line. I cant remember what the charter guys fish with.

[h20hunter]

Why not a braid?

[C-Money]

I am stubborn. I just like how my knots tie on mono better. I just cant get into liking braid.

[sirmissalot]

I'm not a huge fan of top shots but I'm starting to like them more, they work great on bottom fish setups because the mono has better abrasion resistance, while still keeping your mainline braid for more line on the spool and less drag in the water. I would suggest you look into something like a 50lb braid or spectra mainline with a 30lb mono topshot, say 20ft long. Then you get the best of both worlds

[D-Rock425]

Make a quick phone car down to the charters and ask what they recommend.   I think you would be ok with anything 20lb and above.

[lokidog]

I am stubborn. I just like how my knots tie on mono better. I just cant get into liking braid.

I like to get most of my lures back after hooking into the rocks... so I use 50lb braid.  Sometimes the hooks straighten a little, sometimes you pull a chunk of stuff off the rock and sometimes you pull up a rock (I caught a 22 pounder once), but the lure often comes back.  Plus, you get a lot better bottom feel out of braid.

I wouldn't go less than 30 lb with mono though.  As far as knots on braid, I use the improved clinch and don't have any problems.

[robodad]

I am stubborn. I just like how my knots tie on mono better. I just cant get into liking braid.

Try the palomar knot, its among the strongest knots for braid and easier then any other to tie !!

[C-Money]

Thanks guys, I will be open minded when I go to the tackle shop!

[Hunterman]

I fish Westport all the time for bottum fish. There is nothing wrong with using the 40lb test mono. Thats a good choice. I myself use between 30 & 50lb depending on were I'm fishing.  If I'm drifting down the South Jetty, I'll use 10lb test for sport, but then we don't really fish any deeper than in 25 foot of water..

Hunteman(Tony)

[Button Nubbs]

Once you get the feel of braid down you won't go back to mono. I use braid 95% of the time for ALL my fishing. As suggested above the palomar knot is the ticket. Easy to tie and I have yet to have one fail.

[Cap.Silver]

I'd do what Sirmissalot says 30/50 .... great setup ....that is what the charter does too I think ..... The braid has lot less resistance than mono and it will not create as much slack as say 40 -50  mono in the currents IMO.
Also you feel fish better with braid I think - I like to use mono for salmon ,because of the stretch factor ,but bottom fish or halibut I'd say go for braid .

[h20hunter]

Been tying knots with braid for years...never had a knot fail that I know of. All you need to do is tie them a bit differently.

[FC]

The charter guys that I have seen using mono use 40-50lb and typically put it on a Penn Senator, the Slammer uses a top shot of 40-50lb mono over 80lb braid.

You definitely feel fish better with the braid, without the mono there is no stretch.

20lb mono is awfully light, even using the heavier gear we busted off quite a bit of gear on the rocks on Sunday.

If you use the braid/mono setup, tie them together with an albright knot, there are a lot of good videos if you search it on Google.

[buckhorn2]

For fishing bottom fish the braid works great but the reason they use it on the top is the braid is;nt as rock resistent as mono and breaks when rubbed on the rocks. If you show up on a charter with braid when there salmon fishing they don;t like it because the boat poles will have mono and when a fish is on if braid hits mono it cuts it like a knife. I use 30 big game line with about 5 feet of 40 on the end for lings out on the jetty.

[C-Money]

I found this on Westport Charters frequently asked question section.


Q: What if I want to use my own rod and reel?
That is fine but there are a couple stipulations. NO BRAIDED LINE (fire line, tuff line, spider wire, dacron, etc) except on deep water Halibut trips, but still check with the office. We use 25 to 30 pound test clear mono on salmon and 30 to 40 test on bottom fish reels and this is what Westport Charters and the Boat Captains recommend. We've experienced the braided lines just don't mix well in the charter boat environment. These lines are so strong (a little to strong) and thin to the point of being dangerous, especially when snagged on the bottom. Knot tying, tangles and fouling in the boats running gear are also problematic