Mono rig

[mpdillon]

I have been fishing a mono rig a lot this year. I made a change to that standard rig over the weekend. I substituted Braided line for the mono running line. I did not like the mono's tendency to retain coils. I have tried different brands (the latest being OPST). I had tried adding boiling water to the line and letting it cool. But nothing eliminated the coils completely.

The change to braid completely eliminated the coils. Also it is a smaller diameter and much closer to the diameter of the leader.

The end result for me was a much tighter connection from my line control hand to the weighted nymph.

I tried this rig last night (6/30/2019). I was shocked at the sensitivity. I believe I detected strikes I would have usually missed. And the results were a half dozen brown and rainbow trout from the Brandywine in less than an hour on a summer night. Those are very unusual results for me.

Give it a try. Spool up some braided line and let us know how it works for you.

pat

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Are you using braided instead of flyline, or just substituting the 30' of mono with braided line?

 

[mpdillon]

Correct. No fly line at all. Just Braided then 4' of Cortland white indicator Mono (12.lb), 2' of Rio two tone tippet indicator 2X, a tippet ring and 3 to 4' of Fluro tippet. Because I get stuck in trees and under rocks a lot, I use a heavy tippet, typically 3X or 4X with a 16 nymph. The fish do not seem to care.

 

[Dave_W]

I've used braid (and fly reel backing) for various specialty FF applications. There is a reason why spin guys like it so much - very sensitive and good for feel.

Be aware, however, that many of the new, ultra thin braids - unlike mono - will cut your skin if you yank on them too hard or have a fish pull the stripped loops from under your fingers.

Be careful with thin braided line. It's meant to be used on conventional reels, not stripped by hand like fly line.

 

[Millsertime]

Sounds similar to a center pin setup.

 

[mushumatt]

You could also make a thinner diameter mono rig to obtain the same thing. Try running an even diameter rig like making the whole rig out of .011 .010 maxima of just sighter material. I haven’t used braided material to fish any rigs. I just created a rig you created and tested it out at my house. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems there is an increased sag when any braided material is through the guides. I’ll try it out, but it seems unless I’m fishing directly under my rod tip, which extremely limits the effectiveness of euro rigs/mono rigs it will actually take away from the sensitivity of the system. I do see the effectiveness if your only fishing below your rod tip, but this limits you to the water you can fish.

Also if your feeling your takes a lot on a mono/euro rig then your doing something wrong and too late. You want to see them in your sighter. This is a common mistake, but adjusting small things in your drift will increase sensitivity as well as more fish.

If it’s coils that are your issue, take a line straightener and straighten out your mono rig before you start fishing. Replace sections as needed, as they get too damaged or coiled for your liking. I’ll replace part of the

 

[DGC]

An additional benefit of Maxima Chameleon is that it straightens nicely just by pulling each end and maintaining tension a few seconds.

 

[birdog]

I hold up far enough on the grip and pinch the running line between my index finger and the rod itself for a good feel. I tried some braid and it was too thin to feel and keep controlled under my index finger. Maybe if I tried it longer it might have been easier.

I do like the OPST as a running line, it doesn't need to be straightened and the oval shape is easy to feel.