I see a lot of talk about braided line. I have always used mono. When is braided line appropriate and is it restricted to bait casters? I know it has less stretch, if any, but I will be fishing clear water and think mono on UL gear is the way to go.

When would a bank fisher use braid and would he put it on a spinning outfit?

I use 4-6 lb. line for pan fish. Braided line is for much larger beasts.

Agreed - braided line for cover and bigger fish. Where do you fish in the Friendswood area?

If you are fishing areas with rocks braided line is good idea as well .

I use spinning gear on my inshore setups and use braid with a fluoro leader so especially for clear water you'd want the leader.

Haven't gone to braid on my bluegill setups yet but have thought about it.

Braid does have it's advantages. No stretch, very abrasion resistant, and smaller line diameter so you can load a reel with a high lbs test that you usually couldn't. Definitely takes getting use to though, still haven't completely got use to it myself but I do like it.

I use six pound test line for the Sunfish. I have two Bass poles rigged with Braided line. Fishing for the Sunnies 6 lbs test is all you need. Some anglers use 4 lb and I know a few anglers who even use 2 lb test. Braided line is good for bigger fish who tend to be next to heavy cover. Braided line can work good on getting em out of that cover!

I only use braid period! Mono breaks off easy when hung up on trees or rocks etc. I've never lost a bait or hook with braid. I can pull a whole tree out of the water. I've lost so many big fish with mono that I'll never use it again. It's not worth the risk. Ive been sunfishing numerous times and hook a huge fish. If I had mono the fish would have been gone. Braid can withstand so much more. I only use spinning rods. With mono I sometimes feel I have to play the fish so the line won't snap. When I've hooked a 12in sunfish, I want the thing in the yak no playing around.
Mono gives me wind knots, braid not as much. I can also cast just as far.
It works great for me and my style of fishing.
Best thing to do is give it a try.

Ash and I use #10lb braid on our ultra lite spinning. It has the diameter of #2 mono. We love the stuff.80% of the time when we hit a snag we can either pull it free or pull the hook out and bend it back. That being said we are fishing in very heavy cover hydrilla and reeds.

Thanks for the great advice! So I get the idea that its a personal preference with benefits on either side. If I fish heavy cover and snag a lot, braid would be best. I may try some. I am rigging up for some clear water fishing so I may go 4# mono on one UL rig and try some braid on the other.

Is braided line OK for clear water, is it thin enough?

penubly, currently I don't fish anywhere in Friendswood, but may occasionally hit the CHallenger Park pond or Tom Bass park. I would like to find a stretch or clear creek with panfish in it (not to eat) but I've lived here all my life and always prefer fishing somewhere else. I have done more saltwater fishing in the last 15 years, but want to be back into freshwater. Looking for local places to go myself, so any ideas are appreciated.

I am now see'ing some clear water issues with my heavy braid #65 and #80. So yes clear water and heavy braid dont always mix well. As far as braid effecting the sunfish I have not had any issues per say. Of course there is "clear water" and there is "gin" clear water. I say go with a #6 mono and you will not go wrong.

I like braid for certain applications. If I have a lot of line between myself and the hook with a lot heavy cover and snags in between, braid can be a very useful tool. I also like to use 5lb - 10lb PowerPro with a mono or copolymer leader when I need to make really long casts, which you often need to do in ultra clear water. If you're fishing from the bank, a 5lb or 8lb braid with a 2'-3' mono or copolymer leader could get you some precious extra yards. Especially in bigger lakes ad rivers, that extra lenght, less stretch and sensitivity could be critical. I would say 90% of my sunfishing is with either mono or copolymer. 10% with braid.

I don't use braid with my baitcasters anymore. Just too many headaches; couldn't quite get the hang of it. I do use braid on my spinning rigs for black bass and inshore fishing quite a bit. Same reasons plus the added strength to line diameter ratio is a big boon in inshore fishing.