The comparison between braid and monofilament touches on many aspects of the game. It aims to answer the questions of which one is stronger, has better abrasion resistance, more sensitive, stretchier, and also which one casts better.
Now while the answer is clear and proven for most of these questions, the castability between braid and monofilament is still an open debate.
Some say that braid casts better, others swear by monofilamanent.
In this article, we’ll go into detail on this topic and discuss how the line choice affects casting distance.
By the end of this post, you will have a clear idea of what to expect from each type of line (in terms of casting) and which one should give you longer casts.
Does braid cast better than mono?
Ok, let’s jump to the answer without much ado.
Yes, for the same pound test, braid should give you longer casts and allow you to reach farther spots.
The determining variable here is the line diameter. Monofilament lines are thicker and have larger diameters. This exposes them to more air pressure during casts and therefore fall sooner into the water.
Take a look at the table below and you’ll see that a monofilament line is typically twice as thick as a braided line of the same strength. This is why braid offers better castability.
Braided lines are thinner and therefore cut better through the air, allowing your gear to fly longer and therefore reach further spots.
They don’t get as much air resistance.
That said, it is important to note that this comparison is only valid if everything is equal. Not only the line pound test, but anything else related to the casting operation.
What else dictate your casting range?
As we said, braid is guaranteed to offer you a better casting distance only if everything else in the comparison is the same. This includes:
The casting weight
The heavier the weight you throw, the greater the distance you can achieve. However, using so much weight can make it difficult to load the rod and thus compromise your distance. So there is a limit to consider here
The rod length
As a rule of thumb, the longer the rod, the greater the casting distance. This is because the bigger the arc you create when you load, the more energy and initial speed you give to your terminal tackle.
The rod action and power
Action refers to the way a rod bends under pressure and power refers to how much pressure it takes before it starts bending. The rule here is simple. The easier it is to make the rod bend, the greater the casting distance you should expect. Note also that rods that bend entirely cast farther than the poles that only flex their tip under pressure.
The reel size
The larger your spool, the more line it releases during casts, and therefore the greater the distance you travel in the same amount of time. That said, remember to tie enough weight when using a large reel. Without something that can pull your terminal tackle away from you when you cast, the line will backlash and that’s not very fun.
The reel type
Conventional reels cast farther than spinning reels. This is because the spool of conventional reels stands perpendicular to the rod, which allows the line to enter directly into the guides without too much resistance. Spinning spools on the other hand stand vertically and therefore produce coils of line during the cast, which is subject to more friction.
The rod guides
Obviously, the bigger the guides, the less friction there will be during the cast. This has a big effect on how far your line travels.
The wind direction
Wind hitting your face will compromise your casting distance. On the other hand, the wind that hits your back will help you cast farther. By the way, the direction of the wind can be a game changer and cause mono to cast better than braid. When casting in the same direction of the wind, the air will exert more pressure on a monofilament line because it has a larger diameter, helping it to fly longer.
Power and technique
The more strength and energy you put on the load, the farther you will be able to cast. However, power without technique is not as effective. That’s why experienced anglers with years of practice tend to generate better casts, even when compared to stronger peers.
So is it only about braid or monofilament?
As you can see, there are many factors that dictate how far you cast.
Therefore, it’s fair to consider the question of whether or not braid cast farther than mono as a hypothetical question with very little weight and significance in the real world.
Like we said, braid will only give you longer casts if you set everything else equal.
It may seem simple, but believe me, It’s a quite difficult thing to do.
I mean, yes, you can easily use the same reel, rod and weight every time you cast. But you don’t have the same level of control over the power and technique that you generate each time you load the rod.
We can’t even write letters and figures the same way everytime. You don’t believe me? Take a pen and paper and write the number 6 several times. You will find that you write it in a slightly different way at each try.
Now compare this easy task to casting a fishing rod which involves a lot more muscles and joints.
All this to say, in reality, your casting distance is the result of a combinaison of factors. This means that if you fail to produce decent casts, you can’t blame it only on the line material.
This also means you can still go with monofilament and easily outcast braid if you get the other things right.
For example, casting monofilament with a 13ft rod and 8000 reel should give you a better distance than if you cast braid with a 6ft rod and 2500 reel.
With that in mind, the fact that braid lines cast better than mono is still a good thing to know because you can use it, along with other things, to improve your casting distance.
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