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Monofilament or braid

Thread Status: Hello , There was no answer in this thread for more than 60 days.
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Nat.m

Active Member
Sep 16, 2009
11
1
38
Im currently using a braided line as was supplied with my gun, after continuous dives of recent i have noticed its starting to wear. I was thinking of re rigging my gun and equipping it with a monofilament wheel is this a good idea or shall i just renew the braid any advice much appreciated.........
 
I rig my gun with mono, prefer it to braid as it doesnt seem to wear as much and has a memory which makes it easier to reload....
 
I’m also a mono man, I find it a lot less trouble as it doesn’t tangle half as much as braid.
 
Mono as shooting line, dyneema on the reel and a bungie between. Works great and the cheap mono gets all the beating ;)
 
Im currently using a braided line as was supplied with my gun, after continuous dives of recent i have noticed its starting to wear. I was thinking of re rigging my gun and equipping it with a monofilament wheel is this a good idea or shall i just renew the braid any advice much appreciated.........

I switched from braid to mono to 7x7 coated stainless steel cable (3/64 inch internal diameter, 1/16 inch external). Not much of a drag but no tangling at all. Mono can still be weakened by small cuts. The danger of cable is that it can not be cut easily so make sure that you have either a cutter or a quick disconnect system and a reel. So the best advice is to have both a mono and a cable and use them depending on the circumstances. On sand mono is OK, over sharp rocks cable is better
 
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In my guns i have different assemblies:

1- Gun without reel using mono filament line.
2- Gun with reel using mono filament line between the bungie and the and the spear and on the reel it will be braid filament.
3- Gun without reel using stainless steel braid type line covered with material that will not make it wear.

Using braid filament for the spear will make it wear fast because of the rock but for using on the reel it is must to be used because the mono filament will slip out from the reel or release easily thats why combination should be used when rigging the gun with reel mono or coated stainless steel between spear and bungie and braid on the reel this is how i do it...
 
Cheers guys seems the combination of both is favourite, gonna give it a go this weekend thanks for the advice..
 
What is a "monofilament wheel?"
I took that to mean reel.

I use mono(filament) spear line. It's cheap, strong (in 1.6-2mm diameter) and stretchy (i.e. shock absorbing) and readily available in various forms (including fishing line and strimmer/weedwacker line as well as specifically as spear line, like RA Mako spearline). I don't use a reel. I do use a shock-absorbing muzzle bungee - it makes loading easier/crisper and can be used to "play" mullet.

I see no obvious advantage to using dyneema or braid in the UK - other than perhaps on a reel. I think Miles used recommended 2 or 3mm marine grade parachute cord for reels, for the big SA reef fish he used to hunt. It's strong and easier to handle than thin lines which can cut into your hand.
 
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Sorry your right getting my terminology wrong, I meant reel, I have seen these bungees on line i take they help absorb the strain. I bought 150 lb class mono today it's 1.2mm thick is this a little light on Reading previous comments? I'm pretty new to this it was my first season this year am loving it but always looking for any tips and techniques to help me improve once again many thanks for the advice
 
Hello Nat , I think some will say 150lb is a little light , but I've used it for the past three seasons with no problems .
Make sure the crimps are done properly and check the line regularly for nicks and abrasions , change it a couple of times a year too , just to make sure .
 
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I agree with DevonDave, even 1.6mm seems light (but acceptable) to me. It is not so much the breaking strain that is the issue - you'd be extremely lucky to a 20lb fish in the UK after all - but the nicks & abrasions. My RA speargun came with 2mm Mako spearline, even when nicked there is still a lot of line left untouched, that's not the case with the thinner mono that came with my Omer Spearguns. That said, 2mm is probably a little OTT for the UK.

Check the line regularly and replace it if damaged. There is more leeway with thicker lines, less with thinner lines. If you don't, you might loose your spear - which tends to be very inconvenient. 2mm line can last 2-5 years (say 3.5 years), 1.6mm line can start to look ragged quite quickly (especially with steel French-style wishbones) and might last 1 - 2 years. So Dave's policy of changing 1.2mm every 6 months sounds like it would be about right.
 
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I prefer thin mono 100lb and simply change it when it gets a nick or two. I find that thin mono improves accuracy by quite a bit. Obviously if you are shooting where coral or sharp rocks or oil rigs are in play, you need something else. Spectra or to a lesser degree Kevlar rope is fantastic unless you are using a Riffe type rigging. With the Riffe guns you are going to get quite a few tangles with spectra or kevlar rope as it is prone to getting caught up in the rubber bands. I know that hollow spectra with 80lb mono inside used to be sold somewhere, in that case you have both abrasion resistance and strength while still mainaining the rigidity that prevents the rope from tangling in the rubber bands.
 
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Do you really think spectra has good abrasion resistance? I use Dyneema (similar material) fishing line and found it to be very susceptible to abrasion. I lost my favourite lure because of it. Admittedly, the Berkley Whiplash I use is incredibly thin for its breaking strain (17lb - >0.1mm). I now use I use 30lb/0.1mm now - I don't need 30lb breaking strain, I just need the extra thickness to resist abrasion.

[Perhaps this is why (for anglers) Berkley came out with 2 new breaking strains for Whiplash this year, so they now offer 35lb/30lb/25lb/20lb/...]
 
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when shooting the monofilament gets stuck in the elastic, can anyone help me?
Any chance that you can post a picture of how you rig your speargun - as if loaded (but don't load it)? I'm wondering if your spear-line is not correctly routed. An image would help a lot & could answer a lot of questions - esp. if you can show the muzzle & the butt end of the spear in the speargun. What sort of speargun are you using?

Some speargun muzzle designs are more prone to tangling than others, I think.
 
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