Lot of fraying.... hmm.... that happened to me last year. It wasn't the line, it was a damaged eyelet insert. The thing looked good, but when I checked it with a magnifying glass, you could see it was cracked right where the line sat.... it would fray the hell out of mono.... might be worth a look - isn't going to matter what kind of line you spool up in you have a dinged eyelet insert.....
Sure mono may be sensitive to a light bite but what about after the hookset? Your line will be much less likely to snap if you're using heavier than ten pound braid and your knot will be less likely to slip (given it's a good one) Plus I would never go near any type of heavy pads with mono and expect to make it out alive with or without a fish on. Also, if I ever get hung up on any type of weeds or structure, I have no fear of losing my lure, as I can just yank it out with no fear of a line break. On top of that, braid has almost no memory and is extremely easy to pick out if in a backlash or wind knot. Mono has its perks, but braid is the way to go. And braid is very sensitive in my opinion. If i'm working a lure off the bottom, I can feel every branch, rock, weed, or other underwater object, and my power pro almost gives me an image of the bottom sometimes. I only use mono for trout fishing, as it generally has a lighter profile and trout are much less aggressive than bass. All of my bass exploits, however, include braid.
I use mono for drop shot only. I would never go back to mono For all the reasons he just gave. Not to mention as a mostly shore angler braid casts much further.
Mono for dropshot? Yikes
Line choice has always been a hot topic, and very opinionated. It not always the line that failed, a lot of times it's user error. Using the right gear for whatever application you're fishing can make a big difference too. That said there are still line companies I will not touch. I will list below what has worked well for me the last number of years.
Flourocarbon Used 90% of the time:(Mostly Seaguar Invisx)
Jigs/T-Rig/Plastics - 8lb -15lb
SpinnerBait/Chatterbait/Soft Swimbait/Swimjig - 15lb
Crankbait/Jerkbaits - 8lb - 12lb
Dropshot - 6lb 99% of the time
C-Rig - 15lb w/ 15lb mono leader most of the time
Finesse Baits - 8lb mostly
Mono (Mostly P-Line CXX)
Topwater Poppers & Prop Baits, (Sometimes Walking baits but they tend to foul up more with mono, so I use them more with braid)- 10lb -15lb
Bigger Swimbaits (Slammers/High water column swimbaits) 20lb +
Braid - (Power Pro)
Hollow Body Frog - 50lb
Soft Plastic Frog/Buzzbait - 30lb -50lb
Fliggin - 30lb-65lb
Swimjig around the dirty stuff - 30lb-50lb
I think that cover what I do for the most part. I don't break off much, but when I do it likely to be something stupid I did like set-up the hook way to hard with 6lb test, or forgetting to check my line/knot for abrasions.
I don't get to dropshot much, only in the quabbin, but I use mono for that. had bad experiences using flouro for leaders with braid, lost a few jigs that way. also don't like it on spinning reels, tried 8lb maybe I should have gone to 6lb. using baitcasters would be different but I think guys who use only spinning (recreational fishermen) don't need flouro. john is a semi-pro and gives us lots of useful info, thanks john.
I don't get to dropshot much, only in the quabbin, but I use mono for that. had bad experiences using flouro for leaders with braid, lost a few jigs that way. also don't like it on spinning reels, tried 8lb maybe I should have gone to 6lb. using baitcasters would be different but I think guys who use only spinning (recreational fishermen) don't need flouro. john is a semi-pro and gives us lots of useful info, thanks john.
Haha, thanks Al, but I am hardly semi-pro by any means. I just very much enjoy the higher level competition, and continuing to learn from the tournament anglers I have the privilege of sharing a boat with. I share what I can, but can't give away all the secrets, haha.