Cheap and easy you may want to just stick to mono...

I’ve tried many different types of braid, there are some 4,6,8 and 9 strand braids available…

My go to is “Fins 40 G” it has held up best of all I have tried.





You will probably need a good pair of scissors to cut braid, speaking of knots I like the “Crazy Alberto” or “uni to uni”…





here is the Alberto knot tied to 30 lb mono and 25lb braid. the line is very slick and can slip if not pulled tight…












The 25lb is equal to 4lb mono….

The advantage of using braid over mono is no stretch and the thinner diameter.

Braid is not cheap compared to mono and some guys prefer the stretch in mono…

See what works best for your type of fishing…. Detecting sensitive bites braid is tough to beat…

For those reasons I buy the cheapest Shakespeare mono I can find at 25lb test.

I use fireline for my fine line pole and reel, and power pro on my heavy line pole, to cut them I carry a utility knife so its sharp and thin so it’s easier to cut close to the knot.

Best cutters I’ve seen are carbide cutters. The come as replaceable on nicer pliers. I prefer to use the IDEAL brand wire scissors like the guys with the phone company use. Their cheap and hold up reasonably well

Power pro for fresh water and Jerry brown for the salt. I've never found anything that will cleanly cut braid except for a scapel.

If you’re only fishing in 15’ of water mono is a better choice. You want some stretch.

Well PowerPro seems popular and was not very expensive. Some of those braided lines were much more costly. Alas, the store only had PowerPro in either 8lb or 50lb+ test weights. I was looking for something more in the range of 20-30#. So, I went with Berkley X5 in 20# test. With a 40% sale it was only about $12 for 165 yards. A reasonable price, I guess, to try it out.

With a live bait under 15' of water in a good current, and the pier deck a good 6-8' above the water line, that puts a lot of line out. That leaves a lot of line stretch and with a heavy sinker there's not much sensitivity. Plus, with the thinner braided line, I'm hoping the current will pull on the line less and maybe I won't need such a large sinker. Some of the other fisherman on the pier suggest braided line and they catch more fish than I do.

Thanks for the suggestions on the best knots to use. I think I'll probably tie a swivel onto the braided line and then tie the mono leader onto the swivel.