Braided lines do not stretch. This is a good thing when you need to set the hook or feel the bite of the fish that you are targeting. If you are surf fishing with braided line and your poles are sitting in the rod holders, then the braided line will set the hook for you better than the mono filament will.

As mentioned above, you can fit a lot more braided line on a reel that you could with mono filament line. You might need that extra capacity for catching big fish or having to cast a long distance from the beach.

I’ve talked about the PROS of braided line now let’s talk about the CONS of using braided fishing line when you are surf fishing.

Drawbacks of Using Braided Lines for Surf Fishing

Braided line is very expensive. You might need $100 worth of braided line to fill your reel if you are fishing with something like a 5500 series or 6500 series reel. That is as much as the entry level surf rod itself usually costs. That is a lot of money for line that might all get taken from you if you are fishing for big sharks or tarpon.

You cannot bite through braided line. I bite through my mono filament line if I don’t have any cutters handy. That saves me a lot of time from searching for a cutting tool. I can bite through 50 or 60 pound mono filament line without much effort. I can’t bite through 8 pound braided line. It’s nearly impossible to cut with your teeth.

You absolutely need a pair of scissors specially made to cut braided lines. This is a big waste of your time if the bite is hot and you need to re rig you setup.

Wind knots are nearly impossible to get out of your braided lines. AND they are much more common when fishing with braided lines. If you are making a whole bunch of casts when you are surf fishing, then you will have to deal with wind knots and twisted line issues. It is as simple as that. AND if you can’t get the knots out of your line you will end up cutting $5 worth of braided line to fix the issue. That can add up.

What color braid is best for surf fishing?

The color of the braided line that you use for surf fishing does not matter unless you are tying your braided line directly to your lures or baited hooks. The color of your leader does matter however because that is what the fish will see. Your leader should be clear or pink for best results. I am sure that this is controversial but it is a fact.

I like to use high visibility braided lines just so I can see where my line is. It also helps me determine where my baits and lures are in relation to where I think the fish are.

I used to use dark braided lines in dark water because I thought that they would blend in an be less apt to scare the fish away. I believed that for 20 years but my vision began to get worse as I aged. This made me switch to extremely bright colored lines more visible to me.

Guess what? I catch just as many fish with the high visibility lines as I did with the (less visible) braided lines. Don’t take my word for it. Test it out for yourself.

Does line color matter for surf fishing?

Yes. Line color does matter for surf fishing because the fish can see what is attached to the lure or baited hooks that you are fishing with. The best color mono filament or fluorocarbon fishing line to use is pink or clear. Those two colors seem to work the best for any water clarity conditions inshore and offshore.

The pink disappears quickly in the water column and clear is hard to see anyways. Next time your are tying your main line directly to your baits and lures try one of those colors and see the difference for yourself.

Once again, I am sure that this is controversial but if you test it out, then I think that you will end up in my corner.

Conclusion:

I use braided line on all of my fishing rods because I like to go after some bigger fish most of the time. Braided line is a love/hate relationship for me. When I don’t get spooled by a shark or a tarpon, then I love the stuff. When I get a ton of line twists and wind knots, then I hate the stuff.

You will have to decide what you want to do. Some surf casters only use 20 pound mono filament line. They wouldn’t touch a braided line with a 10 foot pole. Other surf fishermen swear by braided lines. Which one will you choose?

They both have their own pros and cons so you might have to try both and decide for yourself.

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