MickD

Either will work fine. From all the posts on this thread I would conclude that going with mono would be more reliable. But the major point is that you need to know how to tie knots correctly, whatever knots you choose. And you need quality line and leader material of the proper test.

I have found this site very helpful. As many have stated, the Alberto is significantly smaller, so goes through smaller guides better. The uni has 5 thicknesses of the large diameter line, the Alberto only two. I think if the Alberto has a weakness it would be in how tightly it bends and pinches the floro. Some floro's may not take well to that. If you really want bulletproof floro for leaders, buy the leader grade. You don't use that much of it anyway, so expense shouldn't be an issue. I have had so much trouble with floro lines (not leaders) lately that I'm about to just go to leader grade floro for leaders, and mono or copolymer for lines (+ braid, of course).

If you cannot get the Alberto to hold consistently you are not tying it consistently correctly. The tag end has to go through the loop correctly or it will fail every time. If you tie half right , half wrong, which is natural if not paying attention to the tag direction, half will fail.

Any knot that takes 20 wraps is doomed to fail with most of us. It is with me, anyway. The uni/uni is reliable and easy, but can be screwed up if you don't wrap both the lines into your loops. The Alberto is a pieced of cake, and very compact, but if you don't put the tag end through the loop properly, it will fail every time. Not hard to learn, but don't think that this direction of the tag end is unimportant. It is the only way this knot will work. Bottom line is that your problem is with the properly tying of your knots. Don't give up, just pay attention to the details.

Texas Tackle O ring pliers.

So you want identical components, same blank characteristics, why not just buy another one?

Your info helps a lot! I think you are using too light braid, for one thing. I think you'll find a much better handling and tougher line in the 25-30 pound test range, but don't max out your drag. That will make it dig in more. Use your thumb to pressure fish if your drag setting isn't enough. Don't pull snags out by simply pulling on the rod, that will make the line dig too. Wrap it around something and pull just on the line. I agree that there are better knots than uni-uni for size, like Albright and its improved version with double wrapping the braid - but make sure the tag end goes out of the knot correctly or the knot will fail (I learned that the hard way) . It is a much smaller knot. You can also use a short leader that doesn't go through the guides, but unless you're using micro guides, the recommended knots will pass through well. I would use at least 15 pound flourocarbon for a leader, too. With the right knots the lines I have recommended will go through all but micros quite well. IMHO, knots going through guides do get damaged in time, so retying every day or two will eliminate any possibility of that. You mention snap casting-you obviously will soften the shock by using a more "progressive" casting style, but I'd be surprised if snap casting will fail a 30-15 setup assuming you're not digging in. I recommend a florocarbon other than Vanish. Florocarbon leader material is tougher than FC line, also, but I've used FC line for leaders for years and had no problems with it.

Of course there could be a lot going on, which is impossible to figure out with nothing more to go on than what was posted. We don't even know the pound test of the line. I should have been more specific: I have never had braid break because it was old, deteriorated, or for no apparent reason. Braid is way more reliable than the other lines, lasts seemingly almost forever, and this failure is not happening just because "braid is bad" or for no reason. It's most likely bad knots, inappropriate drag settings (causing digging), or broken tiptop ring. BUT, more info could help determine what is going on. If your braid is digging in loosen the drag. Some lines are worse than others for this and require different drag settings.

If you don't want a loop knot, tie the knot with little or no loop diameter by sliding the "circle" down almost to the eye of the hook.

I've made leaders from leader material (if you try this buy the stiff stuff and do a search to find some good sites on lengths of each pound test and the best knots) and if done right they really do turn over better, especially on bigger flies. But for smaller dry flies I think the knotless Rios and other name brands are very good. The secret I've found on straightening them is heat. I have found that just using my hands is better than a leader straightener. You need to really pull the material hard through your hands, trying to generate heat as you pull. Practice it and you'll probably find the same thing I did. The crinkling right at the knot will be worse for some knots than it is for others. The ones that require a long pull through will crinkle more. And it's especially hard to straighten the last inch or two, so you may have to just cut that off with each new fly to minimize that length of crinkled line. http://www.offthehookflyfishing.com/blog/lefty-krehs-no-slip-loop-knot This loop knot looks like it will tie well without much crinkling.

There is a huge difference between FC leader material and FC line. The FC leader material is much stiffer, tougher, and less prone to damage by kinking, less prone to tangling/looping onto itself. But this does not mean that FC line cannot be successful as a leader. I have done it for years. When I think I may be getting into an especially demanding area, like rocks/pilings/etc that the line/leader may rub against, or might be encountering pike, I'll put on the leader material, usually 20 pound test. It's not foolproof, but it's better.

I've read the whole string a couple times and still don't know where the break is ocurring or what the appearance of the broken line is at the break. Many are trying to help, but they are guessing at what's going on. They could be a lot more help with proper details. Tying direct to lure? To a snap? To a leader? Line brand? Leader type? Breaking at the reel/rod tip/at a knot/which knot/type of knot? Pound test of line/leader? Have you experienced line digging into the spool? It is not just that you are using braid. Most fishermen never have a line breakage on a cast with braid, so it's not that you are using braid that is the issue. If you are new to braid you may not be using the right knots for braid. It has different requirements than mono.

The new premium metallic? Pro FX? They are still selling the old as well as the new premium (at a premium price + $1.00). If the new still springs off I don't know why it's premium. That was the only problem with the old, IMO.

The MHX blank was one of the white ones.

If this was your first experience with the Fuji I suggest trying it again on a different blank. I used the Fuji on an AmTac Bushido blank and had no more trouble getting started than I usually do. I just finished a MHX using Pro Wrap NCP and thought it was more trouble getting started than usual. Possibly it's more about the blank than the thread? coefficient of friction of the blank? My first use of the Fuji was positive. I like Pro Wrap OK exc for the old metallics which are very hard to keep from springing off the spool. I expect the new stuff was designed to fix that.

Re the knots, it's no mystery that uni to uni knots are tougher to get through the guides than an albright, or improved albright (has another name which I cannot now remember, but it's just an albright that you wrap down, then back up). The uni's have five diameters of both the small line and the large line. The albright has only two of the larger line, as does the improved albright. They have either two or four diameters of the finer line, the braid, which makes them very compact. The albright and its improvement depend on getting the tag back through the original loop in the right direction. Get it wrong, they fail, get it right, they are very reliable. Do a search for fishing knots and follow directions perfectly. I run albrights through size 4 micros with 10 pound flouro and 10 pound braid, no sweat. But the knots have to be tied right. I went for a long time not believing in albrights until I finally got (took) the advice on this forum on how to tie it correctly.

I've had the same experience with live craws. I could see the fish, and no takes. I really think that at times the ability to control the presentation with artificial lures makes for a better probability of fish taking it. I have not used natural bait in many years and I catch more fish than when I was trying real worms and real minnows and real crawfish.

It's not about the rod, it's not about the leader pound test, the issue is about not connecting with fish that are following and others striking but not being hooked. When this happens to me I think something is just not quite right about the presentation. Size, color, action, lure type, etc. A lot of possibilities, but the fact that they are following and some are sort of striking indicates you are close. So just change something a little and they may strike with more conviction.

CX is basically a co-polymer line coated with flourocarbon. No wonder it behaves better than pure flouro. Not sure it's as clear. I don't see how coating a line with flouro will make it less visible since the core still has some of the properties of the nylon component. I'm not convinced that the invisibility of flouro is that important anyway.

Will try it. thanks,

Flouro can be amazingly fragile after digging out a backlash. It hardly takes anything to damage it. I'm about to give up on flouro for this reason. It backlashes more than mono or braid, it is easily damaged in removing the backlash, and other advantages just don't justify the problems with it.

Use no more heat to get it off than necessary by applying tension to the tiptop while applying the VERY LITTLE HEAT with a lighter. Use a rubber band to apply the tension. The rubber band through the eye will not be damaged by the heat to the tube since you will be applying the heat very gently. The idea is to get the tiptop to come off when the adhesive gives due to the heat and you then will take the heat off and not apply enough to damage the blank. I cut slender chips off the hot melt stick and put them into the tube of the new tiptop, heat the tiptop, and slide it on. Check the position and if not right, just gently heat it again and rotate into position.

I wouldn't use them on a spin build, but like their fly grip on the lighter fly rods. Everyone to his own taste.

The bearing nomenclature most likely means that the reel has 7 regular bearings and 1 one-way bearing/clutch to provide the anti-reverse function. If you have used that outfit quite a while and have had no issues, don't worry about it, just keep using it. Keep it maintained properly and keep the line in good condition. That's about it. The most likely failure of any spinning reel is the bail spring and I've been told a number of times that closing the bail manually really takes the stress off that spring. True? It's logical. When buying new you may want to consider name brands since some repair shops don't service non-name brands, even though most are made by the name brand manufacturers. http://www.scsurffishing.com/articles/reelmaintenance.htm DVT has gotten some good reviews on this forum and offers a special on repair/maintainence to members.

Loop knot mentioned on last post is very easy to tie, I've never had one fail, and as stated allows freedom of movement for the lure. Great for flies as well for same reason. I have always used a double uni for line to line, but I finally learned how I was screwing up the Alberto, which I prefer because it is much more compact. In some line sizes, like 10 # flouro leader to 10 # braid, it can easily go through micro guides. The trick is that the tag end must go back through the loop in the same direction the main line comes in. When you're done they will both be on the same side of the loop they go through. Tied this way it is a great knot. Tie it the other way, with the tag end going on the wrong side of the loop, and it will fail. The double uni is bigger than the Alberto because it has 5 "layers" of the large diameter line while the Albero only has two. Tied right both are reliable.