Ob20

Then people are first starting out I recommend them to use FC or mono but once they can catch fish tie decent knots and master the basics I recommend going straight to braid ... why
It’s more sensitive making it perfect for lure and it improves bait fishing 
braid used to cost a lot for a decent spool but today you can get daiwa j braid X4 for $25 that will last longer then any mono line 
it doesn’t wind knot and tangle as much as FC or mono 
it’s thin so you can cast further and you can also fit more line on you’re spool to 
It’s fairly easy these day’s to learn knots to connect to leaders FG knot and triple finish Alberto are easy to tie and both are extremely thin and strong 
it’s bright so you can see what you’re lines doing but the fish can’t see you’re bright braid because of the leader 
I could probably list other things to but there the main reasons braid with a leader  is just so much better to use then straight through mono or FC 

Hey Ob20
I very much agree with the above, but I'll basically give you a run down on what I know about each.
Braid is a very thin material (basically a bunch of woven fibre). It is very good as mainline, especially for lure fishing, as it is thin, casts far, is light, and will cut through water. There is no stretch in braid making it easier to feel bites. When using braid, you tie on a mono or fluorocarbon leader. You can use an FG, Slim Beauty, Shocker knot, etc. 
Braid can cut easier than mono, and can sometimes slip off your roller on your reel, but the biggest, most annoying thing of all is the tangles. Braid is horrendous for tangles - if you're using live bait and it decided to swim around your line that is a recipe for disaster. The only reel you don't use braid on is an Alvey Sidecast reel, which is for mono only (Oh yeah, and you only use mono in surf fishing). 
Mono (or monofilament) is a cheaper line than braid, and has more stretch. You can use mono leaders very freely normally, so it is a good thing to have on a mainline if you don't want to splash out on braid. Mono is a bit thicker than braid, and won't cast as long. It can get weaker in sun, and requires a replacement every now and then. (I've just realised I'm basically repeating the above so I'll stop).
Fluorocarbon is a common leader for lure fishing as it is harder to see in the water than braid or mono. It is very similar to mono, but the only real difference is that it's supposed to be invisible. It's very expensive though, so I'd only recommend using it for lure fishing.
The final type of line (which you didn't mention) is Dacron. This isn't really used any more, and is only really used for trolling for pelagic, i.e. Marlin, offshore (a Dacron loop secures the bait). It's old school, thick, and basically not used these days either.
Hope that helps,
Cheers Hamish

Horses for courses as they say, if it ain't broke then don't fix it, whatever works for you. Fishing with braid has has pros and cons, it is thinner so more line goes on the spool  and it cuts through water easier, virtually no stretch so you feel timid bites. Mono has great stretch so is more forgiving, so sudden lunges from the fish will tend to be absorbed and not break the line if the drag is set a bit too high for the line, can be hard for fish to see mono because of the transparency, think of it as a tough rubber band and is dirt cheap compared to braid.
Down side of braid is it's expensive compared to mono, you may break off if you are fishing at the lines max and the fish lunges away and if the drag is on too tight, not so good in the surf or around abrasive areas, downside of mono is it's thicker than braid and deteriorates more in sunlight so needs to be replaced more often. There are many  more reasons for both but at the end of the day, if you are catching fish than it doesn't matter what you use.

I’ve always been pro braid. Got talked into mono with my new snapper rod and three trips later I have not caught a fish with it! Apparently mono is better for catching snapper however I’m not convinced yet. I’ll give it a couple more goes before peeling it off and applying a good braid. 

Braid Pros: Has a thinner diameter for its breaking strain allowing for longer casts.
Has very little stretch allowing for greater sensitivity for bites and to turn fish quicker, also more effective for working lures. 
Has no 'memory' off the spool therefore travelling through guides with less resistance= longer casts. 
Easy to see your line.
Braid cons: very poor abbrasion resistance and highly visible to fish.
Must use flouro or mono leader when using braid.
Must take more care in preserving braided lines (avoid rubbing on hooks or sliding against objects in the car etc.)
Mono pros: high stretch and more forgiving can be of benefit to some styles of fishing. 
Often no need to use an additional leader.
Very good abrasion resistance and longevity.
Mono cons: Spool memory.
Inferior choice for long distance casting.
More stretch means reduced feel and lure workability.
Flourocarbon is mostly used as a leader due to it being much more expensive than mono. It has less stretch and less visibility in the water and also better abrasion resistance. It is sometimes used by bream fishos on the whole spool in 3lb or 4lb breaking strains but mostly just used as a leader across the board.
These days braided line is the best choice for most applications with some exceptions. In my opinion the pros definitely outweigh the cons and it's an obvious choice for my uses 

Hi guys, just wondering what the difference is between the main three types of fishing line and which one is the best.
I have had good luck with the braided line with it never snapping, letting me catch pretty big murray cod.
Should i be using a different type of line, because i see alot of people not using braided line?
It might just be more expensive.
Cheers, 
 

Thanks for the random photos Obi Wan. I think it spices the site up a bit.

Sounds like a monster!
like @Drop Bear said, its still out there. Hunt it down lol 
I would recommend braided line, i have never had my line snapped
p.s the photo is not advertising, it is a random photo

Someone once cruelly said that Drop Bears were great bait for 3m Flatties. Very cruel. 

Iol powerfish is such a legend
@FisherDan80 youve just gotta use the whole chooks mate
thatll catch a flatty
GET THE DOG

Iol powerfish is such a legend
@FisherDan80 youve just gotta use the whole chooks mate
thatll catch a flatty
GET THE DOG

Bummer fisherdan. Least you got to see it. 
Similar thing has happened to me with a PB snap. 
 
 
I can't help but think of powerfish when I hear huge flatty. 3m flatty. 😂

Nice catches.
Looks like a pretty nice day for fishing👍

Sounds like a monster!
like @Drop Bear said, its still out there. Hunt it down lol 
I would recommend braided line, i have never had my line snapped
p.s the photo is not advertising, it is a random photo

Sounds like a monster!
like @Drop Bear said, its still out there. Hunt it down lol 
I would recommend braided line, i have never had my line snapped
p.s the photo is not advertising, it is a random photo

Hey Ob20
Thanks for that, unfortunately no keepers!
Cheers Hamish 🙂 

yep. you can tell cause I sound like a drop bear...

I listened to it, that was interesting
Was that you in the interview?

Hi all
Here is the report from yesterday's session with Kat (@Kat), Greg (@GregOug), and myself (as well as Greg's sons). It was very fun overall, a great cruise through the bay, and we caught lots of fish (even though most were a tad too small). It was good to meet/meet up with more AFO-ers, and I think we all had a great day out. 🙂 Greg, and Kat, sorry if I've missed anything. Like I have said before, I will never be an elephant, therefore my memory isn't the best. Lol. 

Loading up at the ramp
After meeting at Viccy Point Boat Ramp at a bit past 7:30AM, we launched. Kat and I sat in the front of the boat and Greg and co. sat in the back. The boat was extremely fast, bouncing over the tiny chop.  At the first spot, I baited up with a live yabby (Kat had very handily brought a heap so I decided to use one). I had my line in first, and within a minute or so I got a hit. Kat baited up with yabby as well, and despite getting the odd nibble, everyone on the boat failed to get one at the first spot 😞 
We would've drifted/moved a little bit around there, but we didn't move to far. The sounder was showing some fish here as well, so it is a bit of a shame we didn't get any. We then motored along the bay to a rocky edge of the island, and if I recall correctly we were in 8-12M of water. I dropped my live yabby down, as did Kat, and Greg's sons were fishing with squid. I got a pretty good hit straight away which I failed to hook up on, and then Kat was on. This thing showed no sign of stopping, and in fact almost spooled her on the first run. We were chasing the fish, hoping for a real biggun to surface. Then it stopped, and it was a dead weight, and then more and more running! It seemed like a very good fish, that's for sure. Unfortunately it got the better of us and busted Kat off. After re-thinking, we thought it was most likely a big ray due to the fight and how it kept stopping and starting, and due to the very long runs. 
A few more nibbles were had at this spot, but it proved fishless even after X amount of drifts in different depths and quite a few more nibbles. We decided to move on to Potts Point (which Kat recommended - it was very lucky as she knows the area/has seen many boats fishing there so could tell us some spots!). We anchored up, and there was a some decent ground on the sounder. We decided to deploy the berley as well, which was some blocks of pilchard oil. It didn't take long for Kat to get a good bite, which unfortunately decided it didn't want to stay on her hook. Soon after, she got another fair bite. Both these fish seemed quite good, and it is a shame that they were not landed. We sure thought that they could be legal fish. 
Greg's son Alex (Greg my bad if I got names wrong/mixed up) was the first one to hook a fish though. After a short fight, up came a solid 32cm squire. It was measured, but it was also chucked back when we found out it was undersize 😉. I was the next to get a fish, with a record breaking stonking 23cm Tarwhine. It did fight OK for it's size, but that was the main let down about the fish. Kat was consistently getting some small squire as well, all of which seemed to be good fun on her new Nasci.. In fact, she certainly got the most fish of the day as we lost count of them all! Greg and I rigged up a floater, which we hoped a mackerel would chew on (or anything sizeable and tasty), which was basically an unweighted pilly on a set of four gang hooks - no success on that one at that spot. 

A little Tarwhine

One of Kat's squire
When this spot stopped firing, we went to a drop off Greg had marked on his sounder. We anchored up here once again, and we were all doing pretty well (on the small squire at least). I was the first one to catch a fish here, in fact I dropped my squid bit down and I was pretty much on straight away to a 30cm or so squire. Kat got a decent one too, but then they started to get smaller (for both of us up the front anyways). 

Leaving a spot

One of my squire (I think I only got two or three)
It was a while before Greg's sons started pulling them in, but they seemed to be getting slightly larger fish. We kept repositioning the anchor, to get on some better ground, but each time we moved it seemed as though the small ones wanted to follow us 😛. Towards the end of the session (after a LOT of small squire), Tom hooked up to what seemed like a better fish. It was fighting quite well, and when we first saw it we thought it was a sea toad. On closer examination, we realised it was something else entirely! We didn't know at the time what is was. A trevally? Nope, not the right shape. A baby Samsonfish? Hmm, that doesn't look right. A baby AJ? Something like that! (It could also be a Black Banded Amberjack, which @benno573 said... And looks like he is right). 

Another squire

The possibly AJ of sorts
Shortly after this fish (and a couple more small squire), we set off back to the ramp. It was low tide, and boy, was it bad. Most of the time we were in 2M< water, and just about as we were going to get back to the ramp we got stuck. Tom (Greg's son) and Kat had to get out and push us through the water, so Kudos to them! 🙂 Certainly a warning about that ramp, as I reckon if the tide was any lower you practically wouldn't be able to get out to water! 
Thanks for reading the report everyone, I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for the good day out Greg and Kat, it was great fun 🙂 Here are the stats of the trip as well - 
Statistics of trip - 
Tide: 3:25AM, .4M, Low, 9:00AM, 2.1M, High, 3:15PM, .5M, Low
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent, so not too much run
Weather: A few patches of rain here and there, but otherwise a light gust for the whole day (sunny too)
Bait caught: Kat caught live yabbies the arvo before, but otherwise there was no bait caught
Bait used: Live yabbies, squid, pillies, scad
Tackle Used: I was using a Diawa Shinobi, 10lb braid, 20lb fluorocarbon leader, Venotat rod (6"6'), Kat was using a Shimano Nasci 2500 with 10lb braid (I don't know what rod), Greg had a 12000 baitrunner out on an Abu Garcia rod (I think) with mono, but I don't know the rest because I didn't check. 
Time fished: 8:00AM (or so) until about 3:00PM
Overall Success Rate: 70% - A great day out with some fish landed! 
Cheers Hamish

Sounds like a fun day out was had by all. Interesting capture there with the blackbanded amberjack - I've never heard of them before. Just looked them up and they grow to almost 6 foot!!!

Thanks for the great report Hamish.

Good report as always, Hamish.
Good onya for getting everyone out there, Greg.
Shame the legals were hard to get.
Was the structure easy to land on down MacLeay way ?

Great report Hamish, and a wonderful little taste of the bay! Been kayaking for snapper yet? 
Ripper looking boat mate far out! @GregOug
Hope you had a good time @Kat! Awesome to get some fish too

Great read Hamish. 
Def an AJ.  
 
 
You're a legend Greg. 

It was fairly easy to find but anchoring on it once you had found it was another matter. Same old problem. The boat never seems to end up just over it. Or even near it apparently. Lol