Lure fishing problems

[srp]

Dug out all my fishing stuff recently and had a go with a couple of lures from the beach. Seemed to get a whole load of problems. My reel is an old Mitchell 208s fixed spool, the rod is a lightish 10' no name carbon thing, and I was using a couple of different lures around the 15-20 g mark. Main problem seemed to be that the line wasn't packing down tightly when I reeled in, leading to tangles when casting. So the questions:
As the reel hasn't been used for ages maybe the line has sort of aged so its just coils up intead of straightening out?
The old style fixed spools like my Mitchell have very shallow spools. I don't really want to have to buy a new reel, but if I had to what should I get? Can't afford to spend a lot!
If I replace the line with 18lb mono, what sort of weight of lure should I be using to get a decent cast?
Should I be using braid? Bloke in the tackle shop said no the other day. Is braid difficult to cast compared with mono?

[Dyer]

do alot of lure fishing from my kayak, youve pretty much explained the problem yourself mate, first thing is get shot of that old line. i use 15lb dawia tournament, cant go wrong. and if it keeps consisting the problem then go see drew down ryde tackle shop he got some little decent spinning reels, just right for the job. and stay away from braid when spinning. dont need it.

[srp]

Thanks for that. Got some new line this morning so I,ll give it a go at high tide later today and see what happens. Is the tackle shop the one in the arcade? Cheers mate

[stevieboy]

Couldn't disagree more. Braid is the best thing ever to happen to spinning.
Your chances of getting a snagged lure back increase massively using braid as well as your ability to feel what's going on with the lure (such as picking up a small bits of weed)

I know plenty of good lure anglers, not a single one uses mono anymore.

Steve.

[eccles]

The most important thing with mono and I still use it for lure fishing is to find a line which is relatively "floppy" so that it doesn't keep coiling up when casting. In this respect, I have used Okuma Ultramax for years now and I never known it to suffer from the problem of coiling up when casting so that it gets knotted up in the rings and similar problems. It is also relatively cheap and if you can't find it in a tackle shop, then get on line.
One particular line which does suffer from said problem and I have seen it happen quite frequently is that red ice stuff so I do hope you haven't bought any, it's a ruddy menace.
As far a reels go, you won't go far wrong with Daiwa in my experience, I use the BF5500g's which also have a deepish skirt to the spool so that line is unlikely to get trapped underneath.

[srp]

Ok, bought some new 12lb daiwa mono and a new cheapy fixed spool reel and tried it out. What a difference - easy casting 60 -70 yds with a 21g lure, no loose coils, no snag ups, nice and tight on the retrieve. All I need now is some bass to come inshore for a play, and this sodding wind to drop.
Thanks for the help guys.
Ps didn't buy braid as it is mega expensive compared to mono.

[fishsticks]

I can't ever imagine using mono for spinning again. Braid is a bit dearer but worth every penny.

[Dyer]

looks like im going to have to give the braid a go on the spinning gear.