I have been using braid as mainline with mono hooklength for most of my fishing ledger & float, river and canal, but have always used mono for Barbel fishing. I havent changed to braid because of the abrasion resistance of mono being far better than braid, fishing for large Barbel on the Trent which is often quite rocky, you can feel where the line has scaped over rock leaving it rough to touch.
I like using braid mainline mostly because I dont have to worry about changing it due to deterioration over time.
I am now thinking of changing to braid for Barbel and still using an abrasion resistant mono for the hook length. I was going to go for Berkley Fireline 20lbs (but am open to suggestions) and 12 - 15 lb hooklength of Ultima Steel (I dont know of a more abrasion resistant mono). My thinking is it should only be the hook length that needs to be abrasion resistant.
Does anybody have any opinions or experience of using braid mainline for barbel fishing in rocky / snaggy rivers?
What strength of braid would you use with 12 lb mono hooklength?