Kokanee/trout trolling

You can protect your rod to some extent by using a lighter leader. You could still break your rod with poor fish fighting skills and drag adjustment. 

Braid has advantages over mono.  Sensitivity and a thinner diameter for a given lb test are just two of many. 

Sensitivity will allow you to feel bites easier. Not all situations require this but in those that do it can make a huge difference.

A thinner diameter will allow the line to move through the water with less resistance.  If you are flatline trolling a wiggle wart 30lb braid will allow you to hit bottom in 11 ft of water, 30lb mono might get down 8 ft with the same amount of line out.  The same happens if you are trolling with weight.  You might need 10oz of weight to troll a spinner at X depth on mono and only 4oz if you are fishing braid of the same lb test.

Will you still catch fish with mono?  Sure.  Could you adapt easier to more situations with braid and catch more fish?  Probably....particularly because you are getting it all done with one reel.

It just takes experience.  By the end of this Fall I'm sure you will have it all figured out.

I know many guides use the same Okuma Coldwater low pro reel on Kokes and salmon.  They would work fine for most bottom fish also.  I'd suggest spending what money you have here and when you can afford it, add another rod.

I use the Okuma cold water low profile for everything from Kokanee to salmon.  It also works great jigging for lake trout or bottom fish/lingcod.  I have had really good luck with it’s line counter and the drag has been pretty smooth.  I avoid casting with the line counter reel and give it a good rinse after fishing in the saltwater.  It has been problem free for about 4-5 years and I use it a lot.

I use Okuma cold water reels (not low profile) for my down rigger laketrout fishing.  I was curious how they would hold up for saltwater jigging versus moving to Penn Fathom or Fathom II?

You can protect your rod to some extent by using a lighter leader. You could still break your rod with poor fish fighting skills and drag adjustment. 

Braid has advantages over mono.  Sensitivity and a thinner diameter for a given lb test are just two of many. 

Sensitivity will allow you to feel bites easier. Not all situations require this but in those that do it can make a huge difference.

A thinner diameter will allow the line to move through the water with less resistance.  If you are flatline trolling a wiggle wart 30lb braid will allow you to hit bottom in 11 ft of water, 30lb mono might get down 8 ft with the same amount of line out.  The same happens if you are trolling with weight.  You might need 10oz of weight to troll a spinner at X depth on mono and only 4oz if you are fishing braid of the same lb test.

Will you still catch fish with mono?  Sure.  Could you adapt easier to more situations with braid and catch more fish?  Probably....particularly because you are getting it all done with one reel.

It just takes experience.  By the end of this Fall I'm sure you will have it all figured out.

I thought for Kokanee mono is better because it will assist in the shock absorption of the strike?
So if my rod is rated for 8lb I should be able to just set the drag to say 5lb and be good?
Should I just attach a 5lb weight to the drag and when it stops dropping it is set to abkut 5lb?

I think you are overthinking the drag vs rod line rating. Another factor is that no matter what your drag setting is, being in a kayak means that you can only put so much pressure on a fish before it starts pulling the kayak around.

You've described wanting to chase Kokanee and unless you are in Lake Roosevelt or another big Kokanee fishery, you don't have to worry about big fish breaking your rod or line 

I prefer mono for Kokanee trolling for the stretch but I totally understand all the advantages of braid and get why people use it for everything, with a leader of course. Once again these Kokanee are generally not big fish so the biggest challenge is getting them to bite, not whether your tackle will hold up to 12" fish!

I thought for Kokanee mono is better because it will assist in the shock absorption of the strike?
So if my rod is rated for 8lb I should be able to just set the drag to say 5lb and be good?
Should I just attach a 5lb weight to the drag and when it stops dropping it is set to abkut 5lb?

Your gear is a system, if you change one variable it effects other things. 

For example, your brand new koke rod has a very soft action and will provide all the cushioning you need while fishing braid.  On the other hand if you were using your Trevala you would lose most of your kokes because the rod would be too stiff.  In this case tying on a 20' bumper of 10 lb test mono to the end of your braid would provide some stretch and help you land more kokes.

I agree with micahgee.  I think you're overthinking the rod line rating and drag settings.

For fun try this with your new koke rod.  Have a friend or someone from your family pretend to be a fish.  Go outside and have them walk away from you holding the end of your line.  Play around with the drag while they are moving.  Start with it really light and gradually tighten it up.  Not too tight, you don't want to break anything.  Then try the same thing with your Trevala.  When you are playing a fish you often have to adjust your drag on the fly.  This will be good practice. 

Some guys get really serious and use a spring scale to set their drags.  I'm not one of them.

I thought for Kokanee mono is better because it will assist in the shock absorption of the strike?
So if my rod is rated for 8lb I should be able to just set the drag to say 5lb and be good?
Should I just attach a 5lb weight to the drag and when it stops dropping it is set to abkut 5lb?

Your gear is a system, if you change one variable it effects other things. 

For example, your brand new koke rod has a very soft action and will provide all the cushioning you need while fishing braid.  On the other hand if you were using your Trevala you would lose most of your kokes because the rod would be too stiff.  In this case tying on a 20' bumper of 10 lb test mono to the end of your braid would provide some stretch and help you land more kokes.

I agree with micahgee.  I think you're overthinking the rod line rating and drag settings.

For fun try this with your new koke rod.  Have a friend or someone from your family pretend to be a fish.  Go outside and have them walk away from you holding the end of your line.  Play around with the drag while they are moving.  Start with it really light and gradually tighten it up.  Not too tight, you don't want to break anything.  Then try the same thing with your Trevala.  When you are playing a fish you often have to adjust your drag on the fly.  This will be good practice. 

Some guys get really serious and use a spring scale to set their drags.  I'm not one of them.

I’m not very serious on the drag either. My only concern was for the rod and having a line on it rated 3 times more than the rod is rated to handle.
Thank you everyone for the advice.

https://app.photobucket.com/u/Leont1722/p/521453c2-95d5-445f-82ff-d32941f2f710

I added the black ones myself. Is this ok or will this mess with my action?
The left side will be attached to the main line. Right side will be attached to the lure leader.
Oh, and I’m sure I’m over thinking this and am fine! Thanks for the confirmation all the same!

I think you have it backwards. Left side should go towards the lure, hence the swivel with snap on the dodger.

Yeah that's works. I don't think you even really need the swivel on the right but it shouldn't hamper the action much. Go test it out and see if it makes adifference!

There are just a ton of factors and variables in all this stuff and it's easy to get lost in the details. I'd suggest on the water experimentation to figure out what the fish want any given day. There are different schools of thought etc. Find the school that works for you