to braid or not to braid???

[Jedburton]

I normally fish southern california surf and a few weeks ago I broke off 4 leopard sharks on 30lb mono that I have had excellent luck with in the past and was considering switching to a higher lb test braid backing with a mono leader and perhaps some very high lb test for a short bite leader (36 inches or so) and I was wondering if anyone has any advice on brand or perhaps technique that would work well. Ideally I would like a setup that would have backing strong enough to handle anything from lighter rockfish species to 40 lb yellowtail and some 5ft leopard sharks that I can cast long distance and switch out my leader based on my application. thanks in advance for any advice you can give and I appreciate any tips or pointers,
Jed
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