Monofilament Fishing Line

[Hory]

As I've been preparing for the upcoming open water season, I am debating trying some different line on my rigs. I know many people love their super lines, braided lines, etc. However, I have found that monofilament works better when considering my fishing style (shallower depths for mixed species, hence some stretch can be good on hook sets) and the relatively inexperienced friends that come with me in the boat. When backtrolling and verticle jigging, my guests can easily break monofilament line without having to break rod tips or hurt their fingers by grabbing taught braided lines. I am looking for a versatile monofilament line that is EASY to handle. The lines would be in the 4-8 pound test range. In the past, I have had good success with Stren Magnathin line and its thin diameter and low memory for the spinning rods. Does anyone else have any suggestions of new monofilament lines to try that may fit my needs? Thanks, and goodluck this season!

[headcheese]

i use more braid now than i ever did, but i always have some trilene xl in my tackle box!

[slipperybob]

Here's a few line knot strength comparison. Altered Trilene knot and Palomar knot for comparison.

Pline Floroclear .18 mm 4# line break 5# 14 oz. (palomar knot 6#1)

Pline Floroclear .23 mm 6# line break 8# 11 oz. (palomar knot 8#1)

Pline Floroclear .25 mm 8# line break 10# 9 oz. (palomar knot 10#1)

Maxima Ultragreen .22 mm 6# line break 7# 8 oz. (palomar knot 7# 8 oz.)

Maxima Ultragreen .25 mm 8# line break 10# 1 oz. (palomar knot 10# 3 oz.)

Silverthread Excalibur .179 mm 4# line break 5# 12 oz. (palomar knot 5# 14 oz.)

Silverthread Excalibur .245 mm 6# line break 9# 11 oz. (palomar knot 8# 2 oz.)

Silverthread Excalibur .275 mm 8# line break 11# 4 oz. (palomar knot 10# 12 oz.)

Yozuri Hybrid .235 mm 4# line break 7# 4 oz. Mfg claim break of 8.5#

Yozuri Hybrid .263 mm 6# line break 10# 4 oz. Mfg claim break of 11.9#

Berkley Trilene XL .20 mm 4# line break 4# 12 oz.

Berkley Trilene Microice .23 mm 6# line break 7# 10 oz.

Berkley Trilene Microice .25 mm 8# line break 9# 12 oz.

Izorline Platinum .28 mm 8# line break 11# 15 oz. (palomar knot 12# 0 oz.)

Gamma High Performance .200 mm 4# line break 7# 9 oz. Mfg claim break of 8.5#

Gamma High Performance .250 mm 6# line break 11# 10 oz. Mfg claim break of 13.0#

[Jackpine Rob]

Berkely Sensation.

Pretty simple.

I use other lines for specific applications - but overall the Sensation does what needs doing, with a minimum of hassle.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I'm thinking of trying something new myself. My needs are the same. I now use XL 4-8 pound. Asked the berkley guy about all the different lines and came away a little less confused but not much. Think I'm going to try the sensation. Sounds like a happy medium.

[Matt C]

I recently started using Mono on a few of my rigs. While I prefer my fireline, there are certain applications I take the mono over braid; i.e. Mississippi river. The fish seem to spook easier.

So I have really liked the Gamma brand.

I have actually found myself using more and more mono vs. braid/fireline last season.....

Trolling raps/salmos/shadlings I exclusively use braid, but vertical jigging and light pitching of jigs and such I use mono.

Find one that feels right to you. You need to find a fit for your rod/reel set up. All brands are basically the same, but its your choice to what feels right with your set-up. Mono is cheap, try a few out.

[tacklejunkie]

If God only allowed for me to use one type of line,it would be mono.

I use superline only for trolling dipseys on Superior and have played with superline for jigs and rigs but I usually go back to mono.

I do like the superlines for trolling cranks for the few times I do it

[Hoffer]

Not to hijack this thread - but this comment does have a little to do with the mono vs braid.

Last Fall in canada i did about 5 days of "fast trolling" for walleyes.

On numerous occasions I had a few people in the boat and ran 2 rods out of the rod holders. On one reel I had 12 pound low vis green trilene mono and on the other I had 12 pound diamater superline. I used the SAME exact lure and lure color on each set up - and would sometimes even switch them up between the mono and the braid. I know they were getting to very similar depths as when I would hit bottom with one I would hit bottom with the other - lets just say they were within a few feet of each other. So, everything being very similar etween the 2 set ups - I was catching fish 10 to 1 on the mono vs the braid.

I still have no clue why this happened and always wondered why? My only theory is that for the particular lures i was using maybe the stetch of the mono for some reason created a slighlty different action than the superline with no stretch? I aslo thought it might be that the low vis mono didnt show up on the water column as much as the superline - but I was fishing fast - 3mph, and my lures were getting down somehwat deep - in pretty stained water - so I just cant imagine the line visibility would have been that much of a factor?

What i do know - is that for my next time out fast trolling i will be running the low vis mono on all my outfits.

Any thoughts???

[1DIRTBALL]

Last week I had the pleasure of watching my fishing buddy get in a toe to fin battle with a HUGE sturgeon! It took him a good hour to land this monster! 60" long and weighed upwards of 70 lbs! The line he was using? Suffix and only 8 lb test! I would say that's a pretty good endorsement. Tough, tough line, eh? 1DIRTBALL

[scott b]

Line of choice for me is 4-8 lb Berkley Trilene XL in clear. Although when fishing more than 25ft will switch to a light braid with 5ft of florocarbon.