Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Best Fishing Line
August 2020
Fishing line is the most vital part of your fishing gear. It is abused, nicked, crushed, stretched, scratched, and is still expected to be strong, flexible, invisible, have good knot strength, among other characteristics.
There are a bewildering number of fishing lines available. BassPro Shops lists two hundred and forty-six (246) lines for sale on their web site and this does not include the various strengths and sizes within each of the product lines. The prices vary from $388 to $3.99. If you were so inclined, you could almost use a new fishing line every day for a year!
When looking at the most popular fishing lines, you can break them into major categories – Monofilament, Braid, Fluorocarbon and then choose individual characteristics based upon your target species and fishing method. This article will help you navigate the fishing line marketplace and select a line that best meets your needs.
Types of Fishing Lines
The ultimate fishing line would have the following characteristics: inexpensive, no line twist, invisible in the water, strong, abrasion resistant, proper amounts of stretch, excellent knot strength, thin diameter and flexible. Unfortunately the ultimate fishing line doesn’t exist, but there are a number of lines that come close to that mark.
Monofilament Fishing Line
Monofilament fishing line is the most popular fishing line. When the average angler looks for fishing line, they typically buy monofilament. Mono is best for a wide variety of fishing situations and is relatively inexpensive. Mono line has some stretch which is a positive if that stretch is controlled and not spongy. A controlled stretch supplies a buffer when fighting the fish and can help the fisherman win the fight. Uncontrolled line stretch can cause issues with hook sets when the line stretches like a rubber band and can cause the hook not to grab properly. This is a minimal problem with today’s mono lines especially when the line is properly sized to the fish (not too light). Mono lines do tend to twist over many casts, but this can be minimized by using a swivel between the fishing line and lure.
Braid Fishing Line
Braid line is the 2nd most popular line for anglers behind monofilament. It combines a superior strength to diameter ratio, no line twist and minimal stretch, but it does have visibility to fish. Many anglers use braid as their main line and tie a fluorocarbon leader at the end to minimize visibility to the fish and provide some stretch to the line.
Braided line requires the angler to use specific knots and be quite diligent in tying them to assure the line does not slip. The Palomar knot is a good knot to tie a hook or lure to braid. You can learn how to tie it here at Berkely Fishing.
One of the best knots for tying braid to either monofilament or fluorocarbon is the FG knot. You see how to tie the FG knot here.
Some older fishing reels do not support braided line properly. Their spool core does not hold the line firmly and it can slip under pressure. These reels might not spool the line evenly and cleanly with can cause problems with casting. You can fix the slippage problem by filling the reel with 10 yards or so of mono and then tie a knot to the main braided line to fill the remainder of the reel. The mono will bind properly to the reel spool and eliminate slipping. Almost all reels made in the last 5-7 years are fully enabled for braided lines.
Fluorocarbon Fishing Line
Fluorocarbon is a relatively new line in the market and is made from polyvinylidene fluoride. Fluoro is like monofilament, but its nearly invisible in the water. Due to its cost, Fluoro is often used as a leader material rather than the main line on the reel. It is stiffer than mono and has similar knot issues to braid, so it is best to use the Palomar knot or the FG knot as described above. It is important for the angler to take care in tying these knots to assure they have the proper strength and do not slip.
Specialty Fishing Lines
There are a few niche, specialty fishing lines that are available. These include wire line and lead core line. Typically, these are used for deep trolling applications and are not use for general cast and retrieve fishing. These lines require specific reels and rods that are compatible with these types of lines. Standard rod/reel combination will be damaged when using these lines.
How to Choose a Fishing Line
A quick sheet of line applicability by type and species.
• Panfish – Monofilament, Fluorocarbon
• Trout – Monofilament, Fluorocarbon, Braid with Fluoro leader
• Bass – Braid, Super lines, Mono
• Deep water fishing – Braid, Super lines
• Saltwater – Braid, Super lines, Mono or Fluoro leader
Source: http://www.mels-place.com/String/string.htm
A general guideline for line strength based upon species.
- Panfish/Trout – 4-8 pound line
- Bass – 8-30 pound line
- Pike/Muskie – 17-30 pound line
- Bluefish/Striped Bass – 20-40 pound line
Fishing Knots
Clinch Knot/Fisherman’s Knot
The clinch knot is used when the Palomar is too hard to tie (due to small hook eyes), as the palomar requires you to double the line through the hook eyelet, and the ICK can be tied with a single length of line. You can look at the Stren web site for details.
Palomar Knot
The palomar knot is easy to tie (almost foolproof) and is quite strong. You can look at the Stren web site for details.
Fishing Line Maintenance
Most anglers neglect their fishing line until they break off an expensive lure or a fish and it is too late. Line like all fishing gear does require maintenance. It is good to keep mono and fluoro lines from being stored for extended periods in direct sun as it can degrade.
Line Abrasion
Given that line has to deal with abrasions from rocks, twigs, and fish teeth, it is good practice to check the first few feet of line during fishing especially when you have reason to believe you might have nicked the line. You slide the line through your forefinger and thumb and if you sense any irregularities, you should cut the first few feet of the line and retie it. Line loses much of its strength once it is nicked or abraded.
Line Twist
Line twist can be very frustrating. When a bait or lure spins on the line it can get twisted and be difficult to use. As mentioned above, you can use swivels to minimize line twist. I recommend ball bearing swivels. If you have a boat you can “fix” line twist by cutting off all hooks, lures, swivels, etc. and trailing the bare line behind the moving boat for a 15 minutes. This will remove most of the line twist. The only other way to fix line twist is to replace the line from a fresh spool.
When to Replace Line
Line does last a long time, but after a while it is best to replace it. Monofilament and fluorocarbon lines will lose their smooth surface and become a bit chalky in feel and visible appearance. They also will tend to lose some flexibility. When this happens it is best to replace the line. Braided lines last longer than other types. You should look to replace braid when it is losing its color or if you can start to see the individual fibers separating within the braided line.
You can save money when respooling your line. When changing your line, you do not need to replace the entire spool. You can usually strip off the first 100+ yards of line and then make a splice knot into the fresh spool of line. When using braid, you can strip the line off around another spool and then swap the ends (flip fishing end with the embedded spool end) and respool.
Fishing Line Recycling
Fishing line is not easily biodegradable. Discarded line lasts in the environment for 100s of years. Line can snare wildlife such as birds, fish and turtles causing them to die. It can wrap around boat propellers and damage seals that require significant, costly repairs.
There are things you can do to help prevent the hazards of discarded line. First, there are options to recycle line at bait and tackle shops, boat ramps, docks, fishing piers and other fishing accesses. Most state fisheries web sites have maps and contacts on where to find fishing line recycling locations. Second, you can cut your discarded line into small non-twisting, non-looping segments (an inch or two in length) which can prevent the long-term issues with line and wildlife. Please do your part to minimize the impact of line on the environment.
