The Best Fishing Lines of 2023: Mono, Flouro, Braid (2023)

FAQs

What fishing line is better fluorocarbon or braid? ›

Braid combats line twist better than mono or fluoro, and if used in lighter pound tests, it will outcast them as well. That's why you see so many Elite Series pros using braid as their main line, even when drop-shotting finesse baits.

Toughness—Fluorocarbon is more abrasion resistant than standard nylon monofilament of the same diameter. Plus, while the sun's harsh ultraviolet rays weaken nylon over time, fluorocarbon shrugs off UV with no ill-effects.

Mono line tends to be best for live bait fishing, trolling, and kite fishing. On the other hand, braided line works well for bottomfishing and jigging, fishing kelp, fishing structure, and casting plugs and lures.

Fluoro has greater density, making it harder, stiffer and more abrasion resistant. With these three characteristics, you'd be sold on fluorocarbon any day of the week as they all contribute to the overall strength of the leader. Mono is less dense, absorbs water and is prone to abrasion damage.

1. Best Overall - Seaguar Invizx. If you're on the quest for the best fluorocarbon line that has lured in anglers in droves, then the Seaguar Invizx wraps up your search. It's the go-to option when you need to spool up sensitive, easy-casting, and clear fluorocarbon.

Yellow. The high-vis yellow color is great for anglers who watch their line to detect bites. The bright color makes it easy to see from above and slight bites are easily noticed.

Because it's the most opaque and visible of the line types, many anglers choose mono or fluoro in clear water. Because braid floats, it's a viable choice for floating lures. Because it's the strongest of the lines (by diameter), it's the obvious choice when fishing in extremely thick or coarse cover.

It all depends on what type of fishing you're doing and in what environment. A fluorocarbon leader is your best bet if you're fishing in clear water or targeting finicky fish. Still, a mono leader works fine if you're just out recreationally fishing.

Green or dark grey colored braided line will match the environment you are fishing in and still give you the visual reference needed to know where your line is. The truth is, if your line gets close to the fish, the fish will feel it in the water before they see it.

Generally speaking, the best knot to tie braid to mono leader is considered to be the Double Uni Knot. While the Double Uni Knot is one of the simplest line-to-line connections that can be used with two lines of relatively similar diameter, there are a few other knots that you may want to try in certain situations.

What are the 3 most popular types of fishing lines? ›

What Are the Three Main Types of Fishing Line? Anglers have three main options when it comes to fishing lines. They include monofilament lines, braided lines, and fluorocarbon lines. Depending on their unique characteristics, they are most effective for different fishing methods, tactics, and conditions.

There is no official answer for the life of these products, but we've compared estimates from various fishing publications and have gathered that monofilament has an average shelf life of two to three years, while fluorocarbon lines can last up to seven or eight years without losing its edge.

Comments: Fluorocarbon makes up just over a quarter of the fishing line market. It excels in clear water applications and its low stretch and greater durability make it popular for hard hook sets and fishing in cover.

Over the long term, fluorocarbon is extremely resistant to the elements as well, unlike monofilament. Overtime, U.V. rays, rain and humidity, and extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can cause monofilament to break down and lose strength. Fluorocarbon is much more resistant to these conditions over the long term.

The Double Uni Knot is the best and easiest knot to tie braided line and fluorocarbon together. Another reason to use a fluorocarbon leader is that it's made from a very durable material.

So, what is the best knot for fluorocarbon? Sunline recommends using the Tornado HH Knot. We recommend this knot for fluorocarbon because the knot strength of the Tornado HH knot is nearly 100 % of straight strength. Meaning the knot has the same tensile strength as the line.

The drawbacks of fluorocarbon can be summed up in a single word: inflexible. This is essentially a hard line which is what makes it water and abrasion resistant. However, there can be several serious issues that derive from this that an angler must be aware of. The first of these issues is knot failure.

Hydra 8X fishing braid brings you the toughest yet thinnest diameter fishing braid the industry has ever seen. Offering zero stretches for increased sensitivity, superior knot strength, water-proofing, and UV resistance. We also use colorfast dye for better color retention compared to other braids.

General Rules for Braid

For freshwater, you should go with a 10 or 15 lb test. For saltwater, 30 or 50 lb test is standard.

Thin braids can last up to three months, which out of all the braid sizes, is the longest time without having to go back to the salon––a gift in and of itself. Because of the smaller parting sections, you have more access to your scalp, allowing you to wash and moisturize your hair more thoroughly.

What color fluorocarbon line is best? ›

In most scenarios, a clear fluorocarbon or monofilament line will be the safest and most reliable option. If your goal is to reduce the visibility of the line under the water, go with a clear line or a line color that blends with the water.

On one end of the spectrum, reds and oranges are most readily absorbed in water, so these colors are most visible in shallow water. Darker blues and purples penetrate the deepest. Yellow and greens are in between.

Braided Fishing Line

Although you can cast your topwater lures farther with monofilament, throwing surface lures such as buzz baits and plastic frogs on braided line is the best option because it floats well and has better hook-setting power since it has low stretch.

1. Monofilament Line. Advantages : Monofilament is the most popular type of fishing line and comes in a great variety of strengths and colors. Mono is less expensive than other lines, stretches to absorb shocks, is abrasion resistant, and uniformly round in cross section, which helps keep it neat on the spool.

Braid. Braided fishing line has the longest shelf life of all the line types. With a careful watch over it and some luck, braid could easily last you a decade.

Most braided lines have little memory and don't coil significantly on a spool. Nylon monofilament lines are especially prone to coiling, with cheap bulk products, and strong high-diameter lines, more likely to have significant memory.

Heavy Monofilament and Fluorocarbon

Single-strand nylon monofilament line is familiar to most fishermen as basic fishing line. It also sold in formulas specifically designed for use as leaders with qualities such as extra abrasion resistance and clarity.

Although there's not an exact science for the ideal leader length, I typically use leaders between 13″ – 26″.

It should roughly match the weight of the species you are fishing for (e.g. use line in the 30-pound test for tuna in the 30-pound range). A typical line to cast for trout would be 4-pound test. Consider braided line of 30-pound test or more if you go after large game fish.

Clear monofilament is a good choice if you are concerned about fish being able to see your line underwater. While the properties of fluorocarbon may make it less visible underneath the surface, clear monofilament works well in all situations.

When should you not use braided fishing line? ›

While braid lines' taut pressure is useful for wearing out smaller game, their lack of stretch makes them far less ideal for fighting bigger game like tuna or swordfish. If you're trying to catch a bite that's upward of 600-1,000 pounds, their strength can easily rip the line in two, damaging both the rig and the fish.

Braid does not need soaking like you do with mono prior to spooling up. Thread your braid through the eye on the but section of the rod. Double check that your spool is as far forward as possible. Tie a slip loop knot in your braid.

The Trilene Knot, also known as the Two Turn Clinch Knot is great for tying line to snaps, swivels, hooks and lures.

For starters, understand that braids and monofilament float. Fluorocarbon sinks. With fluorocarbon, you're getting low visibility, thin diameter, and good sensitivity.

For topwater braids, there is no better line than Sunline X-Plasma braided line, Asegai. The plasma coating on the line actually repels water so it does not get wet and sink. The line is super strong and very smooth. It ties great knots and leader knots.

Mono is the most versatile option and is likely the best choice for trolling. Fluorocarbon is similar to mono. It's abrasion-resistant and invisible but can be difficult to handle. Braid is sensitive and strong but not stretchy.

Everyone I know who uses fluoro, uses them for leaders. However, if you are one of the few who spool entire reels with fluoro, given its characteristics, it is probably the line that needs to be refreshed most often—at least every year, if not twice a year.

Most weekend anglers tend to change braid about once a year, fluorocarbon a few times a year, and monofilament about the same once or twice a year. Returning to the part about how much a lost fish would impact you, most anglers tend to change line out before a tournament.

Fluorocarbon line will fracture if not fray as with monofilament. The hardness of the line makes it vulnerable to "cracking", however, and it is at these cracks that weak spots develop. These cracks can occur if a bass wraps your line around a rock, a dock pillar or any other object.

For freshwater, fluorocarbon coated monofilament makes a great main line for many fish especially walleye and trout. The sensitivity allows you to feel bites better for walleye and helps your line remain undetectable to the highly aware trout. Fluorocarbon leader line makes the best low-visibility leaders.

What cast further braid or fluorocarbon? ›

Line material changes distance

A 30-pound braided fishing line throws a lot farther than a 20-pound fluorocarbon does. That sort of goes against the last rule but keep in mind a 30-pound braid has a smaller diameter and the material has less drag on the cast.

The Best Lures Use With Fluorocarbon

The line is also effective for fishing swimbaits, swim jigs, soft plastic jerkbaits and shaky head rigs. Fluorocarbon is the premier choice for all the popular finesse tactics including drop shot rigs, wacky rigged worms,Ned rigs, Neko Rigs, and tube baits.

The drawbacks of fluorocarbon can be summed up in a single word: inflexible. This is essentially a hard line which is what makes it water and abrasion resistant. However, there can be several serious issues that derive from this that an angler must be aware of. The first of these issues is knot failure.

While braid lines' taut pressure is useful for wearing out smaller game, their lack of stretch makes them far less ideal for fighting bigger game like tuna or swordfish. If you're trying to catch a bite that's upward of 600-1,000 pounds, their strength can easily rip the line in two, damaging both the rig and the fish.

The fluorocarbon provides two more advantages.

Fluorocarbon is stiffer than braid, which will keep your bait from fouling on casts. This is especially important when casting in the wind or when using baits that tumble in the air. 5. The obvious advantage to fluorocarbon is its near invisibility in the water.

The stronger braid allows anglers to pull fish from structure quickly where mono might give the fish time and distance to wrap a few roots. Braid's sensitivity makes it a great line for working plugs and lures, particularly crank baits or spinner baits that have movement, and for bottom fishing.

Fluorocarbon line will fracture if not fray as with monofilament. The hardness of the line makes it vulnerable to "cracking", however, and it is at these cracks that weak spots develop. These cracks can occur if a bass wraps your line around a rock, a dock pillar or any other object.

How Often Should You Change Fluorocarbon Lines? Fluorocarbon lines may be changed at least once a year, though they can last much longer: Heavy fishers should change it up to 3 times a year. Moderate fishers can change it 1 to 2 times a year.

Yellow. The high-vis yellow color is great for anglers who watch their line to detect bites. The bright color makes it easy to see from above and slight bites are easily noticed.

Palomar Knot: Because the line is doubled over when passed through the eye of the hook, the Palomar knot is often considered to be the best terminal knot to use with braided line.

What is 20 lb braid mono equivalent to? ›

For example, you can buy 20lb test Power Pro braided fishing line at a diameter of . 009” which is equivalent to 6lb mono at the same diameter.

Fluorocarbon sinks ~2.5x faster than monofilament. This matters more if you're using one of these as a main line, but probably not as much if you're using one of them for just leader material with braided line for your main line.

Among the questions I sought to answer: How strong is each of these lines? That is, each is rated as “30-pound” test, but in fact, almost none break at that claimed strength. In fact, as the results show, one 30-pound line broke as high as 66.8 pounds.

10-lb Braid Strength. After several knot strength tests, the FG knot tied to 20lb leader using 5lb braid held up to 11lbs of pressure. This is plenty of pulling structure to handle fish on the flats or open water. On the other hand, 10lb braid tied with 20lb leader held up to 20lbs of pressure.