Why Fish with Monofilament Fishing Line?
Standard monofilament is composed of a single strand of blended nylon polymers. The precise mix of these, and the addition of any coating, is much of what separates one brand from another.
But generally speaking, nylon monofilament is formulated to provide high shock strength, excellent knot integrity, and low-visibility.
And as line technology has improved over the years, mono has only gotten better.
Pros:
- Stretch - The nylon polymers that are used in monofilament are quite elastic, and they’ll stretch under load - sometimes by as much as 25 percent! The exact amount of stretch varies by brand, diameter, and wetness. Nylon mono stretches a lot more than braid. It stretches about as much as fluorocarbon.
This stretch can be a lifesaver when a big fish hits your line hard. It acts as a shock absorber. The give-in mono prevents that stress from reaching your knots. It stops it from causing a failure at the line’s weakest point. It’s also easier for tender-mouthed fish like crappie. This stretch makes it a great choice for lures with treble hooks. It's also great for top water and aggressive fighters like largemouth.
Why?
The braid lacks stretch. This is good in some cases, but bad in a hard fight. Especially when a fish shakes its head to throw the lure. The extra cushion of mono helps keep those hooks where they need to be.
Bobby Lane was the 2008 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year and Elite Series champion. He says, "Mono makes it harder for bass to 'throw' the lures in the fight." The stretch is also helpful when it's cold or the bass is picky. You need them to hold the bait a bit longer so you can hook them.”
You can get low and high-visibility options. Nylon mono is easy to dye. So, it’s usually in many long-wearing colors to match your conditions. For those who fish with visible lines, mono comes in bright yellow and other high-visibility colors. Even night anglers can find something to love. Many brands offer a fluorescent line that glows in blacklight for easy handling.
In terms of invisibility to fish, our research reveals that nylon is as invisible in water as fluorocarbon. That’s probably a shock to many of you, and it was to us, too!
- Superior abrasion resistance - Another shocking fact about mono is that it’s very abrasion resistant when compared to braid and fluorocarbon.
That stands to reason: nylon is pretty tough material and it’s forgiving of tiny scratches and nicks. Diameter to diameter, repeated testing shows that nylon mono will outperform even fluorocarbon!
And while it’s true that mono absorbs water, becoming less abrasion resistant as it does, check out this video:
To be fair, this is one brand in one test - this isn’t science! We repeated this test with wet mono as well, and the result was identical. While not conclusive, it does demonstrate something you should know about mono: it’s far more abrasion-resistant than you might expect.
And there are differences across brands:
- Knot friendly- Monofilament is very easy to tie and generally superior to braid and fluoro in terms of knot strength. While there are exceptions for some fluoro lines, it’s fair to say that mono enjoys a huge advantage in this respect.
For instance, when TackleTour tested the knot strength of average mono like Trilene XL, they found that it was exceptional: line verified to be 10-pound test held 9.7 pounds at the knot!
- Floating - Nylon isn’t particularly dense material, and it tends to sink very slowly. That can be an advantage when fishing top water, for instance, but it’s not ideal in all situations and for all techniques.
Cons:
- Memory - Monofilament “remembers” the shape of the spool, and especially on ultralight reels or in heavier weights, this can lead to line twist.
- Absorbs water - Mono absorbs water. As Berkley notes, this means that it will get a little easier to handle, cast, and tie as it loses much of its memory. But it will also encourage even more stretch.
- Low sensitivity - If mono has a real weakness, it’s low sensitivity. Because it stretches well and isn’t very dense, mono can make it hard to detect bites and feel details, especially if you have a lot of line between your rod and lure.
On this front, both braid and fluorocarbon are superior.
When We Like to Use Mono Fishing Line
Nylon monofilament has a lot of strengths, and there are a ton of situations where it’s an awesome choice.
- Topwater - Mono’s propensity for slow-sinking is ideal of topwater applications. And when you add its incredible shock strength to the mix, you have an ideal combination for aggressive strikes on topwater lures.
- Treble hooked lures - You don’t need a ton of force to set a treble hook. Indeed, too much power on the hookset is a problem that’s solved by mono’s stretch. And while it’s not ideal for some applications, we like to run it with positively buoyant treble hooked lures like Rapala’s Original Floater.
- When we need abrasion resistance and casting distance - All things being equal, mono generally outcasts comparable fluorocarbon, while offering better abrasion resistance than either fluorocarbon or braid. When we need long casts and high abrasion resistance, we reach for mono!
- When we need stretch and shock strength and are worried about knot integrity with a leader - One solution to running braid as main line is to attach a length of fluorocarbon or nylon monofilament leader. But every knot is a failure waiting to happen, especially with braided superlines. When we need stretch and shock strength, and want to avoid a potential problem, we spool on an excellent mono and fish with confidence.
- When we don’t have a lot of money to spend - Let’s be honest. For every bass angler with a slew of rods and reels, an expensive boat, and every lure in Bass Pro, there’s a guy who’s got a tight budget. Fluorocarbon and braid are expensive line choices, and most of the time, a good mono can get the job done for a fraction of the price. That’s something we appreciate about nylon monofilament, and we think you will, too!
How We Use Monofilament Fishing Line
A key advantage of mono is that it’s easy to use, and there are very few problems you’ll need to keep in mind.
- Store it out of the sun - Nylon isn’t UV resistant, and leaving your reels and line in the sun when you store them will quickly degrade its integrity. Always store your gear inside, out of the sun, when not in use.
- Fix line twist - If you find that your line is twisting as it leaves the spool, there’s a simple fix. Loop it over a tree branch, stick, fence post, or friend, and start walking. Strip all the line from the spool, and then reel it back in under slight tension near the reel. That will allow the line to untwist and re-spool with less memory.
Final Thoughts
We can’t tell you which is the best monofilament for your needs, but we can all but guarantee that you’ll love the lines on our shortlist.
As always, we’re here to answer any questions you might have, so please leave a comment below.
I might just be remembering wrong but I think didn’t Stren Original out preform Big Game and all others when tested regarding strength and abrasion resistance.
I personally can't imagine anyone liking Stren. I have tried it several times over the years. Nothing but a nightmare. I always end up replacing with Trilene. I should have just saved the money!
I like trilene xl as well. Been using that stuff for years and years. I have tried spiderwire and yozuri etc but i always end up back at trilene xl. I recently tried some of that red zebco cajin stuff. Its not to bad but im not convinced that the color hasnt cost me a few bites.
Thanks, Cal!
I'll take another look at Maxima when we update this article.
Glad to hear 40lb Big Game mono is working as leader for pike. As long as they're not clipping it with their teeth, I see absolutely no reason that fluorocarbon would do a better job.
Somewhat surprized that Maxima didn't make the list, but in all a really great article. Having gone through several phases where I used braid for awhile, and then eventually went back to using mono I'd agree with most of what has been said. Besides what has been mentioned, I would also like to note that poplar fuzz and other debris, as well as ice in the winter, seem to stick far more firmly to braid than to mono. I've recently started using 40lb Berkley Big Game Leader Material for catching pike, rather than fluoro or wire with good results.
Thanks, Eddie! we appreciate the feedback!
Please note that the McCoy and Yo-Zuri are both copolymers, as you suggest.
One thing to note , and this works well. When stringing up new line on a spin cast reel. Old man taught me , Only run the line through the first eye up from the reel. As you reel , keep that first eye over the spool as it lay face down or up on the floor in front of you. Reel the line till it starts to twist , then flip the spool over and reel some more , keep doing that till you fill your spool. Line should come off the reel smoothly and stay uncoiled.
very good no bs article--would have liked to have you throw in a copolymer or 2 to cover the entire hype range. you have really opened my thinking on the money I spend to believe in company advertisement. good job.