Choosing the right fishing line has become a rather large debate in the whole world of fishing. Different lines serve very different purposes, so it is important to know what and why you are picking what you pick.
In today’s fishing economy, we have three main types of lines: braid, monofilament, and fluorocarbon. These three lines are the backbone of the fishing industry and allow our anglers to have great days on the water.
Today, we will specifically be focusing on monofilament versus fluorocarbon line (we have another article detailing braid). Each of these types of line has different pros and cons and leave us anglers with an interesting choice to make that is very dependent on the kind of fishing we are doing.
I’m going to break those down here in a moment, but first, I want to share with you a piece of fishing technology that has changed the game for myself and tons of others—the Fishbox app. The Fishbox app is a comprehensive fishing app that gives anglers all they need to know about the conditions of the water and weather and how that will affect the bite.
With around 50 different metrics that play into the bite scores, the Fishbox app can give you an even greater edge over the different species around you, giving you a more enjoyable and productive time on the water. So don’t wait any longer and download the Fishbox app today.
Without any more delay, let’s get into the article.
What is a Monofilament Fishing Line
Composition and Characteristics
Monofilament fishing line is made from nylon for the most part and is an untwisted, single strand. The line itself is smooth to the touch and can be colored in a variety of different ways, from a clear to a neon orange.
While understanding the chemistry and science behind monofilament may not be super helpful to all anglers, I do believe it is of utmost importance to break down the pros and cons of this type of line. Then, you can have a better idea of what to use to increase your odds of catching fish.
Key Advantages
- Affordable: Mono is significantly cheaper than Fluoro in almost all situations. The reason for this is mostly due to the process of making the fluoro versus the mono (mono requires far less Work).
- Easy to Handle: Mono is quite a bit more stretchy and more bendable compared to mono, so it makes it a lot easier for anglers to do what they need to do with the line—such as tie knots.
- Stretch: This could arguably be put in both the pros and cons, depending on the situation. In terms of the pros, there are situations where you can find yourself with your drag too tight and risk popping on the fish, and the stretch of the mono can save you. Fluoro is not nearly as forgiving when it comes to drag being too tight.
- Floats: Monofilament doesn’t really float, but it just sinks slower than fluoro simply because it is less dense. This is more of just a fact rather than a pro or con. However, mono can enhance your presentation of a topwater bait.
- Casting Ability: A lot of anglers will argue that casting with mono is much easier than fluoro because it is more forgiving, and you get more sling to your bait.
Key Disadvantages
- More Visible in Water: This could arguably be a pro in some situations, especially when using a leader, but mono is more visible in the water, so theoretically, fish are more likely to see it than fluoro. Personally, I really believe the difference in underwater visibility between mono and fluoro is negligible.
- Weaker Abrasion Resistance: Compared to fluoro, mono does not perform as well against chafing and tends to break easier than fluoro when faced with abrasion. Thus, if you are fishing in lots of structures, mono might not necessarily be the move.
- Degrades over time: This is one of the most commonly cited cons of the mono fishing line. Mono does inevitably degrade over time. However, the rate of this degradation occurs differently based on different conditions. For example, with the wear and tear on my saltwater reels, regardless of how often I wash them off and clean the line, I will replace them every year. Now, without salt corrosion, this process is a bit slower, but it certainly has not stopped.
- Memory: This is another huge issue that Mono is going against. Due to its stretch, the line gradually gets stretched out and weakened over time. As a result, if you are not replacing your mono every fishing season, you could be risking losing fish to your line, having lost some of its original strength.
Best Fishing Scenarios for Monofilament
- Places with lots of snags/structure: As I mentioned earlier, mono does offer quite a bit of forgiveness due to the fact that it can stretch. This can save lures because instead of your line snapping immediately, it will stretch first.
- Topwater: Topwater is a great place to use mono because of its floating ability. This allows for a better presentation of the lure that is more likely to get bitten by a fish.
- Weightless Fishing: In the same way, using mono to fish weightless is also a good strategy because of the slow sink rate of the line. This once again allows for a more natural presentation as the line and bait fall closer to the same rate.
What is Fluorocarbon Fishing Line
Composition and Characteristics
The Fluorocarbon fishing line is made in a very similar fashion to the monofilament line, yet its chemical structure is stronger, which is attributed to most of its superior characteristics, which we will break down here in a second. The line itself is made of fluoride-carbon bonds for all of you science nerds.
Key Advantages
- Low Visibility: Fluorocarbon is just about invisible in the water, which makes it an awesome choice for trying to catch very finicky fish or fish with extremely good eyesight.
- High Sensitivity: Fluoro is also significantly more sensitive than mono and thus can be a better choice for fishing when feeling more subtle bites is required. A good example of this from my own experience would be flounder fishing, where you need to feel the smallest nibble.
- Better Abrasion Resistance: Fluoro, although it is not perfect, is better at resisting abrasion than mono. This can make for a better line around sharper objects or more toothy fish.
- Sinks Faster: If you’re looking for the line that sinks the quickest, fluoro is going to be your best bet. This is helpful when sending baits deep, such as when bottom fishing.
- Low Stretch: If you know your drag and breaking strength of the line very well, fluoro is the better option because you will never have to factor stretch (or at least nearly as much as mono) into the equation. For example, if you are fishing for grouper and you need to have that drag locked down to get them off the bottom, you don’t want your line to stretch to give that grouper room to wiggle back into its hole.
- Less Memory: Fluoro has far less memory than its monofilament counterpart and thus can outlast it in terms of lifespan.
Key Disadvantages
- Higher Cost: This is the disadvantage that prevents most people from completely switching to Fluoro—the price. Truth be told, it is a significant bit more expensive than similar monofilament options.
- Less Stretch: While low stretch is a pro, it also is a con for a few different reasons. One, using fluoro, results in more straight-up breakages of the line due to minimal line forgiveness. Two, the low stretch can sometimes pull hooks out of the fish for the exact same reason. Third, you just simply don’t have as much of a margin of error to work with when dealing with your drag in combination with fluoro.
- Harder to Work With: Due to Fluoro’s stiffness, it is much harder to work with. This is everything from spooling reels to tying knots.
Best Fishing Scenarios for Fluorocarbon
- Stealth Situations: Because fluoro is so hard to see underwater, it is the perfect line to use for close-quarters, clear-water fishing. One of the ways this has applied to me is when we are king mackerel fishing. King mackerel are quite toothy, so we normally use wire leaders. However, if they get finicky, we may have to size down to fluoro to get a better presentation in the water.
- Low-Stretch Situations: As I mentioned earlier, you almost always want to be using Fluoro in “low-stretch” situations—situations where you don’t want your line to stretch even a tad. A great example of this is grouper fishing. When hooked, the grouper initially fights extremely hard to get back into holes or structures on the bottom. Assuming you are using tight drag (which you should be), you don’t want that fish to have a chance to escape due to the stretch of the line.
- Long-term: If you’re going to be using that type of line for a good while, it’s best to just go ahead and invest the money in Fluoro, as it does better and stays “fresher” over time.
Read also: King Mackerel Fishing: Tips and Tricks to Catch More and Bigger Kingfish
Key Differences Between Monofilament and Fluorocarbon
- Visibility in the Water: Fluorocarbon is far less visible in the water than monofilament.
- Stretch and Sensitivity: Fluorocarbon both stretches less and is more sensitive than monofilament, which stretches a lot and it is not as sensitive as fluorocarbon.
- Abrasion Resistance: Fluorocarbon is still more abrasion-resistant than monofilament lines.
- Sinking vs. Floating Properties: Fluorocarbon is more prone to sinking, whereas monofilament is more prone to floating.
- Knot Strength: Monofilaments actually have better knot strength than fluorocarbon because they are easier to tie and more flexible, allowing for tighter knots.
- Ease of Tying: Due to the fact that fluorocarbon is stiffer, it is harder to tie, whereas the more pliable monofilament is easier to tie knots with.
- Cost Comparison: Fluorocarbon is significantly more expensive than monofilament on average.
To summarize some of these main differences between the lines, I’ve created the table below to give a visual of the pros and cons of each type of fishing line.
| Monofilament | Fluorocarbon | |
| Visibility | ❌ | ✅ |
| Knot Tying | ✅ | ❌ |
| Cost | ✅ | ❌ |
| Abrasion Resistance | ❌ | ✅ |
| Stretch | ✅ | ✅ |
| Sensitivity | ❌ | ✅ |
| Knot Strength | ✅ | ❌ |
| Memory | ❌ | ✅ |
Which Fishing Line is Best for Different Situations
- Best Line for Beginners:
For a few different reasons, the best fishing line for beginners is going to be mono. Simply due to the ease of use and its knot tying ability, mono fishing line offers beginners a greater ability to learn.
Additionally, due to the mono’s stretch, the line is far more forgiving, giving beginners who aren’t as familiar with their drags some extra lenience on the water. The last reason I would say it’s better for beginners is because of its casting range, which can’t be matched by a similar strength fluoro.
One more thing, mono is also a lot cheaper and easier to replace. For these reasons, I would recommend a mono fishing line for beginners.
- Best Line for Bass Fishing:
This one is definitely not as clear-cut as the line for beginners. Different people will argue different things, but here is my take from both research and personal experience.
If you are fishing in clear water where you need to be stealthy, then Fluoro is the way to go. However, if the fish being finicky isn’t your concern, then it doesn’t make too much sense to buy the fluoro. Just stick with the cheap stuff—that is mono.
Read also: Discover the Best Lures for Bass Fishing: A Comprehensive Guide
- Best Line for Saltwater vs Freshwater:
This is yet another example where the “correct” answer is quite blurry, so let me share my experience.
So, personally, fluoro is a lot of money; this being said, I usually use mono or braided lines with fluoro leaders when fishing in saltwater. This allows me to have the low visibility I desire while also not breaking the bank. However, I do have to change my mono main line more often due to its deterioration over time.
For freshwater, I will generally fish mono because I really value the forgiveness that it offers, and bass don’t tend to be too picky about line that often. Now again, these are my personal preferences, and there are a ton of other opinions. This being said, I would encourage you to look around and do some research that would best suit you on the water.
- Best Line for Fishing Heavy Cover (Weeds, Rocks, etc.):
This is also another tricky question as you have to make the decision to weigh line forgiveness or abrasion resistance higher.
As we talked about earlier, fluoro has higher abrasion resistance than mono, making it ideal for fishing with sharper cover such as rocks or shoals. On the other hand, mono has far more forgiveness and stretch so that you don’t immediately break off on some snag when fishing heavy cover.
Again, this is really up to you. Honestly, it’s not a bad idea to combine both of these strategies using mono as the main line to give you some stretch and forgiveness and then using a fluoro leader to give you some of that abrasion resistance and stealth.
- Best Line for Finesse Fishing:
This one is a bit clearer cut than the rest.
If you are finesse fishing, which often means you need more line sensitivity and lower visibility, fluoro is going to be your go-to. Now you could argue that mono allows the bait you’re throwing to sink a bit slower, but I think you get a better tradeoff when using fluoro versus mono in this particular situation.
Expert Tips on Choosing and Using Fishing Lines
- How to Properly Spool and Maintain Fishing Lines:
While most fishing stores, such as Bass Pro and Cabela’s, offer line-spooling, you can actually do this at home with one or two people. If this is too daunting of a task for you, the stores will gladly take your business. However, if you are like me and always trying to learn things on your own, let me tell you how it’s done.
There are two options you really have here: buy a spooling machine or have a friend help you out. If you buy the spooling machine, the whole process is pretty self-explanatory. However, if you decide that is not the route you would like to go, thread your line starting at the top of the rod through all the eyelids and then open the bail (if it’s a spinning reel) and tie the line onto the spool.
From here, cut the tag end on your reel and give your friend a pencil and the spool of line. Have your friend apply a bit of pressure on the outside of the spool while you are reeling to maximize the amount of line you can put on the reel. This has worked great for my brother and me over the years, and I highly recommend it.
In terms of maintenance, there really isn’t too much you can do besides washing down your reels every time you use them. This won’t increase the longevity of the line by a ton, but it will by a bit, potentially saving you a few bucks.
- How to Tie Effective Knots for Mono and Fluoro:
Honestly, you guys may not like my answer to this question, but it’s this: practice, practice, and then some more practice on top of that. I know it’s not the answer you want to hear, but it’s the answer you need to hear. Knots don’t tie themselves.
I know fluoro can be a bit trickier when tying tight knots, especially with heavier line sizes, so I highly recommend wetting your line before you pull it tight so that it slips into position. I normally do this by putting the line into my mouth.
- When to Replace Your Fishing Line:
This can vary from situation to situation and also can change based on the type of line you are using. However, for the most part, I would recommend changing your mono at least once a year and your fluoro around every year to two, depending on its frequency of use.
One way to tell if the line is getting near the end of its life is if you can tell there is a lot of memory or if it takes on a chalky feeling and the line looks opaque, cloudier, and more faded than it should. Now obviously, the sun is gonna cause some fade, but I would recommend inspecting your spools on your reels every 3-4 months just to do little checkups.
Conclusion
I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this article as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Clearly, we can see that the choice between mono and fluoro is not as simple as one may think. Both mono and fluoro have interesting pros and cons that are helpful and not helpful in some cases.
In summary, I would really like to argue that there is not one best fishing line, either mono or fluoro. Instead, I would argue that there are ideal fishing lines for each and every scenario based on various factors such as water, weather, species, and even the environment.
This issue is very deep, so I highly encourage you to do some of your own research as well.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know.
As always, good luck and tight lines!
