I need schooling on line types

[Elkins45]

Back when I used to fish often there was really only one kind of line commonly available: monofilament. Now I see braided, mono, fluorocarbon and possibly others I don't remember. Can someone recommend a good resource to help me understand the differences between them?

[Choporoz]

PMS.

 

There's some decent guides out there on the interwebs, but there's also a TON of very conflicting info (opinions.)  (just try asking on here about mono vs fluoro stretch.. )

I've decided to forgo much of the debate and use braid or Yo-Zuri Hybrid for everything.  I do get crazy and mix it up by putting a YZ leader on braid sometimes, but that's it.  If you do go the YZ route, get yourself some KVD Line and Lure conditioner.  I am a huge fan of YZ/KVD L&L combo.

[cottny27]

Yo-Zuri thumbs up too.

[Hez]

http://www.another site/blog/fishing-line-guide/  

This page was always a useful tool for me when it came to which particular line is better for which bait.  

oops...

that's bassfishin(dot)com/blog/fishing-line-guide/

 

 

[BrackishBassin]

Super simple, no frills, and/or opinions version -

Braid - very, very little stretch, smaller line diameter than other line types of the same lb test, floats

Good for baits that are fished deep/far away from you, in heavy cover, or on top of the water.

Mono (covers many 'types' of lines) - stretches, floats

Good for moving baits where you want some give when you set the hook (e.g. crankbaits and jerkbaits). 

Fluorocarbon - less stretch than mono, but more stretch than braid, will sink slowly 

I don't use fluoro, so I'm not going to attempt to cover what it's good at. As to why I don't use it but neglect to mention why, please see below. 

I didn't get into any of the controversial topics (e.g. visibility) on purpose. If you really want to get crazy into it, just Google braid vs mono and spend the next two years reading.

[WIGuide]

I'll just list some pro's and con's of each-

Braid: Pro's -strong, small diameter, little to no stretch, cuts through vegetation, lasts a long time, little to no memory, easy to manage

Con's- low abrasion resistance, higher initial cost, low to no slack line sensitivity, lack of memory can cause tangles

Fluoro- Pro's - High abrasion resistant, slightly less visible under water, highest slack line sensitivity, slightly more sensitive due to sinking nature which takes more bow out of the line

Con's - high priced, less manageable, less forgiving with knots, once nicked it loses strength faster (my experience), kills the action of topwaters due to it sinking

Mono - Pro's - Cheap, neutrally buoyant, some slack line sensitivity, easy to manage, holds strength better once nicked

Con's - low abrasion resistance, absorbs water which increases stretch throughout the day

 

There are other types of lines out there these days as well, but these are the main 3. You can use the pro's and cons of each to try to pick the best line for each technique you use. For example if you use topwaters a lot, fluoro wouldn't be a good line to try for that technique, because of it's sinking qualities. 

 

[Turtle135]

A couple of links that discuss the differences between mono and flouro:

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/why-use-monofilament.html

http://www.berkley-fishing.com/why-use-fluorocarbon.html

 

[rippin-lips]

Use a good copoly line like yozuri hybrid #12 or p line cxx #10-12 and you'll be good to go for almost any situation. The only time it won't be a good choice is with heavy cover. Other than that it will work for anything else. No need to over complicate it.