A love letter to mono

[raydomz]

Let me start by saying that I realize I am late to the game...
But wow, where has mono been all my fishing life?

Like most, I fished a little bit when I was a kid with unmemorable gear and mostly a hook, worm, and bobber. I imagine at that time that my dad, or grandpa, or whoever was there with me didn't think to question the line, or the reel, or anything but the weather for that matter. It was all about the fun we were having. Fast forward to my older self (I was born in '87 for reference) wanting to get into fishing and later wanting to expose my kids to another activity they could enjoy outside - we're now in the age of information abundance, marketing patterns have been well established, and gear has (I imagine) come a long way. I've spent far longer than is necessary thinking about all the nuances of my setup, but more specifically, my line choice. I've tried various braids, numerous iterations of fluorocarbon, but the lone holdout for me had been mono...

Which leads me to say, I love monofilament! (And d**n could I have saved a lot of money over the years.) Over the winter (I fish through the winter) I switched all of my casting rigs to Sunline Supernatural and I will never go back.

In my search for the "best line" it was rare, almost nonexistent, for anyone to mention mono. It's like the older child that was great as a kid, grew up, succeeded, continues to live a happy and fulfilling life, but doesn't come with the drama of the younger ones, and thus, get's less attention. Is it the price? Maybe. I think a lot of fishing equipment is sold simply because of the perception that more cost = more better, but maybe that's not it. My experience with it has been nothing but stellar. It casts easier than braid, pulls them in like no other, costs less. It’s the best.

 

How many of you have had great experiences with mono, or use it exclusively?

 

Long live mono!

[Tennessee Boy]

I prefer to call it Nylon Superline.  It sounds newer and cooler and yeah I like it.  Only downside is you don't get that extra confidence boost that comes from paying $50 for spool of fluorocarbon.  😆

[bartnc37]

In what world does mono cast better than braid?  Maybe the first dozen cast on a new spool, but after that , no way

[bowhunter63]

Need Berkley Big Game hats back Show the badge of honor .

[raydomz]

11 minutes ago, bartnc37 said:

In what world does mono cast better than braid?  Maybe the first dozen cast on a new spool, but after that , no way

Ok, I may have said some things that will get people riled up, but hear me out…

 

A lot of this is relative. So much effort is put into trying to argue one thing vs another, but the reality for me and my fishing is that it hasn’t mattered. In a world where everything only climbs in price, it’s nice to try something that normally doesn’t get the time of day and be surprised that it’s performance is only marginally different than the “better” options.

[bartnc37]

Don't get me wrong, mono is cheaper up front but I can run the same spool of 832 for years , flip it and run it for a couple more. Do that with mono, twist city.  

[volzfan59]

Started out with mono just like everyone else back in the day. Tried everything else but went back to all mono, all the time. More specifically, BPS Excel mono.

[casts_by_fly]

I fish mostly mono, and supernatural at that mostly. I have 6-16# loaded across the bulk of my reels (big game and suffix elite also play). I like mono for most bait casting (I’m braid to leader for bass spinning) with a couple exceptions for frogs and swim jigs primarily. I’m trying heavy fluoro for swim baits this year. But otherwise it’s supernatural as my base line until I have a reason to change. 
 

1 hour ago, bartnc37 said:

Don't get me wrong, mono is cheaper up front but I can run the same spool of 832 for years , flip it and run it for a couple more. Do that with mono, twist city.  

I agree with you, at the same time to put a 75 yard fill of supernatural on it’s about $2.25. I’ll fish that most of a season or more sometimes.  No need so turn it around, just strip it and pitch it. Same as when it starts to get low on the spool, just strip to the backing and fill it back up. 
 

to your point, a 75 yard fill of 832 is $7.50 and will go a couple seasons before you even have to turn it around. So it’s about the same price in the end. I’ll lose more braid to tying lures in a season than what wears out. 

[MediumMouthBass]

6 hours ago, bartnc37 said:

In what world does mono cast better than braid? 

On a casting reel for people who dont have a trained thumb.

Or on a spinning reel when using lures above 1/2oz, that stuff starts to hurt if not wearing a glove after awhile. But for the average bass fisherman, braid will outcast everything else.

 

 

OP, i have a love/hate relationship with mono. Most mono ive used is junk, except for a small select few, Big Game comes to mind as the #1 mono ive used. Love the stuff, its dirt cheap, reliable, and hard to break. Yes it will be a mess, but throw the spool with the line on it in hot water for a few minutes and it will take the memory out of the line. I use Hybrid for 80% of my reels however ill throw Big Game on anything thats left with an empty spool.

 

But i have to say braid is probably the best one on paper, it will last the longest, will give the best sensitivity and hooksets (aside from treble hooked baits), and no amount of grass or vegetation will stand in your way ever again. Its also dirt cheap too, although a little more expensive. And it will cast the best, regardless of if its on a spinning or casting reel. I have held out on braid for awhile, but im starting to add more of it to my moving and bottom bait combos.

[GReb]

McCoy Mean Green is a better version of Big Game in my opinion. It’s my main line and on 80% of my reels. 

[Flyfish-mt]

I also run mono (12 & 14) on my casting reels but have 1 reel with Daiwa J-Braid 50# for the heavy stuff.  I prefer mono over braid but I’m old school…..  However, I run 20# braid on my fleet of Stradic saltwater reels.

[rangerjockey]

The age old debate. You should use whatever makes you happy. I have 16 rods in the boat now and none with mono but that's me. For topwater I can't see a reason not to use braid, there's just no downside, everything else gets flouro. 

[raydomz]

20 minutes ago, rangerjockey said:

The age old debate. You should use whatever makes you happy. I have 16 rods in the boat now and none with mono but that's me. For topwater I can't see a reason not to use braid, there's just no downside, everything else gets flouro. 

You got my point exactly. I think we are all better off to find what we think works best for us. For me, mono has taken the cake. It’s interesting to hear where everyone else is at as well.

 

 

 

10 hours ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Yes it will be a mess, but throw the spool with the line on it in hot water for a few minutes and it will take the memory out of the line.

Does this work with other lines? I have not heard this mentioned before.

[Darth-Baiter]

it would have to be a letter to mono.

 

to braid, you email that message

[raydomz]

54 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

it would have to be a letter to mono.

 

to braid, you email that message

This humor is why I love this site lol.

[IYAOYAS]

I've landed tons of fish with ten pound stren on a zebco 33 with beetlespins, roostertails, and bobbers and hooks. Why is it fishing was so much simpler when I was a kid? All I needed was my little Junior bassmaster tacklebox(That's what my dad who is a crappie guy called it lol) , and my Zebco 33 classic I mowed yards all summer for, and a bank.

[Hulkster]

Sufix Siege mono is the best I have ever used. I use it on both spinning and baitcasting gear. 

[Johnbt]

I still like Trilene XL.

And Yo-Zuri Hybrid.

And Spyderwire Invisi-Braid.

And Tatsu. 

 

All about equally, although for different things.

 

Trilene XL was getting a little expensive a few years ago, then Dick's had a sale - 1000-yd spools for $5 each and about 50 cents each for S&H.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I ❤️MONO too. 

[MediumMouthBass]

7 hours ago, raydomz said:

Does this work with other lines? I have not heard this mentioned before.

Any brand monofilament, i use it more for spinning reels where the line memory causes more chaos but it will work on casting reels too if you notice an issue.

 

Take the spool out of the reel, put it in a plastic container full of hot water for a few minutes, when you take it out the line memory from it being on a spool in a box should be gone. Learned this from one of the guys at the tackle shops and its worked great for me since.

[rangerjockey]

16 minutes ago, MediumMouthBass said:

Any brand monofilament, i use it more for spinning reels where the line memory causes more chaos but it will work on casting reels too if you notice an issue.

 

Take the spool out of the reel, put it in a plastic container full of hot water for a few minutes, when you take it out the line memory from it being on a spool in a box should be gone. Learned this from one of the guys at the tackle shops and its worked great for me since.

I've heard of folks putting the filler spool in the sink as they spool the reel. I personally don't think that mono has as much memory as flouro especially on a spinning reel.

A dose of reel snot would help but of course the ol' braid to leader eliminates memory on a spinning reel completely.

[Bigbox99]

I tried some 15# green Big Game last year as a trial on my budget power moving bait combo and I really like it.  My high end moving bait combo has 14# Sniper because fluoro is the best monofilament line or so I thought. I still like it for plastics and jigs but for moving baits my mind is being changed.  My high end moving bait rig can't be used with topwaters like buzzbaits or ploppers because the fluoro line sinks and ruins the action.  After taking out the low end rig and using it for the same things the high end was being used for without missing a beat and having the advantage of being able to work buzzbaits and ploppers I will be switching the high end to a high end green mono. 

 

But what about visibility?  I like this video.  It is supposed to show how fluoro is harder to see than a green low vis mono but they look basically the same from every angle.  Now imagine if instead of stationary on a rig the line and bait was moving like a crankbait or bladed jig?  They are both functionally "nearly invisible to fish" or whatever fluoro claims, at least for moving baits.

 

 

[Kirtley Howe]

4 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

it would have to be a letter to mono.

 

to braid, you email that message

NAH.....you would have to text it.

[F14A-B]

I remember when the battle was whether Stren/clear blue or Trilene was King of the mono debate. 

[new2BC4bass]

Don't know how we accomplished it, but back in my youth my dad, two brothers and I caught thousands of fish on 8# and 4# XL using Mitchell spinning reels.

 

I use braid in slop.

 

Don't know if it was because of the light lure, but when I tried 10# 832 on a (7'2") rod rated down to 1/16 oz., I was not impressed with distance.  However, I did not try another reel on that rod with mono spooled on it.

 

I have other spinning reels to try braid on (and different power rods), but guess I am biased because so far I prefer mono.  In my youth I fished worms, crayfish, Beetlespins, Roostertails, leeches and grubs 99% of the time.  We fished for whatever swam in the water (except for humanoids...they refused to bite).