The age-old saga continues!
You’re likely aware that there are two primary types of fishing line on the market—monofilament and braid—but which is better? The short answer is, if it’s in good condition, there’s no such thing as “bad” fishing line. They’re just different. Each material has its unique advantages and disadvantages in various fishing applications.
Mono is created from a single piece of extruded plastic fiber, which is usually a nylon blend. Monofilament is more durable and resists abrasion better than braid does, in some situations. But nylon material absorbs water, which weakens its breaking strength over time, and which also means anglers need to change it out more often or risk losing a good fish.
Mono’s suppleness has other advantages over braided lines, especially its stretch and elasticity: It stretches significantly more than braid. And in rough areas such as coral, shellfish beds, ledge, or rocks, mono lines are more abrasion resistant and therefore less likely to sever.
According to one stretch test performed by Lenny Rudow using 15-pound mono, anglers may experience two to three times more stretch than they would with 15-pound braid. And when using 30-pound mono, anglers may experience up to 10 times more stretch than with 30-pound braid.
“But all things considered,” noted Rudow, “if you set your drag properly and fish like any normal human being, you’re not likely to ever encounter anything like the 25% line stretch figure that we see bandied about all over the internet.”
Because mono stretches more easily than braid or fluorocarbon (another plastic-based line usually used for leader material) it possesses a forgiveness that other lines can’t compete with. This shock-absorption-on-impact quality is useful in applications like trolling for big game species or casting to explosive predators like tarpon. Some Florida tarpon pros, for example, used to spool up with braided line but found they were breaking off a lot of big fish during somersaulting jumps. So rather than rigging their main line straight from braid to a fluorocarbon leader, these experts ran a topshot of mono between the braid and the leader to absorb some of the impact.
Manufacturers create braided lines by weaving together numerous extra-strong synthetic microfibers such as Dacron, Kevlar, Dyneema, and Spectra. These “superlines” or “superbraids” are dense, thin, and taut, with almost no ability to stretch or forgiveness.
A superbraid of about 20-pound test, for instance, may have up to 400 individual microfilaments, while a 100-pound-test braided line may have up to 1,000 microfiber strands. Because manufacturers start with such tiny fibers, they can create an extremely small diameter line with an abnormally high breaking point for its size. The result is a narrow line with a tensile strength stronger than steel and nearly zero stretch.
Braided lines resist general wear, weakening and sun damage and are therefore more durable over time than mono lines. They’re ideal for deep bottom fishing because of their thinness for their pound-test rating; therefore, they have low current drag, can reach bottom faster, fish more vertically, set the hook immediately, and are much more sensitive. Braids excel in deepwater-jigging applications such as when using diamond, butterfly, or lead-head bucktail jigs.
Although braid has a significantly narrower diameter than mono, its opaque appearance can’t compete with mono’s transparency. Even though mono has a much wider diameter than braid it’s also less visible, which may make bait more appealing to fussy fish in calm, clear, shallow conditions. Mono lines are also available in a range of colors, which some anglers argue allows them to select the best shade for the conditions.
Due to its material and manufacturing costs, braid is significantly more expensive than monofilament. But that cost is offset by its durability, which means you won’t need to replace the line as often.
“There really aren’t any pros to fishing mono when casting lures in the Northeast,” says Capt. Chris Elser (ct-fishing.com), a leading charter captain in western Long Island Sound, “but some anglers still prefer it. The smaller diameter and no-stretch qualities of braided lines are far superior now that manufacturers developed super-smooth braid. There are many brands of braid on the market, but my personal preference is PowerPro Super Slick V2.”
For the novice angler, however, mono is usually easier to cast because it creates fewer wind snarls off the reel or around the rod guides. And although there are many good knots available to securely tie braid, mono is much easier for a beginner to tie.
Mono is also gentler on the hands. In other words, if you’re one who takes wraps of fishing line around your hand to pull out a bottom snag or land a fish, mono, being much thicker for its pound-test, is less likely to cut into your hands. Never take wraps around your hand with braid, which could lead to severe and deep slices before the line parts or you can swing a big fish aboard. Use a glove or wrap a rag or towel around your hand first.
In conclusion, both braid and mono have their place in high-end fishing applications. It’s a matter of learning each one’s characteristics and applying the right type of line and pound test to your fishing style and target species.
