Best Mono line/ or what to stay away from

[CraigC00]

As far as the Suffix goes I have had nothing but good experiences with it. Maybe the knot strength is more indicative of the person tying the knot than the line itself. I have used both Siege and Elite and have had nothing but positive experiences with the both of them. Pline would be by second choice. I work in a fishing department where I have free access to an unlimited amount of free Trilene and I refuse to use it. However, I have not tried the new Trilene Maxx and am curious to know what everyone has to say about it.

[joshimoto son]

Don't forget about using a line dressing.
I hate changing line... I do it, but not as often as I should.
On all my mono and Fouro lines. Imidiately after spooling I will put two SMALL bursts of Reel Magic on the spool. One shot on each side, because it makes it even. we won't go into that part of my OCD.

I have found it keeps my line from getting brittle and helps protect it from the sun.
That line being... Seagar, Maxima and Pline.

joshimoto son

[Genie]

Ditto Josh - it also helps to minimize line memory.

[yukonjack2]

Ditto Josh as well - especially the OCD part.  I spray the spool every few cranks as I spool the line (p-line mono, bps fluoro) with either reel magic or KVD line conditioner.  I want it to be coated all the way through the evened up spools. 

Jack

[motocross269]

I was watching Al Lindner's show today..They had 5 or 6 lines strung out between 2 blocks of wood and showed them underwater.  The braid and the Moss Green lines stood out no matter what the water color was.  The clear and the Flourocarbon lines disappeared pretty well.  It makes me believe you should stay away from Green lines except maybe with reactionary baits, but then why bother.  I was kind of questioning green lines even before I watched the show.  As far as the other colors go I have been using colored fireline with a Flouro leader in the river, works well there.  Any other opinions on green line?  I just bought 3 spools of Moss green Gamma.

[REEL_MAN]

I notice many of you are using line prep, ie. Reelmajic. I have to agree that it does have many advantages. BUT, it does have a major drawback. It will attract dirt. When I work on a reel that has had the prep sprayed on the line the area around the spool is covered with dirt. The result is dirt causes wear and wear results in poor performance in the reel.
The line preps are lubricants and over time they migrate, so dirt will be in areas you wouldn't expect. Spinnig reels have trouble with the bail pivot areas, bait cast, the level wind and the spool bearings.
If you do use the sprays, be very careful when you spray a little goes a long way.

REEL_MAN

[motocross269]

I've heard of guys spraying the conditioner on a rag then running the line through it.  That would cut down on the overspray, and it would be easier to control the amount going on.
I am going to try to stay away from conditioners. 

[Ryan]

Hey Reelman,
I know you mentioned that Reel Magic attracts dirt, but how do you feel about the KVD Line Conditioner, I imagine that it probably would have the same effect.  I have been using it for a couple of seasons and I like it quite a bit, but if you think that it might be detrimental, maybe I should limit my usage.  Thanks for your reel expertise.

-Ryan

[BryanP]

Ryan, IMO, the advantages of the KVD line conditioner far outweigh the possibe dirt build up.  Dirt can be cleaned, but line problems on the water can cause serious aggravation!

[matt]

Man after reading this i feel like i'm using all the wrong lines....hahaha...That's horrible.Least i haven't had problems "yet".

seaguar seems to be a top choice among alot of people online that does alot of fishing,as well as power pro.

One question though,as mono starts to coil(begins to have memory)will reel magic help relax it?I just recently got some reel magic last week and was hoping that it'll help relax mono a little bit.Last year i started using braid because mono was giving me too much trouble after awhile.I mainly use it for top water applications,so braid doesn't bother me much as i had no trouble getting bites with braid,fish didn't seem to care.Now that i want to start expanding my fishing areas,i'm a bit worried about different lines in different lakes i haven't been to yet.

[Waterfoul]

I run 8 or 10 lb Gamma on all my spinning reels.  I have found this to be the toughest line out there.  I run Power Pro on all my baitcasters... with a P-line or Gamma Floro leader (3-4 feet of leader).

I currently have Suffix Siege 10 lb on my crankin stick.  Got to use it for the first time Saturday and landed a nice smallie with it no issues.  Until it fails me I guess I'll leave it on the reel.

[REEL_MAN]

Haven't used the KVD conditioner so I can't give a judgement. As far as the Reel Magic, don't get me wrong it does reduce line problems, but also can create other proplems down the road $$$$

REEL_MAN

[djkimmel]

I've been using a lot of Shakespeare Supreme for mono the past two seasons. You can get it cheap right now in many places. It's soft. It may break a little easier than Trilene XT but I'm not sure why yet - just noticed the comparable Super Tough is softer than XT. I have not had a problem with excessive break offs with it tough like I've had with a few other lines. I'll still use it some this year because of the price making it more cost-effective to replace fresh more.

I also use Power Pro some. Been messing with several copolymers and fluorocarbons with a couple new to try this season. Have not tried Shooter because of the price despite one good friend highly recommending it. Maybe later in the year.

I may be trying P-Line sometime this season for the first time...maybe??

As far as line treatment, I've been known to spray regular silicone spray on my mono's (and sometimes fluoro's although less of an effect) for flexibility and lubrication. The reels do get more grit on them some days. It does help the line behave more too though, especially for finesse, and for tougher, stiffer mono's.

[bshaner]

Dan, I've used PLine pretty consistently the past year and like it.  That being said, so as not to lead you to believe I'm bashing it...  If you are going to try a new fluoro I would suggest you skip right to Seaguar.  As much as I like Pline, I think the Seaguar out performs it.  I will be using Seaguar quite a bit this  year.

Line is like anything else though - one man's junk is another man's treasure...

B

[1javelin]

I've had good success with PLine as well, buth with the tests on tackletour, I will be switching to XPS for the money factor.  As long as I have no problems with it I will be sticking with it, but first bad encounter I will probably scrap it and go back to PLine.

[motocross269]

I used XPS 6lb flouro today.  Caught a ton of less than 20 inch toothy pike.
No problem with the line.  I just retied a couple of times.  I was throwing a tube and had no more of a problem with line twist than mono.  I tried throwing a zoom jerkbait with my spinning rod with mono today.(It was all I had in the boat).  Big mistake. I didn't have any swivels.
I took my daughter to fish at lakeville lake this morning.  That lake has some nice crappies and way to many pike.  Still couldn't get a bass to bite, it looked like they were hugging the stumps. No real signs of spawning yet. Water temp 57 degrees should be soon.

[BryanP]

I may be trying P-Line sometime this season for the first time...maybe??

So what are you saying Dan? LOL!   I'll send you some sooner or later!  PM me your address.  I'm going to the post office tomorrow!

[1javelin]

Fished the St. Joe yesterday with then new Halo Flouro on, not happy at all with the way it performs.  I couldn't keep it on the reel, it was breaking for no reason whatsoever, as was my Evolution from the day before.  Maybe I'm too hard on lines, but I think I am going to be looking for a new Flouro, XPS probably for the money.  Maybe will go back to Floroclear for mono, but probably not.  Probably go with XPS for that too.  2 days of bad experiences sent me to the dumps on PLine.  Sorry guys, I'm no longer a firm believer.

[BryanP]

Javelin, I'd be curious as to what pound test you're using in Halo and Evolution, and whether it's spinning or casting gear.  I've been using both since last fall, and have yet to have a snarl or breakoff with either.  Halo truly is one of the most manageable 100% FC lines there is.  I even fished a weightless centepede for a whole day on 10 pound Halo, and never once had a loop or birdsnest.  The biggest thing with the 100% FC lines (all brands) I've found is you must pay more attention to it while fishing and spooling it on.  I always spool it on using a linewinder (as opposed to laying the spool flat on the floor), and always reel it on with the line coming off the bottom of the spool (so it goes on the reel the same way it comes off the spool).  If the line wants to shoot off the spool, 9 times out of 10 it's because you have too much line on the reel.  When I get what I feel is the right amount of line spooled on, I then tip the reel so that the spool is facing down, open the bail, and let the excess fall off.  Every reel gets a few squirts of KVD Line Conditioner.  And ALWAYS close the bail by hand!  When you close the bail with the reel handle, that's how loops and loose line gets on the spool, and then you have trouble.  Now I sound more OCD about my line than Joshimotoson.

You didn't say whether this was your first experience with a 100% FC line, but the Floroclear you have been using handles much differently than a pure fluorocarbon.  Floroclear is on of the easiest casting lines on the market, but it lacks some abrasion resistance.  It has more stretch as well, so it's a more "forgiving" line.  On the flipside, Evolution is one of the toughest lines, yet not as limp as Floroclear or a mono like Trilene XL.  Any of your pure fluorocarbons  and "stiffer" abrasion resistant copolymers are more suceptible to bad knots (mainly because they have less stretch), and will break easier if kinked.  So you really need to pay attention and wet the line well, and make sure the strands don't overlap (on a palomar mainly).

As for the Tackletour line tests, I'm always skeptical of things like that because they never test the lines under real world fishing conditions. 

I'm sort of confused as to why you'd give up on Floroclear and go with XPS (which you've never used) because you had a bad day with Halo and Evolution?

Bottomline is that there is not one perfect line for every situation.  That's why there are a hundred different lines on the market.  Use what you have confidence in! 

[djkimmel]

I may be trying P-Line sometime this season for the first time...maybe??

So what are you saying Dan? LOL!   I'll send you some sooner or later!  PM me your address.  I'm going to the post office tomorrow!

Hey... I didn't say anything about anyone... a statement like I made could mean anything...