Monofiliment Line Dilema

[salmoncker]

I have searched the forums and internet, but can't find a somewhat conclusive answer. There are so many monofiliment lines out there on the market. My question is there a type of mono line which is better than the lot? I have in the past used Silverthread which was great for its diameter to strength. Is Maxima's Ultragreen the front runner nowadays? Is there a huge benefit to going to a braided line or just the price increase? That is a whole other big question about which would be the front runner there. What do people prefer in mono lines?

 

[bigdogeh]

I've always had good results with maxima ultragreen. for mono it's my favourite. braided isn't going to have any stretch and you'll feel every nibble, bite, etc much more than you will with mono. i prefer braid when fishing at depth for hali's, etc, but it's nice for salmon near the surface also.... mono will be more forgiving since it has stretch that works like shock absorption.... it won't rely on the drag of the reel and flex of the rod as much as braid will.... both are good choices though and it really comes down to what you're comfortable with....

 

[Whole in the Water]

Maxima is very good. Also lots of guys use Berkley Big Game as it is good quality for the money (cheaper then Maxima). Lots of guys still use mono for saltwater salmon mainline as it is easy to tie up and has the shock absorbing factor. More people are using fluorocarbon leaders especially in certain situations where low vis presentation is helpful. Braided is more for bottom fishing, especially halibut. My 2 bits.

 

[Bait&Sea]

Been using suffix 30lb for a year now and love it, virtually no memory and good knot strength. Got it bulk spooled onto reels from Army/Navy.

 

[Seafever]

One I would stay away from is Suffix 'Siege'

This line is super rubbery and stretchy....very little memory...BUT....

I found that because of it's rubberyiness the knots don't hold worth a damn.......a clinch knot will often just pull right out.......

 

[Fish Assassin]

I found that because of it's rubberyiness the knots don't hold worth a damn.......a clinch knot will often just pull right out.......

I find clinch knots don't work with any braid I've ever used. I love my Suffix though.

 

[RageWelding]

I find clinch knots don't work with any braid I've ever used. I love my Suffix though.

Are you doubling the line over before you tie your knots? Never had one go myself ever

 

[Bait&Sea]

With mono I always use the "improved clinch knot" and find it holds well and also prefer that the tag end lays parallel with the leader or mainline. Braided line gets looped through twice then improved clinch knot and tag end is left a bit longer than mono and sometimes even add a small knot to tag end of braid to prevent pulling through when into a hog

 

[Fishin'Zinn]

I like the Palomar knot for braid personally, just as simple as improved clinch knot (which I use for mono)

 

[Seafever]

Suffix 'Siege' isn't braid ...it's mono.....really rubbery mono......

 

[rowdy01]

With mono I always use the "improved clinch knot" and find it holds well and also prefer that the tag end lays parallel with the leader or mainline. Braided line gets looped through twice then improved clinch knot and tag end is left a bit longer than mono and sometimes even add a small knot to tag end of braid to prevent pulling through when into a hog

I like to take a lighter and burn the tag end. I've found that if you leave the same knot on for more than one days fishing, that the tag end of braid will start to unravel. I believe this will weaken the knot and will eventually lead to failure. Singeing the end stops this from happening. Have not had a clinch knot come apart ever while doing this. I tie improved clinch knot with no extra wraps.(65lbpp)

 

[Slabby20]

I like having a different color hi-vis line on each reel. The hi-vis is easy to track in the water, great for undoing tangles etc........ I like to use Berkley Big Game hi-vis lines in green, yellow, and Electric Blue. Izorline hi-vis yellow and Maxima hi-vis yellow have been good too. I also use Suffix Tangerine (hi-vis orange) at times.

 

[Captain PartyMarty]

Berkley big game all the way. I have had nothing but bad luck with maxima. On our Winter harbour trip this year, the rod running maxima broke off 4 times while fighting a fish, the other three rods with berkley didn't break once. Maxima is not welcome on my boat.

 

[nicnat]

Marty I think your rod with the maxima possibly has a nick or burr in one of the eyes or something strange going on, maybe your line is old. I've used maxima for years, guiding in the charlottes etc. it is a great line. Another good line is ande, i'm not sure about now, but the ande line used to be made in the same factory as maxima and was a very good line for the money.

 

[bigdogeh]

some good info here... anyone have any preferences when it comes to flourocarbon leader?

 

[Slabby20]

Marty I think your rod with the maxima possibly has a nick or burr in one of the eyes or something strange going on, maybe your line is old. I've used maxima for years, guiding in the charlottes etc. it is a great line. Another good line is ande, i'm not sure about now, but the ande line used to be made in the same factory as maxima and was a very good line for the money.

I agree. Maxima is great line but costs considerably more than the Berkley, Suffix etc.

 

[Whole in the Water]

Many consider the best fluorocarbon is Seaguar, next is probably P-Line if you want something a little cheaper.

 

[salmoncker]

You all are a great wealth of knowledege. I have been using Maxima Ultragreen for a number of years, but even after putting 150-200yds of backing on 5 Shimano Mooching reels I find the price is getting steeper to fill them all (+ 4 Shimano TR200G levelwinds) costly. I mainly use 20lb test on all and had been looking at Ande Monofilament Tournament or Premium in green color. Is there going to be that much difference in line for the cost. I am assuming both should be good lines, correct. I was looking at US pricing and the 1lb spool of Premium is 3000yds at $51.99 and 1lb spool of Tournament is 2600yds at $79.99.

 

[sly_karma]

I'm getting more used to braid on my salmon reels as the year goes on. The lack of stretch means small strikes are spotted, and it's much easier to release from the DR clip when fishing at depths 100 ft and more. As others have pointed out though, that same lack of stretch makes for trickier play close to the boat. 20-30 ft top shot of mono helps.

Fluorocarbon is good for leader but has major memory, if you gather up leaders with a piece of drinking straw you will end up with a crinkled mess. Need to store them differently or just tie leader only when needed.

 

[Karlo]

The "memory" problem I have with braid is that I have a painful memory of getting a deep cut from the treacherous stuff that was like a paper cut administered by Satan. I use braid as backing on my bottomfishing rigs because of the small diameter and the lack of stretch, but the leading 200' or so of line I handle all of the time is mono. The lack-of-stretch advantage definitely doesn't justify using braid as trolling line for me.

Since line visibility isn't a big issue for salmon trolling, I see no reason to shell out for fluorocarbon, especially for the main line. I used fluorocarbon leaders for a season, but learned the hard way on day one that your normal knots just won't do. There's also that over-strong memory issue mentioned above. Back to mono.

For several years, I've used 30# Ande mono, bought on sale for under $30 for an 800 yard spool. I can't recall the last time I lost a fish due to the main line breaking. What I do recall is the 2-10 times a season that a seal or sea lion grabs a fish I'm playing, and powers off into the kelp. Losing a fish and flasher rig or lure is bad enough, but getting half-spooled for a bunch of line I paid $80 a reelfull for would be heartbreaking.