Mono is good. I like it. 

I use all types of line for different reasons in different situations.  Mono is my default all purpose line, there has to be a specific reason for me to use another type of line.  The Bait Monkey hates mono.  He thinks I'm being cheap when I buy it.  No matter how many times I tell him the price isn't the issue, he doesn't believe me, and just sits there and pouts. 

I reconnected to mono several years ago, it’s all I use now. BPS Excel, 8 lb and under on spinning reels, 10 lb and heavier on casting reels.

7 hours ago, EchoHorizon23 said:

Berkeley Big Game keeps coming up — is there a particular lb test you find most versatile? I’m usually targeting reds and drum, but occasionally hook into bigger stuff.

 

In terms of salt. I am surf fishing the outer banks for red drum, so I'm setup for needing to toss up to 6 oz weights (some folks go higher, but I just walk home if conditions are that bad) that can hold against the current and wind. I'm doing that on 20 lbs mainline with 50 lbs shock leader. My shock leader tends to be twice rod length and I run 8 through 12 foot rods. It works for everything I will probably tangle with. Even blues mostly (they're maniacs, so you never know) don't bite through my 50 lbs. 

 

If I were in-shore fishing for drum, I'd probably go 12-20 lbs depending on conditions and what size you're targeting. You're fighting them mostly on drag so you don't need to be insanely heavy. My wife brought in a 36" red drum last week on gear in that range. 

 

My freshwater medium heavy spinning is 12 lbs. My freshwater light spinning is 8 lbs, I'd drop down to lighter, but you can't find lighter in tackle shops around here because they don't cater to us freshwater folks much.

 

So I guess the common range is 12 lbs-20lbs ish for general purpose for me.

I use Ande mono Back Country Blue.

Tried braid a few times, never cared for the stuff.

I never left. I find mono to be that perfect spot with just enough stretch and good abrasion resistance. I have never found fluoro to my liking. It is too brittle and snaps easily, also the knot must be perfect or it will cut itself. No thanks. I mostly use braid to mono and use straight braid for soft plastics. I use straight mono for topwater.

13 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

 Tried braid on spinning, no thanks 

I was the same way until I found the "right" braid for me.

 

I love Spro Finesse and I'm currently using Almight.

18 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

Крупная дичь идет плотной для данного рейтинга, поэтому покупайте его в зависимости от диаметра. 15# хорош для ловли окуня. Если вы ловите рыбу на мелководье для красного окуня и более средней прибрежной снасти, то обратите внимание на 12#. 12# по-прежнему имеет диаметр 0,013", что соответствует диаметру 16# supernatural.  

Thanks, that actually clears things up! I was leaning toward 15#, but good to know 12# still has that solid diameter. Sounds like a solid choice for inshore stuff — especially if it's the same thickness as 16#. Appreciate the breakdown!

On 5/19/2025 at 9:05 AM, Rucksack said:

 

 

Specifically, after reading this forum, to Berkeley Big Game. I've got spools in everything from 8 lbs to 50 lbs for various applications. 

 

 

are you casting with 50lb mono?  or dropping it over the side to a prescribed depth.  

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

are you casting with 50lb mono?  or dropping it over the side to a prescribed depth. 

 

I'm using it as a shock leader on my surf casting equipment. So, I'm casting it, but on a big reel and not a ton of it. I also build cut bait rigs out of it.

I don't even own a spool of mono anymore - gave it all away. I use copoly, fluoro as leaders with braid as the main line on all of my reels. 

I mostly use Big Game - 8, 10, and 12 pound. I wish they made a 6 pound.

 

I digress, I use Stren for my 6 pound needs for a smaller rod I use for panfish and for the wife's spincast rig that has only 40 yards line capacity (I spooled it when she first got it using a frog). Stren has more stretch than Big Game.

 

I've tried suffix 14 pound, I forget the variety and name of it, but it was good line. Used it on a casting rod for heavier stuff like crankbaits. It was strong and tough, and had less stretch than Big Game.

 

Once in a while I'll purchase something else to try. Used a lot of Trilene XL in the past, and it's good line.

 

Big Game gets the nod because of both price, and how it handles. It works just fine and I use it both on spinning, spincasting, and baitcasting reels. The 8 pound sees a lot of both spinning and baitcasting.

 

I don't do anything special to it. For spinning, I normally put it on and let it set a day before use to give it a set. For baitcasting, I spool up and will fish right then with it.

 

I change my line every monthish if I use my rod a lot. My light baitcasting rod is in need of a change right now as the line is getting somewhat harder to manage and is sun-bleached for the first couple of yards. Been aiming to change it a week or more now, so I'll get it the next couple of days.

 

I always use a mono backer, even for mono.

McCoy Mean Green on casting 

 

braid on spinning with fluro leader

Just this year I went back to mono after many years of switching to all braid. I used suffix elite. It’s a great mono. Low memory and just a joy to work with. I tried some flouro. Have never used it in my life. I liked that it sank. But honestly didn’t see the huge need in cost. I have a spool of 15 pound big game I’m actually gonna spool a new reel up tonite with it. 

I never reconnected with mono because I never disconnected from it. 😂

 

Just respooled one of my reels with 8# test. It’s my preferred line choice for most things. 

I went out yesterday. Had a reel fresh spooked with 15 pound big game I had laying around. Brought me back to being a kid and fishing the cheapest spool of Ande mono we could get and split between a few of us for saltwater pier fishing casted amazing and was sensitive. Honestly for price vs quantity. I’ll buy it over suffix elite. 

I am still baffled so many people use big game. There are certain applications like surf casting and maybe fishing for catfish where I can see its benefit.

 

My experience has been it's awful for many reasons for me.

- It doesn't lay on the spool well and doesn't remain tight. 

- It gets horribly water logged and changes the buoyancy of the line as you fish.

- Its somewhere around 20% thicker than copolymer and fluoro lines of reported lb test. Combine that with the waterlogged line and it quickly becomes huge on your spool.

- It's so springy and stretchy that it kills any hope of super accurate casts towards the bank or targeting structure. Most of my casting is hitting targets the size of a dinner plate - big game is nigh impossible in this application.

- When fishing big baits you need to respool about every 4-6 hours of fishing due to the line stretching out and becoming unwieldy. 

- Hooksets are rough. It feels like a rubber band. Sure, once it's hooked the line absorbs the headshakes and does well fighting them.

- After speaking to a rod builder he said most of the newer rods are designed around using fluorocarbon and braid.

- Because of the stretch dialing in your drag is a lot tougher.

 

I rarely use spinning reels and I have about 40 baitcasters that are all spooled up with various forms of braid as the main line to flouro or copoly leaders depending on the need. I get 3+ years on the braid so its a heck of a lot cheaper and less time consuming than spooling up with mono. 

 

It's so hard for me to understand people using mono. 

32 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

Brought me back to being a kid and fishing the cheapest spool of Ande mono

 

The nostalgic feel of mono is a real part of the joy of it for me. Totally agree. 

9 minutes ago, Rucksack said:

 

The nostalgic feel of mono is a real part of the joy of it for me. Totally agree. 

Yes it is. I’m totally guilty of the hype. We need this wee need that. This lure blah blah. Man I caught as many fish as I normally would yesterday on mono. Caught as many on mono as I have with flouro and braid ( I do love me some braid I’m from Florida originally) but I’m focusing the rest of this year on down sizing and simplifying everything. As I unpack more fishing stuff from moving it’s just insane. I look like a small tackle store. And just don’t use half of it haha

On 5/19/2025 at 1:20 PM, bowhunter63 said:

 Big Game is tough . Especially if your fishing rocky bottoms. Been using it forever 

I know of a tournament fisherman (for what it's worth) and Big Game is pretty much all he uses. 

4 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

I am still baffled so many people use big game. There are certain applications like surf casting and maybe fishing for catfish where I can see its benefit.

 

My experience has been it's awful for many reasons for me.

- It doesn't lay on the spool well and doesn't remain tight. 

- It gets horribly water logged and changes the buoyancy of the line as you fish.

- Its somewhere around 20% thicker than copolymer and fluoro lines of reported lb test. Combine that with the waterlogged line and it quickly becomes huge on your spool.

- It's so springy and stretchy that it kills any hope of super accurate casts towards the bank or targeting structure. Most of my casting is hitting targets the size of a dinner plate - big game is nigh impossible in this application.

- When fishing big baits you need to respool about every 4-6 hours of fishing due to the line stretching out and becoming unwieldy. 

- Hooksets are rough. It feels like a rubber band. Sure, once it's hooked the line absorbs the headshakes and does well fighting them.

- After speaking to a rod builder he said most of the newer rods are designed around using fluorocarbon and braid.

- Because of the stretch dialing in your drag is a lot tougher.

 

I rarely use spinning reels and I have about 40 baitcasters that are all spooled up with various forms of braid as the main line to flouro or copoly leaders depending on the need. I get 3+ years on the braid so its a heck of a lot cheaper and less time consuming than spooling up with mono. 

 

It's so hard for me to understand people using mono. 

I mean no disrespect, but I do not understand people using the braid to flouro leader. Sure, more sensitivity? Maybe. But why create a weak link? Not to mention the hassle. 

I stopped using mono for about 4 months one season.  That was a long 4 months.

Big Game on my Baitcasters and most of my Spinning reels. But Stren where I need to see the line easily. On my ultralight rigs I use Vicious, Mr. Crappie, or cheap Zebco Omniflex.

 

This afternoon using an ultralight rig for panfish while bank fishing I snagged a large tree branch with a 1/32 oz jig and Omnflex 4# line. I kept pulling it waiting for the line to snap but it slowly pulled in that huge branch until I got it to the bank. The line was shot but it never broke

 

Mono + Uni Knot is pretty much unbreakable.

i bought a spool of 16 pound sunline supernatural yesterday.it spooled on my baitcaster beautifully.casts great havent actually fished it yet. so we will see about strength and stretch this weekend.

I discovered Sufix Siege and Elite mono several years ago and never looked back. they are both awesome. 

 

I use them on both baitcasting and spinning gear. 

I tried braid and the whole braid to leader thing and I didnt like it.