I would like to discuss in detail what everyone's thoughts are when it comes to line, what things are important to one person but maybe not important to another.  Now I know that many of you are going to be braid fans, and some others are going to be fluorocarbon fans, but lets look at why?  What positive aspects make you lean one way over another, is it water clarity, size of the fish, sensitivity or is it strength to diameter?

I've always been a mono/copolymer fan, however I am looking for the sensitivity and strength of a given line.  Now I fish mostly stained waters as the "river rat" that I am, however I find it mentally hard to fish braided line, even though it would probably my best choice.  I guess I have purchased my Japanese reels (Alpha's, Steez's) and paired them with St. Croix Legend Elite's to gain my sensitivity.  I will typically only fish frogs on braid, and I'm debating to fish some fluorocarbon line on my flipping sticks this year instead of copolymer's.

My questions:

What makes you choose your preferred all around line?

What conditions make you switch (finesse fishing, flipping, frogs)?

How much does water clarity effect your choice depending on your application?

In your opinion, of the lines you have fished (experience with each-braid, fluorocarbon & mono/copolymer) what have you found to be the biggest differences between them as far as sensitivity, abrasion resistance and strength (both knot and test for test)?

Lets see some great discussion please.

Take care all,

Steve

For me, I absolutely love the Sufix DNA Promix I have been using for the past couple of years, it is very inexpensive and extremely strong and abrasion resistant.  Now by no means is it as sensitive as braid, but I have more faith in the clear line (even in dirty water) than I do with the braid (more mental probably than anything).

My experience with fluorocarbon was very short, however the more I read on these types of forums the more I understand that it was not fluorocarbon, it was the Berkley Transition brand.  What am I missing with the Gamma's, Sugoi's, Seagur's and the like?  Is the knot strength there?  Is the sensitivity really there compared to a copolymer?  I read the review on TackleTour.com and I'm not sure how those numbers compare to the real world, however I can say that my experience with the Transition was worse than there test numbers.

Braid, I have only used Power Pro, and I can't say that it was a negative experience but more a mental experience.  The noise in the guides was hard for me to swallow (especially with all my rods being $300) and the fact of the possibly strikes difference with the more visible line (or is it in the water's I fish?).

That's all for now, let's here it ....

Steve

Fishability is my #1 factor

I will not fish a line that is a PITA is manage just because it's extra strong, invisible, tough, etc.  It has to have some of those qualities though.

Right now I have Gamma Copolymer on all of my reels (various line sizes for various applications) except one.  That one has braid and I use it for c-rigging and fishing in heavy cover.

I used to be a braid nut. Every reel I owned had some type of braid on it including my spinning reels with the exception of my cranking setup. It was great. I had all the bases covered with strength, sensitivity, and no memory.

Last year for the first time I started using copoly and fluoro. What a huge eye opener that was for me. Almost immediatly my catch ratio went up. I really do think that heavily pressured fish will respond better to these type of lines. I tried the fluoro on my jig setup and was very pleased with abrasion resisitance and sensitivity. I would rate fluoro IMHO as being 80-85% sensitive as braid. Manageability was less but very tolerable especially with baitcasters.

I will take this small tradeoff for more fish anyday. I feel that by using more line types has made me a better angler in such a short period. I still use my braid in the real nasty areas or when water clarity is less of an issue, but I feel my level of success is much better now with these new tools in my arsenal.

I fish mostly stained or muddy water and use braid almost exclusively.  That said I had quite a few nice fish last year that I lost on traps, and I would bet that I was pulling the hook out of their mouth.  

On my one spinning setup I have Yozuri Ultra Soft and really like it for spinning tackle but did not like it for baitcasting gear.  

This year however I did buy some non braided lines for crankbaits and swimbaits to hopefully lose less fish than before wit braid.  For me if I am not fishing a treble hook lure and it is dirty water I will still fish power pro.  

I had already been fishing a LONG time when braid showed up.  Like most guys back then, I jumped on that wagon and experimented with it immediately, including the Dyneema fiber fused superlines.  It never really grabbed me and I went back to my Trilene XT on all my rigs within a year.  I use the Clear XT for everything in 6,10,14 and 17lb test.  It is exactly what I like, and with the most recent changes Berkley has made to it, I like it even more.  It is tougher but also less forgiving, particularly in lb test above 12.  The manageability factor is not a big concern in my fishing.  I want a tough mono, XT delivers.

I do on ocassion use 12/50 Power Pro if I'm on a very solid reed pattern that requires pitching jigs.  But I also use 17 lb XT for this with no problems.  I just never really cared for the braid but I will concede it is a better choice at times in certain conditions.

I was going to try some Trilene Pro Grade Flouro this summer but after reading about it in general, I'm again skeptical of change.  I'll probably give it a go but as always I'm reluctant in change with lines.  XT has given me no reason to change yet.  I just like the stuff and it has been good for me.

I go back quite farther than y'all because when braid first came out it was made of Cotton, Micron, & Dacron; all of these were before then invention of monofilaments. So needless to say I've tried almost every braid, mono, copolymer, super fiber, and fluorocarbon available.

My choice for 98% of my fishing regardless of technique is Berkeley Big Game Mean Green. Why? Big Game is inexpensive, strong as any mono, highly abrasion resistant, has the shock absorption and fighting power to handle big fish in fresh or saltwater; out-performs Ande and Maxima in key tensile and shock strength tests.

Like KU_Bassmaster, my most important consideration is managability. This is the aspect that makes fishing more or much less enjoyable. All other considerations involve compromise and cost.

Features I consider are overall strength and shock absorption; diameter relative to pound test rating. Other features include resistance to abrasion, stealth, longevity, knot requirements and cost.

After experimenting with many lines over the years, I am currently fishing Yo-Zuri Hybrid and Hybrid Ultra Soft. However, I will continue to test other lines as they are introduced. One line of particular note is Sunline Defier, which meets all of my criteria except cost. I believe the Sunline Fluorocarbons may also be exceptional, but again the price reflects this and makes it prohibitative for many.

8-)

When I was a kid I remember braided line being on all the casting rods and I was really good at making birds nest with it,Lol. Braid has come a long way baby! but it's still not my thing.

I'm kind of stuck on this Cajun Red Cast #17 for all my bait casting and #12 on my spinning rods. This stuff is about as hard to break as a steel cable and cast really great! Yes, the #17 is a little stiff but it doesn't seem to hurt a thing. My old Pappy used to say ...."Son, if it ain't broke don't try to fix it" Mike

PS Muddy turned me on to some stuff that I'm going to try here shortly just to see how I like it.

I DON'T GET IT.IMHO RED CAST IN THE SAME POUND TEST IS LIMPER THAN ANY OTHER LINE I KNOW OF INCLUDING TRILENE XL.oops,sorry about the caps lock being on!!! ;D

I DON'T GET IT.IMHO RED CAST IN THE SAME POUND TEST IS LIMPER THAN ANY OTHER LINE I KNOW OF INCLUDING TRILENE XL.oops,sorry about the caps lock being on!!! ;D

Your right and I never said it wasn't like most others out there but there are some #17-#20 test line on the market today that is strong but softer, thinner and less wiry (spelling?) is that a word? NOW QUIT YELLING AT ME, YOUR SCARING THE FISH AWAY!!! Mike