I am pretty new to fishing, and have since learned that there are many different kinds of fishing line out there. After viewing the results from the poll on which fishing line you would use in a tournament, it seems everybody has their own preference. My question is, what are the different kinds of line, and what are the pros/cons of each?

there are three main types of fishing line:

1) monofilament

pros: inexpensive, widely available

cons: stretches a lot, floats

best uses: general purpose

2) braid

pros: zero stretch, lasts a long time, small diameter, strong, cuts through grass and weeds

cons: high visibility, floats, expensive, easily cut on rocks, susceptible to wind knots and wrapping around line guides

best uses: topwater, ripping lipless cranks through grass, fishing in heavy timber

3) fluorocarbon

pros: sinks, low visibility, high abrasion resistance, low stretch

cons: line memory, not as limp as mono, expensive, kinks and knicks really weaken line

best uses: anything except topwater.

Well done!

Thanks for the help!