The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Fishing Line Inexperienced anglers often don’t give much thought to how their choice of fishing line might effect their catch. Here, you’ll learn how different colors and strengths of fishing line can affect your ability to reel in a plethora of fish.
Monofilament line is nearly undetectable underwater, stretches more (in proportion to its lb test), and is resistant to punctures from jagged underwater debris and toothy fish.
Fluorocarbon Line: Practically invisible in water, but more expensive than Monofilament Line. In my opinion, they both function similarly; nevertheless, the main difference is that Fluorocarbon Line is more expensive and you get less line for the money.
When targeting game fish like snook, tarpon, redfish, grouper, etc., both monofilament and fluorocarbon make reliable leaders.
Braided Line: Due to its light weight and narrow diameter, braid allows for more line to be stored on a reel than monofilament or fluorocarbon. However, braid can be easily snagged by jagged underwater debris such as rocks and barnacles.
Additionally, braid comes in a wide variety of colors, and I will note that using highly visible colors like Yellow, Pink, and some other bright colors in some water may decrease your chances of catching fish due to the line’s visibility. If you don’t want to mess with braid and can only afford the strongest monofilament line for your reel, use that instead.
Because the water I fish in isn’t always clear, I use a longer monofilament leader—sometimes as much as four feet of leader line—to keep my braid out of the fish’s line of sight.
Stick with monofilament for ease of usage, or, if you’re fishing in colored water, choose a braided line in a shade that complements the water.
Sometimes, you’ll notice that other fishermen have switched to using brightly colored line to help them spot any interference with their bait. However, I try to stay away from lines of particularly vivid color.
