Fishing Line Selection  

Which Class Should I Use? What Color? What Weight...10 pound...20 pound test? 

Based on what I have used in the past, I will attempt to walk you through the miles of fishing line.

How many times have you gone to Bass Pro or other sporting goods store and stood there looking at all the line and say to yourself "Which Line Do I Buy"? Most of the time the wall runs the length of the store with nothing but Fishing line.

Two Main Classes of Fishing Line

Fishing line in my books comes in two different classes,
what we call Monafilament, and Braid or Braided.

In the monafilament you have Fluorocarbon, CAJIN, Fluoroclear,  lo-Vis, Clear Blue, Moss Green, Magnathin, and Fluorescent.

Braid Line, you have Camo, High performance, Invisi-Braid, Moss Green and new lines coming out everyday.

The fishing line brands I have mentioned above can all be found on my site and save you a trip to Bass Pro, not to mention having it delivered right to your door.

The fishing lines above are what I call Fresh Water lines, however have seen some used in saltwater.

The companies that make the line you will see most often are Stren, Berkley, and Bass Pro.

Alright, I think I have covered most of the different lines and now, let's move on to "What I use now and have used in the past".

Monafilament Fishing Line I've Used

Original Stren Fishing Line

I believe the first line I ever used was made by Stren and was in a purple box called Original Stren. It is a monafilament line that I used for many years, for both day and night fishing and at the time, it served most purposes. 

Magnathin Brand Fishing Line

While I was working at Bass Pro, I got to talk to a Stren Rep. and he advised me to try the Magnathin monofilament brand made by Stren.

It is a thinner diameter and will make long cast with ease. It has more strength to haul in those hogs even the meaniest fighters.

What is so great about the Magnathin is you can spool your reel with 12 pound test and it has 10 pound diameter. So I made the change to Magnathin for years and here again, I used it on all my reels.

For the anglers that do not know: the lower the diameter you have on your reel; the farther it will cast. This does not mean to fill the reel up with the smaller line even though you can put 50% more on the reel. 

Stren Clear Blue Fluorescent Fishing Line - For Night Fishing

Then I went to Stren Clear Blue Fluorescent 17 pound when I was fishing at night. This line when using a Blacklight will help you see the slightest little tic or bite.

It looks like an anchor rope under the blacklight. I used this line for mainly nightfishing so I could see the line. The blacklight does not just light up the line but also the bank, so it will give you a idea how far to cast the lure.

How Is Fishing Line Weight Determined?

The way they rate the line is to hook it up on a machine and slowly start to apply weight on the line and measure it to the point it breaks.

So line that is rated at 10 pound test will go just a little
bit over ten pounds and then break.

Stop and think. A fish is not going to give you a slow rate of pull on the line and at times they might even lunge away from the boat. That would create a weight greater than what you are fishing with and it breaks.

So you ask what do I do now?

The most simple rule is to up the pound test, then think back in the part of this article where I said the lighter you use the farther you can cast. This means you will lose some of the casting distance when you start using a heaiver pound test.

What Pound Test Line Should I Use?

If you decide to use or need to use monofilament fishing line until you become a skilled caster, I guess the best way to steer you in the right direction would be to list it like this:

1. Pan fish - 6 to 8 pound test Monofilament
2. Bass - 12 to 17 pound test Monofilament
3. Catfish - 20 pound test Monofilament

Again monofilament is cheaper than braid as you will discover.

What Color of Line Should I Use?

I hear all the folks talking about the fish not being able to see the line under the water. (Fluorocarbon), (Cajun Red), (Moss Green), (Clear) and the list goes on. Stop and think the fish are not after your line, but what is tied on the end of it. I have never spooked a fish because of the color line I had on my reel.

Reasons To Use Monofilament Fishing Line

• Monofilament is a lot cheaper than braid 
• If just starting off fishing, get use to casting with the monofilament. Then when you get real good at casting, move up to the braid. 
• Monofilament does has a stretch to it which is recommended when throwing topwater baits because you want a little stretch when setting the hook. 

Three Enemies of Monofilament Fishing Line

There are three things that are enemies to monofilament line and they are:

1. Water, monofilament line will absorb water and become heavy after constant use. 
2. Sunlight, will break the line down and it will become brittle and start to break after being left on the boat dock or your boat deck. When the fishing rods are not being used, make sure they are out of the weather. 
3. Rocks, I do not care what they say about their line being resistant to abrasion. You run it across enough rocks that line will fray and evenutly break. That is why you see folks re-tieing their line often. Even when you do catch a very large bass, I recommend you cut it and re-tie the lure on again. 

My Introduction To Braided Fishing Line - What I Use Now

After years of using monofilaments, I was introduced to the Power Pro Brand of Braided Fishing Line.

PowerPro Braided Spectra Fiber Micro Filament Line is now my fishing line of choice.

Remember my money saving tip: Use the less expensive monofilament line instead of the braided fishing line until you are skilled at casting.

I still use the blacklight, but the sensitivity of the braid is beyond your wildest dreams. I do not know how many fish I let go by that I did not even feel pick up the lure.

I use 65 pound test line and have never lost or had a fish break my line since I switched.

The Power Pro does come in a bright Yellow that you can use at night, under the black light, but due to the sensitivity I choose not to use the yellow, because I can feel the fish and do not need to see the line.

I like the moss green due to water clarity in the Mid-South where most of the water has a green tint to it.

Power Pro has no stretch to it and you have got to be able to be on the upper level of casting. The reason is, when you either hang a big Bass Hog or get hung up the line does at times dig down into the reel, and can cause a back lash on your next cast if you are not watching it close.

Power Pro is made by Spectra and comes in 10 pound to 250 pound test, and you can have it in Moss Green, Hi-Vis Yellow, and Red.

I will be going more indepth about braided line in another article.

Again, in my opinion, the color of the fishing line does not play a factor in hauling in the bass hog or crappie slab. 

Hopefully, the information above covering the basics will help you select which class of fishing line to purchase.

If you have questions, submit them in the comment section below and I'll be happy to try to help you.

Keep the Hooks Wet!

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