Monofilament Fishing Line

With so many options on the market, choosing the best fishing line can seem a little difficult. But in reality, it's easy to find a line with performance characteristics that suit your fishing style. Because monofilament fishing line absorbs water, it behaves differently below the surface than when you try it out at a tackle store.

Absorbing moisture generally makes things "looser" or more relaxed than when the line is dry. It stretches better, handles better, and casts farther. On the other hand, abrasion resistance tends to decrease, as well as both tensile and impact strength.

Monofilament can be extruded from a variety of materials, but nylon is the most common and popular medium. Different types of nylon are often blended to form copolymers and multipolymers, creating varying degrees of stretch, strength, abrasion resistance, and other important properties.

Easy to handle — Thanks to its flexibility, monofilament is easy to use and suitable for many fishing situations. This flexibility (often described as pliability) makes mono easier to handle and cast than stiff line.

The mono stretches under pressure, which prevents the hook from puncturing the fish's mouth and makes it easier for the fish to unbutton. This is a factor both in the hook set and during the fight, especially when dealing with large fish at close range. For example, many top bass pros prefer thick mono like Berkley Big Game over Super Line for their pitching jigs.

Do not confuse elongation with impact strength. Impact strength is the fishing line's ability to absorb energy and is an equally important consideration. Shock strength becomes important when the line has to withstand the sudden impact of a hard hookset or a big fish slamming boatside.