Favorite monofilament

To cut short the use braid instead of mono hijack,I do use braid in a lot of applications, but for light line I prefer monofilament. My 3000 yd bulk spools of 4 and 6 are both about empty and I need to re-stock (those spools lasted a good 10 years or so). The line I had been using was Silver Thread. I may go back to using that since it is good line and not very expensive. However, the last reel I bought I got spooled with line at Fishermans (first time I had ever had that done). They used a Gamma line that seems quite nice and has perhaps held up a bit better. It got me to thinking that before I take the plunge I should query my brothers and sisters on this site as to their favorite line and perhaps a note as to why.

Thanks for playing!

I run Trilene on all of my light tackle rods.  It's "usually" pretty durable and will last 2 yrs on the reeel before needing to be respooled.

I am currently using 12# test P-Line CX Premium, which is a fluorocarbon coated copolymer.  Casts well, seems abrasion resistant, holds knots, seems like it has less stretch, and the fluorocarbon coating keeps it nearly invisible.
I like it much better for casting than Maxima Ultragreen (which I used to use, but don't any more). I found the Ultragreen to be a bit thicker diameter than other monos for its rating, and doesn't cast all that well, but holds knots very well. Ultragreen 8# feels like 10#, and I don't like to cast the 12#, since it casts like 15# and shortens my casts. I like the P-Line much more, for its castability and relatively low stretch.

I'm using the 12# P-line CX on my surf casting stick, since I am hucking up to 3 oz of lead.

I don't use spinning gear much in freshwater except for steelhead and salmon fishing. Maybe for bank fishing sturgeon, if I start doing that. From an anchored yak, or backtrolling in my mini-drifter, I could just free-spool line out from a level wind. My lake fishing and trout fishing are all done with a fly rod.
 
I also had some P-Line Fluoroclear 12# on my Penn 450SS for two seasons a few years ago, and it rocked. I recall that that it cast very well and must have been invisible to the fish, because I was always slayin the coho and kings with that setup when I was using it. That could have been due to lots of water time and good runs, though.

I have tried using braid as a mainline on my steelhead jigging spin rod, and it works really great since you can put floatant on it and mend it, and get good hook sets due to the lack of stretch. You need at least 30# for that, and 40# or 50# handles even better, but I don't want 50# braid as mainline, since it is nearly imposssible to bust it off if you get it snagged above your terminal rig.

Also, I really really hate dealing with the stuff. Cutting it, tying knots, having to be more careful about line cuts on one's fingers, etc, etc...all of that sucks big time for me. I hate it when a loop of slack hangs up around the tip of my rod, too. It seems to like to do that, if you're not careful.

In spite of my aversion to dealing with braid, I use it on my level wind bottom-fish jigging rig, since it is hands down the best for that. No memory.

On my level wind vertical jigging rig, I use braid, with a heavy mono leader spliced to it (no swivel), so I can reel it in past the tip if I need to. I forgot what the splice was called. It was some complicated thing I did at home at my kitchen table. If my leader breaks off at the splice out on the water, I'll have to just tie on a swivel with whatever knot is recommended for doing that with braid, and drop a mono leader off that. This way, I don't have to tie more than the absolute minimum of knots in braid or have to cut it while I'm out fishing.

I used to swear by Stren as it was cheap and worked great. However, the last couple of times I've used it the line became weak and brittle in a matter of months. I'm not sure if it's an issue with them or me, but I can't think of anything different I've been doing with how I store the rods it's on. Trilene I've found to work okay but I now prefer maxima for all of my mono set ups, especially in 4-6 range set ups.

My favorite line is 17# test Berkley Vanish Transition....color clear/gold.....wound on my Abu Garcia, ambassaduer 6501C5 reel.
After having Maxima Ultragreen break for no apparent reason while spinner casting.....this lines seems to develop a weak spot even though I use swivels.......I have found the Berkley Transitions to be a superior line.
I do a ton of spinner casting on the Hood River and like the performance of Transitions......not only can I see the line but it is very tough/resistant to damage by rocks when a steelhead decides to head for a rock.
I also find that after 2 to 3 months of use, I unwind the line and rewind from the "used end" around the spool........this doubles the life of the line

I just noticed that the 10# Maxima I am using for leaders on my surf perch rig is thicker diameter than the 12# P-line mainline.
P-Line CX Premium 12#: 0.29mm dia
Maxima Ultragreen 10#:  0.30mm dia
Maxima Ultragreen 12#:  0.31mm dia

I would have to go to 8# leaader in the maxima to get a thinner diameter leader (than my mainline) for my surf perch rig.

I have also used Suffix Tritanium Plus 10# for surf perch, since it is a low stretch mono. its 0.30 mm diameter, so I used 8# Maxima for leaders. 8# was my favorite Maxima Ultragreen, since it has 10# breaking strength. Its actually 10# test, but Maxima "cheats" by calling it 8#.  IMHO, one should really begin any comparison of different lines by starting with samples of the same diameter, and then go from there with all the other rating info.

I use braid when I need heavier line but stick with Stren on my smaller set ups.  It is cheap and has never let me down. 
 I tried 8 or 10 lb braid when spiderwire first came out and still have a small notch in one of my incisors from trying to bite it. 

If casting,  I use Trilene Big Game specifically in Solar Collector Green.   I started using it while casting on crowded banks where cross lines lines are far too common.   It's glowing green color makes it easy for my eyes to follow and much easier when untangling from the line of others.    I typically use Maxima Ultragreen as a leader.

Since I have a nice cost plus 0% deal where I work part time, I've found Izorline to work best on spinning reels. I use anywhere from 6-10lb depending on what fishies I'm after. It peels off real smooth and is strong. For salmon trolling I've switched to Berkley Big Game mono and usually will use 20-25lb test. Used Stren as a kid trout fishing but when I moved to Steelie/Salmon town, I found it just didn't hold up well. Still have been a creature of habit for Maxima Ultragreen in 8-12lb
for river Chromers when drift fishing. With bad eyesight, I'm going to start trying Power Pro in the yellow Hi-Vis "Old Man" line, especially when jig/float time with a Maxima 6-10 lb clear leader.

I saw a "new" line in the spring preview Cabela's catalog. Berkely NanoFil Uni-Filament.
Stuff is made from Dyneema. anyhow, its supposed to be "zero-stretch, smooth, highly abrasion resistant, frictionless and far-casting."  Hawked as "the ultimate spin-fishing line."

Anybody here try this stuff yet? Sounds like just what I think I might need, based on the hype. except, OUCH its $20 for only 150 yds.  300 yds is $39. double OUCH!

I saw that stuff last year and have been wanting to give it a try.

I have tried several different super braids over the years on a couple of spinning and baitcaster reels.    The occasional wind knots kept me going back to mono when ever a great deal of casting is envolved.   Also found that you become VERY unpopular when using it on crowded banks with others using mono around you 
 
I bought some of this stuff for my boss last year as they also promoted it as a hybred line that casts much like mono.   It didn't seem much more immune to wind knots than any other.