What Brand of Mono

[SoCalAngler]

At one time I worked in a tackle shop and mono was free to me so I tried most of the major brands and some lines what were not even out on the market yet...beta testing I guess you could call it. Before I worked there I fished Berkley Big Game pretty much all of the time for lighter applications, say up to 60 lb mono. Heavier line I used Soft Steel Ultra for picky bites or if it went wide open Izorline First String mono. After trying many lines I now fish Izorline XXX pretty much exclusively. I like the fact of it's small diameter to breaking strength, abrasion resistance do to it being a co-polymer (mono/fluoro) and low memory. I now pay for my mono and I'll take the triple X every time. Also the triple X comes in a clear or smoke color though I mainly fish the clear for saltwater but many freshwater lake guys swear by the smoke.

[FatTuna]

I like Berkeley Big game. It's really soft. Not a ton of memory.

[MFB]

Sufix & Berkley for me. The majority of my reels are spooled with nylon.

Regards

Mark

[Tightlines667]

Growing up I always favored IGFA line class rated line for light tackle trooling/chunking/live baiting applications.  It has a thin diameter, low memory, decent abrasion, excrllent knot strength, and breaks just below its actual rating.  I have heard good things about the MoiMoi Diamond, and Izori XXX too.  Many local meat hunters use cheap, heavy OPI, or Korean-made mono.  You just have to respool more frequently, but cost savings are considerable 1/3-1/2 cost.  I still like ANDE for my Marlin lure leaders.  I think flexability and abrasion resistance are key with trolling baits.

[jaypeegee]

you didnt specify what type of fishing you would be doing but Stren Original is very castable and can be had in hi vis yellow if you look. for surf fishing or trolling I use BBG or Ande in hi vis green. not the limpest but tried and true. Suffix also, and is limper than last two.

To be specific I am fishing from a pier with spinning and conventional reels using various artificial baits in the 3/4 oz to 1-3/4 oz, also Top water plugs up to 3oz. The reels that I use for bottom fishing are already loaded with Braid. Just looking for a good grade of Mono for plugin in 15#-20# that will cast well and have little memory as possible.     

Using mono for casting plugs seems counter intuitive to me. I would automatically think braid for this application personally. I am curious and would love to hear why.

Anyway. I use Sakuma night crystal for surfcasting as it is super bright and easily seen after dark, has limited memory, good abrasion resistance and 10kg line knots well into 40Kg leader.

I guess that's why there is more then one horse in a horse race. I happen to like mono for casting plugs and that's my only explanation, as far as counter intuitive  Not sure what your point is but you seam to be the expert here. Actually I haven't tried Braid for casting plugs and maybe I will, but for now Ill just try one of the suggested Mono's, most likely it will be Momoi. 

The low/ no stretch of braid gives me a better feel for the lures I use. Poppers pop better. Stick baits swim better and small spoons cast better.  Mono and its tendency to stretch negates those factors. You are right about choices being important and there are times when braid is a poor choice. But in my limited experience casting lures is more enjoyable with braid. 

Also. When someone says " happens to like"  it means there usually is a damn good reason behind that choice.

[thorhammer]

if by pluggin from a pier you mean Gotcha's for spanish and blues, then i go 20 lb power pro with a 30 " fluoro leader. know its not mono but that extra distance will keep your keep your plug in the water longer instead of in  the air coming back up to recast. the low stretch also means it just takes a little flick to get that plug to work. JM .02

John

[0119]

I usually end up with big game because mono is so hard to find locally, I think I'm the only one still using it.  I prefer Maxima when i can find it for its suppleness. It is the lowest memory mono I've found.  Big Game usually has to be replaced because of twist after 3 trips, one if I use a spoon even with a high dollar bb swivel.

[Reel 224]

Well there are lots of different opinions on Mono and Brade, and I am glad I got so many responses that have given me a better perspective on the two. I may just try moving to Braid in the future for plugging the Pier.

Hay jaypeegee: No sweet bro, I just happen to like Mono...old school, old dog.   

[Keta]

Uncoated Spectra is limp and has zero memory, this helps casting but it can also cause problems.

[MarkT]

Wind knots in spectra is really something!

I find it 'interesting' what some feel are positives about some mono.  For instance, I quit using Maxima on my baitcasters because it has so much memory that it coils like crazy while others like it because it has low memory!  Not my experience at all.

I really like the co-polymers like PLine CXX and now, Izorline XXX.  XXX is easy for me to find and it tends to be cheaper than CXX.  CXX is what I switched to when I dumped Maxima on my smaller reels.  These lines are very stong... and stretchy, which is part of why they are so hard to break.  I like the feel of co-polymers as well.  They cast well on baitcasters and I have lots of Calcutta's, Curado's, Lexa's, NaCL's, etc.  I use it as my leader/top shot on my jig and bait rigs too and just tie on some fluoro when the bite gets tough.

I've never tried Momoi or hardly ever seen it.  Ande is too stiff for me but some of the old Albacore (I mean Unicorn) fishermen swear by pink Ande. Big Game is pretty stiff and hard too but has a good combo of attributes for the money.

The most important thing is to use what you have confidence in!

[Keta]

Wind knots in spectra is really something!

Yup!  I watched a wind knot wrap around a rod tip then saw the tip off when a fish hit and made a strong run.

[retrofit]

I have a question about Mono, that is what brand of mono does anyone think is better and has less memory. Ive heard so much about Braided lines, but nothing on monofilament and we have a lot of fisherman that are still using it, including myself. So how about it?

Seaguar has a mono called Senshi. While I have not used it, I do use Seaguar fluorocarbon as a leader material. From your description of how you are planning to fish, it sounds a lot like how I fish for Speckled Sea Trout and Redfish here in Pensacola Florida. Fishing with artificials from a boat or the beach over grass flats requires long casts. I also fish around dock pilings so abrasion is always a concern when a Redfish decides to take you under a dock and pull your line across the barnacles on the pile. So here is what I've used. Starting in about 2006, I went with Cortland Masterbraid line on all of my level wind and spinning reels; about 20 all total. Poundage ranges from 10 to 80. I use Cortland because most of the Muskie hunters up in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and other northern states, that are really in the know, swear by its reliability and quality. Muskie fishing is all about casting and the plugs are really big; like 4 to 16 oz or even larger. On my lighter casting and spinning rigs I'll tie on a fluorocarbon leader that is 4 to 6 feet long and that is 2# to 10# heavier than my main line. 10# line would have 12# to 20# leader depending on if I'm going to be fishing around those aforementioned pilings or when Spanish Macks are cutting off my plugs. I join the leader to the main line using a modified Red Phillips knot, the modification being that I finish the knot with 3 - 6 half-hitches and then leave a half-inch tag in the branded line. There have been several comments about wind knots. Another reason I like Cortland Masterbraid is because it is a bit stiffer as braided lines go. That cuts way down on the wind knots and they also are easier to get out if they do happen. There you have it.

[Breadfan]

Berkley Big game for me. I use 15 lb. for pompano off the beach and for fresh water bass fishing. In my baitcasters, it's limp and I cast as far as I need to with mono. I use 20 lb. off the pier. For the price, it's hard to beat. Does not seem to work well in the only spinning reel i have (Mitchell 301), for that, I use Berkley Trilene XL Smooth casting. You know, to each his own. The one thing I like about Big Game, it's tough. I've wrapped fish around pilings and not had them break off, which can be a bad thing for the fish when you have to cut the line!

[Reel 224]

I understand it's a matter of preference on whether people us mono or Braid, I do understand that braid has some good advantages though, and the comments here are appreciated, But my question was about mono.

[0119]

To me there is so much to dislike about braid it out shadows the good.  Every time I use a spinning reel it reminds me how good life is using a baitcaster, braid does the same thing to me, it reminds me how good life is with mono.  There was a short lived internet catfishing tackle shop a couple years ago that had a chinese mono called Invicta.  I loved it and then it was gone!  Lately big game had turned chaulky and cloudy on the spool prematurely for me.  I'm looking forward to trying Platypus from Australia as soon as it hits our shores this year.