I’ve long heard this question, and there is so much controversy about what line to use with what lure. The best answer to that is what you are comfortable with. There is a rule of thumb that I go by when deciding what line works best for me with what lures. This might just give you an idea of where to start when deciding what to use.
Monofilament stretches, so what I like to use this line for are lures that you don’t want to yank the hooks out of the fish’s mouth. A couple of examples would be a shallow running crankbait (like a Cotton Cordell Spot or a Strike King Square Bill) or a spinnnerbait of your liking. The reason I prefer Monofilament for this application is that the fish usually swing at these lures, and when they hit them, the stretch in the line gives just a little bit so that the fish gets the lure a little easier and you tend to get a better hook-up. Another reason when fishing a square bill around weed and wood cover, the line floats so it can help you get the lure through the cover a little better.
Fluorocarbon, on the other hand, sinks. This is the line of my choosing for most applications in my arsenal. Reason being is that the line sinks and that it is virtually invisible under water. That makes a great line for clear water and also helps you get your lures just a little deeper. I use this line for jerkbaits, deep-running crankbaits, soft plastics, Texas rigged and jigs. The line itself stretches but very little, and it also helps as a weight so it can get your crankbait a foot or two deeper and your jig to the bottom a little quicker, so you’re in the strike zone longer during the duration of the day. Other great applications for this are leader materials for spinning rods and Carolina rigs.
Braid is tough; this stuff can cut through weeds like a lawnmower. I have three applications I use for this. One is on my spinning rods along with a fluorocarbon leader. I like this because I save money on line for the fact I’m not replacing the fluorocarbon every couple of days, and if you have trouble with your line twisting, then braid would be a good choice for your equipment for the fact that it just don’t twist. The other two applications I like using this line for are punching through the weed mats and throwing a SPRO Bronzeye Frog across the top of the weeds, simply for the fact if you get bit and they take you down in the weed mat, you can winch them out of there like a tow truck pulling a semi out of a ditch.
I hope this gives you a little perspective of what lines might work for you in certain applications.
Good luck, and may the Lord fill your boat with a bounty of fish!!
by Kary Ray
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