What Is The Best Monofilament Line For Abrasion Strength?
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
Wondering which monofilament fishing line can handle abrasion resistance best?
Well I’m pleased to report that I put some of the most popular monofilament lines against one another in these head-to-head tests to see which one truly is the strongest.
And I filmed them in order for you to be able to see exactly what I did so that you can see for yourself how the lines performed.
In case this is the first line test that you’ve seen here on Salt Strong, please note that there is no sort of line sponsorship activity behind these experiments.
These series of tests are to simply help us all be able to determine which line truly is best irrespective of what the line manufacturer’s claims are.
So let’s dive in to this latest experiment…
Best Monofilament Line Experiment
After publishing the shocking test results from prior line experiments from our line testing platform shown above, we have had a lot of great suggestions come in from the community.
For example, many line recommendation suggestions came from the recent test where the traditional monofilament line completely schooled the expensive fluorocarbon lines for abrasion strength (see test here)…
So I took note of the most popular suggestions, and I went out and bought the following lines for this experiment:
- Berkley Big Game
- Stren Original
- Ande (Leader)
- Berkley Trilene XL
Note: I included one line (Ande) that was marketed as a Leader to see if it was any more or less abrasion resistant to the lines sold in bulk as mainlines.
These lines were all tested on the same line testing platform which ensures that the two lines being tested against one another are getting rubbed with the exact same abrasive surface at the same time with the same amount of pressure.
All of these lines are rated at 20 lbs. There diameters where mostly the same, but there was some fluctuation so my hypothesis was that the thickest line would be the ultimate winner.
Here are their diameters:
- Berkley Trilene Big Game: o.46mm
- Stren Original: 0.45mm
- Ande (Leader): 0.45mm
- Berkley Trilene XL: 0.41mm
Best Mono Line [Test Results]
Watch the video below to see how the lines perform when put in head-to-head bouts.
Click here to see the Mono vs. Fluoro experiment where this same Andy mono leader completely demolished two very popular fluorocarbon leaders that are very expensive.
Conclusion
It was cool to see that the different monofilament lines did have different reactions to the abrasion. They all were fairly close, but two of them stood out as top contenders.
And what was most interesting was that the one that was branded as leader material was not quite as strong as two of the lines that are sold in bulk to be used as a mainline.
Here are the two that proved to hold up best:
These two were extremely close, but given that the line diameter of the Stren line was slightly thinner, I’ll be using the Stren on the water to see if I can tell any difference in fish caught per hour compared to using the expensive fluorocarbon.
Please let us know your thoughts about these lines or others that you feel the community should know about… the best way to do so is to use the Comment box below so that everyone can see your thoughts.
If you have any friends who are using these lines, please be sure to send this post to them so that they can see how theirs holds up to the others.
Fish On!
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Luke, I trust your judgement in all things related to fishing, and I got some 20 lb. Stren that was on sale for $6. I put it on for my leader and I put it right next to a rig with 20 lb. Ande leader. For my eyes, the ‘blue’ Stren really stands out next to the ‘clear’ Andy. I’m sure there’s a difference as well when it’s under water. Do you know how fish ‘see’ colors such as this? Do you think a fish will ‘notice’ the blue Stren more than the ‘clear’ Ande? I used to use Stren mono when I fished for bass years ago and I caught plenty. What is your opinion on this, and is there any research on how fish ‘see’ colors?
Hey Dave, thank so much for leaving the nice comment!
I have never tried colored line for leader simply because I don’t understand how a colored line can have an advantage over clear line for visibility. There is a book (I believe it’s called “What Fish Actually See” written by a stealhead fisherman who put a good amount of research into what fish see underwater, but it was more focused on the lure colors that stand out the most vs. a line color that stands out the least. I read that book a few years ago, and it seemed as if the greens and blues held their colors pretty well underwater. So the blue may be good in blue-tinted water since it would technically blend in… but I not sure if it has an advantage over clear
Luke, I just got back from fishing with the 20 lb. Stren leader and caught an 18.5″ speck and several smaller ones. I think they like the ‘blue hue’! Thanks for putting me on the mono and Stren, I’m a believer!!!
That’s awesome news! Thanks for sharing the results with your test.
My dad used to be a long range captain in Texas but he moved to the california tuna scene. I remember he told me to always use smoke or regular blue line when fishing for tuna. He still to this day only uses Izorline Platnium and Maxima tuna blue for recreational fishing. When when do tourneys like the Los Cabos Tuna Jackpot, we only use varivas ocean record for mono or varivas jigging shock for fluoro
There’s been several articles published about what colors Walleye (a northern freshwater fish found in the US and Canada) see. They are approximately the same size as Speckled Trout, but feed in low light conditions. Here’s a url to some of these results, unfortunately these results are not applicable to Speckled Trout, Redfish, and other SW fish since their eye physiology is different.
https://www.in-fisherman.com/editorial/what-walleyes-see/369966
There also has been quite a fair amount of research done on what colors fish of the salmonid family see better and which colors are less visible in deeper water (not so applicable to inshore fishing). One of many posts you can find is here. Some info. about salmonid sight might be applicable to Speckled Trout.
https://www.sexyloops.com/articles/whatsalmonidssee.shtml
Just a note from a lifetime trout and bass angler. If you’re talking about fluorescent blue there are times when the fish are attracted to the fluorescent blue line and therefore your lure and you wind up catching more fish.
Jinkai mono I was told was the best mono in terms of durability for fish after fish catching ability. Jinkai is not inexpensive by any means, I would like to see this line in a true durability test. Is the extra cost of Jinkai worth the price. I typically use a quality mono for a top shot when offshore fishing on top of my braid. The top shot is typically replaced after several quality fish due to fatigue. I was told that Jinkai could go fish after fish which sounds enticing, and could save time and money in the long run if this was in fact true.
Jinkai is the standard for the commercial salmon fishery in California and along the west coast. I personally use 100-120 lb leader while trolling and can easily get 2-3 seasons worth of fish out of it (if not broken off by crab pots, sharks, or sea lions).
Very good information Mr. Simonds.
I often spool up Berkley Trilene Sensation in 14 lbs test on my bait casting reels.
Casts very well, is abrasion resistant, strong and is knot friendly.
Maxima Chameleon or Ultragreen is my favorite fresh water line.
Luke have you any experience with Ande Ghost? I build my surf dropper rigs with it, and like the toughness and suspect the “dull” low-shine surface is fairly stealthy as well. Also, who is the singer at the end of this video?
Luke, thank you so much for these abraision tests. I am a whitewater river smallmouth chaser and the rocky bottoms eat up leaders. I went the fluoro route for a good bit but have returned to a mono/co-poly leader. I have noticed that the popular brand P-Line is not showing up in your testing nor in the Sport Fishing Mag tests. Since their CXX is highly regarded as a Big Game twin, it is surprising not to see it. Any insight here? Thanks again for all your research and testing.
So swell to be an insider. But, only your videos cut out constantly at 06:00 seconds and again at 22 sconds And again often just buffer off all together. It is not my provider for Internet Luke because youtube never buffers off. I am sorry for this to be . I have purchased 2 of your courses and love them and they never buffer off . But tips and insiders alway misbehave. Sorry for the bad news . And by the way Netflix never buffers off on my iPad Air 2 like it is just swell watching a movie. I asked Sun Coast, my provider to come over and showed my problem and they tested all when they saw tips buffer off , tested them and they said it’s your video problem not theirs.
Best Regards
JohnMartin
Hey John, I am very sorry to see that you are having trouble viewing some of our videos. All of the videos we show on our site are either hosted by YouTube (our free content) or Vimeo (our private content for courses and Insider tips).
Since it looks as if your issue is isolated to the Insider videos, the problem seems to me isolated to Vimeo.
And when I hear about this happening to the private videos, 99% of the time it’s due to internet speed issues. The easy way to test it is to click on the Settings icon in the bottom right corner of the video (looks like a small wheel), and then select a lower quality video option. If any of them still hangs up while on a lower setting, please let me know.
I have seem green braid under water in grass beds around Stump Pass when I accidentally dropping my rod over board lately and waded in to retrieve it with goggles on. The green braid was near ivisable under water in the grass beds. Mono And Florocarbon leaders can reflect sunlight which I have observed often in my life. Sort of lovely to see on sunny days as my gig dropped to a 10 ‘ rock bed. Luke , can Mono cast well enough by you to target snook on Gulp and 1/16 ounce hook with the extra stretch on Mono compared to braid? Why not just uses Mono only on your spinning reel? We know now it has the strongest abrasive ability of any fishing line so far. What a swell discovery Luke.
Cheers
John Matin
Yes, when looking down towards the bottom, the green braid is very tough to see. But when looking up, it is more than mono/fluoro.
Regardless of the visibility factor, I still will always use braid as my mainline when using spinning tackle because it enables much longer casts (up to 30% further based on this test: https://www.saltstrong.com/fishing-tip/casting-braided-line-vs-monofilament-line). And I also like that I can feel every bump due to its non-stretch nature.
Swell ideas Luke .Thank you so much. Just practicing when time allows. But I know I have to be a fine casting fishermen to use Gulp well.
Fluoro may be more invisible but I am starting to think the mono may be easier for me as a beginner from a leader perspective. I am just concerned about going from a 10lb braid to say a 20 lb mono and getting the knot right.
Those are the same lines I use, and the FG knot does an amazing job at holding a ton of power while also being very slim. Here’s a link to a post that shows how to tie it: https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/how-to-tie-the-fg-knot/
You could try Cajun Advantage which is a copolymer. Or this article suggests Berkley Big Game and Stren original.
Curious as to why you didn’t try the Trilene XT, (extra tough). It doesn’t cast well, but by definition, should be good leader material.
Also, how about a stretch comparison between mono and Fluoro carbon ?
Traditional mono line is known to have more stretch than fluorocarbon, but each one is slightly different so that would be a tough test to pull off. I only use mono or fluoro for my leader (braid to leader to lure), and the stretch difference between the two is not noticeable given that only a short strand is being used (less then 3 ft of line).