Monofilament line changed fishing forever when Dupont introduced it as a nylon alternative in 1939. Before then, anglers were set on using Dacron braided fishing lines. And monofilament didn’t really even become the line to fish with until Dupont perfected its nylon formula some years later, making a more supple and limper line that could cast well, which it introduced as Stren in 1959.
From then until the 1990s, Stren incited an explosion of monofilament fishing lines that reigned as the top choice. Copolymers were introduced later, improving the toughness and quality of unifilament lines, but these were still fused into one-strand lines known as monofilament. When braided fishing line and Seaguar’s original fluorocarbon line came on the scene and began developing more advanced lines geared to specific techniques in various fishing circles, monofilament went by the wayside.
Our Top Picks
Today’s monofilaments are generally very good, affordable lines for what they are and what they are meant to do. We use lots every season, and wanted to run down some of the best for various fishing scenarios and situations.
- Maxima Ultragreen – Buy from Bass Pro
- Trilene XL – Buy from Bass Pro
- Berkley Big Game – Buy from Bass Pro
- Sunline Super Natural – Buy from Tackle Warehouse
- Sufix Advance – Buy from Bass Pro
- Stren Original – Buy from FishUSA
- Vicious Panfish – Buy from Walmart
Maxima Ultragreen
This remains among the best monofilaments ever made, in my opinion. Its diameter is small and the line is tough. But most importantly, it is some of the most supple and castable copolymer monofilament ever made. The biggest part of fishing is getting the fish to bite. Your line not giving away the deception is a big part of that.
For how small the diameter is on this line and how supple it remains and how well it casts, this is one of my long-time favorites for monofilament. I will admit that I had used a lot of other lines these past few years; after pulling the lines together to test and review, I was again reminded how good this line is. It even got me to order a couple of big bulk spools.
It is on the high side when it comes to monofilament. But buying bulk spools helps offset the cost and, if you are a guy who likes to use a lot of monofilament, you can get some huge spools of this line for a very low cost per reel fill up.
I use this a lot of finesse setups where I don’t want to use braid. It’s a favorite among trout anglers fishing ultra clear waters, and it’s good stuff in high pound test for swimbaits.
Trilene XL
Trilene XL finds its way onto tons of fishing rods a year. It remains a bestseller, and has been for decades thanks in part to its supple nature and shock absorption.
This was a staple for me growing up fishing, when I used a ton of 8- to 12-pound line. It has a low memory compared to other lines and fishes very well. The only drawbacks are that it can dry out over time and does have quite a bit of stretch. But I know this going in and don’t mind. Part of how I choose my lines is how well their attributes pair with the rod and reel setup I’ll spool them to. If I know my line stretches, I’ll use a faster action and a little more backbone; if my rod is moderate action and less backbone, I lean toward a braid.
I fish XL on a lot of crappie setups and medium light rods with fast tips. It casts well, is fairly sensitive, and I can set a good hook with the right rod.
Berkley Big Game
Berkley Big Game has been a lot of anglers’ workhorse line for a long time. You get a pretty good spool for about $10, and the line can endure a lot of abuse. Prior to my flipping days with fluorocarbon and braid, this was all I used. I liked 17- and 20-pound test in green for most of my pitching and winding jigs on the Arkansas River.
Full Review on Berkley Big Game
Nowadays, I always have a bunch of this line with me when I travel, and I keep a couple spools in my boat. If I blow up a reel on the water, I cut it off, wind on Big Game, and just roll on. And it never lets me down. Honestly, I don’t know why I don’t just spool it on a few rigs and go. You don’t have to replace it often, and it’s just a strong monofilament that doesn’t want to break.
Sunline Super Natural
Another really good supple monofilament is Sunline Super Natural. This comes in handy when you want a setup that sends light lures a long ways on light line. While fluorocarbon has the advantages of more invisibility, I’ve found that distance and castability with fishing line often are more important than how invisible the line is. I think we give fish too much credit for “seeing the line” and not enough credit for “seeing us.”
So, I like supple monofilaments when distance is the most important thing to me. And this applies to all sorts of fish besides just bass fishing. Any time I fish in shallow clear water, I like at least one setup with a light monofilament, and Super Natural is one I use a lot for that. Aaron Martens turned me on to it years ago, and I have enjoyed a lot success with small topwaters and little crankbaits with this line. I like the smaller pound tests from 4 to 10 pound. But I’ve also done really well with the 16-pound line flipping light baits in clear water around sparse cover like docks.
Sufix Advance
Sufix engineered Advance monofilament to both be more clear in the water and stretch half as much as regular monofilament. This super-tough fishing line has more abrasion resistance and smoother coating, thanks to its combination of HMPE and hyper copolymer materials. That makes it a very strong monofilament resisting UV absorption, which is what makes fishing line become weaker and more brittle.
Full Review on Sufix Advance Monofilament
I’ve not used this line as much as the others, but it’s a very powerful line for both hitting fish hard in close quarters and driving a good hook on long casts and in deep water.
Stren Monofilament
The original monofilament still holds a place for anglers, as it remains a good line at a great price for most anglers on a budget. I personally use this line a lot in the fluorescent blue color for night fishing so it shows up against our black lights. I really like it on my nighttime spinnerbait and jig rods when fishing at night in the summer.
It has a decent amount of stretch and it does seem to get brittle if unused for a longer period. So keep it out of the sun if you can when not using it for long periods, and change it periodically to maintain a faultless monofilament fishing line.
Vicious Panfish
Vicious Fishing makes a great, affordable panfish line. The yellow line has become synonymous with crappie fishing due to the fact that most crappie bites aren’t really felt, they’re seen. You will see your line jump or go limp. And if you’re someone who struggles to see their line against the water, you owe it to yourself to try this yellow panfish line. I stick with 4- and 6-pound tests, which have never let me down.
As Wally Marshall once told me about his own great yellow Mr. Crappie line, regarding whether crappie care about line color: “I got a whole freezer full of crappie that didn’t care about the line being yellow.”
Vicious Panfish has a good bit of stretch but it’s super low-maintenance line. It casts well, has enough sensitivity and strength to land all the crappie and bluegill you want, and you can leave it on your reel all year. Plus: It’s very affordable.
Wrapping up the best monofilament fishing lines
There are some great monofilament lines on the market. Others we have tried and liked but just haven’t used as much include Izorline, Yozuri Hybrid, Spiderwire EZ Mono, and Trik Fish. And you might have a favorite on your list that we haven’t listed here. We just try to report on the lines that we have a lot of positive personal experience with on the water.
While a lot of other best reviews are just simply looking at what’s selling on Amazon and coming up with a half-hearted list, we actually take time to test and fish with these products, especially when it comes to fishing line because we don’t want to recommend something that causes problems on the water and makes you lose out on that precious time.
So trust us when we say we use these lines a lot, and they’re good ones.
