This post will teach you all about the differences between Fluorocarbon Fishing Line and Monofilament Fishing Line. We will be talking about when to use Fluorocarbon vs Monofilament and how they can work together, as well as, the best knots for either type of line. By the end of this post, you will know all you need to know about these lines and find the right line for you!

There is always an ongoing debate about whether Fluorocarbon is worth the money and if it is better than Monofilament. The three main types of lines, Braid, Monofilament, and Fluorocarbon. There are many positives to using both Fluorocarbon and monofilament. You will learn why it is best to use Fluorocarbon in some situations and Monofilament in others. When I was in college I was cheap and never wanted to spend the extra 20 dollars to get great fishing line, but once I made the switch to Fluorocarbon leaders, it was a game changer, to say the least. 

What is Fluorocarbon Fishing Line? 

The Fluorocarbon line is a new and different alternative to the monofilament line. For all the science people out there, it is made up of polyvinylidene fluoride. The biggest difference between the Fluorocarbon line and the Monofilament line is that Fluorocarbon has a low stretch. 

Also if you were to look at the line, the fluorocarbon is a smaller diameter than the monofilament. Which has great benefits in the fishing world. When fishing with Fluorocarbon due to the small diameter, as an angler you can feel the bottom contours and different structures. Due to very low memory, it does not look like a curly “Q” when the line is loose. Therefore fluorocarbon is oftentimes the best fishing line to use.

Fluorocarbon also has a very high abrasion resistance, so does Monofilament, but nowhere near the same as Fluorocarbon. Even though it has a high abrasion resistance, it is important to always check the line and if it is cut up too bad always change and tie on a new leader to prevent fish loss. 

Fluorocarbon sinks when it is in water and it is nearly invisible when it is in the water.  When targeting larger fish, they will be less likely to see the line since it is almost invisible in the water, hence more bites. 

Just because it is a small diameter does not mean that it cannot handle larger fish. 

Fluorocarbon Knots: 

Knots, in my opinion, are the most important thing in fishing. They can be the difference between catching a large fish or losing a large fish. Therefore they can either make you very happy or very angry. 

There are many different knots. However, if I were to pick out some knots every fisherman should know it is how to connect braid to fluorocarbon, which I use the FG knot, uni knot, and the Albright knot. It might take a couple of times to master them. It’s a good idea to do them and test them out of the water because the last thing you want is to have a knot failure when you are hooked up on a giant.

Tying On A Hook:

Now once you have mastered one of those we move on to tying a hook. There is a wide range of knots to choose from but it all depends on what you want your lure to do. Now if you are fishing a bait that has a lot of movement such as a jerk bait, or topwater, I would use a loop knot or Rapala knot. If I am typing straight to a jighead or something like that my go-to is a Palomar knot or Clinch knot. 

Best Fluorocarbon Fishing Lines:

When we are talking about my favorite Fluorocarbon line, I have a few that I really like to use. In different situations, I use different Fluorocarbon lines.

Most saltwater anglers that are serious anglers use Fluorocarbon leaders. If I am fishing mostly saltwater, oysterbeds, and mudflats I usually use 17lb Berkley Fluorocarbon leader material. For my setup, I run a 15lb braid as my mainline then tie an FG knot to combine the two, it is possible to make very accurate casts with that lineup.

One of the advantages of a braid and fluorocarbon setup is it is low stretch. The leader material is mostly going to be in the structure and the excellent abrasion resistance is now going to allow you to fish that structure efficiently. If you are using a jighead on the fluorocarbon line you can feel the mud or oysters when fishing. 

Here are some of the best fluorocarbon lines for a great price. Most of these Fluorocarbons come in 25 yards of line. However, It is possible to get more, it is just more expensive. 

SeaWorx Fluorocarbon – It is a quality line, made by a Florida-based company with excellent customer service. 

Seaguar Fluorocarbon – This is the best fluorocarbon fishing line, usually Amazon has sales on it and you can get it at a very affordable price. 

Berkley Fluorocarbon  – This is my go-to because it’s very affordable, and you can usually get a bulk spool, and works very well. 

What is Monofilament Fishing Line? 

Your basic monofilament line is a single filament of a synthetic fiber. It is very stretchy, and it is somewhat abrasion resistant, however,  not as much as Fluorocarbon. It is also not UV resistant like Fluorocarbon so you want to store your Monofilament lines in a safe place. Monofilament Fishing Line does have a low visibility in water but nowhere near the visibility of Fluorocarbon. 

The advantage of Monofilament line is that it is a lot cheaper than Fluorocarbon. Most of the time the monofilament is sold in bulk spools, and the cost depends on the pound test of the spool. Mono fishing line comes in many color options and this is useful to detect fish strikes. Mono line has a memory which means that it will want to return to the way it was, so on your bulk spools one in the water if it is loose it will have a loop. 

Monofilament Knots:

There is not much of a difference between tying knots with Fluorocarbon versus Monofilament. But one of the most important things to not is that it will stretch. So the knot itself will stretch and sometimes slip so make sure when you’re doing your clinch knot you have enough wraps and a long enough tag end on it so the knot will grab and be less likely to slip. 

Best Monofilament Fishing Lines: 

Here are the best mono fishing lines that I have found. Now they range from a bunch of different prices. Most of these have at least 25 yards of line or more depending on what works best for you. 

 Listed below I have listed some of the best monofilament fishing lines.

Trilene Big Game – This line is super affordable and you can usually pick this up at any bait shop or Walmart near you.

Diamond Monofilament – This is a bulk line, more for if you are going to spool a ton of reels and want high visibility line.

Ande’s Monofilament– A smaller spool, but very affordable and a good choice if you want to try out the line. 

Different Setups For Fishing:

For the inshore style of fishing. I run a braided line as my main line to a fluorocarbon leader. For Sheepshead in deep water, I use the same setup, I want the low stretch to give that fish a chance to pull away and wrap me in pilings or any other heavy cover. To read more about sheepshead fishing check out my sheepshead fishing guide.

When fishing for redfish, trout, black drum, and flounder I use the same thing. When I am in clear water sometimes I will use a longer leader because fish can see braid. 

Offshore Fishing Setup:

Now let’s talk about offshore fishing. When offshore fishing with a spinning reel I do run the same as my inshore. For my main line, I use a 50 lb line, then I do an FG knot because I believe it has a good knot strength, and finally to my leader which is 60lb to my Cobia jig or my topwater popper. My jig is on the bottom and I have roughly 100 ft of line out in a wreck or thick cover, the last thing I want is stretch if I am jigging up on the rod. When you hook those fish jigging it’s usually a very strong hookset. 

Now if I am rolling baits on the bottom for big game like snapper and grouper in 130-200ft. I am going to run my Braid as my main line to an FG then to a 40ft section of 80-100lb Monofilament line.  To my sliding lead and then to my swivel then my Fluorocarbon leader. Since my Fluorocarbon has less stretch than my mono, I need some sort of stretch in there. When your bait is down there 150 ft and you start reeling or set the hook you want a tiny bit of stretch so you don’t break the fish off or rip the hook out of its mouth. 

King Mackerel Fishing Setup:

Finally I am going to go over trolling for King Mackerel. King Mackerel also known as Kingfish are some of the most exciting fish to catch, they can be caught from a pier, boat or kayak. Monofilament fishing line is your best option when chasing these toothy critters. They are mostly caught in open water, so it is unlikely they will try to break you off in heavy structure. They have very sharp teeth but they have soft mouths so the stretch in Monofilament helps keep the hooks buried. 

 Now there are a variety of sizes of line to use but I usually run in the 15-30 lb line range. Since mono has a ton of stretch it is a little more forgiving that something with no stretch. The stretch also cushions the bait in rough water.  So if the kingfish is a long way, you can still put pressure on that fish because of the bigger diameter line drags through the water. In my other post I will go over how to rig for these big game fish. 

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My Thoughts on Fluorocarbon Fishing Line vs Monofilament Fishing Line:

Ultimately, once I made the switch from Monofilament of Fluorocarbon, it changed how I fished, I went from being somewhat sensitive with feeling my bait, to now I can feel every contour of the bottom. I can feel bites better, I feel more comfortable around heavy structure. I have lost many fish because of monofilament because I was using them in the improper way. If you can master your rod and reel set up and understand how Fluorocarbon and Monofilament works, it will help you catch more fish. 

***When using line always remember to wash down your gear, in a marine environment, the salt will destroy all of your tackle.***

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