What's your favorite mono running line & why?

[SSPey]

Big Game orange is the exact same line as the discontinued Stren Catfish.

Untrue, definitely not in 40 lbs. The color is identical, handling is not. I could tell instantly from stiffness and coils (from 4 rods rigged in the boat) when I grabbed the one rod strung with orange Big Game. Tossed it at the end of salmon season.

I’d gladly give away what’s left of the orange Big Game 40 lb spool (200+ yards), maybe to a warmwater angler who prefers a stiffer line, but shipping it within the PNW costs the same as buying a new spool

 

[Joe H]

Just repeating info that was afforded firsthand from the Stren rep a couple years ago SS. They are/were made in the same Spirit Lake, Iowa facilty.
It wasn't coincidental that BG orange was offered shortly after Stren Catfish and Crappie orange lines were discontinued. I suspect marketing and sales weren't heavy on the side of Stren speciality mono offerings, nearly as much as they were on Berkley's side.

I ran the Stren Crappie orange version on my CP rods for awhile and will confirm that the Stren behaved differently (less coiling and tangling), than BG... Which to me suggests that there was likely a variation in the manufacturing process between the two brands, whether acknowledged or not.

Luckily I still have 30# and 40# spools of Catfish for when the BG and Sufix runs out!

 

[SSPey]

The rep was clearly wrong - just as you note, the lines behaved differently. Pure Fishing bought both Berkley and Stren, added orange dye to their Big Game line, and discontinued the Stren Catfish formulation.

 

[Creatch’r]

I just returned from finally giving the Hydrofloat 50# a go. My first impression is that it is thinner and more slippery then the 40# mono I’ve been using for a decade. I have to be a little more conscious while stripping and pinching to the cork. It never slipped while casting but I did fumble a little while stripping. It has zero memory even in the cold. Floats easily and shoots like nothing I’ve ever used before. I was casting a Zone H/I and sink tip and I could feel the difference in line speed and distance right away. It fucking jacks. In 3-4 hours of nearly continuous casting with 13-15 full strips held in 3 loops like I normally do, I had one tangle around my reel and one tangle that shot through the guides. It definitely took a little more finesse to undo the “knot” then mono would require but after the 15 seconds spent undoing it, the hydrofloat was back to normal with no kinks whatsoever. I was impressed by that. The zero stretch is also very noticeable to me and seems a lot more sensitive. Time will tell how it holds up but right now I’m gonna look for more spools to stash away.

If you think mono is thin or slippery you will not like this running line. If you can get over that, this shit absolutely SENDS.

 

[G_Smolt]

️
You picked up on 2 details I forgot to include, namely -
The 2-finger grip on the running line is sort of a necessary evil with hydrofloat. I know some fellas who use a couple wraps of hockey tape at their hold point, keep the line pinched proper. Me, I'm an old-school 2-fingers kinda guy.
And the feel. The beautiful contact with the fly at great distance. No more wondering if that sluggish drag was a grab or a rock, with a little time you'll be able to feel the difference between round and square rocks, and which end of your fly the fish plucked at.
The thing that still makes it for me is the fact I can put in 25% less effort for the same or greater distance than pretty much any other fishing (vs tournament casting) running line. That alone is gold.
Welcome to the dark side, mang.

 

[Creatch’r]

️
You picked up on 2 details I forgot to include, namely -
The 2-finger grip on the running line is sort of a necessary evil with hydrofloat. I know some fellas who use a couple wraps of hockey tape at their hold point, keep the line pinched proper. Me, I'm an old-school 2-fingers kinda guy.
And the feel. The beautiful contact with the fly at great distance. No more wondering if that sluggish drag was a grab or a rock, with a little time you'll be able to feel the difference between round and square rocks, and which end of your fly the fish plucked at.
The thing that still makes it for me is the fact I can put in 25% less effort for the same or greater distance than pretty much any other fishing (vs tournament casting) running line. That alone is gold.
Welcome to the dark side, mang.

I also two finger pinch, definitely thought about tape I might try that if it’s a problem but realistically I only had to think about it in the beginning probably the same as I did when I first transitioned to mono from coated lines.

I could definitely feel the sensitivity even with a lot of line out. It’s not spongy at all which is something I notice with mono. I did get one take but wasn’t really the best to notice any sort of advantage or disadvantage between running lines. Mid swing solid grab and run, fish was just on, no hook set needed. Little 6#er hooked corner of the jaw.

 

[downriver79]

I've been impressed with the P-line too in the limited time I've had to fish with it. @G_Smolt , you were right about this stuff going right through the guides. I followed your advice on the 21 twist bimini and I love it. It really does slide right thru like a greased pig! Hoping they drop the flows soon here on the Trinity so I can get out and put in some solid time with it.

 

[Creatch’r]

I've been impressed with the P-line too in the limited time I've had to fish with it. @G_Smolt , you were right about this stuff going right through the guides. I followed your advice on the 21 twist bimini and I love it. It really does slide right thru like a greased pig! Hoping they drop the flows soon here on the Trinity so I can get out and put in some solid time with it.

I missed the bit about the Bimini. I tied loops in it with triple surgeons. I wasn’t sure if that was correct for the material so I put on a pair of leather gloves and tested it best I could and no breakage.

 

[downriver79]

I haven't seen the 50 Lb Hydrofloat available anywhere since I bought some back in Nov so I emailed P Line to see if it was discontinued. Unfortunately, it is. I'm wishing I had put some backing behind mine instead of just putting the whole spool straight to the arbor. Now I guess I'll have to peel it off and re-spool with backing so I can get a few more shooting lines out of it.

 

[Hogsnatcher]

+1 for the SA flat mono. For winter I use the 40# chartreuse stuff, for trout Spey I use the 20#. The 40# is amazingly limp even after 4 years of thrashing on it.

 

[Zoran]

I fish integrated scandi or spey exclusively.

 

[Hogsnatcher]

I fish integrated scandi or spey exclusively.

Yes! I have an integrated Comando on one of my trout Spey rods and love it- it seems to fly a bit more true than a head/mono line plus it flat out rips!

 

[ORFish]

Correct answer for me is the Lazer Line from OPST. have tried all the "big game" options and keep going back to Lazer

 

[Coho]

I absolutely LOVE my orange Stren Catfish mono, but they've stopped making it and I seem to have lost my spool that had probably 100' left on it. I was using the 30lb for my SH 8wts with Commando (and similar) heads--tried the 20lb and it kinked a little too much for my liking. Anyway, looking at other options.

What say you?

Amnesia! 30 lb in Chartreuse. IYKYK

 

[downriver79]

Then I went to cutting the coated running line off old used lines I had and attaching to my heads loop to loop.

@fatbillybob , or anyone else who has used old floating running lines as a shooting line, did you make a welded loop on the running line, or just nail knot a piece of mono w/ a perfection loop? I'm looking at doing this on a single hand rig. It would be used with 225-250 gr heads. I have some old 4 and 5 wt lines to pick from. Would you recommend one over the other? Thanks in advance for any tips and advice.

 

[fatbillybob]

@fatbillybob , or anyone else who has used old floating running lines as a shooting line, did you make a welded loop on the running line, or just nail knot a piece of mono w/ a perfection loop? I'm looking at doing this on a single hand rig. It would be used with 225-250 gr heads. I have some old 4 and 5 wt lines to pick from. Would you recommend one over the other? Thanks in advance for any tips and advice.

When doing this I just make a loop and then nail knot with braid then coat with UV epoxy. It is clean that way and goes through the guides.

 

[clarkman]

@fatbillybob , or anyone else who has used old floating running lines as a shooting line, did you make a welded loop on the running line, or just nail knot a piece of mono w/ a perfection loop? I'm looking at doing this on a single hand rig. It would be used with 225-250 gr heads. I have some old 4 and 5 wt lines to pick from. Would you recommend one over the other? Thanks in advance for any tips and advice.

The only one I've been able to weld consistently is airflo & even then it takes a bit of practice and I don't do it all that often, so i usually do what fatbillybob does if using that.

 

[downriver79]

When doing this I just make a loop and then nail knot with braid then coat with UV epoxy. It is clean that way and goes through the guides.

The only one I've been able to weld consistently is airflo & even then it takes a bit of practice and I don't do it all that often, so i usually do what fatbillybob does if using that.

Thanks guys! I hadn't considered using braid. I would think that would cause a hinging effect. I'll just go with 25Lb Maxima until I can pick up some braid to try out.

 

[fatbillybob]

The only reason I use braid is first that's what I have. Second I can tighten until it bites nicely into the coating and can be cut nicely flush. then the epoxy holds and seals everything so water does not get into the dacron core and smooths the knot so it runs through the guides.

 

[Styskal]

There are pros and cons to every running line on the market. Pick the one that works best for you. That being said I went through a braid phase about 20 yrs ago. The only down side was I couldn't find it thin enough to get any real distance. Other than that no complaints. These days I use nextcast mono, hi vis pink or varivas if I am going to be making loooong casts. The varivas is expensive and can be short lived but damn it's good when it's good.