Braid vs fluorocarbon vs monofilament — which line should I use?
Mono stretches and floats; fluoro sinks, is more abrasion-resistant and less visible; braid is thin and low-stretch but slippery to knot and can break on hard hits.
Monofilament is nylon, buoyant, and stretches under load, which damps the force on the hookset and the fight. Fluorocarbon is denser and sinks faster, has greater surface hardness and abrasion resistance, and its refractive index is close to water's, making it less visible. Braid has roughly a third to a quarter the diameter of mono at the same breaking strength and almost no stretch, which is why it is so sensitive — but it is slippery and hard to knot, and its minimal stretch can break on hard-hitting fish.
baromoon lists line types in each report and marks whether a recommended line is one you already spool.
See it in the report
Sources (quoted verbatim)
“Monofilament fishing line (shortened to just mono) is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic material, as opposed to multifilament or braided fishing lines constructed from multiple strands of fibers.” — Wikipedia — Monofilament fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Fishermen often use monofilament because of its buoyant characteristics and its ability to stretch under load.” — Wikipedia — Fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“The line stretch has advantages, such as damping the force when setting the hook and when fighting strong fish.” — Wikipedia — Fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Fluorocarbon fishing line is made of the fluoropolymer PVDF and it is valued for its refractive index, which is similar to that of water, making it less visible to fish.” — Wikipedia — Fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“It is denser than nylon, too, which makes it sink faster.” — Wikipedia — Monofilament fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Fluorocarbon lines have greater surface hardness than nylon lines and are more abrasion-resistant against underwater rocks and snags, yet are more shock-resilient than braided lines when fighting fish, thus making them ideal to use as leader lines” — Wikipedia — Monofilament fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Braided lines often have 1/3 to 1/4 the diameter of mono or fluorocarbon lines at a given test breaking strength.” — Wikipedia — Braided fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Braided lines have very little stretch, making fishing rigs very sensitive to fish bites; This is very important for both deep sea fishing and when targeting fish with a gentle bite.” — Wikipedia — Braided fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Due to their flexibility, lack of stretch and most important, slippery surface, braided lines are hard to knot properly.” — Wikipedia — Braided fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)
“Due to the minimal stretch of braided line, hard-hitting fish will frequently cause the line to break.” — Wikipedia — Braided fishing line · T3 (checked 2026-09-16)