Capt. Cody Davis is a guide in south Florida, hosting clients for freshwater and inshore saltwater trips. He’s been posting fishing videos to YouTube for 4 years, and I’ve enjoyed his content along the way. He provides excellent on-the-water tips, especially for catching largemouth bass, and often provides his insight on new lures and other tackle.
In the 7-minute YouTube video below, Davis gives his opinion about fishing line — and I couldn’t agree more. He explains that while fluorocarbon has a couple of benefits, it’s also overrated in many ways. His suggestion is to avoid the industry hype about fluoro and instead choose a proven fishing line that costs much less — Berkley Trilene Big Game mono.
If you’re a newcomer to the sport of fishing, you might have been led to believe that mono is obsolete. Wrong! Mono works extremely well for many presentations, including a wide variety of applications when pursuing bass.
Personally, I use mono — and specifically Berkley Trilene Big Game — on at least a half-dozen of my most used rod-and-reel combos for bass and northern pike. And it’s never failed me since I started using it in the mid-1980s. Big Game mono is strong, abrasion-resistant, and has less stretch than many other monofilaments. Compared to fluoro, Big Game mono has far less memory and is much easier for casting and knot tying because it’s not as stiff.
When it comes to price, it’s not a fair fight. A quick check of one major online retailer shows that you can buy a 650-yard spool of 20-pound-test Berkley Trilene Big Game mono for $10.99; that’s 1.7 cents per yard. One of the most popular fluorocarbon lines on the market is Seaguar Tatsu; the same retailer sells a 200-yard spool of 20-pound-test Seaguar Tatsu for $63.99; that’s 32 cents per yard.
I’ll do the math for you: The fluoro described above is nearly 19 times more expensive than the mono — 19 times!
In 2024, give serious consideration to giving Berkley Trilene Big Game mono a try. I find it works best on baitcasting reels, and I have it rigged on various setups in 12-, 15- and 20-pound test. I switch to braid if I need something stronger than 20-pound Big Game mono. I prefer the green option (top photo, right) on rods where I’m casting and retrieving — Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc. For jigging, when watching my line to detect strikes is important, I prefer the clear option; for me, it’s easier to see the clear than the green.
FYI: Big Game mono is sold in 1/4-pound spools, which is why the yardages vary depending on the pound test. For example, a 1/4-pound spool of 12-pound test equates to 1,175 yards; 15-pound test, 900 yards; 20-pound test, 650 yards.
