Best Fishing Line for Trout: Monofilament, Fluorocarbon or Braid?

Choosing the right fishing line for trout can make or break your fishing experience…literally. Choose a line that’s too light and you’re going to break your line. Choose a line that’s too heavy and you’re going to spook the fish. Choose the wrong color of line and you’re also going to scare away the trout.

There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing the best fishing line for trout including line weight, color and type of line. All are equally important and should be taken into consideration when deciding on which line to use.

Types of Fishing Line

There are a few main types of fishing line to choose from including monofilament, fluorocarbon, braid, copolymer, and hybrid line like Kastking Fluorokote or Yo-Zuri Hybrid, which combine multiple types of line.

Monofilament

Monofilament fishing line is the most common fishing line. It’s a great all purpose line that can be used for most fishing applications, and it’s also the cheapest line out there.

A lot of anglers use monofilament line as their main line and don’t use a leader, but for trout fishing we recommend using a monofilament main line with a fluorocarbon leader as the most cost effective setup. We’ll go into more detail below, but fluorocarbon is less visible to trout, so having it as your leader typically results in better results and more bites.

Monofilament, also known as mono, is typically made from a single strand of nylon. Some brands use multiple types of nylon blended together to create line that has less stretch, better abrasion resistance and durability.

Pros of Monofilament Line

Stretch: monofilament stretches much more than other types of line, which can be good for beginners, or when making a mistake such as setting the hook too hard. If you set the hook to hard with braid, which has no stretch, you’ll rip the lure right out of the fish’s mouth, however, with monofilament, the stretch is much more forgiving and will give you some leeway. Another scenario where stretch is beneficial is when you make the mistake of setting your drag too tight and the trout makes a run. With non stretching line, this typically results in your line snapping, but with monofilament, it could buy you some time to loosen your drag before the line breaks.
Inexpensive: as mentioned above, monofilament is the cheapest type of fishing line out there.
Easy to tie knots: monofilament makes tying your knots as easy as possible. Stiffer lines like fluorocarbon can be a bit tricky when tying knots, but monofilament, because of its flexibility, makes tying knots easy.
Buoyancy: monofilament sinks very slowly, making this a great line for fishing all parts of the water column.
Shock strength: monofilament has a high shock strength rating, making hard hook sets more manageable, as well as sudden runs, thrashing, or other erratic behavior by the fish.
Wide range of colors: monofilament is available in a wider variety of colors than other types of fishing line like braid or fluorocarbon, giving you more options and the advantage to better match the color of the water you’re fishing.

Cons of Monofilament Line

Visibility: monofilament has a larger diameter than fluorocarbon, making it more visible to trout. You can use it to tie directly to your lure, and you can catch fish that way, but for trout fishing, you’ll want to use fluorocarbon leader for the most success.
Too much stretch: Although stretch is listed as a pro above, it can also be a con depending on how much line you have out. For long casts and deep vertical jigging, monofilament often has too much stretch, resulting in missed hook sets.
Less abrasion resistant: monofilament isn’t as tough of a line as fluorocarbon, which makes it a poor choice for fishing heavy cover.
Retains memory: monofilament retains memory, which can cause issues with casting, cause snarls, and affect the appearance and presentation of your lure.

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon is typically used for leaders, as it’s less visible than monofilament. Because fluorocarbon is more expensive than monofilament, it’s often only used as a leader, with monofilament being the “backing” or “main line” to reduce costs.

Fluorocarbon is made from a single strand of polyvinylidene difluoride. But unlike monofilament, it’s molecules are closer together, resulting in a smaller diameter line, which is part of the reason it’s less visible.

Pros of Fluorocarbon Line

Visibility: fluorocarbon is almost always used as a leader due to it’s low visibility. Having a low visibility line is especially important for species like trout, which are highly sensitive to line and get spooked easily.
Low stretch: while fluorocarbon still has some stretch, it is much less than monofilament, making hook sets easier, especially at longer distances. When fishing deep or casting long distances, fluorocarbon or braid is recommended for a backing or main line due to their low stretch properties.
Abrasion resistance: fluorocarbon is very tough and has high abrasion resistance, more so than monofilament, making it a great line for fishing in brush, or heavy cover areas with rocks, logs, etc.

Cons of Fluorocarbon Line

Cost: fluorocarbon is more expensive than monofilament, which can add up, especially when you have multiple reels. For this reason, we usually recommend using fluorocarbon as a leader and monofilament as your main line.
Knots can be difficult to tie: because fluorocarbon is a stiffer line, tying knots is not as easy as monofilament or braided line.

Braid

Braided line, or braid, is popular among bass fisherman, but isn’t as popular with trout anglers. The main reason being that braided line is much more visible to trout. There are a few reasons however, that you might want to use braid when fishing for trout.

Vertical jigging in deep water is one time when braided line comes in handy. Because braid has no stretch, using it when fishing deep in the water column will increase your chances of hooking up. If you were to use monofilament in a situation like this, the stretch can often cause you to miss the fish.

Another reason you might want to use braid is when you’re fishing on the surface, or the very top part of the water column, as braid floats better than monofilament and fluorocarbon.

When using braided line, make sure you use a fluorocarbon leader, as trout will almost always shy away from the highly visible braid. There are times when trout will hit anything, regardless of line, but most often trout are very line shy.

Pros of Braided Line

No stretch: as mentioned above, braided line has no stretch, making it ideal for vertical jigging in deep water.
Floats well: most braided line floats well, making it an excellent choice for fishing in the upper part of the water column.
No memory: braided line has very low and often no memory at all. This allows your lure to be presented more naturally in the water, and also lets you cast greater distances.
Higher sensitivity: braided line is more sensitive than fluorocarbon or monofilament, making it a great line to use when the trout are biting light.

Cons of Braided Line

Highly visible: braided line is very visible, making it tough to fish for a line sensitive species like trout. Using a fluorocarbon leader is always highly recommended.
Unforgiving: braid has no stretch, which makes it excellent for detecting light bites, but this can be a bad thing if you accidentally set the hook too hard, which can result in your leader snapping, or ripping the hook out of the trout’s mouth.

Summary

Monofilament, fluorocarbon and braided line all have their place when it comes to trout fishing. We recommend always having these lines in your arsenal and using them when it makes the most sense.

For the majority of trout fishing situations, a monofilament main line with a fluorocarbon leader will work the best and be the most budget friendly.