Fishing line is easily one of the most overlooked aspects of putting together a quality bass-catching rig.
Most anglers figure out what kind of bait they want to throw, grab their rod, and go to work… but like any discipline, having all the right tools makes all the difference. And that’s not to say that you can’t catch fish with a piece of string… we all know that anything can work in a pinch. But sometimes the right fishing line can be the difference between a great day on the water, and getting completely skunked.
The three mains types of fishing line are monofilament, fluorocarbon, and braid, and we’re going to break down what each one does, when to use each, what sizes are best for each technique in bass fishing, and by the end I’ll hook you up with my personal recommendations on which brands I like to use.
So let’s get into it… here’s everything you need to know about fishing line in the context of bass fishing.
Fishing Line Types
1. Monofilament
Monofilament is the OG fishing line. It’s stretchy, budget-friendly, and perfect for baits that need a little extra give to keep the fish pinned. With that combo of stretch, as well as the ability to float, mono is ideal for topwater treble hook baits like poppers, walking baits, ploppers, wake baits, prop baits, etc… but can also work well for shallow cranks, wacky rigs where you want a slower fall, jerkbaits that you want to suspend a little more and even leader line on jigs. And because it’s pretty cheap, it’s often used as a good backing material for much more expensive braided line.
Bass Techniques
Walking baits (Spooks)
Poppers
Shallow crankbaits
Jerkbaits (when you want rise instead of dive)
2. Fluorocarbon
If you want a “do-everything” line for bass, this is it. Fluorocarbon is almost invisible underwater and has the higher sensitivity you need for bottom contact. It’s also pretty durable compared to mono, so you can throw it around docks, stumps and rocks, and you’re less likely to shred your line and break off a fish. Unlike mono, fluoro sinks so it’s more ideal for baits that you want to get down in the water column such as jigs, Texas rigs, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, crankbaits, finesse presentations like drop shots, Neko rigs, wacky rigs in deeper water, swimbaits, glide baits and Alabama rigs… it really can cover most techniques.
Bass Techniques
Jigs
Texas rigs
Spinnerbaits and Chatterbaits
Deep cranking
Finesse presentations
3. Braided Line
Braid is perfect for fishing heavy cover or needing maximum sensitivity. It casts a mile and slices through vegetation with ease, allowing anglers to get strong hooksets in deep water and heavy cover. Plus, it floats so you can use it on heavy cover topwater techniques like frogs. For me personally, I use braid whenever possible… every single spinning reel I run, I go braid to a leader, and to be honest, most of my casting setups are either straight braid or braid to a leader… the sensitivity, the strength, the castability is just unparalleled and you can use a leader line to get the desired presentation.
Bass Techniques
Frogs
Flipping grass
Fishing around thick vegetation
Swim jigs
Spinning reel finesse (with fluoro leader)
Topwater walking baits
Fishing Line Brands
Here’s what I use:
Mono:
Sufix Advance Clear Mono – $14.99 – $37.99
Fluoro:
Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon – $30.99 – $185.49
Braid:
On many of my casting setups, I like to run either straight braid, or braid to a leader with an FG knot… most jigs, Texas rigs, Carolina rig, some topwater applications will go braid to a leader, and then straight braid on frogs, buzzbaits, some swim jigs, occasionally a Chatterbait if I have a really whippy rod. For me, 30-pound usually gets the job done… but I’ll go up to 50 in really heavy cover. I don’t think you need 80 or even 65-pound braid to catch bass on 95% of lakes in America
Sufix 832 Braided Line Lo-Vis Green (Casting) – $19.99 – $154.99
On my spinning setups, just about every single reel has 8-pound, neon green Sufix Revolve… you can go down to 6 for more finesse presentations, or go up to 10 if you need something a little bigger, but 8-pound is the sweet spot for me. If you want to keep it simple… 8-pound braid to 8-pound fluoro leader will do the trick on most applications, and even handle big, strong smallmouth up north.
Sufix Revolve Neon Lime (Spinning) – $23.99
What Line To Use By Technique
Just about every technique and what I like to use for each one:
1. Texas Rig (standard)
Line Type: Fluoro
Size: 12–20 lb (heavier in cover)
Braid: 30-50 with fluoro leader
2. Heavy Texas Rig / Punching
Line Type: Braid
Size: 30–65 lb
3. Carolina Rig
Line Type: Braid 30 lb
Leader: Fluoro 12–17 lb
4. Wacky Rig / Weightless Senko
Line Type: Braid 8-10 lb
Leader: Fluoro 6-10 lb
5. Neko Rig
Line Type: Braid 8-10 lb
Leader: Fluoro 6-10 lb
6. Drop Shot
Line Type: Braid 8-10 lb
Leader: Fluoro 6-10 lb
7. Ned Rig
Line Type: Braid 8-10 lb
Leader: Fluoro 6-10 lb
8. Shaky Head
Line Type: Braid 8-10 lb
Leader: Fluoro 8-12 lb
9. Jigs
Football Jigs (deep, open-ish water)
Line: Fluoro
Size: 14–20 lb
Flipping Jigs
Line: Braid
Size: 30–65 lb
Swim Jigs
Line: Fluoro
Size: 14–20 lb
Braid 30–50 lb (heavy grass)
10. Crankbaits (Shallow, Medium, Deep)
Line Type: Fluoro or Mono
Shallow: Fluoro 10–12 lb or Mono 10–15 lb
Mid-depth: Fluoro 10–12 lb
Deep: Fluoro 10–12 lb (thinner line = more depth)
11. Squarebills
Line: Fluoro
Size: 10–15 lb
12. Lipless Crankbaits
Line: Fluoro
Size: 10–17 lb
13. Spinnerbaits
Line: Fluoro
Size: 15–20 lb
14. Chatterbaits / Bladed Jigs
Line: Fluoro
Size: 15–20 lb
15. Topwater (Walking baits, poppers, spooks)
Line Type: Mono or Braid w/ mono leader
Mono: 12–20 lb
Braid: 30 lb (add a short mono leader)
16. Topwater Frogs
Line: Braid
Size: 50–65 lb
17. Buzzbaits
Line: Braid
Size: 30–50 lb
18. Jerkbaits
Line: Fluoro
Size: 8–15 lb
19. Small Swimbaits/Paddle Tails
Line: Fluoro
Size: 8–15 lb
20. Big Swimbaits / Glide Baits
Line: Fluoro
Size: 20–25 lb
Braid 30–50 lb
21. A-Rig / Umbrella Rig
Line: Fluoro
Size: 20–25 lb
Braid 30–50 lb
22. Finesse Jig (small ball head)
Line: Fluoro
Size: 6–10 lb
23. Damiki Rig / Hover Jig
Line: Fluoro
Size: 6–8 lb
24. Free Rig
Line: Fluoro
Size: 10–15 lb
25. Tokyo Rig
Line: Fluoro
Size: 12–20 lb
Braid 30–50 lb (heavy cover)
26. Heavy Cover Flipping (creatures, craws, beavers)
Line: Braid
Size: 30–65 lb
27. Jigging Spoons / Vertical Spoons
Line: Fluoro
Size: 12–17 lb
And for a detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor.
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