What Is The Best Fishing Line To Buy In The UK? (Full Guide On 5 Different Fishing Line Types)
Whilst your rod and reel are certainly vital bits of tackle it can be the little things that make all the difference to your catch rate. One often neglected area is the choice of fishing line.
If you are thinking ‘it’s just line’ or “it doesn’t matter”, we are going to show you why choosing the best fishing line absolutely is important.
Stop and think about it…
What is the single thing that connects you with the fish? That’s right, the line. If you have a substandard rod you might manage to land your catch, likewise with a substandard reel.
But if your line isn’t up to the task you can reduce your chances of ‘getting one in the net’ to practically zero. If you consider that your line actually also makes up the bulk of what you have beneath the surface it pays dividends to invest.
This article will go into depth about what things you need to look at and how you can decide on the best fishing line for you.
Strapped For Time?
I understand if you haven't go the time to read the full article. This is what this section is for. So the answer to the question is as follows...
The best fishing line is the Guru Pulse. This versatile line offers a low visibility profile and low diameter so will increase the amount of takes you can expect.
Being mono it has a decent amount of stretch and the line has markers so you can ensure absolute consistency when you are winding a spool.
If you are looking for different properties in the best fishing line, check out our guide below...
Summary Table of The 5 Best Fishing Lines
Last updated on 2021-06-11 / Images from Amazon Product API
What is the best fishing line to use?
The short answer is that it depends what you are wanting to do with it. There is huge variation depending on what species you are seeking, what rod you are using, what method you are fishing and whether you are using it as a mainline or for tying rigs.
Choosing the best line is a balancing act. You need to weigh up a variety of factors. These factors are multiple but we can break them down into some key areas. Here are some guidelines to decide what's right for you...
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What is the Best Fishing Line thickness.
We recommend at least a 5lbs breaking strain as a minimum, that should cover you for around 80% of all of your fishing if you are just generally angling. However, line thickness isn’t just dictated by the size of fish you are hoping to catch.
If you have too fine a line your reel will be underloaded, leading to degraded casting performance. Likewise, if it is overfull with a thick fishing line you are going to get line spilling off at the wrong time. As a general guide you don’t want a line that is too thick or thin.
Fishing Line stretch.
Do you have a rod with a fast action that will absorb any shocks? Are you fishing for a species which takes violently, or more sedately? Are you fishing using a method where feel is ultra-important?
Fishing Line Visibility.
Some fish are more wary than others, some venues are clearer than others, or you yourself may need to be able to easily see your line in low light conditions. All of these factors play a part in choosing the best fishing line.
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Fishing line performance.
Do you fish somewhere with snags or rocks, do you need abrasion resistance? Do you need a floating or sinking fishing line? Are you loading a small float fishing reel or a Meaty sea fishing reel?
Do you have the answers?
When you know the answer to all these questions you will be in a good position to find the best fishing line. When it comes to the lines themselves, we can offer some guidance if asked what is the best fishing line?
Let’s take a look -
Is braid the best fishing line?
Braid is unique. It is a super hard-wearing line that is also very soft. It soaks up water and sinks well. If you are looking for bites to be instantaneously transmitted, you will find that this is the best fishing line.
But (and it’s a big but) braid doesn’t win any prizes for being the least visible fishing line. It creates a hard silhouette in the water. Negating this (slightly) is that even for high breaking strains it is very thin.
Checkout this video that details some situations on when to use braid:
Is monofilament the best fishing line?
Monofilament is a standard choice offering some superb benefits. It is super stretchy, so if you are going for a species that bites hard, or are using a stiff rod, your line can act as some well needed ‘suspension’.
The downside is that it is the thickest type of line you can get, so you may have to make a trade-off between thickness and quantity, depending on the size of your spool. Monofilament also floats, for surface baits this might be ok, but for clear waters it can create a shadow, so may not always be the best fishing line.
Is fluorocarbon the best fishing line?
Fluorocarbon is a sort of halfway house between braid and mono in terms of stretch. This is our favourite line for carp fishing especially when surface fishing or fishing clear waters . The reason being is that it is denser (and for that read ‘thinner’) than mono for the same breaking strain.
Giving you the option of going slightly finer with no performance penalty. It also sinks really well. As a slight downside, it can be stiffer than mono and braid and its main weak point is around knots.
The best bit about fluorocarbon is that it is nearly invisible in the water. You can check out another article we have written on the best fluorocarbon line for Carp fishing for more information.
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What colour is the best fishing line?
If you are choosing, you’d be forgiven for thinking the darker the better. However Black line can be quite visible in certain conditions. As a general rule we like green fishing line or brown fishing line, as this tends to blend in the vast majority of scenarios.
For camouflage, the best bet is to go for fluorocarbon, due to its low refractive index it is simply invisible, regardless of water colour.
Well, now you know what to look for let’s take a look at some of the best fishing lines we have found:
Guru Pulse Line Fishing Mono 300m Spool
Best Overall Fishing Line
Ok, we love this line. As monofilament fishing lines go it is maybe the best we have seen. It encompasses many of the benefits of fluorocarbon, such as low stretch and high abrasion resistance and is of a low diameter, so a smaller ‘profile’ when in the water.
The spool comes loaded with 300 metres of good quality line which could sort the meanest of big pits.
There is also a nice feature where Guru have put markers in the spool at the halfway point, so you can ensure utter precision if loading up more than one reel.
Daiwa Hyper Sensor Monofilament 5lb
Best monofilament fishing line
You can trust Daiwa, they’ve led the game for years. Due to some clever technology they’ve managed to reduce the diameter of this line whilst keeping the breaking strain, so it’s ultra-fine and ultra-strong too.
Suitable for all types of coarse fishing with even Predator anglers using it to load their Pike Reels up.
This is a great, all round, and will be an excellent choice for most venues and methods
Chameleon Maxima Fishing Line 100m Spool
Best fishing line for beginners
Maxima have gone and come out with a line called ‘chameleon’, which for mono is a bold claim. Thankfully it really does work. The drab brown is practically invisible in anything other than the clearest water.
This line offers really good value and each spool offers 100m. If you are new to the game or have a lighter rod, this is a worthy choice.
SAPLIZE Fluorocarbon Coated Fishing Line
Best fluorocarbon line
For the money, this line offer all of the great benefits that fluorocarbon has to offer. However it is not pure fluorocarbon.
The core of the line is in fact nylon polymer, giving a little more stretch. The outer layer of the line is in fact coating, it’s sort of like a hybrid giving you the best of both worlds.
SAPLIZE Braided Fishing Line
Strongest fishing line
No line list would be complete without considering braid. Now for all we said about it being more visible, this line is effectively ‘painted’ in a range of hues to blend perfectly into the bottom.
With absolutely zero stretch this is without a doubt the best fishing line to ensure that you stay in perfect contact with your hook length. It sinks like a stone and will remain intact even if it comes into contact with underwater features.
Last updated on 2021-06-11 / Images from Amazon Product API
Final Thoughts
The best fishing line to use has so many answers. Are you wanting to go for improved performance with regards to visibility? Do you fish at a venue that is known for sharp rocks that may break more fragile lines?
Or are you looking for something strong and heavy to enable you to throw a 5oz lead into the wild blue yonder? You might be looking for a mixture of all of these qualities. Or none at all.
The bottom line (excuse the pun!) is that you have to choose the right fishing line for the type of fishing you are doing on the day. The best fishing line is one that ticks all the boxes dependent on your needs.
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