Good Mono???

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DirtyD64
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by DirtyD64 » Mon May 02, 2022 7:05 am

Still debating this purchase in my head, decided against the more expensive mono's, I just don't use them that much. I have narrowed it down to either the Sunline Super Natural in Orange, 14lb/16lb, or Sufix Advance in 10lb(maybe 12lb).

The issues left are that the Sunline Super Natural has bad reviews. There are good reviews too, but a good bit of bad reviews on it. I would be very surprised if 16lb let me down, but I rarely use topwater and use nice lures when I do so I sure don't want to break off a $20 popper or prop bait.

Other issue is that the Sufix Advance comes in a little too thin 10lb (.012", .305mm) or a little too thick 12lb (.014", .356mm). The Sufix has a few negative reviews, but seems to have more positives while the Super Natural is closer to 60/40, 40% being negative.

So which one? Reel is a Zillion TWS w/ Ray's shallow spool, rod is a St. Croix Avid X 6'6"Medium, fast action. Plan on using it for mainly poppers, medium sized walking baits, 90 and below Whop-Plops, and occasionally for wake baits & shallow squarebills/cranks in moderate cover. Because the rod is a bit faster action, a little stretch isn't such a bad thing.

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Bronzeye » Mon May 02, 2022 10:06 am

I recommend the Sunline Super Natural 16 lb. test, but in the "Metered" coloration (4 feet of clear interrupted by foot-long sections of hi-vis chartreuse) instead of the orange. Tackle Warehouse sells it. It is more expensive than the orange or clear versions, but given the care you are investing in this line decision, a few more dollars for the optimal line choice should be a worthwhile investment, too.

I assume that the reason you have been considering the high-vis orange is that it would help you track the flight of your surface lure through the air toward snaggy cover (otherwise, I'd recommend the clear Super Natural). I haven't used the Metered version for this, but I should think it would give you enough visibility for this purpose. With the straight orange, my confidence level (if I were not getting bit) would be dimmed by worries about the line's visibility putting off fish. I have used the Metered line in 4 lb. test this spring without complaint in casting for panfish. Its .0066" diameter is more like a stout 2 lb. test than 4 lb. test, but it subdued a 2.5 lb. incidentally caught largemouth in open water (lip-landed). In this diameter, the chartreuse sections' glow is not neon-bright, but is enough to help me see the line.

I briefly but happily used Super Natural in 20 lb. test clear for surface lures. (Only stopped using it because it is on a reel with a very heavy spool, and I tried other lines on better reels I have purchased since.) It is a true clear (not milky) line and is impressively limp. (As I recall, the Advance lines I saw were milky; even for topwaters, I'd prefer that the line that dips below the surface in front of the lure be as clear as possible.) You want a limp line for surface lures that you will try to let sit in one place while having the line tight enough to facilitate a good hookset. Coily line will act like a stretched spring to pull the lure back toward you when you want it to sit right next to that log until the fish below can't help itself.

I can imagine three reasons why Super Natural has received bad reviews. One is that its diameters are those of typical lines one rated strength lower than its rated strengths, so if anglers are expecting it to function the same as thicker lines they have been using, they could be inviting breakoffs. Second, higher-tensile-strength lines like Super Natural are typically stretched during extrusion to make them thinner; this reduces the amount of stretch they can deliver while fishing, and that can lead to breakoffs on hard hooksets, on casts interrupted by line overwraps on the spool, or when lifting flopping fish on a hand-held line. Since you are planning to fish around moderate cover rather than in it and with treble-hook lures, I would think the 16 lb. test should be adequate if you don't try to lift 7-pounders into the boat by grabbing the line. The third possible reason for anglers reporting breakoffs would be poor abrasion resistance. I haven't fished the line through rough cover, and I wouldn't choose it for that purpose. Its advertising does not tout abrasion resistance, and the fact that it is clear rather than milky suggests to me that it has no abrasion-resistant lubricant in its formulation.

Regardless of which line you choose, I hope you will report back in the fall to let us know your opinion of the line based on your experience with it. I'm always looking to learn!

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by DirtyD64 » Mon May 02, 2022 2:18 pm

Bronzeye wrote:
Mon May 02, 2022 10:06 am
I recommend the Sunline Super Natural 16 lb. test, but in the "Metered" coloration (4 feet of clear interrupted by foot-long sections of hi-vis chartreuse) instead of the orange. Tackle Warehouse sells it. It is more expensive than the orange or clear versions, but given the care you are investing in this line decision, a few more dollars for the optimal line choice should be a worthwhile investment, too.

I assume that the reason you have been considering the high-vis orange is that it would help you track the flight of your surface lure through the air toward snaggy cover (otherwise, I'd recommend the clear Super Natural). I haven't used the Metered version for this, but I should think it would give you enough visibility for this purpose. With the straight orange, my confidence level (if I were not getting bit) would be dimmed by worries about the line's visibility putting off fish. I have used the Metered line in 4 lb. test this spring without complaint in casting for panfish. Its .0066" diameter is more like a stout 2 lb. test than 4 lb. test, but it subdued a 2.5 lb. incidentally caught largemouth in open water (lip-landed). In this diameter, the chartreuse sections' glow is not neon-bright, but is enough to help me see the line.

I briefly but happily used Super Natural in 20 lb. test clear for surface lures. (Only stopped using it because it is on a reel with a very heavy spool, and I tried other lines on better reels I have purchased since.) It is a true clear (not milky) line and is impressively limp. (As I recall, the Advance lines I saw were milky; even for topwaters, I'd prefer that the line that dips below the surface in front of the lure be as clear as possible.) You want a limp line for surface lures that you will try to let sit in one place while having the line tight enough to facilitate a good hookset. Coily line will act like a stretched spring to pull the lure back toward you when you want it to sit right next to that log until the fish below can't help itself.

I can imagine three reasons why Super Natural has received bad reviews. One is that its diameters are those of typical lines one rated strength lower than its rated strengths, so if anglers are expecting it to function the same as thicker lines they have been using, they could be inviting breakoffs. Second, higher-tensile-strength lines like Super Natural are typically stretched during extrusion to make them thinner; this reduces the amount of stretch they can deliver while fishing, and that can lead to breakoffs on hard hooksets, on casts interrupted by line overwraps on the spool, or when lifting flopping fish on a hand-held line. Since you are planning to fish around moderate cover rather than in it and with treble-hook lures, I would think the 16 lb. test should be adequate if you don't try to lift 7-pounders into the boat by grabbing the line. The third possible reason for anglers reporting breakoffs would be poor abrasion resistance. I haven't fished the line through rough cover, and I wouldn't choose it for that purpose. Its advertising does not tout abrasion resistance, and the fact that it is clear rather than milky suggests to me that it has no abrasion-resistant lubricant in its formulation.

Regardless of which line you choose, I hope you will report back in the fall to let us know your opinion of the line based on your experience with it. I'm always looking to learn!
Thanks for the suggestion, I will go ahead and try the Super Natural. I agree, chartreuse and shades of green on line seem to blend in the water better than other colors. I just thought the Orange cause it was different and figured it would be for topwaters or moving baits anyways, I know people that crank on straight braid so I figured translucent orange wouldn't be so bad. Also, bad reviews still bother me, but sometimes I think they are user error more than anything. Yesterday I left my Zillion SVTW brake on ZERO after cleaning it, bombed a 3/8 football jig and got a MASSIVE backlash. Cost me a spool's worth of HiSeas Quattro. The 10lb fluoro was beyond fixing and kinked so many times I had to cut it and trash it. Some people would literally throw a fit over this and give a bad review over anger. I look at the positives though, I had this line for 4 YEARS. Caught the +31" Walleye I posted and so many smallmouth. Lasted longer than my Sunline BMS and a few other quality lines I bought. I only ever give a bad review if something truly is awful, bad reviews are so misleading and cause issues. Now that I think about that, I could make an interesting thread of only ACTUAL bad issue I had with fishing products, most worked well or as advertised.

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Mudhole basser » Fri Sep 30, 2022 2:29 pm

I have tried the 10lb and the 16lb Sunline mono and have had good luck with the 16lb. The 10lb I did use it a couple of times and it did cast great due to its thin diameter. I stopped using it however when I found out that it would break at about 5lbs randomly away from the knot. I think that it's a hit and miss with the lines 10lb and below. It seems that there's some QC issues with Sunline lines so I would be weary.

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Mudhole basser » Fri Sep 30, 2022 2:49 pm

The two mono/co-polymer lines that I like are Izorline XXX and the Sanyo lines GTR. I generally like to step down one size when using the Izorline as it is over rated. I tested the 12lb and it breaks at almost 20lb!

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Drew03cmc » Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:19 am

I know it's an older thread, but I despise Super Natural. I was using 10lb to cast 1/8oz shakyheads and what not. It was breaking mid cast, down at the first guide above the reel. It was breaking on hooksets with my PX68 drag set loose and a Megabass Rattle Viper, so it wasn't overpowered. I will never buy the stuff again. My next mono to try will be Armilo.
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Cal » Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:26 am

Drew03cmc wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:19 am
I know it's an older thread, but I despise Super Natural. I was using 10lb to cast 1/8oz shakyheads and what not. It was breaking mid cast, down at the first guide above the reel. It was breaking on hooksets with my PX68 drag set loose and a Megabass Rattle Viper, so it wasn't overpowered. I will never buy the stuff again. My next mono to try will be Armilo.
Very strange. Was this happening on a fresh spool? Any backlashes previous to the weird breakoffs? Super Natural is my go-to nylon mono and I've not had issues such as this.

Armilo is a bit stiffer than Super Natural and handles more like a fluoro - at which point, to be honest, I'd rather just fish a fluoro.
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Drew03cmc » Sat Sep 16, 2023 11:51 am

Cal wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:26 am
Drew03cmc wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:19 am
I know it's an older thread, but I despise Super Natural. I was using 10lb to cast 1/8oz shakyheads and what not. It was breaking mid cast, down at the first guide above the reel. It was breaking on hooksets with my PX68 drag set loose and a Megabass Rattle Viper, so it wasn't overpowered. I will never buy the stuff again. My next mono to try will be Armilo.
Very strange. Was this happening on a fresh spool? Any backlashes previous to the weird breakoffs? Super Natural is my go-to nylon mono and I've not had issues such as this.

Armilo is a bit stiffer than Super Natural and handles more like a fluoro - at which point, to be honest, I'd rather just fish a fluoro.
Yes, fresh spool, no nicks, no backlashes. Just junk line. I like a copolymer or mono on topwater setups or on setups where I might fish topwater. Armilo will work great on a moving bait setup that may also double as a junk fishing rig.
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Cal » Sat Sep 16, 2023 3:10 pm

Bummer on your experience with Super Natural but thems the breaks (no pun intended) sometimes. 🤷‍♂️
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Drew03cmc » Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:14 pm

Cal wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 3:10 pm
Bummer on your experience with Super Natural but thems the breaks (no pun intended) sometimes. 🤷‍♂️
No worries. I wish Seaguar made a monofilament to compliment their R18 lines.
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Cal » Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:52 pm

Drew03cmc wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 7:14 pm
Cal wrote:
Sat Sep 16, 2023 3:10 pm
Bummer on your experience with Super Natural but thems the breaks (no pun intended) sometimes. 🤷‍♂️
No worries. I wish Seaguar made a monofilament to compliment their R18 lines.
They had one.... discontinued a few years ago
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by godshippy » Thu Sep 21, 2023 4:52 pm

I also did not have a very good experience with Sunline Super Natural despite the positive reviews you would read here. I gave it a fair shot and even came back to it a few years later...still the same.

I'm in agreement that Maxima Ultragreen is great though. This has been a mono that I have consistently come back to using whenever I ran out of Suline Defier. I just focus on the diameter instead of the line test rating. For me--it has been very strong and I've not had a breakoff using this line.

Sufix Siege is another one that gets a positive nod from me too--but mostly as a leader material. I have a buddy that uses it as his main line over fluorocarbon for fishing jigs--imagine using an NRX with Sufix Siege...hahaha, but it works for him!

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by dragon1 » Tue Sep 26, 2023 5:07 am

Siege is an excellent overall line, aside it loses clarity (gets milky) and is not very abrasion resistant, it also doesn't last very long under daily usage and especially in heavy sunlight...like most monos. I am going to try the Elite next to see if it is an improvement over the Siege.
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Re: Good Mono???

Post by Senkobass1 » Thu Oct 26, 2023 1:43 pm

Sunline defier has been my go to. I like that is has much less stretch compared to other lines on the market. A bit thicker but it seems to be strong and hold up after time. If I am in a pinch and need mono for my cranks or topwaters, good old Berkley big game has been very good to me. Memory is terrible on it so I change it every trip. Which works since it’s so cheap I can just buy a bulk spool and just rip it off.

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Re: Good Mono???

Post by John2204 » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:50 am

Give Suffix Advance a try, it’s one of the better mono lines out there

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