In all my years of fishing I have used monofilament lines 90% or more of the time. It wasn't until a couple years ago that I even tried braided line. While braid has its benefits, if I had to pick only one fishing line to use it would be mono without a second thought.
Growing up I can remember having my spincast reel spooled with 10lb Stren. Dad would take me out to a lake and I would through a rooster tail around without a care in the world. When I got older and started buying my own fishing gear I started using Berkley Trilene. There really wasn't much reason to why I chose to use Trilene, it was just what I happened to pick up off of the shelf and it stuck for many years. Probably the biggest reason I used it for so many years and even to this day is purely its availability. In a pinch you can find Berkley's Trilene line just about anywhere that sells fishing supplies. Trilene came in a few different varieties. Specifically I used XT Extra Tough and XL Smooth Casting as these were the easiest to find in the local stores. XT was obviously built for durability and strength while XL was built for manageability, resisting line twists and knots.
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Over the years as I began to favor spinning reels, I also favored the XL line. Spinning reels were more prone to line twist and the XL helped minimize this issue. To this day I still use Trilene XL Smooth Casting from time to time. It's not my favorite mono line but It gets the job done.
This is where Bass Pro Shops came in. After taking my first trip to Bass Pro Shops I was hooked. It was like a huge candy store of fishing. With Bass Pro came an exposure to a vast collection of fishing gear and lines I had never seen before. At this point I was already loyal to Berkley's Trilene line and that is when I discovered Berkley Trilene Sensation.
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Sensation was designed to be super sensitive and that's just what it did. From day one I was sold on this line. It just had a very good feel to it. It had everything I liked about the XL and more. It was as strong as the XT if not stronger, the box actually claims that it is their highest strength-per-diameter fishing line wet or dry. Line memory and management was comparable to the XL and of course it was extra sensitive as described. It wasn't long before I had all of my non catfish reels spooled with sensation. I have had many good years using this line. It was only about a year ago when I was finally weaned off of this line and that was only because I was given as a gift some different types of monofilament line.
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In the past year Sufix Siege has become my go to line. Similar to the Trilene XT Extra Tough, this line was designed to be "super tough" and strong. The difference being the manageability issues that I had experienced with XT several years back. The the thing that set this line apart from the others was the lines memory. Less line memory generally means less twists and knots. I have been very impressed by this lines strength, abrasion resistance, and near zero memory. Now I have noticed that the "zero memory" isn't nearly as prevalent on baitcaster reels as it is on spinning reels due to the smaller spools on baitcasters. Also, the increased strength and durability comes with a price of slightly higher diameter line. For example the 8lb Sufix Siege has a diameter of 0.011" vs 8lb Sensation/XL having a diameter of 0.010". It by no means matches the sensitivity of Sensation, but it has came in a transition period for me where that sensitivity has mattered less. The past year has been a big transition period to larger bass baits where that finesse sensitivity is much less critical.
So for anyone looking for a new monofilament line to try; for heavier baits on spinning reels I would recommend Sufix Siege, for lighter tackle on spinning reels I would try out Berkley Trilene Sensation. Good Luck!
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