Mastering Jigging with Mono: Reel in Your Best Catches!

Jigging is an excellent fishing technique! It is both fun to do and very effective for landing numerous species, if done right.

Besides choosing the best rod, reel, and lure, you will have to choose a fishing line that has all necessary features. So, is jigging with mono good, or is it better to choose other types?

Mono is frequently overlooked for jigging, due to stretch, large diameter, and buoyancy. However, in certain situations it can work very well. When using lighter lures in shallower water, and fishing for smaller size fish, mono is a great choice, especially for beginners!

Of course, it is not all about equipment, and anglers must have certain skills to feel the lure and present it in an effective way.

This skill and ability to control your equipment is especially important with mono lines.

Here is a short guide in which I will tell you everything you need to know!

Can You Use a Mono Line for Jigging?

Firstly, let`s define some features that make certain types of lines good or bad for jiggig.

When presenting your jig by twitching, pausing, reeling, letting it drop and everything you do with it, you need a line that will enable you to feel even the slightest movement.

Usually, especially for heavier lures, anglers choose braided lines that have no stretch. Lack of stretching provides high sensitivity. Frequently, mono is added just as a leader.

However, jigging with mono as a main line is possible. When fishing in smaller bodies of water for fish like walleye or crappie, and if you choose mono lines with almost no stretch, you can be very successful. As you will not use a lot of line length stretchiness won’t be as prominent as if you fished deep in the ocean.

Light lures and fish also won’t stretch your line too much to disable you from feeling and controlling everything.

So, here are some numbers to show when mono is a good choice for jigging:

• Water less than 15ft deep (even better is 10ft)
• Light lines (8 pound test)
• Light jiggs (1/8 oz)

With this, you also have to be aware that the movement of jig won’t feel the same as with braid. You will feel it more like sliding than sudden snaps, but for fish like walleye and crappie, it is excellent!

Braid vs. Mono for Jigging: Which One is Better?

Choosing braid or mono for jigging depends on where you are fishing for what species, and the rest of your equipment.

Those two line types are used in different situations. Let’s make a small comparative analysis before drawing a conclusion.

When to Use Mono for Jigging?

• In shallow water
• For small fish with small lures
• If you are a complete beginner who finds braided lines difficult to use
• When low visibility line is required

When to Use Braid for Jigging?

• Any water depth, especially in deep waters
• For big fish and heavy lures
• For extra high line sensitivity and lure control
• When you need more line length on your reel

Overall, braided lines are definitely more versatile because they are not limited in their use in shallow water for light fish only. With those, you can land anything from crappie to tuna. However, they also have some downsides and the most important is high visibility. In such situations, you can add a mono or fluoro leader to braided lines so that you combine the best of both.

Mono is excellent for beginners because mono is easy to handle and tie, it is cheaper, there is no need for leader lines and it is almost invisible and suitable for learning purposes.

What is the Best Mono for Jigging?

When trying to decide if you will use braid or mono for jigging, it is important to mention that there are different mono lines on the market. Not all such lines are the same. I would recommend you invest in “low-stretch” mono lines that have all the benefits of standard mono and also reduced negative features for jigging like stretchiness.

Although such specialized mono lines tent to cost more than standard, it is well worth it if you want to increase your jigging performance.

Here are some recommendations:

• Ande Tournament mono line
• Trilene XT
• Sufix Advance

Of course, there are more lines on the market that advertise as low stretch, however these three are in my opinion the best ones for this specific task.

When you compare them in real life (or real fishing) conditions, you will actually be able to tell a difference between those three and regular mono lines with standard mono properties.

Just be careful not to confuse Trilene XT and Trilene XL which is completely the opposite from low stretch!

Conclusion

Jigging with mono can be a great experience if you know where to use them and what to expect. For smaller lakes and ponds where you are catching walleyes or crappie, mono is a top choice!

Besides being used as a main line in certain conditions, mono can be a good leader when you need properties of braid as main, but with some benefits of mono in the end, like low visibility.

Experienced anglers will easily adjust to different feeling while jigging with mono, while for beginners using this can be a great opportunity to master this technique (vertical or slow pitch)!