10 Best Fishing Line For Catfish In 2025 -

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Hello fishing lovers people. In my previous article, I was talking about the best catfish rod and best catfish reel, which are really important in catfishing. Today I am talking about another very important matter which is the fishing line. I mainly describe here which line is the best for catfishing.

I think as a Mainline braid l and as a leader line monofilament setup is the best fishing line setup for catfish. With this line setup, you can get the maximum facility for any size of catfish. Let’s go to the article and know about it perfectly.

Choosing the best line for catfish is a little confusing matter. Because some expert anglers say monofilament is the best line for catching catfish and some expert angler say that braid is the best line for catching catfish. So general fishing lovers feel confused about it. So I decided to break down this thing and tell you what is the perfect fishing line for catfish.

10 Best Braided Line For Catfish

4 Best Monofilament Line For Catfish

2 Special Monofilament leader line for Catfish

How Monofilafent line Works For Catfish

So some anglers said that a monofilament fishing line is the best choice for catching catfish. There is some logic for them. Monofilament is cheap. It’s very high abrasion resistance. Its floats. Monofilament is very low visible underwater. It has very good strength in knots. These are obviously great things. I also know if you catch catfish which are 2-12lb then you can catch them with 20lb monofilament. 20lb monofilament has enough power for catching small to medium size catfish, so you can simply use 20lb monofilament if your target is only small and medium-size fish or you have some budget problem because the braided line is more expensive than mono.

But there are some disadvantages with mono. They have high line memory. They are thicker than braid so obviously, you can put less line on your reel. Monofilament has less castability than braid so when you want a great casting performance then monofilament can’t be your best choice.

But if you just want to catch some general size catfish then you can go with 20lb monofilament and it’s really enough for normal size freshwater fish or catfish. And also new anglers can use a monofilament line because it’s easy to handle and less to learn.

If you go with monofilament then you can check below for my top selection for monofilament fishing line. You can take a 15lb monofilament line for small catfish and a 20lb monofilament line for medium catfish. You can take a 50-65lb test or more for big fish. Hope you understand.

How Braided line Works for catfish

So now I am talking about the braided lines for catching catfish. Braided lines are awesome. They are very sensitive, every single small bite you can feel and its give you obviously more pleasure. Braided lines are very strong and can fight with strong fish. Braided lines are very thin line diameter so obviously, you can put more lines in your reel.

Another great thing with a braided line is it has great castability. So when you need perfection in your cast then I think a braided line must be your first choice. Braided line has no line memory so this is also a good point.

Another thing is braided line is more visible underwater or to fish. But we know that catfish are no line shy, so this is not a matter of fact of line visibility for catfish. Braided line is expensive, it’s true. But it has some great features so that we can spend more extra money for getting those awesome benefits.

So now the main question. Is the braided line best for catfish?

I say yes. But you have to know something about the braid lines.

Braided line has infamy for losing lure and hook so also fish. Sometimes knots break or open in braided line.

So this is a great matter of fact. So how do we fix it? Okay To fix it let’s jump into the next section.

Mainline braid and leader line monofilament setup for Catfish

So now you are in the right place. So when we use the braided line as a mainline we get all features of the braided line. But the braided line has some infamy for losing lure or knot so to solve this problem I add a monofilament leader line. Monofilament knot is very strong and it saves your lure, knot, and also fish. Another great thing about using a monofilament as a leader is it is very low visible underwater and also for fish. So you have the opportunity to also catchline shy fish. Because you have to always be ready for any kind of fishing species.

Also, monofilament is so abrasion resistant, so when the fishing area is covered with rock or grass or things like that monofilament will save you.

Your monofilament leader line will be 12-18 inches for catfish.

So when you use a braided line for mainline and monofilament as a leader line, you will get both types of line facilities. Is it awesome?? I think.

Finally, I prefer you to use a 50lb braided line for the mainline and a 40-50lb monofilament for the leader line. And for 30-35lb fish it’s enough. But if your fish weight or strength is higher than that then you have to increase your line lb strength obviously. It can be a 65lb braid and a 65lb monofilament. So it is up to your catfish size and strength.

What pound line for catfish?

Generally, you can easily handle 30lb fish with a 50lb test fishing line. 40-45lb fish with 65lb test fishing line. 50-65lb fish with 80-100lb fishing line. I think you are clear now. But if you are in freshwater fishing then I think 50lb braid mainline and 40-65lb monofilament leader line is enough to go.

What Line Color Best For Catfish?

Actually, Catfish are not lined shy. So If you target only Catfish then you can put any color as your wish. But If you target another fish also besides catfish then you have to consider line color. Hope you understand.

Thanks for reading this awesome article. Now introduce you to the best fishing line for catfish. So now you know you need the braided line and you know the monofilament line. So I give you the best braid and monofilament line list below.

If you want to tie the braided line directly to your hook then this knot will work for you best. This is the award winner Palomar knot.

Video Courtesy- Salt Strong

If you want to attach the braid line and monofilament line together with a knot then this video is the perfect solution.

Video Courtesy- FishThatWontQuit

If you want to join the braid & monofilament line with a swivel then this video will help you.

Video Courtesy- pee cee

Final Words

I think now you can set up your own catfish line perfectly.

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