Looking for the best line for Crappie fishing?
Crappie is the perfect freshwater fish in many ways. They are abundant, easy to access and grow to a relatively good size that produces excellent fillets. You can catch crappie while fishing from shore or while in a boat in deeper water. You even can fish for them through the ice. But you need the best fishing line for crappie to ensure your fishing produces consistently good results. Our pick for the best fishing line for crappie is Berkley Trilene XL.
The Trilene XL is an especially thin monofilament line that makes long casts smooth and easy to attain.
If you prefer targeting crappie with ultralight fishing gear, the catch can be just as fun as the final meal that you can get when you take home a full creel limit after a day of highly productive fishing.
The average adult black crappie weighs about 3.3 pounds and the average white crappie about 2.8 pounds. Crappie can grow to nearly a foot in length, and the world record is 19.3 inches. So you can catch some sizeable panfish that put up a pretty good fight when you target crappie.
Three Types of Fishing Lines for Crappie and Panfish
When targeting crappie, panfish, or any other aquatic species, fishermen have three general options for types of fishing line to use. Each has its own unique features that can make it an ideal line for your preferred method of fishing. The three types of fishing line are:
- Monofilament
- Fluorocarbon
- Braided
With three widely used types of fishing line available for use, results will always vary depending on the fisherman, the rod, and reel combination, type of fishing, and the type of fishing line used. Some will find monofilament ideal, while others will swear by fluorocarbon or braided as the best fishing line for crappie.
A closer examination of each type and some of the most popular fishing lines can help to produce more useful information on which is the best fishing line for crappie that you can use with your gear and fishing style.
The Trilene XL is an especially thin monofilament line that makes long casts smooth and easy to attain.
What’s red, white, and blue and has the strength of a spider? Nope, it’s not Spiderman, but it is Spiderwire, specifically Stealth braided line.
You get a very strong but thin line that has low memory and low visibility while submerged. It delivers exceptional sensitivity and feel to the rod tip that you can use to feel the fish and set the hook.
What Makes Monofilament the Best Fishing Line for Crappie
Monofilament fishing line has been around for decades for very good reason – it works very well under a wide variety of fishing conditions. Monofilament fishing line is affordable and highly effective at targeting crappie and other panfish as well as some of the largest species located anywhere.
The many great features that monofilament fishing line great for crappie fishing includes:
- Very light and holds well to reels.
- Translucent nature reduces its visibility while under water.
- Elastic nature helps to absorb hard strikes without snapping.
- Very affordable.
While monofilament has several great advantages, it does have a relatively high line memory, which could cause it to loop around when loose rather than extending in a relatively straight line to the lure. Monofilament also is highly elastic, which can make it more difficult to feel soft bites on a crappie lure or bait presentation. It generally works best on poles that have a very light action to help you to better feel light bites while fishing for crappie.
Among the best examples of monofilament lines for crappie fishing are:
Berkley Trilene XL
Berkley Trilene XL makes the elastic nature of monofilament fishing line a very useful feature when setting the hook in the soft mouths of crappie and many other panfish. The Trilene XL is an especially thin monofilament line that makes long casts smooth and easy to attain.
Stren MagnaThin
Stren MagnaThin, which offers your choice of fishing line color and low-visibility to make it easier to target crappie and other species. As the name implies, the Stren MagnaThin is an especially thin but strong fishing line that makes it possible to lower the pound test without giving up line strength for fighting bigger fish.
KastKing World’s Premium
KastKing World’s Premium is prized for its extremely low line memory thanks to KastKing’s proprietary paralleled roll track manufacturing process that increases line capacity on reels and makes casting much easier. KastKing offers this fishing line in a very wide range of colors to better match water conditions. It also is designed to be especially resistant to abrasions.
RUNCL PowerMono
RUNCL PowerMono, is a buoyant monofilament line renowned for its smooth casting characteristics and very high strength. This fishing line sinks slowly and suspends itself in water to better enable you to target crappie at particular depths. The PowerMono is especially adept at absorbing sudden shocks from hard hits and resists nicks and abrasions, which makes it especially useful when targeting fish lurking near cover.
SpiderWire Ultracast Ultimate
SpiderWire Ultracast Ultimate, is designed for bait cast reels, but also works very well with spinning reels and rods. SpiderWire is especially prized by fishermen and women for its excellent knot strength and ability to absorb shocks while wet. SpiderWire mostly is sold in clear and does an exceptional job of enabling you to feel even soft nibbles on the hook. It works especially well with light-action rods.
What Makes Braided the Best Fishing Line for Crappie
Braided fishing line actually is the first type that ever existed. The development of plastics, nylon, and eventually monofilament fishing lines mostly relegated older styles of braided fishing lines to deep-sea fishing. More recently, though, braided line has made a rousing return thanks to the ability to weave very thin strands of high-strength fibers into an incredibly strong braided fishing line.
Braided lines offer exceptional strength combined with thin diameter that enables reels to hold more and cast farther. They generally are stiff, have low line memory and do not stretch like the more elastic monofilament fishing lines. Braided lines are highly prized among crappie fishers for their ability to feel the bite while
Among the best examples of braided fishing line for crappie fishing are:
SpiderWire Stealth Braid– Best Braided Line For Crappie
SpiderWire Stealth Braid uses gel-spun polyethylene to create a very strong, thin, and sensitive braided line with exceptional strength. The trademarked Dyneema fiber used to create SpiderWire is 15 times stronger than steel, which kind of makes it the “carbon fiber” of the fishing line. The SpiderWire Stealth Braid is very thin, very light, and comes in a variety of colors to enhance the stealth aspect of the fishing line.
PowerPro Spectra
PowerPro Spectra uses PowerPro’s proprietary enhanced body technology to create a nearly perfect fishing line. The result is a smooth and very round fishing line that is highly sensitive. It is ideal for enabling you to feel subtle bites on the lure or bait and set the hook more often for successful hookups and landings.
KastKing SuperPower Braided
KastKing SuperPower Braided fishing lines give you a very thin fishing line that does not stretch and resists abrasion very well. This fishing line gives you superior strength in knots and has a very low memory that enables longer casts and virtually eliminates bird nests at the reel. Instead of untangling a relatively thick fishing line, the SuperPower Braided lets you cast farther more often while giving you a superior feel for bites and strikes.
Sufix 832 Advanced Superline
Sufix 832 Advanced Superline uses a GORE Performance Fiber to every seven HMPE fibers and 32 weaves per inch create a braided line with outstanding abrasion resistance combined with outstanding line strength. The line enables you to cast farther with greater accuracy. A variety of fishing line colors make it even more effective in varying water conditions.
Berkley Fireline Superline
Berkley Fireline Superline, which uses Dyneema fibers that are 15 times stronger than steel to weave the perfect braided fishing line. Berkely Fireline Superline is very buoyant and abrasion-resistant, which makes it ideal for using lures and targeting crappie that are hugging cover.
What Makes Fluorocarbon the Best Fishing Line for Crappie
Fluorocarbon fishing line is ideal for crappie and panfish due to its tensile strength and very low visibility while in the water. Fluorocarbon line does not reflect light as readily as monofilament line and does not share the elastic nature of monofilament. That makes fluorocarbon fishing line an ideal choice when fishing in clear waters and especially for targeting crappie and panfish in clear or shallow waters.
The best fluorocarbon fishing lines for crappie include:
Sunline Super FC Sniper– Best Fluorocarbon Line For Crappie
Sunline Super FC Sniper uses the latest in fluorocarbon line technology to produce one of the most advanced and best-performing fishing lines available. You get a very strong but thin line that has low memory and low visibility while submerged. It delivers exceptional sensitivity and feel to the rod tip that you can use to feel the fish and set the hook.
Berkley Vanish
Berkley Vanish, which Berkley first introduced 15 years ago and continually improved since to make it among the best-selling and most-effective fluorocarbon fishing lines on the market. The line refracts light in a manner similar to water and virtually disappears while submerged. The line sinks and gives you more feel from the rod tip to the lure. The fiber does not absorb water, so its performance remains constant.
SpiderWire EZ Fluoro
SpiderWire EZ Fluoro offers virtual invisibility, greater sensitivity, and exceptional abrasion resistance when battling larger crappie. The line gives you very good knot strength and has low line memory, which enables you to make longer casts more often without the line twisting or binding and causing annoying tangles at the reel.
PLine Tactical Fluorocarbon
PLine Tactical Fluorocarbon fishing line offers fast sinking and complete invisibility that makes it a lot easier for you to reach crappie suspended in deeper waters and while jigging. Exceptional materials and advanced extrusion processes make the fluorocarbon line among the most durable ever created. You get excellent casting capability combined with exceptional strength and abrasion resistance.
Seaguar Red Label
Seaguar Red Label fluorocarbon fishing line is designed to be very strong, durable, and just plain affordable. A very thin diameter lets you spool even more on the reel without losing any tensile strength. The line performs very well while submerged and does not lose any of its strength or begin to stretch. The line enables you to get an excellent feel for bites while making it much easier to set the hook and land more fish.
Common Qualities of the Best Fishing Line for Crappie
When it comes to panfish and crappie anglers, light fishing lines that can take a beating are in high demand. Most crappie fishermen are using as light as 2-pound test up to about 6-pound test for the occasional bass, pike or other big fish that decides to take your presentation.
Many find 4-pound test to be an ideal line when paired with a quality reel and rod combo. It can haul in the smaller panfish with ease but can give a big crappie or other larger fish with some help from the drag.
While it always helps to have an ideal size line for targeting crappie and other panfish, the best fishing line for crappie will have special qualities that work best with your particular rod and reel combination.
How to Choose the Best Fishing Line for Crappie
The final decision on which type of fishing line to use and which specific brand’s offering will work best for you depends a lot on your situation. You know the types of waters that you fish and the general conditions that you will encounter most often. Taking those factors into consideration along with the equipment you are using will make a big difference in which line is the best fishing line for crappie in your particular case.
If you are someone who likes to keep your costs low and like well-established brands and lines, then a good monofilament likely will work just fine for you. You just need to match the brand and type to your rod and reel combination, as well as your preferred presentation. If you’re a crappie angler that likes to use live bait and bobbers, then the more affordable monofilament fishing line will work great.
Someone who prefers lures and often uses them in or near cover will likely find a braided line or a fluorocarbon line more to their liking. Casting distance with either type usually is better than with monofilament fishing lines, and they have low line memory that reduces the potential for line tangles while fishing.
A fluorocarbon fishing line does a great job of sinking and creating good sensitivity between the hook and rod tip. It works well with lures and jigging for crappie and other species. A braided line is one that gives you exceptional strength in a very narrow fishing line that has low memory and buoyant characteristics. Braided fishing lines are great for casting and jigging, and the buoyant qualities make it easier to spot your line and fishing presentation.
Wrapping Up
With three different types of fishing lines offering crappie anglers a variety of fishing benefits, choosing the best fishing line for crappie should be a simple process. Once you determine the ideal ones for your various fishing interests and equipment, then you can order online and save money on great fishing gear.
For more guides on choosing fishing lines, check our other articles below.
