Consistent fighting power for trophy sized fish, Trilene Big Game
 

Total Score: 8.60

Introduction: Berkley produces some of the most popular monofilament fishing lines in the world and offers consistent performance with their Trilene Big Game line. Trilene Big Game is touted as a performance line for trophy fishing, and has found a huge following among offshore and inshore anglers alike.
 

Impressions: There are tons of different lines for anglers to choose from these days. While braided and fluorocarbon premium lines continue to grow in popularity there will always be room for the proven performance of monofilament fishing line. Berkley Trilene claims to be America #1 fishing line as well as the strongest available on the market today.

You can see from many of our reviews that we often spool up the test equipment with Trilene XL or Big Game. The reason for this is the consistent performance we get from this product as well as taking into account the high popularity of the line. For those anglers who want to know more about the details of Trilene Big game we put some 12lb ultra clear to the test.

Real World Test: All of us at TackleTour love Trilene Big Game for fishing large saltwater species like albacore and king salmon, but what we wanted to do in this test was see how Trilene Big Game performed in finesse applications like bass fishing with high speed baitcasters. We spooled up our test tackle with some 12lb Trilene Big Game and went for 2 days of largemouth and 1 day of striper fishing.

Why use monofilament?: Monofilament is still popular because it is consistent and performs well in the widest range of situations. Mono comes in many colors and sizes and is usually cheaper then braided, fused, and fluorocarbon lines. These days mono lines have more advanced coatings and mixes to make them stronger and more abrasive resistant.

Casting and Retrieving: We spooled up a couple baitcasters with Trilene Big Game which ranged from high speed Daiwa TD-X's to muscular Shimano Calcutta 200's for our test. We also put some 10'b line on larger spinning gear. What we found was that the larger diameter of big game definitely does reduce the amount of line you can spool up with. The line is somewhat stiff making it ideal for bait casting reels. This stiffness makes it ideal for pitching and flipping, and the strength allows anglers to pull though heavy cover with confidence. This same stiffness that makes Big Game feel right at home on baitcasters makes it downright awful for spinning gear. On spinning gear Big game feels sloppy and bunches up unevenly. It also doesn't cast nearly as far as more flexible lines like Trilene XL.

Overall if you like using baitcasting reels Big Game is a good choice, especially when tackling fish like Stripers where strength is a priority. Though it may not cast as far as other lines we appreciated the Big Game's very low stretch and responsive feel. When your pulling through heavy cover Big Game will bring your lures home with confidence.

Strengths: There is a lot to like about Trilene Big Game. The price for starters...Trilene Big game is among the most affordable high quality lines available on the market and is very reasonably priced for the type of performance the product offers. Big Game is very strong for a mono line and is low stretch offering good sensitivity for both deep sea fishing as well as inshore finesse fishing. When we went fishing for Stripers we found ourselves tugging ripbaits like crazy, 12lb Big Game was able to handle hard hitting stripers and muscle them in without the usual fear of the lure snapping off at the line. Knot strength is excellent and we experienced no slipping at all. Best of all Big Game is quite abrasion resistant and doesn't take damage easily from sharp structure, but at the same time is very gentle on line guides due to superior coating.

Weaknesses: The tradeoff for superior strength is higher visibility. Big Game doesn't disappear as well as some other lines and depending on what you are fishing for you may want to use a line with a thinner diameter. While Big Game casts consistently it is not the smoothest, and if smooth casting is a priority then stick with Trilene XL. The only other complaint we have with Big Game is that it does not have as low a memory as we would like. Twists and bends in the line take a while to straighten out completely.

Ratings:

Pluses and Minuses:

Conclusion: Trilene Big Game is surprisingly good for finesse fishing, and excellent for applications where strength is a high priority, like fishing in heavy cover or targeting stronger species like striped bass. If you prefer hi-stretch lines and view smooth casting as a priority then Big Game is not for you. While not the ultimate finesse line, Big game is a consistent performer that is well suited for baitcasters and can be fished with confidence. When you hook into that lunker you can count on Big Game to bring your trophy fish into the boat.

Until next time...Tight Lines!