The following article is based strictly on my opinion, which I have formed from years of trial and error.

Braided line: Super strong, small diameter with no stretch or memory, sounds like it should be the perfect line.  I know people who use it exclusively.  I'm not one of those people.

I've experimented with several brands and PowerPro has the most positives and I use it for specific techniques. Slop fishing, pulling frogs across the top of duckweed or other matted weeds is where braided line sees the most action in my boat. The limpness of braid gets a few extra yards when casting lightweight lures and the small diameter helps cut through the weeds when a fish gets buried.

These super lines also do a great job on spinning gear but often require a monofilamet or fluorocarbon leader. The downfall of braided line for me is that I'm usually a short line pitcher and flipper. So the braids tend to hang up on the bark or twigs of the trees that I pitch to where mono-line slides off as you work the bait through the rest of the cover.

Braid, since it is so limp, will get caught and you can not “flick” it off. You're forced to reel up and redo the cast and very often you need the lure as close to the cover as possible. I also feel that I lose more fish with braid by actually pulling the hook out of the fish due to the lack of stretch. Switching to lighter action rods could probably help this but would require a full commitment to braided line and right now I don’t see that happening for me.

Fluorocarbon line: Relatively new to the fresh water fishing market other than as leader material for fly-fishing. This line is virtually invisible under water and is fast gaining in popularity. I'm still experimenting with brands but so far I am very impressed with the performance and handling characteristics of this line. Fluorocarbon doesn’t absorb water or break down from UV rays, so it actually lasts longer than mono, which means I don’t have to change it out nearly as often. The only negatives that I have experienced so far with fluorocarbon are that since it sinks it is terrible for topwater baits and you have to be careful with heat when the line is in storage. Also make sure that you wet the line when you are cinching up your knot. Of the brands that I've tested the Sea Guar brand is at the top of the list - it handles the heat and has out performed the rest so far.  I'm still testing other brands.