Whenever I meet someone who I know is a good swimbait fisherman, I like to ask them about which lines and knots they use. The fact that I get a wide variety of responses regarding line brands and knots is evidence that there are plenty of reliable lines and knots out there. The key is to find the combination of line and knot that works for you. If you've ever experimented with line brands and knots, you know that certain knots work better on certain types and even brands of line and that it is the combination of the line and the knot that creates a strong connection.

Below I'm going to list out some combinations that I know work from first hand experience or have heard directly from friends who are swimbait fishermen. If you don't want to waste time on line selection, try one of the recommendations below.

Trilene Big Game / Trilene Knot or Palomar: I know three very good fishermen who fish Big Game and Big Game Supreme with either a Trilene Knot or a Palomar. If you like Trilene - Big Game or Big Game Supreme with a Trilene knot or Palomar could be a good option for you.

Maxima Ultragreen: There are several well known trophy guys who swear by Maxima, and most Maxima users report that it has a very high breaking strength. I'm not sure what knots guys are using on Maxima so you'll have to expirement and find out, but Maxima is a proven swimbait line, and most people are fishing the Ultragreen color from what I gather.

P-Line CXX / Palomar: I myself am not a P-Line fan but I'm also not a palomar knot fan, so that may explain it. I have heard from many people that they swear by the CXX in Moss Green for swimbaits with the palomar knot, so again, that's a combination to try.

Triple Fish Camoescent / Improved Clinch Knot: This is the combination I use and it has been proven to me time and time again over the years. There are two other well known swimbait guys who fish Triple Fish that I know of.  An improved clinch knot is the best knot for this line in my opinion.

Braid / palomar and Trilene knot: I don't know many people who fish braid for swimbaits. The only guy I know who does uses spinning tackle and therefore braid is a better fit for his fishing for casting and line twist reasons. If you insist on using braid, tie a palomar or a Trilene knot and leave a long tag end on your knot (like 3/4"). Super glue your knot and pull extremely hard to cinch it up.

Florocarbon: I have fished straight Triple Fish and Sugoi florocarbon lines for swimbaits and it does work well if you can afford to spool a reel with it. You want to use a San Diego jam knot to attach your bait on all florocarbon lines. Florocarbon has a tendency to burn itself as you tie up a clinch knot and with the palomar, you risk having the line cut through itself if you don't get it tied perfectly and the line overlaps in the wrong spot. If you fish florocarbon and use a knot besides the San Diego jam knot, you are taking a risk.

Leaders: In clear water situations, its often advisable to use a florocarbon leader. The florocarbon serves three purposes: The first is visibility. Floro is typically smaller diameter than mono and has a very neutral look under water. Many claims have been made about florocarbon being invisible underwater. That is marketing hype. I look at florocarbon in the water and I can see it, therefore it is not invisible. But it does look very neutral underwater which is a plus. The second advantage of florocarbon is abrasion resistance. You'll find that florocarbon will fray but tends not to break off when frayed. I've had a number of experiences where I've brought in a heavily frayed leader and still landed the fish. The third florocarbon advantage is that it helps prevent breakoffs while casting. I can't tell you how many people have told me they broke off their Huddleston Deluxe or other such heavy compact swimbait while casting. A 25lb floro leader has better resistance to the stretch damage that casting swimbaits inflicts on mono so if you are snapping off baits on the cast, a floro leader could help you.  I will use up to 6 feet of florocarbon leader on my rigs in clear water.  It takes some getting used to for casting, but once you get the hang of it it's very do-able.

When attaching floro leaders to mono, I use a blood knot. I have tried other knots and found none that were any better than a regular old blood knot. You may get away with up to 5lbs difference in line test when tying lines together but generally you want to tie 25 to 25 and 20 to 20, etc. I'll put an extra wrap or two with the lighter pound test side of the line if I do go between line tests. Make sure to wet your knot when cinching it, then pull it as tight as you can without damaging the line and trim the tag ends to less than 1/8" so that you can pull the leader through the guides.  If the knot looks irregular in any way, cut it off and retie it.  Your leader to main line connection should be perfect before you make a single cast with it. 

Remember, you can experiment with lines, but if you haven't already determined a good setup based on real world swimbait experience, use one of the line/knot combinations above and save yourself the headache.

If you need to know how to tie any of the knots mentioned above, go to google.com and search for the knot you are interested in.