I'm a poor fisherman, looking for a good general duty, inexpensive line that will handle a range of possibilities for fish, and be forgiving of a general lack of fishing skill.

what weight and qualities should I look for?

Trilene xl 8 pound

quote Basspro69: "Trilene xl 8 pound"

Agree.

agree also.

That is exactly what I was going to recommend too.

quote kanoes: "agree also."

Agree.

quote Basspro69: "Trilene xl 8 pound"

Yup, that's the one!

Yeppers.

Yuppers!

While most like XL, I prefer XT for toughness and strength... that's just me! :-)

Bruce

or Stren, whichever is cheaper or on sale.

excellent, much more of a consensus that I was expecting. thanks. :)


and thanks Adam for fixing the thread.

Ditto 8# xl just spooled up today.

8# XL is on my reel 98% of the time. 6# XL the rest of the time.

I'd add that for me, it's worth having someone (competent) at the sporting goods shop spool it up. Cost including line is usually $3-4, so not much more than you'd pay for the line alone.
If you're a DIY person, be sure that you have the donor spool oriented in the right direction when winding onto the reel to avoid introducing line twist...

Like the others, I'm an #8 lb Trilene XL man.