Line shy or not 2024
InFishingWeTrust reply :
Would like to hear opinions on if you believe fish are line shy or not. Heres is my view. I fished straight braid for years and for all apllications. I never had a problem catching fish. I believed if a fish is line shy they would be hook shy. This is the first year running leaders and honestly havent notice a big difference yet personally. Today I fished straight braid on jerk baits and had no problem hooking up on fish. This being the first time this year fishing straight braid . I have yanked bass out of some heavily fished ponds which would be considered "pressured". Even watch a guy cry fishing shiners on lets say standard fishing line for this case since I dont know what he exactly had spooled in the sense of flouro, mono etc. about Turners pond ( a small pond in VA) being over fished and by the time he got to his car yanked a bass out in the same area he was fishing off of straight braid fishing a weightless soft plastic. So just want some opinions on what you all believe when it comes to line? Are they line shy or not?
Turtle135 reply :
I do not believe bass are line shy. However, I can see and feel the difference on certain lures by using lighter line, so the presentation is different with different lines.
BassWhole! reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 7:48 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:Would like to hear opinions on if you believe fish are line shy or not. Heres is my view. I fished straight braid for years and for all apllications. I never had a problem catching fish. I believed if a fish is line shy they would be hook shy. This is the first year running leaders and honestly havent notice a big difference yet personally. Today I fished straight braid on jerk baits and had no problem hooking up on fish. This being the first time this year fishing straight braid . I have yanked bass out of some heavily fished ponds which would be considered "pressured". Even watch a guy cry fishing shiners on lets say standard fishing line for this case since I dont know what he exactly had spooled in the sense of flouro, mono etc. about Turners pond ( a small pond in VA) being over fished and by the time he got to his car yanked a bass out in the same area he was fishing off of straight braid fishing a weightless soft plastic. So just want some opinions on what you all believe when it comes to line? Are they line shy or not?
In my experience LMB are not line shy in the least.
Cak920 reply :
I have no idea. I like to use a fluoro leader just to make myself feel better but I often wondered if it makes much of a difference.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 7:55 AM, Turtle135 said:I do not believe bass are line shy. However, I can see and feel the difference on certain lures by using lighter line, so the presentation is different with different lines.
I use power pros 20 lb which is suppose to be 6 lb mono equivalent. They make a 10 and a 8 lb braid which is suppose to be 2 lb abd 1lb mono equivalent. So there's some pretty light braid. Do you notice a difference in presentations in different types of lines?
On 4/6/2018 at 8:05 AM, reason said:In my experience LMB are not line shy in the least.
Same with SMB to me. Havent noticed a difference.
On 4/6/2018 at 8:07 AM, Cak920 said:I have no idea. I like to use a fluoro leader just to make myself feel better but I often wondered if it makes much of a difference.
Yeah I can understand that. Can see it being a confidence booster.
Turtle135 reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 8:15 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:I use power pros 20 lb which is suppose to be 6 lb mono equivalent. They make a 10 and a 8 lb braid which is suppose to be 2 lb abd 1lb mono equivalent. So there's some pretty light braid. Do you notice a difference in presentations in different types of lines?
In the extreme consider how a finesse jig might fall to the bottom on 25 pound test monofilament compared to 8 pound test monofilament. With the heavier line the floating characteristics of mono and the increased drag will inhibit the free fall of the jig through the water column. With the 8 pound test the jig will fall relatively uninhibited, almost as it would fall if it was not tied to line at all.
Thin braid will get your crankbaits diving to maximum possible depth.
It is all something of a trade off. Lighter line can lead to break offs and braid and treble hooks are not a match made in heaven either.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
If they have their polarized glasses on they can definitely see the line! ????
I use straight braid 90% of the time and have never had a problem catching em.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 8:46 AM, DINK WHISPERER said:If they have their polarized glasses on they can definitely see the line! ????
I use straight braid 90% of the time and have never had a problem catching em.
When do you use other lines?
greentrout reply :
Some of the State lakes I fish have visibility of 48". Use 8 and sometimes 6 test line -- mono. Come from the old school and downsize when appropriate...
DINK WHISPERER reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 8:51 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:When do you use other lines?
Mainly just leaders, when throwing big treble swimbaits and deep diving cranks. Either Abrazx fluoro or CXX. It's more to "soften" the harshness of the braid on the treble hooks than for visibility reasons.
BassWhole! reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 8:39 AM, Turtle135 said:In the extreme consider how a finesse jig might fall to the bottom on 25 pound test monofilament compared to 8 pound test monofilament. With the heavier line the floating characteristics of mono and the increased drag will inhibit the free fall of the jig through the water column. With the 8 pound test the jig will fall relatively uninhibited, almost as it would fall if it was not tied to line at all.
Thin braid will get your crankbaits diving to maximum possible depth.
It is all something of a trade off. Lighter line can lead to break offs and braid and treble hooks are not a match made in heaven either.
No doubt, The characteristics of a line will have an effect on the lure, and it can be the difference between catching and not catching based on several factors, but that's a different (and important) discussion.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 9:13 AM, greentrout said:Some of the State lakes I fish have visibility of 48". Use 8 and sometimes 6 test line -- mono. Come from the old school and downsize when appropriate...
Heard of people doing that before.
Angry John reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 9:23 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:Heard of people doing that before.
It's a thing in super clear water. I did it a lot in Washington state. Not so much in Tennessee.
Bluebasser86 reply :
I've only ever seen a difference in super clear water, and that was still only during certain occasions. Those same fish in those same lakes will also hit an A-rig so hard that it about takes the rod out of your hands. If they were line shy, certainly they'd shy away from something like that. I still fish mono and flourocarbon, but not so much for visibility reasons.
Crestliner2008 reply :
The late, great, father of structure fishing, Buck Perry, always said that he wanted the fish to see his line; it lead them straight to his lure! I agree entirely after spending many decades on the water. I do use a leader these days with all my braid main line reels, but not for the visibility aspect (or lack thereof). Rather I use fluorocarbon as a shock absorber as well as for abrasion resistance characteristics. JMO!
soflabasser reply :
I recently caught a +7 pound, 24" bass as bycatch while fishing for freshwater tarpon and snook. I was using a 100 pound test mono leader( big snook have sharp gillplates that cut the line and tarpon tend to destroy braided line with no leader) and that bass did not care one bit. Have even caught big northern strain largemouth bass with a wire leader while muskie fishing. Rainbow trout seem to be much more warry of line and I caught more rainbow trout with 6 pound test mono compared to when I was using 12 pound test mono.
scaleface reply :
I think the more invisible the line the more bites , especially in clear water . Doesnt mean you still cant catch them on rope .
12poundbass reply :
IMO if fish were line shy fish nets wouldn't have been effective for 100's or 1000's of years.
mattkenzer reply :
Our lakes have a solid population of pickerel.
I see many anglers with a hook attached to a wire leader to prevent the pickerel from cutting the line.
They are Smallmouth fishing with success.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 1:30 PM, Bluebasser86 said:I've only ever seen a difference in super clear water, and that was still only during certain occasions. Those same fish in those same lakes will also hit an A-rig so hard that it about takes the rod out of your hands. If they were line shy, certainly they'd shy away from something like that. I still fish mono and flourocarbon, but not so much for visibility reasons.
That has crossed my mind about A rigs and the thick wire thats used.
On 4/6/2018 at 7:22 PM, scaleface said:I think the more invisible the line the more bites , especially in clear water . Doesnt mean you still cant catch them on rope .
Lmao.
On 4/6/2018 at 7:22 PM, 12poundbass said:IMO if fish were line shy fish nets wouldn't have been effective for 100's or 1000's of years.
True.
On 4/6/2018 at 6:52 PM, Crestliner2008 said:The late, great, father of structure fishing, Buck Perry, always said that he wanted the fish to see his line; it lead them straight to his lure! I agree entirely after spending many decades on the water. I do use a leader these days with all my braid main line reels, but not for the visibility aspect (or lack thereof). Rather I use fluorocarbon as a shock absorber as well as for abrasion resistance characteristics. JMO!
I can see where that comes in to play
On 4/6/2018 at 8:22 PM, mattkenzer said:Our lakes have a solid population of pickerel.
I see many anglers with a hook attached to a wire leader to prevent the pickerel from cutting the line.
They are Smallmouth fishing with success.
Yeah. I would be salty losing a bunch of lures to a fish Im not targeting.
Brad in Texas reply :
And, other than true issues like floating versus sinking rates, shock absorption, etc., it hasn't been that long since most of us fished straight monofilament. Nylon lines were a huge step forward, held on and dominated for decades. Then, the "others" appeared. But, monofilament lines in "clear" spools were essentially invisible.
But, leaders have been around for a very long time using very tough materials, heck wire, for catching toothy critters in salt water, so it was inevitable that we'd see leader usage expand once multiple line materials appeared and became commonplace.
My guess is fluorocarbon lines would have disappeared from every shelf in America in, what, about 15 minutes after someone first tried to fish it with a whole spool of it on their reels. Especially the first fluorocarbon lines. Other "benefits" had to be sold and one of them is its refractive index being close to that of water, that it was even more invisible in water than clear monofilaments. It is, but to what end? And, is it sort of over-sold to us? I think so.
So, still to this day, a lot of us use fluorocarbon as short leaders on braid mainlines. For sure, some use it as mainlines. I use a braid to fluorocarbon leader on my spinning tackle for better performance (on my end) and a more natural looking presentation (on the fish's end). The pros will often comment, Aaron Martens comes to mind, that he used an 8 lbs. fluoro leader on day 1 of a tournament, that he dropped to 6 lbs. the next day because fishing was tough, the bite slow. He was admitting that he wanted the 8 for its strength, less chance of losing a fish, that he dropped to 6 not so much regarding line visibility, both 6 and 8 are, after all, invisible, but to further influence the natural action of his presentation. Here, it does make a difference. That little worm floating around on a hook looks more natural on really light lines.
Other than that, I'm like most here and I don't think most fish, certainly not bass, really much care about line visibility, it is never much for any line in typical water tints, and you could fish straight braid or mono or fluoro with similar results depending on the effects of each on presentations.
Brad
Choporoz reply :
I don't think much about whether bass can see my line. However, I respect the opinions of those who do. I think the variety of opinions of experienced fisherman and even biologists leads me to believe that we can't really know how much effect there is. So, my overriding concern regarding line visibility is whether or not I can see the line. When using worms and jigs, and such, all other factors being equal, I'm going to catch more fish with bright yellow line than I will with invisible line.
scaleface reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 9:29 PM, Choporoz said:I'm going to catch more fish with bright yellow line than I will with invisible line.
Thats a smart way to do it . I like to use 17 lb test clear blue fluorescent mono on my worm rod because i'm a line watcher . Most other applications on casting equip I use 12 lb green mono to best match the local water color .
2tall79 reply :
Too many times I have fished with a guy in the backseat where one is catching and one isn't and the only difference is the line being used. So yes, I do believe fish can be line shy.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 8:54 PM, Brad in Texas said:And, other than true issues like floating versus sinking rates, shock absorption, etc., it hasn't been that long since most of us fished straight monofilament. Nylon lines were a huge step forward, held on and dominated for decades. Then, the "others" appeared. But, monofilament lines in "clear" spools were essentially invisible.
But, leaders have been around for a very long time using very tough materials, heck wire, for catching toothy critters in salt water, so it was inevitable that we'd see leader usage expand once multiple line materials appeared and became commonplace.
My guess is fluorocarbon lines would have disappeared from every shelf in America in, what, about 15 minutes after someone first tried to fish it with a whole spool of it on their reels. Especially the first fluorocarbon lines. Other "benefits" had to be sold and one of them is its refractive index being close to that of water, that it was even more invisible in water than clear monofilaments. It is, but to what end? And, is it sort of over-sold to us? I think so.
So, still to this day, a lot of us use fluorocarbon as short leaders on braid mainlines. For sure, some use it as mainlines. I use a braid to fluorocarbon leader on my spinning tackle for better performance (on my end) and a more natural looking presentation (on the fish's end). The pros will often comment, Aaron Martens comes to mind, that he used an 8 lbs. fluoro leader on day 1 of a tournament, that he dropped to 6 lbs. the next day because fishing was tough, the bite slow. He was admitting that he wanted the 8 for its strength, less chance of losing a fish, that he dropped to 6 not so much regarding line visibility, both 6 and 8 are, after all, invisible, but to further influence the natural action of his presentation. Here, it does make a difference. That little worm floating around on a hook looks more natural on really light lines.
Other than that, I'm like most here and I don't think most fish, certainly not bass, really much care about line visibility, it is never much for any line in typical water tints, and you could fish straight braid or mono or fluoro with similar results depending on the effects of each on presentations.
Brad
Thanks for your input.
senile1 reply :
This is one of those repeated subjects where too often we look it at with a human perspective, but we really don't know and may never know the answer to this question. We think if they are not scared off by hooks then they aren't scared off by line. But we don't know how the line sticking out of the front of a lure appears to a bass when compared to hooks. Maybe hooks could be seen as a deformity on a bait fish and the line sticking out is something else. Or maybe both are seen as something entirely abnormal, or then again, maybe the fish don't notice them at all. It could also be that some fish are spooked by both and those are the fish that never bite. Studies show there are some fish that will never bite a lure.
Regarding things such as this, we may never know the answers but they always give us excuses to make when we are struggling to catch fish. 
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 9:29 PM, Choporoz said:I don't think much about whether bass can see my line. However, I respect the opinions of those who do. I think the variety of opinions of experienced fisherman and even biologists leads me to believe that we can't really know how much effect there is. So, my overriding concern regarding line visibility is whether or not I can see the line. When using worms and jigs, and such, all other factors being equal, I'm going to catch more fish with bright yellow line than I will with invisible line.
I do appreciate people's opinions. Ine thing I like about fishing I am constantly learning.
On 4/6/2018 at 11:30 PM, 2tall79 said:Too many times I have fished with a guy in the backseat where one is catching and one isn't and the only difference is the line being used. So yes, I do believe fish can be line shy.
Has been on the same baits and all? I have been yanking fish out before and my buddy get skunked and he uses "standard" line.
On 4/6/2018 at 11:42 PM, senile1 said:This is one of those repeated subjects where too often we look it at with a human perspective, but we really don't know and may never know the answer to this question. We think if they are not scared off by hooks then they aren't scared off by line. But we don't know how the line sticking out of the front of a lure appears to a bass when compared to hooks. Maybe hooks could be seen as a deformity on a bait fish and the line sticking out is something else. Or maybe both are seen as something entirely abnormal, or then again, maybe the fish don't notice them at all. It could also be that some fish are spooked by both and those are the fish that never bite. Studies show there are some fish that will never bite a lure.
Regarding things such as this, we may never know the answers but they always give us excuses to make when we are struggling to catch fish.
True statement.
Bankbeater reply :
I am wondering if fishing pressure has anything to do with it. I have used straight braid on larger bodies of water with no problem, and caught fish with moving baits, and with plastics on the bottom.
When I use the same baits locally there is no bite at all with plastics. I have better success with moving baits, as long as the braid is small diameter. When I change over to mono and fish the same plastic baits, my bites start picking up.
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 11:47 PM, Bankbeater said:I am wondering if fishing pressure has anything to do with it. I have used straight braid on larger bodies of water with no problem, and caught fish with moving baits, and with plastics on the bottom.
When I use the same baits locally there is no bite at all with plastics. I have better success with moving baits, as long as the braid is small diameter. When I change over to mono and fish the same plastic baits, my bites start picking up.
I have been trying leaders. I fish ponds a lot. They are close to where I live so can hit them easily. I haven't seen a difference yet personally in producing fish. At least in the ponds I fish which is in a middle of a neighborhood so it sees a lot of action. I have noticed some days they prefer smaller profiles then others they dont care and will hit any thing.
Brad in Texas reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 11:30 PM, 2tall79 said:Too many times I have fished with a guy in the backseat where one is catching and one isn't and the only difference is the line being used. So yes, I do believe fish can be line shy.
Well, there are some variables here that still make it dubious.
First, was your experience that the angler with what we consider to be a more invisible line was the one always catching more fish?
The second would be if two of you were sitting in a boat, both with a "fair" coin, flipped it 10X, would you expect the same outcome? Nothing is less different than flipping a fair coin.
That is always the issue, that we can never be absolutely certain what would have happened in the other case. And, there should be no expectation of a similar outcome even if two guys are standing shoulder to shoulder and fishing. One might be dropping straight down on fish, the other a few feet away.
It makes it all the more mysterious. And, still, you are correct that if you make an observation that repeats over and over, you have to consider it.
Brad
2tall79 reply :
One particular instance that is etched in my memory. My brother and I were fishing a hump on my home lake which is gin clear water. I began catching 2-3 lb smallies on a Fat Gitzit. After my 3rd fish my brother asked to borrow some of the tubes. Still, I caught fish and he didn't. As an experiment, we switched poles...his with 10# Stren Flourescent Blue, mine with 8# Green Trilene XL. He caught a 4# smallie on his first cast and several following while I managed to catch one dink.
I am not here to convince anybody that line type makes a difference, but in my experience it can.
scaleface reply :
On 4/7/2018 at 12:33 AM, 2tall79 said:I am not here to convince anybody that line type makes a difference, but in my experience it can.
I have had similar experiences enough so much so that it is beyond a reasonable doubt that bass "can become" line shy .
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/7/2018 at 12:33 AM, 2tall79 said:One particular instance that is etched in my memory. My brother and I were fishing a hump on my home lake which is gin clear water. I began catching 2-3 lb smallies on a Fat Gitzit. After my 3rd fish my brother asked to borrow some of the tubes. Still, I caught fish and he didn't. As an experiment, we switched poles...his with 10# Stren Flourescent Blue, mine with 8# Green Trilene XL. He caught a 4# smallie on his first cast and several following while I managed to catch one dink.
I am not here to convince anybody that line type makes a difference, but in my experience it can.
Interesting. What I want to hear. Like to hear experiences. Do you think because it was gin clear had a difference? The river I fish is clear but there is a gin clear lake by me which I have been skunked on a few times and when I say gin clear its clear. Can easily see bottom in 10 foot of water.
2tall79 reply :
On 4/7/2018 at 12:42 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:Interesting. What I want to hear. Like to hear experiences. Do you think because it was gin clear had a difference? The river I fish is clear but there is a gin clear lake by me which I have been skunked on a few times and when I say gin clear its clear. Can easily see bottom in 10 foot of water.
Abolutely! My home lake is clear enough to see a dime on the bottom in 20 FOW. Trust me, when I fish stained or off colored water, I'm definitely using high vis line. After 40 years in construction, I have lost a lot of sensation in my hands and where I haven't lost it they're covered with callouses. After all, I am a line watcher first and foremost.
NorthStar reply :
My take is Yes and No, depends on the presentation and clarity. Fishing fast horizontal baits looking for reaction strikes, line visibility is probably less important. Fishing more finesse Vertical presentations, when fish have time to examine your offering, line type and diameter are very important, especially in clear water. Lighter line will also allow more action in your presentation and give it a more life like appearance. The specifics of the different line types should also play a factor in your decision.
greentrout reply :
On 4/7/2018 at 12:33 AM, 2tall79 said:I am not here to convince anybody that line type makes a difference, but in my experience it can.
Aaron Martens agrees with you...So did the legendary Guido Hibdon...
N Florida Mike reply :
I have used mono mostly throughout my life. My experience with it has been that the lighter I go, the more bites I get. That was nearly always my experience in clear to moderately clear water.
In the st Johns and other tannic stained waters it didn't seem to matter at all.
I don't use floro because I like floating line for the techniques I use.
Not sure about braid. I have it on a few combos. I'm currently leaning a little to it being more visible, even though friends tell me it isn't. I definitely dont catch the numbers that I do with 8-10 pound mono.I tend to lose more fish with braided line too for some reason.
I really like the yo-zuri hybrid line, which acts like mono to me and floats. I can use 8, and it has like 11 pound tensile strength. Get plenty of bites, and rarely have one break off.
LonnieP reply :
My answer would be no. If a bass will try to eat a lure with 3 treble hooks hanging off of it I doubt that line would spook them. There are no clear water lakes in my area so maybe it does matter if fishing clear water?
WRB reply :
Trout are extremely are line and so are Bluefin tuna, LMB are not line shy fish.
Line can affect how lures perform and our ability to detect strikes.
Braid line popular with bass anglers long before monofilament line.
Tim
Lucas Cooper reply :
In my experience bass are not line shy. I fish up in minnesota and you can see 12 or so feet to the bottom. A smallie was sitting in 4 foot of water right under my boat, and tossed a senko on red braid and he hit it even though I was right there.
Armtx77 reply :
Plastic bills, treble hooks, split rings, crazy colors that dudes on LCD could not have dreamt up...people still catch fish.
I have used green 8lb NanoFil exclusively for the past 9 months. I caught 19 spotted bass last weekend, on a hot pink/black, 1/16th oz Rooster Tail and I tie direct to my lures.
soflabasser reply :
On 4/6/2018 at 11:47 PM, Bankbeater said:I am wondering if fishing pressure has anything to do with it. I have used straight braid on larger bodies of water with no problem
I catch plenty of big bass in extremely clear water( +15 foot visibility) that is highly pressured using strait braid attached to the lure. Its easy for someone to blame the line, the rod, the lures the weather, etc and not pay attention at what they are doing right or wrong when fishing. Having confidence in how you are fishing is far more important than if a person if using braid or mono. Besides lots of bass fisherman catch some nice bass using strait braid in the clearest water.
scaleface reply :
Bass dont hit our lures 100 per cent of the time they see them , Every single one of us has often experienced bass coming up to our lures and not committing . So a statement like " i catch bass on heavy line in clear water therefore bass cannot possibly be line shy " is flawed .
NHBull reply :
Most of the time that I use braid to FC, it is to preserve my braid.
I don't know the answer to the OP'S question and all the test and studies are not diffinative.
Many pro's believe so......
Personally, I Need to see the line and my yield is better better.......and that is all that matters to me.
'
BrackishBassin reply :
In my admittedly limited experience, I haven't seen a difference in catching or not catching fish that I could attribute to the type of line I'm using. I think Tom is on the right track, as well as some others that have posted in this thread. Personally, I believe that some species of fish are more likely to be line shy than others (e.g. trout vs. bass), but you're also going to have variations of 'personality' within a given population of a certain species. I haven't noticed this in bass fishing, but have definitely noticed it throwing a top water for red drum. This past summer there were a group of three drum that I could see hanging around near my dock. All three of them had a go at the top water, but one went for it every single time I threw the lure. The other two had a go at the lure and then, for whatever reason, decided not to give it another look.
Brown Town reply :
I think line diameter is more important than color. Fish will probably pick up a large diameter line moving through the water with their lateral line before they see it. When casting past a target with a moving bait I've wondered if they sense the line moving above or past them first and then the bait goes by and they react to that. Kind of like the line got their attention and they anticipate bait/prey is going to be moving through there.
Spider reply :
@OP
Take this with a grain of salt.
This is just my opinion, and due to the bathtub clear water, and severely pressured lakes I fish. "I can see 12 feet down on some days, a Quagga "Spelling?" mussel lake".
It depends on the lakes you fish, time of year, how much pressure and technique you are using. I fish a lot of slow bottom baits, with these, the fish have more time to look closely at the presentation. So a leader is a must. I won't get a single bite without one. And this may be how fast or slow the worm falls
If fishing top water, a mono leader helps with shock and to keep the hooks from tangling on walking baits. On crank baits i rarely use a leader, but will use a moderate action rod.
If fishing thick brush, or cloudy water I don't feel the need for a leader.
This is just my experience, so don't take it as Gospel.
Spider.
Shimano_1 reply :
I agree that no one will ever know for sure. I go about it with the mind set that...if....they are I will fish the line I feel gives me the best chance of catching them. I'll fish straight braid on frogs and buzzbaits but everything else is fluoro. To each their own tho as with everything else fishing related, it's all about confidence!
InFishingWeTrust reply :
On 4/8/2018 at 6:44 AM, Shimano_1 said:I agree that no one will ever know for sure. I go about it with the mind set that...if....they are I will fish the line I feel gives me the best chance of catching them. I'll fish straight braid on frogs and buzzbaits but everything else is fluoro. To each their own tho as with everything else fishing related, it's all about confidence!
I agree
Stalking bass reply :
On 4/8/2018 at 9:45 AM, InFishingWeTrust said:I agree
Same here.
austinF reply :
I don't think any fish are "line shy" Sometimes lighter line helps you present a bait better. But in my opinion, fish will react to every changes in the surrounding. So i believe it may influence fish's reaction if you use visible line color.
Boomstick reply :
My personal opinion is that trout are line shy, bass, pike, catfish, not so much.
Arlo Smithereen reply :
On 4/7/2018 at 10:05 AM, soflabasser said:Its easy for someone to blame the line, the rod, the lures the weather, etc and not pay attention at what they are doing right or wrong when fishing. Having confidence in how you are fishing is far more important than if a person if using braid or mono.
I agree about confidence. And using leaders increases my confidence, so it works for me. Whether or not it scientfically matters, I have no idea.
soflabasser reply :
On 4/9/2018 at 12:41 AM, Arlo Smithereen said:I agree about confidence. And using leaders increases my confidence, so it works for me. Whether or not it scientfically matters, I have no idea.
Do whatever gives you confidence since that's far more important than if you use leader or not, what brand line you use,etc. A confident fisherman with the "wrong lure" will outfish a non confident fisherman with the "right lure" most of the time.
greentrout reply :
joru100 reply :
I feel like if you're adding a fluorocarbon leader solely because you fear that the bass (or really any other predatory freshwater game fish) are line shy, than you're just wasting your money, and increasing the chances of losing the fish with more knots/lines in the equation. I've seen no difference, even in some of the clearest lakes imaginable up here in the Great Lakes region.
Fluoro Leaders are good for presentation for specific lures and techniques, and mono leaders are good so you don't have to waste your braided line because you're cutting it every time you want to change your lure. Other than that, might as well go straight braid. More reliable, and less hassle.
Ratherbfishing reply :
It could have been a factor of SEEING the line OR it could have been how the line affected the action and fall of the bait (I believe it was mostly the former) BUT I was once fishing with a friend throwing virtually the same bait in the same locations. He was catching probably 3 bass to my one-UNTIL I got smart and tied on a leader (I had been fishing braid while he was using straight mono). Anyhow, after I tied on a leader, the catch ratio was much closer to 1:1. I believe on pressured fish in clear(ish) water, fish can definitely be line shy. Not nearly so much with moving baits (crankbaits or spinnerbaits, etc) but with slow moving baits (jigs and soft plastics), I definitely think it makes a difference. Enough so that I almost always tie on a leader.
Maggiesmaster reply :
Trout are definitely line color sensitive; for bass, I use mostly mono, but no leader with my braid line. Call me old school, but I really prefer mono over braid. Knots are easier to tie, reels are easier to spool, etc.
Paul Roberts reply :
I recently put together 3 videos on the significance of line in bass fishing, what I consider the most important piece of tackle we own in terms of getting fish to bite. Yeah, it took me three feature length videos to get it off my chest.
Fishing line is the most important piece of tackle we own!
-Fishing Lines 1: Tells why.
-Fishing Lines 2: What do the different line types do?
-Fishing Lines 3: How are they applied to lures and techniques?
Here's the first one; It addresses how fish perceive and respond to fishing lines:
The Bassman reply :
On 9/22/2018 at 9:59 AM, Paul Roberts said:I recently put together 3 videos on the significance of line in bass fishing, what I consider the most important piece of tackle we own in terms of getting fish to bite. Yeah, it took me three feature length videos to get it off my chest.
Fishing line is the most important piece of tackle we own!
-Fishing Lines 1: Tells why.
-Fishing Lines 2: What do the different line types do?
-Fishing Lines 3: How are they applied to lures and techniques?
Here's the first one; It addresses how fish perceive and respond to fishing lines:
Very informative video. Thanks.
Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :
Very good Paul
waymont reply :
There is an excellent article about this subject with lots of different points of view.
Google for 'braided line and leader debate' and look at the InFisherman article.
I can't post the link here.
Paul Roberts reply :
On 9/24/2018 at 7:12 PM, waymont said:There is an excellent article about this subject with lots of different points of view.
Google for 'braided line and leader debate' and look at the InFisherman article.
Thanks, waymont. That's a good article. Those Midwest Finesse reports are sure detailed. I appreciate Ned's willingness to compile such detail.
Fishers find things that work for them in their waters. However, there are basic properties in lines that underlie the reasons we end up divining what works. One thing that is very telling in that article, for the OP's question, -and something not many are willing to try: It's that straight -leaderless- braid catches fish regardless of its color. As I try to describe in my video, the ability of fish to see fishing lines is not the main issue.
Bass are physically capable of seeing just about any line. Each and every individual fish can be line shy, but not because they know what line is. Instead, its more bc they don't know what that "large" object moving close by is. Line, by sheer surface area, is a large object. The fact that our lines are inseparable from our lures is the reason I came to believe that line is the most important piece of tackle we own, in terms of getting fish to bite. We aren't presenting a lure, but a lure and line combination.
Can fish be "line shy". Absolutely. Easily. But whether the line is fluorescent orange, or "the same refractive index as water" is low on the list of the major reasons why.
TnRiver46 reply :
I heard a scuba diver say that braid makes a crazy sound underwater, I'm guessing similar to the sound it makes going through the rod guides. Not sure if it's true but I may jump in and listen one day
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