Why color your braid? 2024
LionHeart reply :
My question is simple, why do guy (and gals I guess) color the last few feet of braided line with a sharpie when it starts to fade? I'm supposing it is because they feel that making the braid darker will make it more difficult for fish to see. If that is the case, it doesn't make sense to me at all. Why would you intentionally make your fishing line black? I would think that would be the easiest color there is for a fish to see. I mean, we use dark lures and trailers if the water clarity is low so they are easier for the fish to see. Why do people do the same thing to fishing line and expect it to be harder to see? I would think faded green would blend in much better.
Maybe this isn't the reason, I dunno. Someone please help me out.
Todd2 reply :
I color the first 10 feet of hi viz braid with dark green. Not for the fish really, but it helps me with depth control when vertically jigging and somewhat when casting. I'm not convinced if the fish care one way or the other.
WRB reply :
Use braid that doesn't fade or lose color. I believe anglers don't like the faded look and use a black Sharpie to make it look better to them for confidence.
Tom
OkobojiEagle reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 1:43 AM, LionHeart said:My question is simple, why do guy (and gals I guess) color the last few feet of braided line with a sharpie when it starts to fade? I'm supposing it is because they feel that making the braid darker will make it more difficult for fish to see. If that is the case, it doesn't make sense to me at all. Why would you intentionally make your fishing line black? I would think that would be the easiest color there is for a fish to see. I mean, we use dark lures and trailers if the water clarity is low so they are easier for the fish to see. Why do people do the same thing to fishing line and expect it to be harder to see? I would think faded green would blend in much better.
Maybe this isn't the reason, I dunno. Someone please help me out.
I think, if you keep thinking for yourself, you might catch a bunch of bass in your lifetime...
oe
craww reply :
People saying they use a black sharpie to help the line blend in has always been dumb to me, and it also is a potentially negative cue to the fish youre about to drag a bait by while the scents fresh. Its a pretty darn obnoxious, unnatural smell.
I just use spike it markers and match the color best I can. But its more for me than the fish.
BrackishBassin reply :
Asked this same question a while back, in a slightly different way. I can link it if you would like to see the replies for that thread.
NYWayfarer reply :
I don't color my braid. When it fades from green or gray to dingy white I sometimes cut some off. Most of the time I leave it. I would rather rub the braid close to the lure with Megastrike than color it. 
Color of the line doesn't seem to change the bite like I thought it would. I was worried when I tried green or black mono back when all I fished was clear blue Stren. I never experienced a drop in catches due to line color and I fish clear water.
Choporoz reply :
I don't color mine, but I understood the Sharpie idea was to draw lines across the spool so as to 'camouflage' the last several feet....not simply to color it all black.
I'm not in the line-shy camp, but I'd never call the Sharpie practitioners 'dumb'
Choporoz reply :
Edit...just took a quick googletrip around the interwebs, and sure enough, there's lots of suggestions to Sharpie the line without mention of camouflage patterns....not sure I completely understand, either. But, then, I've never had any fading that bothered me much...I even use one spinning reel that has braid that is almost entirely white
bigturtle reply :
Because when you punch or flip into heavy weeds, a black line blends much better than a faded white line
DINK WHISPERER reply :
Didn't we just go through this a couple weeks ago . . . .
LionHeart reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 4:38 AM, DINK WHISPERER said:Didn't we just go through this a couple weeks ago . . . .
Well, what did you come up with?
On 1/5/2018 at 4:17 AM, BrackishBassin said:Asked this same question a while back, in a slightly different way. I can link it if you would like to see the replies for that thread.
That would be great man. Thanks
Jar11591 reply :
Because it's winter.
Yumeya reply :
I been using Vicious No-Fade braid and its excellent, 2 seasons using it now and it looks brand new.
My spinning rods have Hi-vis Fins 40g and I use a flourocarbon leader on those rods.
BrackishBassin reply :
Not exactly the same question, but the discussion that followed definitely applies.
MassYak85 reply :
I don't really see the point, because if I am direct tying with braid it's in conditions where I am not concerned about line visibility. Plus I've ever seen my braid go completely white, lighter green sure but never white, so it's never crossed my mind to do it.
WIGuide reply :
To me it seems fairly simple, black blends into the background in this environment better than the whiteish color braid fades to.
NHBull reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 2:16 AM, WRB said:Use braid that doesn't fade or lose color. I believe anglers don't like the faded look and use a black Sharpie to make it look better to them for confidence.
Tom
Tom, do you use Fins?
Tywithay reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 8:36 AM, WIGuide said:To me it seems fairly simple, black blends into the background in this environment better than the whiteish color braid fades to.
Black may fade into that environment better when viewed by human eyes, but bass do not have human eyes.
WIGuide reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 8:45 AM, Tywithay said:Black may fade into that environment better when viewed by human eyes, but bass do not have human eyes.
True, but since I can't convince a bass to tell me what he sees, I can only go with what I can see. Thinking of the physics of color, white is the reflection of all colors and black is the absence of all colors in other words black is caused from absorbing all visible light. Regardless of what color spectrum they see, that should equate the same. Basically when it comes down to it, we're all speculating anyway so do what you believe in and you'll mostly catch fish doing so.
WRB reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 8:40 AM, NHBull said:Tom, do you use Fins?
Yes
bigfruits reply :
i color all of my hi viz yellow line with black sharpie. im sure there is more contrast with black but it looks more natural so gives me confidence. also makes it easy to gauge depth in shallow water.
Bassguytom reply :
I use a fluoro leader with all my braid setups except top water. I don’t change the color any. No issues with catch rate.
1201vilbig reply :
If I think I need to, I mix a little blue and Chartreuse JJ's Magic to make a green. I run my line thru a lead slip sinker, grab the tag end & drop the sinker into the mixture. Then I pull as much line as I want to dye thru the sinker. Color my line & give it some scent at the same time.
LionHeart reply :
On 1/5/2018 at 8:36 AM, WIGuide said:To me it seems fairly simple, black blends into the background in this environment better than the whiteish color braid fades to.
Dude where's your lure?
GrumpyOlPhartte reply :
Back in the day the theory was to use a Magic Marker (no Sharpies then) to draw a couple of inch to inch and a half “bars” across the spooled line to break up the appearance of a solid line. As mentioned above, the idea was to not present a solid-appearing line to the lure, sort of like camouflage on hunting clothes. To be honest, most of us did it and it helped psychologically if not practically. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Heck, I have a nice fat black Sharpie that I’ll probably use if I fish with straight braid.
mhilgtx reply :
The only time I have heard of this in a reliableish setting was Hackney and Van Dam talking about doing it under very limited circumstances that had two similarities. Grass/vegitation/colored water and limited time the bait was in front of the bass.
Hackney seems to not be a believer in line spooking bass but I have seen him talk about coloring his line when faded at his win on Texoma. Watching him on the final day of his texohma win i remember him doing it. Also on a win up north in clear water flipping into grass he talked about how he thinks in a reaction strike like he won with where the lure passes infront of the fish first the line you have on is almost irrelevant. He made the statement that if 60 ft of line would go past the fish then the bait it might be an issue.
KVD during or maybe in one of those instructional shows after MLF talked about coloring in braid on a swim jig. Can't remember whether he said due to fading or not. That was a southern lake with dingy tannic water and trees maybe some grass.
the reel ess reply :
I know why they do it, but I stopped. I just use a leader if I think it matters. Most times I don't think it matters. I heard G-Man say this about tag end of your knot. "Forget the tag end. If he ain't bothered by the 50' of line going to the bait, he won't care about the tag end." Well, I think the same about A-rigs, spinnerbait wires, weed guards, hooks, swivels, etc. They can see those things, but it won't stop their instinctive bite unless they're already very skittish.
Disclaimer: I never fish really clear water.
gnappi reply :
I think sharpie is just OK, but I use Feibings black leather dye to color my Dacron. I wet a Q-tip (cotton balls use too much dye) with it, and with finger cots on my thumb and index finger just draw the braid through the cotton. I make 20 or 30 feet of line, let it dry and cut to leader lengths.
It will not make dacron funky it likely acts as a preservative, think shoes. Just remember the finger cots or (even better) surgical gloves.. the dye is for leather, it has to wear off of fingers ????
GReb reply :
If the line is freshly dark green I leave it be. But if the line is starting to fade a bit and has a white hue then I will sharpie it. But the waters I frequent are stained fairly dark and heavily vegetated. I have no clue how much of a difference it makes but it doesn’t seem to hurt
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