Line Color

[Money Shot]

Just wanted to see what colors people prefer.  Red disappears first from the spectrum underwater but not sure if it even matters.

[Xxx]

Well as a walleye fisherman I use Power Pro in the 30# test as my main line, then I run a fluro. Leader. I use a rods length of fluro, now the last post I made about this I was told this was not right and I was giving out bad info, in HIS opinion, where a fellow eye fisherman who has his own charter business agreed with me. I was told I was wasting fluro tippet. I use the fluro line not the 100% fluro which is quite exspensive. I use the Seaguar in the yellow and blue box, if you use fluro leader it really doesn't matter what color main line you use because the fluro leader is 99.9% invisible . I hope this sheds some insight on your question!!!

[Darrell]

Fluro leader/tippet is the most important line issue to ever consider, no matter what kind of fishing your doing. The length of the fluro is subject to change depending on depth of water and clarity of water. I'll use lengths from 2' to 10' depending on the situation. In a case of not wanting to experiment with different lengths its always safer to go longer. A thing to always remember in fishing is going cheaper isn't usually effective.

[stillfishing]

Adam I think the question you're asking is what is the main line that most people use. On my main line I prefer to use big game line. I hope this helps. I know some people use Andy's. Good fishing

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[Xxx]

For my leadcore I use big game very happy with it and it won't break the bank, I buy the 300 yard spools. They claim that strait mono has to much stretch if your fishing far out and down, this usually applies to salmon, laker ect. One question I ask myself what did dad use, I know he caught a pile of them, and these braids and super lines weren't available back then, hell, I remember when the first Spider wire came out.

Edited September 10, 2015 by pap

[Sk8man]

There may be some much more important things to consider than COLOR of line in its selection starting with the specific use of it. Color may have more importance to US than to the fish such as when we want high visibility outside the water to see where our lines are or what we think is low visibility when fishing shallow or clear water conditions or very "green" water( e.g. using clear or moss green for instance).

 

Each type of line considered whether used in fresh or salt water has has its own characteristics to evaluate for a given situation or use. Line types such as mono, braid, fluorocarbon, copolymer, etc. all have their strengths and weaknesses and again the selection depends largely on what you intend to do with it. A lot of the decision will come back to personal preference factors and familiarity for most folks, but there are also some claims by manufacturers that may come into play and influence the decision such as knot strength, smoothness for castability, small diameter for increased line capacity on reels, sinkability (leadcore and copper) for  specific depth control, ability to cut through the water well (stranded wire), and lack of visibility in the water (fluorocarbon). Some of these claims may or may not be accurate or truthful in my view. For example the lack of visibility of fluorocarbon.....how has that been determined? My hunch is they are referring to humans viewing it in the water and that is a real problem because the eye structure of a fish is quite different than that of humans and if based on fish...how the h did the fish report the information? Some previous research data reporting the visibility of lures underwater had similar credibility problems because it was based on human diver observations (e.g. human vision and the number of feet where red, green, blue are visible and then seem to "disappear").

 

Line selection will most likely be a "trade-off" for most folks and now days the water fleas add another important dimension to the equation; substantially increased line diameter (e.g. 30 lb and above to help keep the fleas at bay as contrasted with previous selection of 10-12 lb test in times past). I have shifted back to mono use from fluorocarbon for deep applications such as copper or wire rigs because I believe that there needs to be a slight bit of"stretch" in the line somewhere for good hook-ups and when you have basically none (using fluoro leaders on wire or copper) the chances of hook pulls or break-offs increase. I gave up using snubbers in the late seventies so this is my "substitute" for those folks who like them    This seems especially true of flies so I now tie my own with 50 lb Big Game and so far no break-offs. I still use fluoro leaders of varying lengths for shallow water or clear water conditions and downriggers and run them further back when up high  because of a little more stiffness in it which seems to impart a little more action to the lures.

 

I m no charter guy spending massive amounts of time out there and what I have stated here is anecdotal and not based on hard research and is merely an opinion so I imagine that some folks will have a very different view of things but I think it is important to give folks new to this activity something to think about and form their own opinions anyway.

Edited September 10, 2015 by Sk8man

[justtracytrolling]

As far as trolling goes ive used green the most as its the most common, but have used red, yellow, and white. I dont see a difference in catching fish. I use 6' seaguar blue label LEADER tied to a barrel with a clinch knot and barrel to braid with a Palomar. In fact i know of a few Erie captains that use different colors to help know which line goes to which rod in a tangle or fighting fish around other lines. I think line diameter as it relates to diving depth makes a bigger difference than color. If you are casting in crystal clear water perhaps line color makes a bigger difference though i havent really seen that as long as a leader is used.

[justtracytrolling]

Im referring to braid....if you are talking flouro/mono im not the person to answer. As far as red disappearing first that happens deeper than most people fish when casting unless water is stained.

[PhlyanPan]

Sk8man,

 

Fluorocarbon is said to be the least visible of the lines not because of human observation, but because of laboratory testing resulting in quantification of its refractive index as being closest to that of water.  IE, light travels through it almost exactly the same as it does through water.  So the light doesn't distort (or rather, it distorts the least of any line) as it passes between the two substances.  

 

This doesn't address color, and only really applies to clear(ish) water though.  If there is dark stained or dark green water, the fluorocarbon will show up as a clear spot in the middle of the mud...which sort of stands out.  But then again, if it's that stained the fish aren't likely to be able to see very far anyway and the line is probably less likely to spook them because of its visibility.  

 

 

 

 

 

 For example the lack of visibility of fluorocarbon.....how has that been determined? My hunch is they are referring to humans viewing it in the water and that is a real problem because the eye structure of a fish is quite different than that of humans and if based on fish...how the h did the fish report the information? Some previous research data reporting the visibility of lures underwater had similar credibility problems because it was based on human diver observations (e.g. human vision and the number of feet where red, green, blue are visible and then seem to "disappear").