visible line

[fish_on!!!]

I read its good to use visible mainline wen drift fishing to be able to see a strike as well as feel one but will it spook the fish? Anybody have experience with this?

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Yes. Quite a bit of experience. With drift fishing, you are going by feel more than anything. Hi-Vis line, especially in the Summer, will ensure many skunks. a lot of people say fish don't care, but after seeing how fish react over the years, it has become quite clear that drift fishing with Hi-vis is not a good way to start out. The only time when I don't feel a strike is when my drift stops because a fish has mouthed my gear, and stayed put.

 

[FishSchooler]

What if you have a 6-9 ft leader? People at a lake were fishing with red line in clear water and they caught all teh fish. Maybe cause red line turns camo/black under 15 ft.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Why would you drift fish with a 9 foot leader? This is a thread regarding hi-vis lines for drift fishing Steelhead, not lake bound trout.

 

[Razz]

Fluorescent blue has been a great help with the older people:lol: in my boat side drifting plus the oarsman can see the drift.Granted all this catching takes place in the winter Coquille ,Elk ,Chetco & CA Smith etc.it's taken me a couple of years to change from Maxi. been using it since 1970:think:

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Hi-vis does work great for sidedrifting. It allows the person doing the fishing(oarsperson/tiller person) to see how, and where the gear is oriented, and then compensate. Side drifting from a boat does require substantially longer leaders, and therefore it negates the spooking ability of hi-vis products.

 

[FishSchooler]

Oh oops, I use the new post button and never see what section its in. :doh:
What about red line in deep water?

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

The only Red line I have used is Cajun, for Big Eye Tuna. I don't think it is advertised as a hi-vis line, but I could be wrong. But at certain depths everything looks the same color, all you see is the silhouette. If you are looking for lines that disappear quickly, try Ultra Green. IT was designed to do just that, and it works even better, at greater depths too.

 

[Outdrsmn]

The only thing i would use hi vis line for is drifitng a float and jig or float and bait.

 

[FishSchooler]

Ultra green doesn't seem to be too visible... I can see the line fine if you look at it at just the right angle, but its hard... isn't braid kinda like high vis? Its not translucent (besides that crystal fireline). The red line is certainly easier to see than clear line though. Maybe I'll get the flourescent blue I had earlier... Easy to see above water and camoflaugedish underwater. Caught me lots o shad it did.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Any Hi-vis product to us, is hi-vis to the fish as well. No matter what the package says. The same light principles operate above and below water. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean fish can't. And Shad could care less about line color. They swim through countless yards of all kinds of lines every day. I am pretty sure they are not line shy. Every year you should catch lots of Shad regardless of line selection.

 

[FishSchooler]

But red light penetrates water least, blue the most. If you hold a red ball in 20 ft of water, it would be black. Thats why the water looks blue...

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Precisely the reason why I don't run red line drift fishing. It looks black in well lit water. I would rather my line blend in with most tones present in the water. So I use a lot of Ultra Green, because it is proven to be better than an undersea gilly suit at hiding the profile of your line, and transmitting light, and color through the mono, not stopping it, and creating a hard silhouette.

 

[luv2fish]

Precisely the reason why I don't run red line drift fishing. It looks black in well lit water. I would rather my line blend in with most tones present in the water. So I use a lot of Ultra Green, because it is proven to be better than an undersea gilly suit at hiding the profile of your line, and transmitting light, and color through the mono, not stopping it, and creating a hard silhouette.

thats what i use as well...and compared to hi vis.....i get exterme hookups with UG..it almost disappears...not completely but yes to the point where it can be tricky for fish.....
i use to fish for summers with that red cajun line and guess what i use to get....a big bag of skunk...lol...

Hey AA i want to know about pink line..In Canada ( i'm not sure if its true and thats why want to verify it ) they use it and they swear that the line completely disappears....
Didn't mean to hijack the thread but since we were talkin about the line vis...

Any advise will sure clear the doubts.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Yeah, I too think UG is your best bet at foolin fish in low, clear-ish water to eat your gear. If it is harder to see the line while underwater, you have better odds of hooking up for sure. Funny you ran Cajun too. I see a lot of guys who first start out with that stuff. Must be old habits or something.

I have seen two varieties of pink lines in Canada so far. One was essentially a translucent pink color, and the other was surely just a neon red hi-vis line. The pink translucent stuff, I have fished with guide friends who swear by it too. I think in some of the really blue, glacial creeks, and rivers, it does darken up a lot, and blend in with low light fishing conditions that are so prevolant in middle B.C., but I don't think they fish it when the sun is on the water. They are treating it like Maxima's Chameleon sorta. Fish it at first, and last light, but not in the daytime aparantly. Thats pretty much all I can say about what I know of that pink line.