I think YES bass can see braid and YES it does matter. I tried switching to braid for all the benefits mentioned: 0 stretch, better sensitivity, better hook sets, fewer lost baits in heavy timber/cover, and fewer backlashes with a BC rig. However I didn't just dive willy nilly into braid by swapping out all my BC combos from mono to braid. My main concern was visibility - Could the bass see the line and did it matter?
So I conducted a methodical experiment by fishing the same exact bait the same exact way in an area where I knew there were bass to be had, from my 18’ bass boat. I used 2 identical BC combos. Combo 1 had 10 lb. mono and Combo 2 had 20 lb. braid. I wanted to give the braid the best chance possible so I did not exceed 20 lb., which still has a smaller diameter than the 10 lb. mono on Combo 1.
To avoid skewed data due to changing environmental conditions, I fished each combo for exactly 10 minutes, then switched to the other combo. I did this by using a timer on my phone (extra time was allotted to the next combo if more time was needed to land and release a fish, if the timer went off when a fish was on).
Research was conducted over several weeks in varying conditions but data was gathered with one constant - water clarity was clear throughout the experiment. I fished a clear lake where visibility was 15-18 feet, to give bass the best opportunity to see the lines used.
I used the following baits in many different types of structure and cover, with varying presentation methods: Spinnerbaits, stickbaits, soft plastics, jigs and cranks.
The mono used was Trilene XL low vis green line which is all I fish with.
Results: The mono out-fished the braid more than 2 to 1. 47 bass were caught on 6 outings. 32 were taken on mono while only 15 were taken on braid. That is compelling to me and I can only conclude that yes bass can see braid and yes they do care about the matter.
The results may have been different in off colored water but the data tells the tale in clear water.
Of course this was hardly scientific for a number of reasons, such as the fact that the data would have been more conclusive had I boated more bass on more outings. Nonetheless it did give me enough data to make a more informed decision to stick with mono over braided line, as I am convinced mono will boat more largemouth bass going forward than will braided line.
And yes I realize there are some situations some of the time where the angler is better off with braided fishing line. However with the possible exception of murky water, it appears mono will catch more bass than braid in varying conditions using various baits and various presentation methods.
