Line Color Fish See It?

[Turkey sandwich]

I kind of just think that less visible line rarely hurts any situation vs a high vis line (no leader) that may hurt certain situations. I also think that certain fish are more line shy than others. There's a reason Orvis, Sage, etc sell tons of 6x-8x flourocarbon tippets - if you try dropping even 6lb mono in front of spooky trout without some serious stealth, there's a good chance they're headed to the bottom of the pool. On the flip side, on opening day of trout, you could jam a hook through a matchbox car tied to parachute cord and still catch a limit. Having fished a variety of waters and conditions, I think it's reasonable to assume that bass aren't all that different. If they want to survive, they need to learn from surroundings. Not to say it's anything like how we think, but at least something like classical conditioning/Pavlov's dog.

Here's the way I kind of think about it from an evolution standpoint... For bass (or any fish) to grow big, they need to out compete other fish for food and stay alive long enough to meet their maximum size. The drive to outcompete is what makes them aggressive. Throwing us in the mix messes the whole thing up because the same aggression that drives them to out compete other fish is the same aggression that leads to them smashing a crankbait, and thus potentially reducing their lifespan. Kind of a messed up Catch-22 for the fish. As time goes on, this would likely lead to the most aggressive fish being caught and either A ) harvested, removing genes that allow for fast growth and aggressive tendencies or B ) released and likely a lot more weary.

This is kinda why I think bass, especially in clear or pressured waters can become line shy. Whether this is the case or not, I'd rather err on the side of caution and use the lighter flouro or mono vs direct tie to braid 90% of the time. As for the issues with creating a "weak link", with the exception of maybe in the heaviest cover, I think we should all be able to agree that a bass shouldn't be breaking off 12-15lb test with well tied knots regularly checked for kinks and frays.

[GetJigginWithIt]

Bass have no ability to logically process information. Physically, the brain of the bass is missing a lobe that would function for logical thinking. I. Other words, they are a fairly stupid fish.

Watch this video. Bob Lusk. Biologist. Some interesting facts.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/bass-fishing-fish-biology.html

[poisonokie]

Just because bass don't reason doesn't mean they don't adapt. Something that was a threat before will elicit a fight or flight response the next time. Something subtle like line may take a while to be associated with the threat, but over time it will. Of course they don't know what it is, but they do see it and they'll turn away from that t rig if they do.

 

Sounds like you've got quite a collection of baits to catch the same fish on the same structure. So why is that necessary? Could it be that the fish's little brain is trying to keep it alive by keeping it from biting some of them? If not, you might as well just throw everything away and go buy a lifetime supply of purple worms before everyone else figures out that your bait presentation doesn't really matter and the entire fishing industry collapses because we're all just a bunch of idiots throwing money at fish when we should be throwing purple worms on neon 20 lb line.

[Choporoz]

Amazing to me that we're still 'arguing' over what we believe a bass sees.... and thinks.   

[Fun4Me]

I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. 

 

For clear water, or slow moving presentations, you probably wouldn't be doing yourself a disservice by using less visible line.

 

For everything else, it probably has less effectiveness.

 

I probably wouldn't dropshot with 65# braid, and I wouldn't worry about a leader, or changing the type of line I normally use, throwing into mats, top water, jerkbaits, spinners etc.

[EmersonFish]

Everyone believes what they believe. We can't think like a fish. All we can do is make decisions about what we are going to do based on our personal experiences. If you don't think the color/visibility of your line makes any difference in the number of bites you get, than use whatever line is easiest for you to see so you have that advantage. If you are like me, and believe that in clear water, line visibility can be the difference between maker on a few bites over the course of a day, than use line that helps mitigate that problem. There's really no point in arguing this topic too much. People tend to dig there heel in pretty deep on this one.

[Raul]

I do not buy any of that BS!

Y'all trying to say how bass see things through a human brain!

If a bass can identify line as danger they will know your lure is fake!

Bass might see your line but have no clue what it is!

 

Well, Catt pretty much beat me to the exact same thing I was going to say in pretty much the same manner. But never mind if the fish can see it but how well can you see it ; one of the reasons why I don´t like most FC lines is because they blend too much for me to see them properly against the watery background.

[wmiketo]

As I learned a long time ago, the universal answer to these subjective types of questions is "it depends".

[Choporoz]

As I learned a long time ago, the universal answer to these subjective types of questions is "it depends".

The world of interwebs forums would be a very boring place if all members accepted that answer.

[Dwight Hottle]

The OP needs to talk to the fishes. That my friend is the only way to get the answer to your question.  

[bigbill]

I'm fishing a place deep in the woods near a golf course. It's hardly fished. I find the fish very sensitive to there surroundings.

A few sunfish lined up looking where my line went into the water.

The only way I almost caught one of the larger bass there was I caught a sunny on a rebel bumble bee. As I lifted the sunny out of the water a large bass made a pass on it.

The fish do see our line this says they could be line sensitive.

Can the bass be wary of our line color probably.

Bass seeing colors look up Dr. Loren Hill ten year test on bass seeing colors.

Keep an open mind you just may catch more bass.

When the bass bite slows down, shuts off try changing colors then talk to me. It's not bs.

[Raul]

The OP needs to talk to the fishes. That my friend is the only way to get the answer to your question.  

 

What !?!? oh gawd, now we need "the bass whisperer" to know what them scaly wet critters are athinkin´ ....

[EmersonFish]

I don't know about BASS, but when night fishing for catfish I use Berkley Big Game in Solar Collecter color (neon green) for my main line, and BATS and far more prone to fly into my line when I use it versus clear or low-vis green line. So there is some completely irrelevant information about line color. Maybe I'll go to Steel Blue from here on as well.

[Maggiesmaster]

I use Stren flourescent line when worm fishing so I can watch my line carefully.  Don't know whether or not line color makes a difference bass fishing, but it definitely does on trout.  One time my brother and I were fishing the White river;  we were standing side by side, fishing the exact same lure the same way.  He wore out the trout, while I didn't get a bite.  Only difference was I had blue/flourescent line and he had green/ camo line.

[Basswhippa]

I recall reading a story regarding Tom Mann Jr. one time.   He was a light line specialist at the time, focusing on Lanier spotted bass.   He had a client or was fishing a tournament with some old guy.  The old guy had Stren Hi Vis so he could see the line.   Tom went on to tell him that it was an inferior choice and he would be better off fishing clear or green line of the same diameter.   Then the old feller proceeded to spank him like 10 to 1 or more.  Destroyed him and changed his ideas. I have believed that bass are curious and see high vis line and follow it to it's end.  That is just my belief.   I am sure that there are times in clear water that you have to use clear small diameter line.

[Josh Smith]

I believe I've read that the black bass is the smartest North American freshwater fish.

Smarter than me, anyway, some days...

Josh

[badhatharry]

As I'm reading the full spectrum of opinions on this post it occurs to me that everybody has a different definition of "clear" water based on their local environment .  I fish some lakes in Eastern Washington that you can see your shadow on the bottom in 100 feet of water...in 20 feet of water you can read the mint mark on a dime.  Even "lo-Vis" green line looks like cable in this water.  I've seen tons of Bill Dance videos where he's fishing "clear" water with a visibility to 4 feet.  In my neck of the woods we call that stained or cloudy.water.  Talk about your po-tato, po-tahto.

[kingmotorboat]

My opinion is people have been catching bass for years using everything other than fluoro. Hell catt has been catching them in clear water marshes for longer than I've been alive. After talking with him face to face about situation like this and his opinion if I.needed a softer punch rod or my meat stick with no give. I'll take his word on this.

[kingmotorboat]

If a fish can't identify a hook as danger which is much more visible, least of my worries are line visibility

[Bluebasser86]

We need the thinnest, hardest to see line so bass won't notice it while they're eating one of the 5 baits on my wire armed Arig

[Surfcaster]

Amazing to me that we're still 'arguing' over what we believe a bass sees.... and thinks.   

And a week from now the line color question will be raised again or the braid vs mono question.  People will respond with their opinions, and I will be right here hanging on their every word.

[GetJigginWithIt]

And a week from now the line color question will be raised again or the braid vs mono question. People will respond with their opinions, and I will be right here hanging on their every word.

Oh so true.

[poisonokie]

We need the thinnest, hardest to see line so bass won't notice it while they're eating one of the 5 baits on my wire armed Arig

 

If a fish can't identify a hook as danger which is much more visible, least of my worries are line visibility

 

The OP was taking about Texas rigging, which is completely different from your A rig, and conceals the hook. Plus hook visibility is why we have black nickel hooks.

[einscodek]

It matters in braod daylight in that they can see the line since they have excellent color vision in some parts of the spectrum

the inexperienced fish wont care

the experienced fish may associate it with danger depending on its experience with it and run

this applies to hooks as well

 

you wanna take the chance.. go right ahead.. its a free world to believe whatever u want

[EmersonFish]

We need the thinnest, hardest to see line so bass won't notice it while they're eating one of the 5 baits on my wire armed Arig

So that begs the question, would an A-rig get even more bites if it could constructed in a way where fish could not see the wires? If one's opinion is "no" than we are heading toward a logical fallacy known as "proving too much" where people make an argument that, if true, would lead to ridiculous conclusion that bass will indiscriminately eat anything moving around in the water, and that they as likely to eat a piece of plastic tied to a cable as they are a live shad or minnow.