Braided line and using a sharpie... I don't get it

[dallasdb]

I've seen this "tip" several times, "When fishing braid without a leader, use a sharpie to blacken the last few feet of line to make it less visible for the fish."

This makes absolutely no sense to me. Wouldn't a fish be able to see something black a lot better than say the "moss green" braided line?!?

Something darker than the color of water would be a lot more pronounced than something more naturally blending in with the stained water.

 

Can someone please explain the reasoning behind the sharpie trick? 

Thanks.

-Dallas

["hamma"]

camoflage it by not coloring the line solid like,....mark it just a inch or so staggered so it breaks up the color of the braid,...adding green and brown to the equation is even better for clear waters

 

[dallasdb]

Keith,

I've seen several people mention it in threads and even saw Andrew Flair showing how to do it and he just colored the entire line the last 2-3 feet.

Camo makes more sense to me but I've never heard anyone but you describe it like that.

Thanks

[Bass Turd]

People do it when the braid they are fishing fades to white. I would guess black is better than white. 

[dallasdb]

Bass Turd,

That makes a little more sense. 

I'm wondering who came up with the idea of using a sharpie on braided line.

 

[long island basser]

Here's what I do and my reasoning.

I've been using hi vis yellow braid exclusively for years, coloring the first 5 or 6 feet with a brown/and or dark green marker. 

For me I like having  a more stealth like approach under water, while having excellent line watching ability above. IMHO purchasing green braid is useless.

[dallasdb]

1 minute ago, long island basser said:

IMHO purchasing green braid is useless.

I have hi-vis yellow on my spinning setup but I always have a fluoro leader.

Purchasing green braid is useless as in the color doesn't help with the visibility or you just prefer having the hi-vis line?

[Glenn]

The Seaguar Flippin' braid comes black, and doesn't fade to white.  Problem solved.

 

[long island basser]

2 minutes ago, dallasdb said:

I have hi-vis yellow on my spinning setup but I always have a fluoro leader.

Purchasing green braid is useless as in the color doesn't help with the visibility or you just prefer having the hi-vis line?

Why purchase green when you can have a hi vis line above the water for excellent line watching ability also to go along with feel. You can color the first 3, 6, 9 or whatever amount of feet you desire.

My 50 year old eyes have trouble seeing the green as it lay on the surface, that is why I prefer the yellow. You can see that  slight tick in your line so much easier.

Even when I use a mono/fluoro leader ( which is not all that often) I still color the first few feet.

[.ghoti.]

If you buy ripe avocados, you don't need to color them.

[dallasdb]

I feel so special having Glenn comment on my thread!

Long Island Basser,

The problem with hi-vis line... a lot of places don't have a good variety of hi-vis line in stock. Usually just one or two brands of hi-vis and sometimes they don't even have the lb test you want in the yardage you want!

Online shopping alleviates this but sometimes you want new line before a last minute trip.

I picked up red braid because it was 40% off. Interested to see how hi-vis it will be compared to yellow.

[Sam]

1 hour ago, Glenn said:

The Seaguar Flippin' braid comes black, and doesn't fade to white.  Problem solved.

 

What Glenn penned X2.

Remember, bass can see underwater much better than we can see underwater so when we are handling line and baits the colors we see above the water fade to black or blue in the water.

As noted above, coloring your braid 2 to 3 feet from the bait seems to give us confidence and we believe we can catch more bass by doing that. Of course, we are not bass so who knows?

I don't color the braid and use it without a leader 95% of the time.

So far it has worked and the normal green color of the braid seems not to have a negative affect on the bass.

Go figure?

[Western-Mass-Bass]

Hell my sufix 832 in green has faded to a real light green and I can say Ive noticed a difference. It even kind of matches the lilly pads now when fishing frogs with it.  Now I have to by sharpies for my tackle box? The wife is gonna love this one!  HAHAH

 

[Master Bait'r]

It's for dark-bottom jigging and such and it makes a huge difference in visibility in darker spots. Black line absorbs more light thereby reflecting less back to the looker- which in turn stands out less in water for the most part.  The only time that wouldn't be true would be a light sandy bottom and bright light or something like that.  

 

Nobody's pitting a gun to your head though.  If it doesn't make sense to you don't do it.  

[dallasdb]

21 minutes ago, Master Bait'r said:

Black line absorbs more light thereby reflecting less back to the looker- which in turn stands out less in water for the most part.  

Nobody's pitting a gun to your head though.  If it doesn't make sense to you don't do it.  

NOW THIS makes sense. I don't usually do things just because everyone is doing it  

I need to understand it and honestly it needs to make sense why I'm doing something before I do it.

I don't like doing things blindly.

Thanks for all the responses so far!

[MIbassyaker]

I don't worry about the visibility of faded braid at all. When I worry about line visibility (and I usually don't, even in clear water), I put on a leader (and I usually don't). 90+% of the time of the time I'm fishing in and around vegetation. Bass that live in vegetation spend their lives hunting food surrounded by greenish-brownish-whitish-blackish tendrils, leaves, stalks, whorls, and fibers that look....basically exactly like faded braided line. I simply can see no rational basis for concern about line shyness in this sort of environment. Maybe hi vis braid is different, maybe clear water without vegetation is different, I don't know.  But otherwise, I can't avoid the thought that if this "tip" is not just a superstition, it does an awfully good impression of one.

[hawgenvy]

In low light conditions or stained water, many bass anglers recommend dark colored lures because they will be more visible to the bass, presumably because they will stand out better against the background. But then those same anglers may recommend a darker line or they will darken the line so it will be less visible in the shadows when flipping/pitching/punching.

I have to admit I have been guilty of darkening the last foot or two of my line. The reason is because when my braid is in the water I can much more easily see the lighter section than the darkened section. Even though I am not a submerged bass. And then I tend to conform to the hype and use dark lures when pitching the shadows or in stained or muddy water. Go figure!

Actually, I like the concept of a camo pattern. In fact, SpiderWire has a "Stealth Camo Braid," and it's cheap. I have not tried it.

[nosdog2]

If your braid turns white, it is time to cut a few feet off the end and save the sharpie for something else.

[frogflogger]

I've done this on braid since the get go - didn't know it was so pervasive - I don't color it solid,  kind of hit and miss which breaks it up like camo - is it effective? I don't know but I do it therefore it might be -

[dallasdb]

Thanks for all the responses. The consensus seems to be, unless you are throwing into open water line color probably doesn't matter. 

And if you're trying to get a reaction strike, line color probably doesn't matter either.

[rippin-lips]

Light penetration plays a role. As you go deeper in the water the less light gets through and the darker it becomes. So in theory coloring the last x amount of line allows it to blend in better as it goes deeper. Does it work? I don't think we can honestly say since we don't exactly know what a bass sees when looking at something. 

[the reel ess]

Mossy green braid fades and turns to light over time. If you fish in dark waters like I do then the Sharpie makes it less visible. I guess you could use a dark green Sharpie if you like. I do this trick to the end 3 feet or so of line even if it doesn't matter one bit to the bass. 

You can also reel the line onto another reel and you'll have a new, dark end.

[Master Bait'r]

I honestly don't understand where the logic stops or where peoples' confusion with this line/environment paradigm starts.  

 

Who doesn't already use clear lines for clear water??  I mean come on guys.  Same logic.  Apply it to other stuff and it still works.    Lots of plant matter on the bottom = black.  Light opaque green stands out way more than black braid would.  This is not rocket science.  The confusion around how that works is what actually confuses me haha

[Big Swimbait]

I posted this tip in another thread, but what I do is thread your braid thru a cheap, 1/2 oz sinker. Hold the end of the line & drop the sinker into a jar of your favorite scented dye - I use Spike-It Garlic Black. Pull through the sinker however much you need. Now you have stealth & scent. You can also pull the sinker out, pull a few inches of braid thru, then drop it back in for the camo effect.

[doyle8218]

In my experience fish don't really care what color the line is.