Line Diameter - Are Bass that Wary?

[Bartableman7]

Sooo...a bass sees a crank bait and grabs it.  Did it see the line, did it care? Was it the lure that made that decision or the entire set up?  Do you really get more bites on lighter line?  I've never thrown the same lure all day on two rods with different line diameters.  I'm more of a 'it is the lure that attracts the fish' person and 10 lb to 25 lb doesn't really effect the grabs.  Same lure, light line...more fish?  How conditioned are bass?

[MN Fisher]

Thicker diameter affects the action of the lure...that's probably what attracts the bass more with lighter line.

[WRB]

Bottom line is bass are not line wary when active feeding.

However line diameter can be a negative influence on lure or live bait movements. The more natural a lure or live bait appears to bass that are not active feeding can turn off the bass from striking.

Tom 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Use 6lb vs 8lb mono while fishing tuffies or small threadfins, you'll see real quick line diameter matters to fish of all types.   Like others have said, might be as simple as it effects the bait.   I do however think fish can detect the line, whether that negates the strike is another story.     

[Fishingmickey]

11 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Thicker diameter affects the action of the lure...that's probably what attracts the bass more with lighter line.

X2

 

[PressuredFishing]

15 minutes ago, Bartableman7 said:

I'm more of a 'it is the lure that attracts the fish' person and 10 lb to 25 lb doesn't really effect the grabs.  Same lure, light line...more fish?  How conditioned are bass?

under only 1 circumstances in my entire fishing career Ive found the line spooking a bass. lighter line allows a lure to swim better or look more natural, this is why many big swimbait guys will use as low as 12lb line in open water to allow it to glide more and swim more freely.

[Kirtley Howe]

I agree that using lighter line can improve lure action, and for the most part bass don't seem to care much about seeing line. The only real exception to this that I have noted is fishing for inactive or neutral smallmouth bass in extremely clear water. Under those conditions I find that using the lightest line possible increases the bite.  With largemouth I have never observed the fish being turned off by visible line. Of course, your results may vary.

[Captain Phil]

Most Florida bass are caught in or around cover where line visibility doesn't seem to matter.  Where it matters is in clearer water out in the open such as you find in the back of residential canals. Some lures work better on lighter line because of their weight or action.  Two lures that come to mind are the Rapala minnow and the Heddon Tiny Torpedo.  I throw these on 8 pound mono and the difference is noticeable. 

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Use 6lb vs 8lb mono while fishing tuffies or small threadfins, you'll see real quick line diameter matters to fish of all types.   Like others have said, might be as simple as it effects the bait.   I do however think fish can detect the line, whether that negates the strike is another story.     

That’s a good point, fishing live shad on heavy line only works when you’ve got a big sinker on it. And even then something just ain’t quite right with thick line and (small) live bait 

[Mobasser]

One of the lakes I fish is very clear. I use light line here, and I think it works better. On the same lake, I cast Spooks, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, and rattletraps with a casting rod and 15lb line. Slow bottom crawling baits give spooky fish more time to study the bait, and possibly reject it. I use lighter line on these types of baits.

[Columbia Craw]

Bass aren’t trout thank goodness

[Bird]

If I'm not catching fish, the first thing I blame is the line. ?

[A-Jay]

Hard to know for sure.

So many factors could affect it.

Clear water might be one, might not.

I fish some clean lakes, where at times I can see the bottom clearly in 20 ft.

That said I get more bites on a drop shot with 6 lb leader than 10lb.

But in the same lakes, I'll be fishing a full 5 wire A-Rig,

and have the rod practically ripped out of my hand.

(which btw, is pretty addicting)

As mentioned here in previous responses,

line 'size'  can play a role in bait action, casting distance, baits running depth,

Hook setting (especially at distance), fish fighting & landing ability.

I'm often more concerned with all of that in advance of whether or not a bass can see my line.

YMMV

A-Jay

 

[king fisher]

11 minutes ago, Bird said:

If I'm not catching fish, the first thing I blame is the line. ?

Cant be you or your gear, has to be the moon phase.

[king fisher]

I'm not sure with bass, I have never fished clear water for them, or fished live bait much for bass.  I catch most of my bass on 12 to 17 pound mono, 40 lbs. braid, and once in awhile 12 to 15 pound floro.  I fish with 6 to 8 pound mono when using spinning gear but the reason for the smaller line size is for casting, not because I feel the bass are line shy.  Some lures like floating Rapala's need lighter line in order for the lure to work properly.

    I am certain for saltwater fish, line diameter maters greatly because of bait movement, lure action, and visibility.

     In Salt water, when fishing fast moving lures the line size has zero effect, unless it significantly hampers the lures action.  When fishing live bait it makes a huge difference.  I have fished live bait for tuna, when going down a line size will make the difference between zero bites and getting bit by 200# fish as fast as I can get a new bait in the water.  I have seen 80# floro carbon get bit, while a live bait fished on 80# mono not even get looked at.  The same tuna will not hesitate to crush a lure trolled at 9 knots attached to a big spreader bar, or umbrella rig, tied to a 250# leader.

     It would be interesting to me to hear from anglers that regularly fish live bait for bass, and hear what their experiences with line size are.

[KSanford33]

The fact that A-rigs catch fish in clear water completely shot down my belief in line size mattering. 

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, KSanford33 said:

The fact that A-rigs catch fish in clear water completely shot down my belief in line size mattering. 

Well then strap your ned rig to 80 lb braid, no reason for FG and Alberto knots 

[Deleted account]

We are conflating two things here. Whether LMB are "line shy", as are some fish, and does line diameter affect a particular lure's action, and if so, does that affect it's effectiveness negatively.

-LMB are not line shy. 

- Yes, some lures will work best with a particular or narrow range of line diameter, and most times, this is what is desirable, but sometimes, particularly when little or no action is desired, going against the grain is the ticket.

[steve carpenter]

I fish for larger bass in small lakes that have lots of cover and large fish. I use heavier line to better insure landing . Don't like the idea of a lunker possibly swimming away with a lure in its mouth. Fish slow most of the time and might hook more fish with lighter line , but want to get them to the boat and release them

[SlabbyPatty]

Personally in my experience I believe line size doesn’t matter that much except for affecting certain lure’s action. Like a crankbait being burned for example. However I am also a bank fisher 90 percent of the time and have to constantly flip fish over bushes or over some rocks and have many Northern Pike in my waters. I also like being able to pull my lures free from snagging. I like to know my line isn’t going to break so I always use pretty high rated braid to a flouro leader. That being said if I was on a boat more I would be less worried about using strong line and I would use lighter line. I think line size is a factor as is scent/flavor and color however I think putting your lure in front of a fish is 85 percent of the battle. 

[dgkasper58]

Loved that you brought up line diameter and not "pound test".  SOOO many people think a certain pound test in any given type of line is consistent across all the brands, however it is NOT.    

 

I can attest to the line diameter, making my baits presentation different in the water.

[TnRiver46]

Spooled up my new reel since they aren’t line shy 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Spooled up my new reel since they aren’t line shy 

Keep messing around and see what #BigFluoro does in your sleep ?

[TnRiver46]

43 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Keep messing around and see what #BigFluoro does in your sleep ?

Hahahah!!!!!

[WRB]

3 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

Bass aren’t trout thank goodness

Trout are so line wary they strike cowbells...

Tom

I use 5# copoly and 7# FC line finesse fishing small soft plastic because using anything larger diameter results in being skunked at our local lakes. Fishing jigs in lower light conditions 12# FC works decently, 10# is higher % strike ratio however.

If you don’t think line diameters matters you are welcome to try fishing our local lakes.

Tom