Nanofil Underwater Visibility Test

[kLuo]

Saw this test posted online, and thought the results were interesting (see picture). Nanofil seems to be the least visible while underwater since it is so thin, even though it seems bright white out of the water.

I drop shot a lot of clear waters, so would a fluorocarbon leader be necessary? Might keep it for abrasion resistance, but I'd prefer not putting another knot in between my rod and lure.

[Marty]

I drop shot a lot of clear waters, so would a fluorocarbon leader be necessary?

To the best of my knowledge, there is no definitive answer as to whether visible line is a deterrent to strikes. Some people use leaders all the time and others never do. I think unless you have evidence to the contrary, you probably need to do what you feel most comfortable and confident with.

I personally don't use leaders, which proves nothing.

[Sam]

I use a leader on a Carolina rig and sometimes with a drop shot to try to reduce the line twist.

Every knot is a weak link in your line so I avoid them as much as possible.

I do tie a Palamor Knot on both ends of the swivel for the C-Rig and drop shot.

[Crestliner2008]

Buck Perry always wanted the fish to see his line! Said that it led the fish to his bait!

As far as Nanofil goes, so far I'm using 10#, 12# and 2# tests on various rigs. I have no problem with their higher test lines, however I've given up on the 2# test for crappie.

Seems like no matter how carefully I tie either an Alberto, Albright or double UNI knot to join a leader, the knot fails. And tying direct, I've lost more jigs to tiny fish than any other line I've used. Maybe the 4# test would work out better for me - I just don't know.

But right now, I've switched all my UL rigs back to 2# test mono. No problems, no worries!

[dodgeguy]

line visibility means nothing.

[Five-Alive]

Thanks for the post, I have started drop shotting with nanofil and was afraid the white may be too visivle under the water. Where me being able to see the line better, line visibility means that I may detect some visual strikes that I may not otherwise know about. On the other side and this is probably just in my head but if I throw a setup with flourescent line in the day time I always feel like the fish see it better too and it reduces my confidence.

[deep]

What strikes me is the "visibility" of the fluoro line in that photo.. Not much more invisible than straight braid! But then, who knows what the bass sees and thinks

[Bassn Blvd]

People have been catching quality fish in large numbers WAY BEFORE Nanu-Nanu-Fil came out. Stop chasing the ellusive "catch all bait/line" and just learn how to use what you got. Has anyone ever stopped to think that maybe it isn't the lines fault you didn't catch any fish.

[BassThumb]

That's not an accurate comparison. A white line is going to be less visible than the others when photographed against a white background. How often do fish see line against a white background? Put a green background on there and the braid will be almost invisible, while the Nanofil will stand out.

[Fat-G]

That's not an accurate comparison. A white line is going to be less visible than the others when photographed against a white background. How often do fish see a line against a white background? Put a green background on there and the braid will be almost invisible, while the Nanofil will stand out.

X2, they also need to use the same diameter lines.

[Hyrule Bass]

line visibility means nothing.

i agree pretty much. when i go fishing i never find myself worrying about what color my line is or how visible it is underwater. probably wont catch my buying fluorocarbon line anymore for the price it goes for considering ive seen bluegill biting at my line...

[philsoreel]

That's not an accurate comparison. A white line is going to be less visible than the others when photographed against a white background. How often do fish see line against a white background? Put a green background on there and the braid will be almost invisible, while the Nanofil will stand out.

Yeahup, looked like a science project with an objective. It made fluoro and braid look identical. do the same test in the lake with sunshine and no white pool wall as a background and it will be a different story. The problem with that test(real condition) is it's hard to see any of them

Dodge- Not saying it matters all the time, all places, not even the majority, but I'll let you come fish my private, 12-acre trophy lake anytime you want and fishing the exact same lure and diameter line and I will catch 10 to your 1 on FC vs braid.

[J Francho]

line visibility means nothing.

Not an absolute, but true much of the time. I rarely use a leader for visibility reasons - it's for abrasion resistance or because the leader sinks. It's also great when dealing with snot algae, since it slips right off the leader rather than sticking to the braid.

[S Hovanec]

line visibility means nothing.

I completely disagree. 2 of the lakes I fish have up to 30' visibility at times. use a "visible" line and you won't get a bite. I've fished mono next to fluoro and didn't catch a thing on the mono rigged rod.

[dodgeguy]

I completely disagree. 2 of the lakes I fish have up to 30' visibility at times. use a "visible" line and you won't get a bite. I've fished mono next to fluoro and didn't catch a thing on the mono rigged rod.

i've fished fluoro for 2 seasons.my catch rate was higher than the previous season.the 3rd season started off terrible and i went back to braid.still catching as many fish a i did with flouro.obviously it makes no difference.i have fished braid on tough days next to guys using flouro and we both caught the same amount of fish.

[dwtaylor]

I completely disagree. 2 of the lakes I fish have up to 30' visibility at times. use a "visible" line and you won't get a bite. I've fished mono next to fluoro and didn't catch a thing on the mono rigged rod.

I completely agree. I had a buddy of mine and me fish for walleye one day on a really clear lake vertical jigging. One of the rods had 10 lb power pro and one had 6 lb seaguar invisx. In our experiment, we exchanged rods every 5 minutes when we were on fish. Both lines had the same exact rig on, and the fluorocarbon combo caught more fish. In total, the braid rod caught 5 fish and the fluoro rod caught 23 fish. Water visibility was around 10-12 feet deep.