Hi-Vis Line

[Tony McCall]

I've always been from the school of thought that you want your line to be as small in diameter as you can get away with and as invisible in the water as possible. I've always believed that this keeps fish, especially in clear water, from seeing the line and being spooked off of the lure.

Having said that, and having already acknowledged that I'm not a pro, like RCC, I can't help but wonder what the deal is with these hi-vis lines... Are they just for use in muddy water or do they simply reveal a flaw in the more traditional logic concerning line visibility?

[toofuss]

They seem to me to be more for the user to see light bites. From what im seeing most who use them use a clear or "low-viz" leader

[CrappiePappy]

Tony, I can't testify to hi-vis lines spooking fish in clear water, since I don't fish waters I consider as "clear".
However, I can testify to using them successfully in stained to murky water. And by "stained" I mean water that you can see a chartreuse jig down to a couple of feet deep. I've also fished hi-vis lines next to rods with clear/blu mono ... and had equal number of bites.

I think the main reason for hi-vis line, and certainly for me & my preferred method of casting and swimming a jig over cover, is that you can "see" the line move on the lightest of bites. It's also been said that it helps longline trollers keep track of their lines (esp in turns, or when reeling in fish). Methods that employ floats, or more vertical/stationary line position (like vertical jigging, tightline fishing, and the variations on "spider rigging") .... where the bite is registered as a disappearing float, or a bending rod tip, may not be enhanced by the use of hi-vis lines.

I'm not of the belief that fish are "spooked" by line color. More than likely they are spooked by other circumstances, like the boat, shadows, movement, noise, etc.
Remember .... our predecessors caught fish using black nylon fishing line, long before "monofilament" line was ever invented. (I started my fishing with it) And I can guarantee you that black nylon fishing line is way more visible than hi-vis lines, when viewed from below & contrasted against the sky.

... cp

[Tony McCall]

Good answer CP.

[creekslick]

I use hi-vis braided line here on Greers and I am still able to catch 1 or 2 when I go.

[camo xpress]

I always use hi vis , no leader , lots of fish !! I think big slabs like it!!

[20watt]

I like it cause it's purdy

[tonyjohn]

im new to it ......dont think like a fish (well, iTRY to ) but i trully belive if you present a lure/jig/minnow/toothbrush/ and the fish are either predatory or protective , they will hit the bait. line excluded.

[LMBarnett]

I use hi-vis line when I am rigging, it help ME to see the line. Evidently the fish don't care, because when fishing with a buddy, the catch rate is about the same side by side.

[Billy E]

I like it cause it's purdy

I like it because I'm blind