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Line color

Mark Anderson

Mark Anderson

Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi men,

After a question by Ray about line I wondered if people worried about the color of their main lines ?. I had a few seasons on Xline , but overall I have used GR60 in green since the day it came into the shop at Leslie's .


Hatter
 
You turned American Mark?! There's a 'U' in colour where I come from! :)

Don't think it makes a blind but of difference, don't even think about it anymore, if anything I'd say what's more important is how the light refracts off it, so I try to go for less 'shiny' line if that makes sense.
 
Hi men,

Rhys , iPhone auto correction for some reason :D . The GR60 in green is very good , I have laid it next to others in water .


Hatter
 
I've yet to try GR60 despite rave reviews, Shimano catana on my reels as it's got good strength to diameter and looks pretty good in the water. I find a good indication is how well you can see it where it enters the water, and more importantly in the water. Some just look awful as the sun shines off them like a mirror.
On my lighter match reel I've got Daiwa something, it's got a nice matt grey finish to it.
 
Fish are colour blind only spook when they feel it, better not tell those carp boys with all those expensive crayons though :)
 
I agree that fish spook of the feel of line, especially barbel. Line colour doesnt seem to matter.

But, Carp (and I presume other fish too) do have colour vision, it is very much like humans in that it is light sensitive.
 
For what it is worth I have caught multiple catches on the severn a few times the best was 16 barbel up to 8/12 oz in pretty clear water .the line was maxima the dark colour.no prizes for guessing which line I prefer .if it ain't broke don't mend it.know what I mean Harry?
Albert
 
This is a subject that will probably run and run, there's so many different theories and opinions.
One line of thought is that the more visible the line is the less likely the fish are to spook as they're not surprised by touching it, another is to try and make it as inconspicuous as possible, clear, camo, back leads etc.
I have seen red line advertised as being invisible to fish and also to arouse their curiosity and lead them to the bait. Debate away, when we find a talking fish we'll have the answer.
Something to ponder though, last year I got a new head torch with a red setting, the theory being that it doesn't destroy your night vision (very true) and that fish can't see red light.
On a sea Trout visit last year I went with the keeper to have a look at a lie which had held a couple of Salmon the previous evening, it was dark at this point but there was some orange light from street lighting. There was a fish in residence and wanting to try and see exactly what it was I tried an experiment. Using the red setting we had a good look, the fish remained undisturbed and proved to be a sea Trout about 2lb, sea Trout are just about the spookiest fish I know of so this was proof to me that the red light certainly didn't disturb it, it just stayed where it was.
Switching to the normal light setting, the second the fish saw the light it vanished in the blink of an eye.
Food for thought.
 
Albert Watkinson said:
For what it is worth I have caught multiple catches on the severn a few times the best was 16 barbel up to 8/12 oz in pretty clear water .the line was maxima the dark colour.no prizes for guessing which line I prefer .if it ain't broke don't mend it.know what I mean Harry?
Albert
Click to expand...

I know exactly what you mean Harry...doh, sorry, Albert.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Paul Collins said:
I have seen red line advertised as being invisible to fish and also to arouse their curiosity and lead them to the bait.
Click to expand...

Toss!
That's a pop at the advertising btw Paul, not you!

Red light is good at not spooking most animals at night, not sure of the science behind it but guess it's something to do with their night vision?
 
I thought it was that red, as the visible light with the largest wavelength, was the first to disappear at depth in water i.e. not very deep water. And that this was its 'selling point'. Seems like bull to me though, I'd have thought a 'clear' line would be the 'clearest' ...by definition.
But then, if I'm not trying to deliberately hide my line, I happy for it to be seen (esp with barbel). I agree with Ash and believe its often the surprise of feeling the line that spooks the fish, not the line itself.
I sink my line in still water ,but mostly to avoid line bites. And the line I most often have closest to the hook is highly visible braid.
I've never float fished with braid hook-length though. Hmmmmmm????
 
I recall the great rod Hutchinson writing about this many many years ago. His point was, a fish is more lightly to be scared by touching something it couldn't see rather than something visible.
I also read in a recent anglers mail, that sir Pete Springate uses dark line also. His logic being that clear lines have a tendency to reflect light back in water and he couldn't think off anything natural subsurface that is reflective either.
As to red disappearing being the first to disappear under water, well a mate did some underwater filming this winter whilst piking. Anything red ( up trace, shrink tube, bait flag and hooks) appeared like when in the 80s, white would stand out like a beacon in disco lights!!!!
 
It is well documented that red light has the least effect on your night vision...which is why submarines have red lighting in the control room when about to surface at night. However, I have not known light to frighten fish too much...providing it is not moved around! Lamping for salmon is a well known poachers trick...and the fish don't move...so long as the lamp is held still.

The 'red line is invisible in water' thing is a total load of ****, an old chestnut that keeps popping up. As Terry said, the red part of the spectrum has the longest wave length, which means it is the first to be filtered out by water. This occurs at a depth which obviously differs depending on the clarity of the water, but anywhere between 12 and 18 meters. The major point here is that just because red light cannot penetrate beyond that depth does NOT mean that red objects then disappear. What actually happens is that they then appear to be black...so stand out rather well in water:D Any diver will confirm the truth of that....been there, seen it, done it :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Thanks for your concern Dave.going to sell the tackle.the family have forbidden me to go on the bank.one of my sons said he thought I would be pulled in by a big barbel.i can feel a mutiny coming on
Albert:)
 
Terry Christopher said:
You can catch crabs in red light areas too:)
Click to expand...

Very true Terry :D:D:D

As a youngster you dash around all over the show, whipping your rod out at every opportunity...and as a result your tackle does collect it's share of problems. The upside of that is that you do have your share of memorable outings....and some stunning PB's.

However, once you are done with all the angst and frantic stuff , you settle down, happy and content with the pond you know. That could reasonably be called unadventurous, even boring....but at least you no longer have the expense of swim preparation and pre baiting...and you are assured it's free of crabs and suchlike. Happy days.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Interesting about a red light torch filter not spooking fish but is it the colour of the light or the intensity? Most red light filters are a lot dimmer than the white light. If the red light was as bright as the white light would they be spooked?

I do a lot of trotting for barbel and prefer a clear hooklink (Reflo Power) rather than a black or dark link (sensor, maxima etc.) Mind you I also worry about the split shot and I am switching to Dinsmore black from Anchor silver - but will they mistake it for hemp? I never used to be neurotic till I started fishing clear rivers and lakes and saw fishes reactions! As Dick Walker used to say you wonder how you catch any fish at all. Sometimes when you trot through a shoal, you watch them part to let the tackle through and then come back together once the float and bait have gone through! Then again how much is it line colour or line thickness? Match anglers for years have benefitted using finer lines and hooks. What about flouro which in some situations and parts of the world has revolutionised catch rates? But if most of our barbel fishing is legering with line pinned to the bottom is it even relevant? Questions, Questions? Perhaps for "easy" fish it does not matter but for "cute" fish we should do everthing to fool them eg sit well back, backleads, Stonze, line / hooklink matching the colour of the bottom, smaller hooks etc.
 
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