Line Color

[pescados 1]

Just wonder what the general consensus is in regards to line color in regards as the visibilityin and under water ?Any preferences !!

[brenton 637]

I didn't think it really made any difference until one day in slightly murky water a mate of mine slayed me on the S/Ts and he never usually even gets close.We were in the boat using the same lure and same technique but he had a green line and i was using blue.We did bag out in a short time but i could see the ST's chase my lure then shy away while they were smashing his...so in conclusion i reckon if a fish like a ST that are never fussy about what they eat will shy away then what would a more circumspect fish do,so i never use blue line only clear or green and the only time that will change is if i fish those cobalt currents. cheers brenton

[archerfish 685]

G'day pescadosSee:http://fishing.about.com/od/basicfishinginstruction/a/red_fishingline.htmHave found red or (hi-vis)fluoro pink work well as "all rounders".Cheersarcherfish

[Ranger 48]

In regards to that link:

the first color that disappears as light penetrates water is red. This is why red fishing line is so effective. Red disappears at 15 to 30 feet of water. We all know that a line that is invisible to fish will not spook your target and lures look more natural.

Only one flaw I can see in Captain Jim's thinking, is that the red line DOESN'T disappear as he suggests!YES, red is the first colour in the spectrum to drop out, but the line then appears as black, NOT invisible!As for colours of line, I use a flourocarbon leader which is almost invisible underwater, and I then choose a line in a hi-vis colour which is easy for ME to see, so that I can cast in close to structure, and watch for those subtle little takes which you just cant feel!

[ninja 0]

Ranger wrote:

In regards to that link:

the first color that disappears as light penetrates water is red. This is why red fishing line is so effective. Red disappears at 15 to 30 feet of water. We all know that a line that is invisible to fish will not spook your target and lures look more natural.

Only one flaw I can see in Captain Jim's thinking, is that the red line DOESN'T disappear as he suggests!YES, red is the first colour in the spectrum to drop out, but the line then appears as black, NOT invisible!As for colours of line, I use a flourocarbon leader which is almost invisible underwater, and I then choose a line in a hi-vis colour which is easy for ME to see, so that I can cast in close to structure, and watch for those subtle little takes which you just cant feel!

Ranger,What flurocarbon do you use?Ninja

[Ranger 48]

I'm using two different ones, depending on what's available at the time!Either Nitlon or Linesystem.Other's tell me Berkeley Vanish works for them, but I must admit I've never tried it myself.

[Softy 2,991]

olive green braid and fluro leader works for me.

[archerfish 685]

Hi RangerSorry - should have mentioned in my previous post that I also use a Platypus Stealth Fluorocarbon leader...Cheersarcherfish

[plankton 725]

Ranger wrote:

In regards to that link:

YES, red is the first colour in the spectrum to drop out, but the line then appears as black, NOT invisible!As for colours of line, I use a flourocarbon leader which is almost invisible underwater, and I then choose a line in a hi-vis colour which is easy for ME to see, so that I can cast in close to structure, and watch for those subtle little takes which you just cant feel!

That's just what I was gonna say, it's driven me nuts for years know when line manufacturers claim that red line disappears under water. :angry:I also use a fluorocarbon or clear mono leader with a hi vis mainline, usually yellow or pink in braid or mono.

[krustykrab 0]

i use yellow hi vis braid with about a 2 metre length of berkely vanish fluorocarbon leader tied with a double uni knot.

[afishyfish 4]

Ranger wrote:

red line DOESN'T disappear !YES, red is the first colour in the spectrum to drop out, but the line then appears as black, NOT invisible!

What always gets at me though is that as much as the line may appear as being black to us, how do we know that fishes eye will percieve color the same way we do Cretainly not having a dig at anyones comment.I'm just askingf what I hope is an intelligent question

[archerfish 685]

Dunno about fishes perception of colour, but this little sucker leaves we mere humans in its wake:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimpCheck out the section on "The Eyes"...Cheersarcherfish

[Ranger 48]

afishyfish wrote:

What always gets at me though is that as much as the line may appear as being black to us, how do we know that fishes eye will percieve color the same way we do

Geez you ask tough questions!I'll let Dr Ellis R Loew, Professor of Physiology, Biomedical Studies/Cornell University answer this one for you:

There is not just a single answer to this question since not all fish have been tested for color vision. However, the common goldfish certainly sees in color and many more at least have the necessary nervous system elements for color vision to be present. Color vision is the capability to see and recognize objects based not on how bright they are, but on how well they absorb, reflect or transmit light of different colors. For example, an apple looks red in sunlight because all but the red part of the white light from the sun falling on it is absorbed by the apple's skin leaving only the red light available for vision.In order to have color vision, the retina in the back of the eye must have color detectors, called cones, present and the brain has to be wired to make use of the information it gets from the cones. We have three different kinds of cones in our eyes, called red, green and blue that make human color vision possible. The goldfish has four kinds of cones: red, green, blue and ultraviolet. Other fish have different numbers and kinds of cones meaning that they have the capability of seeing in color. However, simply finding cones in the eye does not mean that an animal has color vision. You have to test it behaviorally to see if it can tell one color from another. For example, I could set up a tank with two windows at one end whose color I could change. I would start by making one window gray, that is having no color, and the other red. Whenever the fish went to the red window I would give it some food. I would change the brightness of the gray and red windows to make sure that the fish was training to only color. As soon as the fish had learned to associate red with food, I would start to replace the gray with other colors and see if the fish still only went to the red. This would be repeated for lots of different color combinations. If the fish remained true to its trained color, than it would be said to have color vision. To date, this kind of testing has only been done for a few kinds of fish. However, I am confident that as we test many more kinds of fish we will find color vision to be very common.

Also, check out what wikipedia has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_vision

[afishyfish 4]

Thanks Ranger! Definitely interestingSo I can use any color line when Im after Goldfih then :silly: It would be interesting to see if they can taste LEMON too @ Archerfish. I can see the makers of HD and 3D TVs being able to learn a bit from that shrimp :ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:

[Ranger 48]

afishyfish wrote:

So I can use any color line when Im after Goldfih then :silly:

Just remember, they have more cones in their eyes than we do, so don't go using ultraviolet line, coz they can see that too!

[pescados 1]

Thanks for the input guys, much appreciated.Seeing my eyes had a bit of a hiding over the yearsI'll pick a color easy to see and put a leader on it.