I don't think any fish are "line shy" Sometimes lighter line helps you present a bait better. But in my opinion, fish will react to every changes in the surrounding. So i believe it may influence fish's reaction if you use visible line color.

My personal opinion is that trout are line shy, bass, pike, catfish, not so much.

On 4/6/2018 at 9:05 PM, soflabasser said:

 Its easy for someone to blame the line, the rod, the lures the weather, etc and not pay attention at what they are doing right or wrong when fishing. Having confidence in how you are fishing is far more important than if a person if using braid or mono. 

I agree about confidence. And using leaders increases my confidence, so it works for me. Whether or not it scientfically matters, I have no idea.

1 hour ago, Arlo Smithereen said:

I agree about confidence. And using leaders increases my confidence, so it works for me. Whether or not it scientfically matters, I have no idea.

Do whatever gives you confidence since that's far more important than if you use leader or not, what brand line you use,etc. A confident fisherman with the "wrong lure" will outfish a non confident fisherman with the "right lure" most of the time.

 

I feel like if you're adding a fluorocarbon leader solely because you fear that the bass (or really any other predatory freshwater game fish) are line shy, than you're just wasting your money, and increasing the chances of losing the fish with more knots/lines in the equation. I've seen no difference, even in some of the clearest lakes imaginable up here in the Great Lakes region.

 

Fluoro Leaders are good for presentation for specific lures and techniques, and mono leaders are good so you don't have to waste your braided line because you're cutting it every time you want to change your lure. Other than that, might as well go straight braid. More reliable, and less hassle.

 

 

 

It could have been a factor of SEEING the line OR it could have been how the line affected the action and fall of the bait (I believe it was mostly the former) BUT I was once fishing with a friend throwing virtually the same bait in the same locations.  He was catching probably 3 bass to my one-UNTIL I got smart and tied on a leader (I had been fishing braid while he was using straight mono).  Anyhow, after I tied on a leader, the catch ratio was much closer to 1:1.  I believe on pressured fish in clear(ish) water, fish can definitely be line shy.  Not nearly so much with moving baits (crankbaits or spinnerbaits, etc) but with slow moving baits (jigs and soft plastics), I definitely think it makes a difference.  Enough so that I almost always tie on a leader.

Trout are definitely line color sensitive; for bass, I use mostly mono, but no leader with my braid line. Call me old school, but I really prefer mono over braid. Knots are easier to tie, reels are easier to spool, etc. 

I recently put together 3 videos on the significance of line in bass fishing, what I consider the most important piece of tackle we own in terms of getting fish to bite. Yeah, it took me three feature length videos to get it off my chest.

 

Fishing line is the most important piece of tackle we own!
-Fishing Lines 1: Tells why.
-Fishing Lines 2: What do the different line types do?
-Fishing Lines 3: How are they applied to lures and techniques?

 

Here's the first one; It addresses how fish perceive and respond to fishing lines:

 

 

On 9/21/2018 at 9:59 PM, Paul Roberts said:

I recently put together 3 videos on the significance of line in bass fishing, what I consider the most important piece of tackle we own in terms of getting fish to bite. Yeah, it took me three feature length videos to get it off my chest.

 

Fishing line is the most important piece of tackle we own!
-Fishing Lines 1: Tells why.
-Fishing Lines 2: What do the different line types do?
-Fishing Lines 3: How are they applied to lures and techniques?

 

Here's the first one; It addresses how fish perceive and respond to fishing lines:

 

 

Very informative video. Thanks.

Very good Paul

There is an excellent article about this subject with lots of different points of view.

 

Google for 'braided line and leader debate' and look at the InFisherman article.

 

I can't post the link here.

On 9/24/2018 at 5:12 AM, waymont said:

There is an excellent article about this subject with lots of different points of view.

 

Google for 'braided line and leader debate' and look at the InFisherman article.

Thanks, waymont. That's a good article. Those Midwest Finesse reports are sure detailed. I appreciate Ned's willingness to compile such detail.

 

Fishers find things that work for them in their waters. However, there are basic properties in lines that underlie the reasons we end up divining what works. One thing that is very telling in that article, for the OP's question, -and something not many are willing to try: It's that straight -leaderless- braid catches fish regardless of its color. As I try to describe in my video, the ability of fish to see fishing lines is not the main issue.

 

Bass are physically capable of seeing just about any line. Each and every individual fish can be line shy, but not because they know what line is. Instead, its more bc they don't know what that "large" object moving close by is. Line, by sheer surface area, is a large object. The fact that our lines are inseparable from our lures is the reason I came to believe that line is the most important piece of tackle we own, in terms of getting fish to bite. We aren't presenting a lure, but a lure and line combination.

 

Can fish be "line shy". Absolutely. Easily. But whether the line is fluorescent orange, or "the same refractive index as water" is low on the list of the major reasons why.

I heard a scuba diver say that braid makes a crazy sound underwater, I'm guessing similar to the sound it makes going through the rod guides. Not sure if it's true but I may jump in and listen one day