Mono visibility

[C.Rig21]

I think it's been proven that florocarbon is less visible than monofilament. However, my question is do bass really care? What's your experience? 

[ironbjorn]

I do not find that bass care. I don't fish crystal clear lakes, but I do fish some clear streams, and those SMB don't care at all. I've never found that pond or lake LMB care either, but again, I'm not fishing crystal clear fisheries. Fluorocarbon doesn't handle near well enough, hold a knot near well enough, or make near enough economical sense for me to fish it anyways (and I use to fish it). 

[Pat Brown]

A lot of fluorocarbon is more stretchy than a lot of monofilament.  A lot of the slack line sensitivity is about the same.  Monofilament actually doesn't float.  It sinks faster than braid and slower than Fluorocarbon.  Knot strength is superior to Fluorocarbon.  Cost is much better.  Abrasion resistance is as good or better than Fluorocarbon.  Monofilament does get damaged by UV rays and needs to be changed fairly frequently even if you don't fish all the time.  Line visibility only seems to be a factor on days with no wind or on fisheries with extremely clear water and highly pressured fish.

 

I've caught a lot of big fish on high vis line and braid on pressured fisheries.  Just kinda lower visibility due to stain on the water.

 

Mono should be about the same in most water to most bass as Fluorocarbon in terms of *visibility*.  In extremely clear water with very little surface disturbance and good cloud cover, you might have a day where line visibility plays.

 

I'd worry more about line DIAMETER than clarity though because I think in general fish *feel* heavier line as it lays across the water and spook more so than see the line and spook.

[rangerjockey]

Personally, I've never seen a flourocarbon stretch as much as mono at least in the last 15 years or so. Even the Sunline crank FC doesn't stretch like mono.. 

Back in the day we used the old salt water trilene ,which I believe is now big game.

If you hung up a jig in 40 foot of water you could stretch that stuff 3 feet trying to pull it loose.

Unless you using a sinking braid that stuff will float like no other line. I use it on my topwater rods and wake bait rods and it will make a so so running redfin run great..

If you haven't tried the new Spro Flouro , It's really good  and the price is right.

 

[GRiver]

Went out with my brother in law, fishing a spring feed river that is so clear, that 2 inches could be 20 feet. 

The night before I spooled clear mono, I figured with it being semi-pressured, they’d be pretty spooky.
When I was putting my gear in the boat at his house, I saw that he had dark green braid spooled on his rigs. No leader, tied direct to the hook. 

He actually caught more fish than me that day, so it changed my way of thinking about bass fishing and line. 

[Woody B]

Plenty of people catch plenty of bass on all kinds of line.   It might make a difference in super clear water.   I use mono most of the time.  I've got braid on one reel.   I believe confidence is a big factor in fishing, as well as other areas of life.   In most cases I suspect confidence in the line is more important that the actual line used.   

 

What's interesting to me is the mono I use is .012" to .014 diameter.   The braid I use is .013".   I can see the braid on sonar but I can't see the mono.   

[Mobasser]

It's an old argument, if fish can see lines or not. We're still not sure. I use clear or green mono in a clear weedy lake I fish. I don't know if it really matters or not. Ive done it for years, and, it's a confidence thing for me.

[dodgeguy]

22 minutes ago, GRiver said:

Went out with my brother in law, fishing a spring feed river that is so clear, that 2 inches could be 20 feet. 

The night before I spooled clear mono, I figured with it being semi-pressured, they’d be pretty spooky.
When I was putting my gear in the boat at his house, I saw that he had dark green braid spooled on his rigs. No leader, tied direct to the hook. 

He actually caught more fish than me that day, so it changed my way of thinking about bass fishing and line. 

I been saying it for years  !!!

[LrgmouthShad]

Line diameter matters more IME

[thediscochef]

I'm not sure that the visbility matters, except maybe on the most crystal clear and pressured situations. I've mostly chosen line for its abrasion, handling, and strength characteristics. Line diameter,  memory, and stiffness will completely alter the action of a bait. I will also use a uni knot over a Palomar for something that can use more articulation at the line tie but would encounter issues with the addition of a split ring or duo lock (think rebel popr).

 

The most recent experiment is going to be with Sufix Tritanium Plus. I've been using Elite 14# for texas rigging and it just gets torn up too fast to justify the cost. I'm fishing concrete pylons and also long casting so I hear tritanium is trusted surf line for those applications. Surprising lack of in depth analysis of that line here, I may do a write up later. All that to say I bought it in a very dark green and we will see how it does. It is thinner diameter for the pound test rating which I basically always much prefer

[Reel]

Using your experience and instinct is always a good thing when choosing tackle.  Confidence is important. 

But if you want to look at the science side of it  and use the refractive index that measures visibility under water ( not in the box ) the index of water is 1.33, most fluoro around 1.42, most braid 1.54 and most mono 1.55.  Yes, some mono is more visible.

Does line diameter play a role ? Yes, when you are more visible, if you are bigger, you are even more visible.

Do fish care ?

Well I've got this neighbour who has a dog.  It's tied up with a 15 foot rope... a big rope.  Somedays when the dog is really agressive and somebody walks by, he'll run to the end of the rope and be jerked back.  Other days, he'll just walk up to the end, sit down and look at you. And this dog has a brain ten times the size of the fish.

[ike8120]

I just started to use KK Tripolymer line.  "Fish simply won’t see TriPolymer underwater"

"The advanced monofilament starts with a soft and supple Nylon 6 core, then high-tenacity Nylon 6,6 is introduced to add strength to the line. Finally, Nylon 12, the most durable nylon, is added to the TriPolymer Advanced Monofilament to give it an amazing abrasion-resisting performance. All this combined makes for a soft and supple line that can handle the toughest fishing conditions.

This new monofilament is incredibly smooth, so reduced friction in the rod guides along with having lower memory for better casting distance and fewer issues with line twists and backlashes. Line stretch is not a big concern with the line as well. The stretch factor is approximately 30% lower than traditional monos, so expect higher sensitivity and better hook sets when fishing it. The last thing about TriPolymer Advanced Monofilament is its higher specific gravity than other monofilament lines, a specific gravity of 1.21 lets the line sink in water, letting lures and baits sink through the water column even faster."

[TnRiver46]

Bass can see and feel every single fishing line on the market. I’m sure you’ve had bluegill follow and attack the disturbance where your line hits the water. The thinner it is, the less disturbance. Ever see anyone chucking 65 braid on a Great Lakes SMB tournament? 
 

good thing is , fish get hungry a few times a day and ignore it. Other times they are hungry all day long, they won’t let themselves starve, they won’t go dormant unless it’s freezing cold and even then can be caught (with thin line) 

[greentrout]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

It's an old argument, if fish can see lines or not. We're still not sure. I use clear or green mono in a clear weedy lake I fish. I don't know if it really matters or not. Ive done it for years, and, it's a confidence thing for me.

Put me down as one who believes the Bass do/can see fishing line. I like a light green mono and clear. 

[Catt]

We are interpreting what bass see while looking through human eyes with a human brain.

 

Question shouldn't be if bass can see our line but what exactly do they "think" it is.

[gimruis]

4 hours ago, C.Rig21 said:

I think it's been proven that florocarbon is less visible than monofilament. However, my question is do bass really care? What's your experience? 

 

To specifically answer the question posted by the OP, I think that in highly pressured waters where the water is clear, it does matter.  And my experience there would tend to show it.

 

In murky water, I don't think it matters.  There is one lake I fish regularly and the water is like pea soup.  You could use high vis yellow and they would still bite.

 

The advantage that fluoro has, at least for me, is abrasive resistance.  When I am fishing around rocks or zebra mussels, it holds up much better than mono.  I also use thicker fluoro for leader material when I am in pike-infested waters.

 

Whether or not I think it affects my success rate, its a factor that I can control.  So I am going to control it.  Virtually every single professional bass angler uses some kind of leader attached to the end of their braid, especially if they are using a slower finesse presentation.  Most of the time it is a fluoro material.  That's good enough for me.

[Scott F]

I’m one who believes that visibility doesn’t matter. I don’t think bass have the ability to figure out that because they can see the line that they should avoid the bait. If they were that intelligent, why can’t they figure out that that hunk of wood or plastic with 2 or 3 hooks hanging from it isn't real food? If someone isn’t getting bites, why is line visibility the reason and not one of the other dozen possible reasons for not catching?

[TnRiver46]

Whether it matters is up for debate, them being able to see it is a fact 

[Bankc]

It doesn't matter, except for the times that it does.  

 

It's not something I worry about 99% of the time.  But I have fished a few private ponds where it mattered.  

[Happybeerbuzz]

We need our Live Scope members to do some experimentation and data gathering on this and report back.  This maybe one one of those age old arguments that can be settled  or at least furthered through direct observation and testing.

[gimruis]

7 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Whether it matters is up for debate, them being able to see it is a fact 

I agree, and whether or not you or I "think" it inhibits them to bite or not, its a factor what is under our control.  So why not do everything in your power to control it and increase your odds of catching fish.  There are enough other factors that aren't in our control that can limit our catching ability.  Why potentially add another.

[Big Swimbait]

I was watching a Tactical Bassin' video on jerkbaits in clear water. When they jerked the bait and it created a certain angle in the water, that fluro glowed like a neon tube from the light penetration.

[FrnkNsteen]

23 hours ago, thediscochef said:

The most recent experiment is going to be with Sufix Tritanium Plus.

I use that quite a bit. The price is nice too! I look at it as the Sufix version of Big Game. In my opinion, it is stiffer than Trilene XL and doesn't stretch as much as Big Game. I mostly use it in 12lb and 17lb for reaction baits like shallow cranks or poppers (12lb) or spinnerbaits and poppers (17lb to help keep it up shallower) when I don't need as much flexibility. I use Big Game for spooks and walking baits, and Trilene XL on the spinning reels.

 

As for color,... I don't honestly think it makes as much difference in most cases as people think. I use braid when I want no stretch and want good hook sets. I use flouro for sinking baits or crankbaits if I want more depth and mono for shallow baits or topwater.

 

I have some hi-vis braid, some green. Flouro is obviously clear and all my mono is green so I can easily see if a reel has mono or flouro. If it's clear,... It's flouro. Simple as !that

[r83srock]

8 hours ago, Big Swimbait said:

I was watching a Tactical Bassin' video on jerkbaits in clear water. When they jerked the bait and it created a certain angle in the water, that fluro glowed like a neon tube from the light penetration.

I have seen this myself. Underneath certain light conditions I can see flouro  easily. I think bass see line but don’t think it makes a difference. I was recently experimenting with flouro again but it’s back to mono and braid for me. 

[T-Billy]

Fluoro being invisible underwater is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on bass fisherman. It being low stretch comes in second.