Line colour...

Does anyone have a preference for line colour?

I can't say I do to be honest as all of the manufacturer's and variations appear to make claims as to their low visibility below the water line.

I have to say I hate "clear" for the white appearance that it gives when spooled up but having said that I've just bought some Pro Tough for my river piking which is just that, it just felt too damn supple to refuse.

The sage green of Pro Gold also sits very well with me.

What is your preference and is there any scientific basis for it, and what if anything do you avoid at all costs?

My preference is no colour for hook lengths when float fishing.
However the pale pink of Flo-cast can be quite humorous on a dull day.

For ledgering the grey Ultima or brownish Maxima is preferable.

When I drifted a lot for Pike, the pale blue Stren consistently out-fished all other brands


Interesting thread.

binka said:

Does anyone have a preference for line colour?
.....
What is your preference and is there any scientific basis for it, and what if anything do you avoid at all costs?

Click to expand...

I like Trabucco - Sinking - Tournament class - it is a real weird colour - sort of pale lavender that seems to be difficult to see in the air and impossible under water! Also the different thicknesses seem to be slightly different shades - this could be due to the thickness of the line rather than a colour design.

I don't like the ones that look white when spooled-up - always looks noticeable to me - like 'look at me - I'm invisible'! mg:

I like clear line when trotting or fine work. By clear I mean proper clear and not white. I also like the colour of Pro Gold and its probably my favourite line for all but fine work. Don't like dark coloured lines at all though there is no logic to that as on a dark lake bed at dusk I guess it doesn't get much more inconspicuous.......but I'm yet to find a dark line I like and trust. I abandoned Maxima eons ago for PGand would never go back and I utterly detest the dark Sensor which a lot of people swear by. Great for mending stock fences perhaps or cutting cheese but not for fishing...not on my shift anyway.

Can't honestly say as I've noticed any difference and how a line performs is way more important to me than colour...but if the colour appeals as well then I'll use it. I trust PG implicitly and like the colour so why look any further ? Its all in your head anyway and mostly about confidence....I could not sit there worrying about line colour or reliability because (as I've often said) to mess about with line and hooks is to miss the point by some distance.

For years I avoided white fly lines...now I use nothing else because I found a line that works beautifully and it happens to be white. So I was forced to abandon my prejudice about colour in favour of a superb floating and casting line. I caught just as many trout if not more.

Conclusion ? Colour is largely irrelevant...its how the line performs and therefore presents the bait/fly that matters.I'm much more bothered about diameter than colour.

My favourite specimen lines are Pro-Gold and Krystonite – not particularly bothered about the difference in colour, IMO both exceptionally good lines.

I used the brown Sensor for quite a few years until I started to get problems with the breaking strain weakening after stretching (fighting decent fish, pulling out of snags etc) seemed to be less reliable than it used to be. For Carp, Barbel and Pike I have used the green Big Game for over 3 years now with no problems.

I use clear lines for lighter fishing. Just seems right to me.

Stu

I've been using camo mainlines from Pro Logic and Fox for several years now. I don't think it makes a ha'peth of difference compared to other colours, but the lines themselves are good, so I've not felt the urge to swap and change.

For float fishing I like a clear or pale line, purely because you'd imagine it's less visible in clear water, but I used Maxima Chameleon - the brown one - almost exclusively for still water duties over a 20 year period without ever getting the feeling that it was spooking the fish.

I agree with the other posters that line colour is largely irrelevant. It do tend to fish with a light coloured line when float fishing, because I imagine that it will show up less when viewed from below, but I don't know if it really makes much difference.

Remember all the talk about red lines not long ago, and how they were supposed to become invisible under water? I doubt if many people believe that now. There is a lot more commerical hype about line colour than there is science, of that I'm sure.

A large proportion of my fishing is ledgering/freelining and I do not consider colour to be a road block, although I have never tried the bright red stuff that you see some people using.

As per other contributors, clear line for light floatfishing every time.

I really don't care what the colour of the main line is. It is only the last few inches that matter IMO. For that reason I mostly use fluoro' hook links.

In my 'former' fishing life it was always Maxima for me, but since rejoining the angling fold a couple of years ago I've been road testing a few different ones to see what's new; I think unduly influenced by price I bought into Sensor and now having quite a stock of it I'll probably continue to use it for ledgering whilst my supplies last, but it seems too 'wirey' for waggler work. The latest test is using 6 lb Preston Reflo Power Max which has a rather weird dark blue colour which I'm really not fussed on although it hasn't prevented me from catching. However, it does seem quite a lot more prone to tangling than others I've tried even though it appears to be very supple, so the search continues...