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Can they see your line? #11224752 11/15/15 03:36 PM
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hawghoover Offline OP
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iv always wondered about the bright fluorescent lines. its nice for us to see the bite at times but just wonder if Crappie can be line shy? iv used both and still not sure if they can see the bright line.it seems like i catch more on clear line. what do you think?

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11224766 11/15/15 03:42 PM
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KidKrappie Offline
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Through the years I used Hi-Viz green line 100% of the time and I can tell you that the fish dont care. If you are fishing shallow in a VERY clear lake then I would think they can see it but with the color of our lakes the fish dont care. I have caught really big fish and really small fish using this line. I couldnt tell you how many fish just make the line go slack. Having line you can see will allow you to catch more crappie. I have seen people catch crappie on a welding rod so some green line really isnt going bother them.

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11224812 11/15/15 04:06 PM
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srbert Offline
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I agree with the above. ^^^ I'm a line watcher 100% of the time. I see the bite more often than I feel it.

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11225196 11/15/15 07:40 PM
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Ken Gaby Offline
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I'll go back to what Dutch said about 2-3 yrs ago when discussing color of jigs. "Color doesn't matter except when it does." Same applies to fishing line.


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Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11225320 11/15/15 08:28 PM
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My Dad used to take welding rods, knock the flux off and flatten the ends. Then he would drill holes in the flat ends to tie line to. My Mother and my Aunts would use them to fish straight down in the brush to keep the fish from going thru the brush and hanging them up. I figure if a crappie will bite a jig or a minnow hanging from a 3/32" welding rod my line wouldn't bother them too much.

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Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11226097 11/16/15 02:31 AM
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I use to think fish might be line shy, but after watching underwater videos of fish attacking lures attached to very visible lines, dropped through a hole in the ice, I've come to a different conclusion. The key will always be the lure's action and how it might be affected by a heavier line. Too stiff or too large a diameter and lure action is less than it should be - at least for some lures. Besides, why ruin a perfectly good presentation with a line too heavy for the lure your casting?

The other possibility is that line should never visually distract a fish's attention from lure or bait - a fish's center of focus, once you got its attention, is crucial in the first few seconds. Fish don't know line from a hook, so I doubt they'd be shy of anything except loud noises.

Just speculation on my part, but my rule of thumb when choosing lines:
line diameter as small as possible in accordance with the above.

Last edited by SenkoSam; 11/16/15 02:33 AM.
Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11226290 11/16/15 04:49 AM
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Ken Gaby Offline
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I've got some of those welding rods with flattened ends and crappie hooks. They work in heavy brush. The key is "heavy brush" where there are plenty of limbs. And minnows is another key.
I've fished clear water plenty of times in winter on the fishing dock here on Belton. I've seen plenty of people use jigs with braid or cajun red or other bright lines and not catch a fish while I used Trilene XL 6 lb and caught fish every drop. They took my rod and caught fish. Then drop their jig in the same spot and not get a bite. The next trip they made was with clear line in 4-6 lb test and they caught fish. But maybe the line had nothing to do with it. Who knows?


A life without God is like an unsharpened pencil, it has no point. Billy Graham
www.thermoclinelures.com "Helping YOU catch MORE & LARGER fish!"
http://www.crazyanglertackle.com Premium crappie baits and jig tying accessories
http://www.proanglertackle.com Best crappie and catfish rods/reels
http://www.beereadys.com World's Best Rod Holders
Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11226446 11/16/15 12:36 PM
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hawghoover Offline OP
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it makes me wonder because my brother and i were out last week and i used 8 lb clear BPS mono . he used 8 lb Crappie Max bright yellow..we threw same jig same presentation and i caught 35 and he caught 7. next day i caught 22 and he caught 9..next day i caught 30 and he caught 6....? just cant figure them out.as far as i could tell the only diff was the line.we would throw the jig out,let it hit the bottom (28')then turn the reel handle (same gear ratio) 1 time and let it drop back to the bottom.the hit would always come on the drop.

Last edited by hawghoover; 11/16/15 12:41 PM.
Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11226448 11/16/15 12:41 PM
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KidKrappie Offline
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Maybe he was jigging too fast or too slow. Crappie can be very picky on how they want a bait presented. He could also have been too deep/shallow.

Last edited by fishin'aholic2; 11/16/15 12:42 PM.
Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11228150 11/17/15 02:21 AM
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I had to learn the hard way! We were fishing Fork in the winter out from the dam and I was using 20lb line. My buddy was using a reel with 6lb line and he caught 5 to 1! Here is a paragraph I found to support my theory!

In some recent studies, water temperature was determined to have a dramatic effect on fish vision. Since crappie rely heavily on vision for hunting, this information is important for crappie anglers to understand. The concept is very simple: the colder the water, the better a fish can see. This is because the lower temperatures help the cells in a fish's eye to function better. This means that crappie, like other fish, may be able to see smaller lures at deeper levels in cold water than they can in warm water. It also means that they will be better able to see fishing line, so an angler may need to use lighter monofilament or fluorocarbon line in cold water.


Mr. Catchum

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11228798 11/17/15 02:09 PM
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hawghoover Offline OP
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well i know there eye site is better than mine so i think if i can see it they can see it.

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11228877 11/17/15 02:40 PM
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Do you use swivel? In my opinion, they can see it. But saw a buddy of mine using opic green braid a had 43 on the floor. Now I don't know. Hope this helps.

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11229563 11/17/15 08:22 PM
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Good post I have been hearing different views on the topic for years now on this forum and others, some say it doesn't matter some say it does. I have seen it both ways, lots of fish caught on hi viz, heavy line, and super light tackle. I use hi viz 6lb line and do well. I just got into 10lb braid no leader and don't see the difference because my bud was using 4lb clear and didn't out fish me. So my question is do the fish even care? As far as you using 20lb line you may missed more fish than you could feel with such heavy line you didn't say what type of pole you use or your set up, but I have seen old minnow dunkers in the fish house use crazy heavy stuff and land fish consistently so I don't know.


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Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11229673 11/17/15 09:30 PM
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Line size is different. I'm willing to bet crappie can see it more than 6 lb line but I have seen them caught both ways. Like stated above, sensitivity is greatly reduced as you do up in line sizes (mono or flouro).

Re: Can they see your line? [Re: hawghoover] #11229727 11/17/15 10:10 PM
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I have used the bright mono (6lb test) in both crystal clear northern waters and your typical Texas lake waters, and in both scenarios, caught plenty of fish. Now, had that line been of heavier diameter, I think my results would've been different up north. The heavier line also changes the action of the jig, but that is a topic for a different thread.

What I do know for a fact though, is that time and time again I've seen the person who is using braid not catch fish, while everyone around them is wearing them out. I put a mono leader at the end of the line for the person using the braid, and BAM, they start catching fish. Lot's of people use braid only, but I just don't have confidence in it while fishing for crappie.



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