Can they see your line?

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?

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.

I agree with the above. ^^^ I'm a line watcher 100% of the time. I see the bite more often than I feel it.

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.

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.

Johnny

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

well i know there eye site is better than mine so i think if i can see it they can see it.

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.

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.

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).

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.

+1

There is a place for almost everything out there in the crappie world but few things that work all of the time. That being said I use 6 lb. clear Stren monofilament on all of my rods all of the time. I am sure there is others that may be better part of the time but I think I have the line that is best most of the time.

good point Lane!

Some great points for sure,a good comparison with the braid and mono side by side in same boat..
I'm not sure why braid don't seem to work as well because feel is very important factor but then you have to get a bite to feel one.. When we fish the exception was when the crappie are 40 to 45 ft at fork and the braid did just as well for us but less than 18 ft and in clear water we have noticed that braid doest produce as well. I'll have to get the braid guys I fish with to try a mono tippit..IMHO I'm believe feel,motion,depth,size,confidence,color in that order play a major roll in catching lots of fish I also like scents, I don't know if it makes them bite or feed when their not hungry but I have proved to myself time and time again that it makes fish hold on to the bait longer and that should mean more hookups .Line color for me is hi vis because I see some bites on fall or notice when swimming my bait side ways that the line has contacted a limb so for sure hi vis help Me catch more fish..I use 6lb and 8lb hi vis line and no swivel.. I think if fish got spooked from seeing the line or a big swivel it seems they would see the big thick hook point on my jig and relate it to "ouch" and steer clear lol...I have seen color make a difference occasionally but mostly in very clear water 5ft vis or better and that's why I put it last..
dark when water dark, light when waters clear..Pay attention and ajust as needed if some ones really out fishing you.lol

Since I'm ambidextrous I often fish two nearly identical poles at the same time. Often I'll put a 5lb fluoro leader on one rod and a 7 or 10 lb fluoro leader on the other. If the two rigs catch the same, if the lighter line breaks off I'll retie with the 10lb heavier line to avoid as many break offs. Sometimes I'll get lazy and tie straight to braid too especially if I'm losing jigs on 10lb fluoro. This gives me a lot of direct comparison with lines.

From my experience crappie do "care" about the line. Often they hate to bite bright colored bright unless it's super thin or unless I'm dropping into trees where there the crappie are waiting to hammer whatever drops in front of their face. With green braid they are less picky at least if the water isn't too clear. But there are days where 5lb fluoro or mono is needed to get the job done, especially when the bite is slow in clear water in the winter time. In the spring spawn when dipping trees I'll use 8lb hi vis Mr. Crappie which works great for me.

i love the feel of the Mr Crappie line 8 lb test .it is so soft..bright yellow color is great to see .but from my experience iv always caught more bass or crappie on clear BPS 8 lb test line.

X3, with the exception that I use a flouro leader. I have Flouro in 6-15# and have been using 10# lately. After reading about the cold water increasing the visibility of crappie, I'll scale back and see what happens.

I stated my crappie obsession using 8# blue Trilene XL. Then i transitioned into just about every line, test, color, etc on the market, but finally went back to dance with what 'brung me'...8# blue Trilene XL. Can crappie see it...probably, but do they care...no.

Good point on the floro leader, Todd. That stuff is an absolute game changer, especially at the coast.

I hear a lot of guys say they use straight braid, but I've proved it in my boat several times that the leader makes a difference.
Ask el rojo

The cost is minimal when you consider how long a spool will last using it for leaders only.
I wouldn't consider not using a Floro leader

I use Trilene low vis green XT. The last foot of my the line above the jig has all kinds of nicks & scrapes by the end of the day. I bring multiple rods and just switch them out during the day.

A flouro leader will probably catch more fish, but it so susceptible to breaking at any nicks, I have gotten away from it for Crappie. I still use it for bass in clear water & then retie often.

Usually the water has enough color at 10' & deeper that the low light conditions shouldn't be a problem. I rarely fish shallower than 10' except during the prespawn & spawn.

I think it is just easier to catch crappie on off shore structure 100 yards from the bank. They are feeding & not to worried about my jigs....lol.

yes they can. I have watched perch at Possum Kingdom rush up to a jig then dart away at the last minute. Better get some fluorocarbon line if the water is clear.

I think the hi vis helps me see the shy bite better than a crappie seeing the line. Again I think its a confidence factor as much as anything. I KNOW if i get the jig back in the shadiest part of the dock I will get bit.

I always use a floro leader when fishing with braid. I don't know if it makes a difference or not but me it is all about what you have confidence in. If I'm fishing 8ft or deeper you will see a floro leader and crappie nibbles on my line. This combo is what I have the most confidence in.

Reggie

Im with machinest on this! I wave seen guys fishing with 20 pound monofilament and a welding rod making tons of noise smacking the trees at ray roberts and killing the crappie. I have used high visibility line to braid and dont tell any difference other than line size to detect bites. Stick with 6-8 lb. stren magnathin and you will be happy happy happy!

I use 8 & 10lb line for my minnow rigs and do pretty good. but there have been gguy's out fish me using double drop saltwater leaders.go figure.

I often wonder how many crappie have been caught on the Eagle Claw Snelled Aberdeen Hook, with the 30ish pound test leader.

Grin.

Hey SCK.. BE careful or you gonna give up you your secret 2lbr weapon..haha

Shhhhhh, where the heck you been Troy?

Been lurking mostly. cause I lost my log in info...but my wife miraculously remembered it last week.So now I can mix it up a little on here. Ducks and Deer calling me hard right now...But were gonna rip some lips nxt week.

I think that's probably the best answer I've seen to the line question. I've caught a gazillion fish on that rig as I'm sure everyone else has also. Matter of fact that's what I rigged up for the wife yesterday and she slayed them.

There's two very distinct different baits being discussed on this thread. Minnows and jigs are quite different. When crappie are feeding well, you can most likely put a minnow on a 5/0 worm hook on a 1/4" rope and catch a few.

It's on those days when they're not feeding and getting very finicky that the subtle nuances come into play.
I'll just keep on and waiting for the thump.

So your jiggin in a thick brush pile knocking algae off every limb in dark 15 ft of water with a bizarre colored jig that doesn't look like a minnow and you think the crappie is lookin at your line and want bite .REALLY.Ha Darrell