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View Full Version : fly line color dos it matter



rbaileydav
10-27-2010, 09:39 AM
what do you guys thinkd.....does fly line color matter to the fish..... flourescent guady vs drab and subtle. I have my own opinion which runs to subtle but what do you guys think

DD

Ernest
10-27-2010, 02:21 PM
I don't know if fly line color matters to the fish.

I like subtle line colors myself, and I try to use a long enough leader so that maybe the fish won't see the line anyway.

I have one new flourescent orange line that I have never used. Recently I read an article about dyeing fly lines. Maybe I'll dye this one to another shade, and then put it on a reel.

jw_sartini
10-27-2010, 09:53 PM
i agree with ernest. i don't think fly line color matters too much to the fish. I think if they can recognize your fly line, you're probably not gonna catch much anyways. color is more for the angler for low visibility conditions and mending purposes. I personally like drab colored fly lines, but i've fished some rigs with drab colored fly line in low light, and it's not so easy. i would say that a flourescent green or chartruese would me a good compromise.

greendrake
10-28-2010, 10:39 AM
I don't think it matters.The right size and length of the leader should keep the trout from seeing the line.While a nice olive drab is more pleasing to the eye one would be hurting theirself to not fish a Cortland peach because of it's color.I also use a WTF #4 bright yellow Berkeley line that is the best in that weight that I have ever had on a reel.It doesn't hinder my fish catching.
Will

Danny S
11-29-2010, 06:35 AM
Not sure if it really matters much; except in my own psyche. I prefer to use gray, cream, olive shades only because I feel better about their subtle color. I've read about one belief that matching the colors the fish see through the surface is preferred for a camo effect, so I'm surprised I have not come across a sky blue-colored line. There may be a blue line out there, just haven't seen it. I personally get no benefit from a brighter line, so I figure why take the chance.

Skeet6
12-08-2010, 05:02 PM
I like the ivory or white colored lines myself, I can see them very well, yet they have a natural look, bright, but not garish, methinks.
Mike B

hootie
01-17-2012, 08:40 PM
It may not matter to the fish,although I suspect it does,but it matters to me.I prefer muted colors and on my reels are SA's XPS lines in Gray.The newest line is an Orvis Trout DT line in a light green that Orvis calls willow that I bought when Little River Outfitters was out of the SA XPS I have used for the last ten years.

jeepster
01-18-2012, 08:44 AM
I think you catch more fish with the dark lines. I notice how well you can see someone casting a bright line through the air over the water and that can’t be good. I don’t want anyone seeing me including the fish. I use a dull light green for nymphing so I can see the drifts very well and I’m targeting fish on the bottom. I use a dark green or a mustard line for anything looking up.

I used to use light gray floating and dark gray sink but the lines I like don’t come in that color anymore so that’s another issue. It use to be simple.

samhall
01-18-2012, 10:54 AM
That is a great question. I think it might, but when you look at the entire picture, I think it is a very small piece of the puzzle. I think a fish refusing a fly has a lot more to do with how it looks in the water than the fly line in the air. I would venture to guess that a properly presented fly with a flaming orange fly line will catch as many fish as a properly presented fly with a willow colored line. BTW...I own both and I can't say that either line outperforms the other.

Let's face it...how many times have we made a perfect cast/drift with no result...and how many times have we butchered a cast, a retrieve and lo and behold...fish on!!!

Fun topic to discuss...but I think it is really just a minor piece of the puzzle.

trout-nut
01-19-2012, 09:56 AM
I don't think it matters, I use Rio Selective and Cortland peach on most of my reels and really have'nt notice a difference. Like someone else had said presentation matters.

mems
01-21-2012, 01:12 AM
Depends, Henry's fork, the ranch, olive green. Mountain stream casting up stream, no biggie. New Zealand gin clear water, no orange lines. For bones, big difference, I like the clear cortland floating line, doesn't spook the fish. Lit up mahi, doesn't make a difference. If you cast and the fish spooks, then it did make a difference. I like olive green for spring creeks and clear water. For high water runoff, it doesn't really matter. Like I said it depends. Mems.

drew03cmc
01-22-2012, 10:32 PM
Honestly, I don't think it matters. I have used orange, white, olive, green, yellow and I think even a blue and didn't notice much of a difference.

Lotech Joe
07-20-2012, 05:36 PM
I've always leaned toward darker colors for sinking lines. As far as floating lines go, I think all lines regardless of color appear black when viewed from underwater.

fredaevans
07-24-2012, 05:28 PM
Just repeating what I've gotten out of a few UK based fly boards, but it's the size of the water (still or moving) that may bring line colour into play. Smaller moving or still water (lake/pond/ressie) a darker/drab line does appear to bring something to the Party. 'Big' moving water? Not a whit's difference although leader length could be a major/player factor.
fae

Speyfisher
07-25-2012, 07:02 PM
No matter what the water, if it's a floating line, you need to be able to see it. Intermediate lines, not so much because you have a tight line to the fly and can feel the take. Same with a sunk line. I doubt color makes a whole hell of a lot of difference on a sunk line, as long as it's not some ridiculous bright color. The fish don't seem to mind a black gray, or brown rope towing a fly behind it.

WoodRiverTroutBum
10-11-2012, 04:44 PM
I bought an olive line the other days as opposed to the ivory color that the line came in. My purpose was stealth. After the line was all spooled up and I got home it dawned on me, the sky is not a dark color! We often judge things based on what we can see, not what the fish see. Clearly, an olive line is going to stand out more with a blue sky or white clouds above it than the ivory would have! As stated by someone else, with the light hitting the line from above, it will probably stand out and look dark from below no matter what the color. I think it may be time to break out the waterproof camera and some different colored lines.

RonT
12-12-2012, 01:10 PM
No.
Cheers,
R