Berkley Study..

I will start off by saying that this post will not do justice to the article I read. The article talked about fish and their ability to see line. The article did a test that places fish in a tank with regular clear xl and vanish. The lines were weighted and then a mechanism was setup to detect when the fish ran into the. The theory was that the fish would obviously avoid running into what they can see. To further the test they would drag the line over the fish and measure response. They concluded that more often with the vanish line the fishes response seemed to be surprised compared to the mono that often showed they could see it coming. The results of the test… Fish ran into the Vanish 70+% of the time meaning that can see mono 70ish % better than clear mono. I would be very interested to compare different lines in different water clarities. I understand the criteria for vision so the contrast between objects allows you to see the object (simple explanation) but the study does not prove or disprove this either way nor does it address weather it turn a fish off from biting. I have my beliefs that I will keep quiet but it is obvious that fish CAN see line. Jc

Interesting info! Thanks for sharing. It would be nice to see a study like this done with some of the superlines and high vis mono’s.

I do believe, at least in clear water situations, that line can and does spook fish. On a trip last year in Illinois, I was live bait fishing for pike and smallmouth in a clearwater sandpit. The only difference between the setup I was using and the one my brother was using was the line. I was using a braided superline and he was using Vanish. He caught three pike and four smallies while I caught a cold.

I believe the same thing that you experienced in your situation. I don’t know what it is but just some fish seem to be like that.

Jeremy,

Sounds like a very interesting article. Where’d you see it? I’d love to read it. I too feel that line can make a difference, especially in clear water. If it gets you just one extra bite per day it’s worth it. One day that bite will be a 5 pounder!

Loomy

http://jeremy.stamats.com/berkley.jpg

This is link to the article. You will need to looka the article in full screen mode.

very interested, i would be curious to see a large study with xl, vanish, fireline to see how the braids as well as different colors impacted the fish. also, water clarity as discussed above. good post!