line color

[brain]

does line color matter to you?
what do you preffer? a lighter, brighter or darker color?

just received an SA 5wt mastery series, that was listed as willow(a lighter gray) that would have great....but it turns out only the front taper(about 6feet) is willow....the rest is neon, glow in the dark, burn your eyes out green.
not really impressed by that, but i'll let it ride till i actually get a chance to see how it handles.

 

[jayL]

does line color matter to you?

Not in the least.

 

[TimMurphy]

jayL wrote:

does line color matter to you?

Not in the least.

Dear brain,

I'd like to give the same answer as Jay but it wouldn't be truthful. Line color does matter to me because I find it easier to see some colors vs. others. For example I have a slate grey line that works absolutely fine as a fly line but I have a hard time seeing the line on the water under most conditions.

The better question might be, "Do you think line color has an effect on fish?" If you had asked that question my answer would be. Not in the least.

Regards,

Tim Murphy

 

[gfen]

Personally, don't like the day glow stuff, but I doubt it matters. Buy what's on clearance, or that mustard colour Cortland Sylk comes in.

 

[pete41]

I liked peach for floating but thought dark head,light body sinking was a so what.

 

[Bruno]

I have a hardy line that is two colors. The front taper is a dark green and the rest is day glow green. I like it but I do not know why . :-D

 

[PaulG]

For me I don't think color matters, my color of choice is the slate gray, only because I like it.

PaulG

 

[OldLefty]

I've been flinging flies for trout for over 45 years and, for me, I have not experienced fly line color having any effect on the fish. I prefer bright lines for visibility (mine).

I have been told that lines in subdued colors sell better. Does that mean that the average fly-fishing consumer believes that bright colored lines spook fish? My vote would be "yes."

Dave R.

 

[pcray1231]

If I had to guess, I'd say color doesn't matter to the fish in 99% of situations.

But I don't know. I tend to pick darker greens and olives, because, well, it's not exactly hard to do. I don't have a problem seeing the line, so if I have a choice, I pick what I think would be the least offensive color, and most likely to blend into a forested background. But of course, I don't know that either, fish might spook from greens and be attracted to orange for all I know.

 

[pete41]

I once painted a picture with a green sky-just saying.:}

 

[pcray1231]

In most places where I'm even slightly worried about it, you can't see the sky for the trees....

 

[pete41]

I have never given color a thought because white was the norm when I started.

 

[jdaddy]

OldLefty wrote:
I have been told that lines in subdued colors sell better. Does that mean that the average fly-fishing consumer believes that bright colored lines spook fish? My vote would be "yes."

Dave R.

You have been at it a lot, lot longer than I have, however watching people fish throughout PA, I would say bright colored lines far outsell muted colors. Maybe because a lot of intro combos come loaded with bright colors?

 

[CLSports]

Line color does not matter to the fish. I never thought it mattered to me until late one evening when I was casting a very dark olive colored line in very low light conditions to rising fish. I found that I have a tendancy to look at my line in my false casts to determine distance and direction. I had trouble this particuar night and was not making the best casts because I could not pick up the line easily. Not everyone may cast this way, but I found it a problem. I use drab colored lines, but not dark tones. Just my two cents.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

I have several Cortland "Spring Creek" flylines. I like them mainly because of the long front taper and they hit the water very gently. However they are a dark olive green color which is fine in bright light but when the light starts to fade the line disappears. Only thing I don't like about that line is the dark color. I fish with bright lines and darker lines and have not noted any difference as far as spooking the fish. If your line lands over the trout he does not care if it's subdued or bright he is flat out gone!

 

[MKern]

I will say that I've had trout hit my bright lines but not my more drab colored lines. That's a long san juan.

I buy line based on price first, color is secondary. If I had a choice I'd go with a less-flashy line.

 

[RLeep2]

Wal-Mart used (but not anymore) to sell a really nice performing Canadian manufactured fly line for about 10 bucks. I only found out about them because I drove the 6.5 hours from here to fish the spring creeks in NE Iowa only to find I'd left my gear bag (reels, extra gizmos, leader mtl.) home and had to go out and buy a reel and line. The Wal-Mart lines were white. I fished it until I got home and then soaked it in a bath of blue denim Rit for a half hour. I always wanted a blue fly line.

I recommend it..

Otherwise, I don't think color matters to the fish. I fish the Cortland Spring Creek lines because I like the way they cast on my first or 2nd generation slower graphite rods and because I like to support Cortland, who I suspect is having trouble competing in some markets of late. The late Leon Chandler, a Cortland VP did a lot for the sport in his day. So, I fish Cortland lines..

 

[bikerfish]

I like muted colors, mostly because I think they look better on the vintage reels I use. I've been using hook and hackle olive colored lines for a few years now, got nothing bad to say about them, and they are priced right. and yep, they are mostly (gulp) DT!!!