Fly Line Color
Moderators: Ken M 44, fishnbanjo
Fly Line Color
#1It seems to me the number of colors available on fly lines is growing rapidly. I've been of the old school and tend to move toward duller finishes and more drab colors. A couple of my favorite lines come in a bright orange color and I use permanent maker to dull and drab out the color for the first 10 to 15 feet of the tip. Is this far enough, or do I need to go further?
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Re: Fly Line Color
#2I don't think color of a fly line means anything to the fish. Sloppy casting causes more problems.
Re: Fly Line Color
#3There's a thread that I was reading yesterday which mentioned that a guide in New Zealand switched out the client's fly line to a drab color before before they went out to toss a line at spooky New Zealand trout. Also, there was some research done, where it was said that a white line settling on "the mirror" that is part of the fishes world is like a lighting bolt hitting the water. However, I don't understand how a black line would not be seen as a black lightning bolt hitting "the mirror".
Last edited by flyty2 on 09/06/23 09:18, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Fly Line Color
#4I think ted patlen is closer to the truth. I have noticed that when fishing for wild fish, if you false cast over the fish's sight window you get a lot less of a response (put's fish down, all wild fish), but if you set yourself up to rollcast or have enough line out so that on the first and only forward cast, the line and leader settle to the surface and start your drift, you have a much better chance of hooking up. Stocked fish are not as afraid (spooky) of anything moving in their environment and hence are easier to catch. I think movement is much more important than fly line color, but that is just my observation.
Re: Fly Line Color
#5It's the flash in the air that spooks the fish most often, and lighter, brighter lines are worse than dull-colored ones. That's why NZ guides insist on dull colored lines, and some will take your line home to dye it before taking you out the next day. Putting any colored line on the water over the fish is highly likely to put them down, and not just in NZ. In NZ, where the water is extremely clear, 14-18' leaders are common to keep the line far from the vision of the fish. I've seen plenty of evidence here in the U.S. where a bright or light line in the air can send fish
fleeing in fairly calm water - wakes running away. Duller lines and/or longer leaders definitely help in my experience.
fleeing in fairly calm water - wakes running away. Duller lines and/or longer leaders definitely help in my experience.
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Re: Fly Line Color
#6Orvis hydros trout lines (DT and WF) have a really nice dull/drab olive colour on the front end.
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Re: Fly Line Color
#7If you land your line on top of a fish, or false cast above it, you are likely to spook it regardless of colour. A dull line may ‘flash’ less, but what about that shiny varnish on the rod, or shiny anodising on the reel, not to mention bright nickel silver reel seat fittings (ahem, Winston?!).
Another matter is a line that drifts over a fish or through its window. If you think that the “mirror” reflects the riverbed back to the trout, then intuitively it makes sense to have a line which blends in with that image.
Images of just how visible leader/tippet is to the fish when under the water versus sitting in the surface also provide a lot of food for thought, challenging the conventional wisdom that a sunk leader is less visible.
Ultimately it’s is nigh on impossible to present the line invisibly, but nevertheless I mostly prefer a drab olive colour line and as long a leader as I can comfortably cast for river fishing.
Just my two cents…
Another matter is a line that drifts over a fish or through its window. If you think that the “mirror” reflects the riverbed back to the trout, then intuitively it makes sense to have a line which blends in with that image.
Images of just how visible leader/tippet is to the fish when under the water versus sitting in the surface also provide a lot of food for thought, challenging the conventional wisdom that a sunk leader is less visible.
Ultimately it’s is nigh on impossible to present the line invisibly, but nevertheless I mostly prefer a drab olive colour line and as long a leader as I can comfortably cast for river fishing.
Just my two cents…
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Re: Fly Line Color
#8In recent years I’ve used mostly a Moss green color . Seems to work fine… but with that being said I caught a ton of trout back in the day on bright yellow … but what do I know I still use a clicker.
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Re: Fly Line Color
#9I have all brighter greens yellows and orange/ peach, fishing my creeks and lakes never seem to matter/ or the thought never crossed my mind. I think more along the line of longer leaders and good casting has helped me in this way,more than colours. But on the flip side just getting out fishing is the ticket
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Re: Fly Line Color
#10Very simply, if you use a longer leader, d.g., 15 feet or so, and are competent caster , line color is irrelevant.
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Re: Fly Line Color
#11I liked that NO ONE ELSE bought the old floating Orvis New Zealand gray,
it was always on sale in the Orvis News in all sizes for $9.00.
Talk about stock up time!
Fly tyers will tell you the same - when you like it - and it goes on sale,
buy yourself a lifetime supply.
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Quiet - or calm casting is the name of the game for me... not color.
it was always on sale in the Orvis News in all sizes for $9.00.
Talk about stock up time!
Fly tyers will tell you the same - when you like it - and it goes on sale,
buy yourself a lifetime supply.
________________________
Quiet - or calm casting is the name of the game for me... not color.
" There's no such thing as a fly fisherman wholly satisfied with his casting performance. " ~ Jim Green (1971)
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer
Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.
" Just once I wish a trout would wink at me. " ~ Brian Shaffer
Use the SEARCH for justification and reasoning.
- j.robillard
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Re: Fly Line Color
#12The differing camps both have good arguments. The group that leans toward not caring about fly line color can show you photographs of fly lines from the fish's perspective, and the silhouette of each fly line is a differing shade of gray with maybe a hint of color in the silhouette. What I find somewhat comical, is that some folks in the "fly-line-color-doesn't-matter" camp will also express the importance of matching the hatch, which, no doubt, includes the color of the fly.
As a number of folks have mentioned, flash from the fly line, and don't forget flash from your leader, are likely what's more problematic. Long, dull, leaders can be really helpful for spooky fish. And, yes: why not use a dull and drab colored line? That said, for some situations it's nice to be able to easily see your fly line (direct you to small flies, show you drag and currents), and in past threads a number of folks have mentioned resorting to brighter colored lines as their eyesight has declined.
Ideally, I'd like to know the color of line that has the least intrusive, least dark, silhouette combined with the least likelihood to flash and reflect light. I imagine medium-to-light toned gray and a lightly textured surface is the least intrusive. But that's not going to attract, or hook many fly fishers, now is it?
Anecdotally, looking back through records, some of my best catching years were done with one of SA's buckskin colored lines. It's medium toned and not too flashy.
-Jeremy.
As a number of folks have mentioned, flash from the fly line, and don't forget flash from your leader, are likely what's more problematic. Long, dull, leaders can be really helpful for spooky fish. And, yes: why not use a dull and drab colored line? That said, for some situations it's nice to be able to easily see your fly line (direct you to small flies, show you drag and currents), and in past threads a number of folks have mentioned resorting to brighter colored lines as their eyesight has declined.
Ideally, I'd like to know the color of line that has the least intrusive, least dark, silhouette combined with the least likelihood to flash and reflect light. I imagine medium-to-light toned gray and a lightly textured surface is the least intrusive. But that's not going to attract, or hook many fly fishers, now is it?
Anecdotally, looking back through records, some of my best catching years were done with one of SA's buckskin colored lines. It's medium toned and not too flashy.
-Jeremy.
The fly rod not only catches trout; it is a handy fulcrum allowing me to cast to those things that seem so far beyond my grasp.
-Harry Middleton.
-Harry Middleton.