Low vis vs High vis line?

[jrbdad]

Ok so I do use some high vis line (yellow) on my spinning reels. I use a fluoro leader when I do.

Guess my question is what is a good rule of thumb for when to use each?

[DMart1]

Some guys think the visibility of hi-vis matters, others don't. I just use the dark green and seems to work fine but I fish gin clear water.

[basscat tyler]

I like the yellow so I can see my line. But my braid on my casting setups is green

[DrewFlu33]

This is going to sound way too oversimplified, but generally speaking I use high vis when it would be beneficial for me to see the line. Basically that fits with what people above have said.

As you mentioned you do, I also will use a leader in those situations. Mostly that's spinning rods, but I also do it on my flipping setup. Seeing that bright yellow braid jump when a big heavy punch weight or jig is tumbling through stands of milfoil or right after the bait hits the bottom has caught me a lot of fish without ever having to feel for them. Believe it or not I also think it adds a slight bit more efficiency since I know the exact moment my bait has hit the bottom.

That flipping setup has something like 50 or 65 lb bright yellow Smackdown (just because it was on sale) and the leader is usually ~3 feet or so of 25 lb fluoro - short enough to keep out of my guides as the knot will ruin accuracy when flipping. The fluoro there helps there with visibility (at least in my mind even if the fish don't care - we all know how confidence matters!) and also helps with toothy critters and sharp things like dock posts. That 25 lb fluoro generally doesn't get cut by teeth or metal posts as easily as the braid does.

My setups for moving baits I just go with the low-vis dark green stuff, though I've actually considered going to "high vis" on my topwater setups the next time I change line on them. I say "high vis" in quotes because I think, to whatever extent it matters (I don't think it does very much if at all), the high vis colors should be less visible to a fish looking up at a comparatively bright sky.

[Milehibird]

I use white Nanofil on all my spinning rods. I can actually see it better than the yellow "hi-vis". But I use a fluoro leader 100% of the time.

[johnnybass]

I've used red an yellow braid on spinning for so long that I feel blind whenever I have to use green. For weightless like senko or really light ned rigs, it helps me track my line easily and see pressure bites. The one thing I do is use a really long fluoro leader. I remember Gary Yamamoto saying once that you want to be able to have your lead knot on your spool when you have the fish at boat side to protect the knot. KVD also talks about looped braid being very visible to fish so use a long leader.

[John Jackson]

Some guys think the visibility of hi-vis matters, others don't. I just use the dark green and seems to work fine but I fish gin clear water.

+1. Even if the fish see it,it's a natural color like moss.