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  1. #1
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    Braid color for clear water?

    What are some of those that fish clear water favorite braid colors for lowest visibility to the fish & sizes for spinning gear?

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    #2
    I fish really clear water ( St Lawrence river ) and the water has a slight green tint to it, so I use Aqua Green when I don't use a leader ( surface lures ). 90 percent of the time, I use a leader and use yellow because I want to see it. I use 10 pound test.

  3. Member 06 SB's Avatar
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    #3
    I use Daiwa JBraid in gray. I ALWAYS have a leader tied to it so the fish never see the braid. It is very supple and cheaper spinning reels stuggled to cast it or return it to the spool properly. My Daiwa Tatulas and Kages cast and retreive it perfectly.

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  4. Member
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    #4
    I'm using diawa j braid X4 now in flourescent yellow on cheaper spinning reels & don't have any problems with it. I just wondered what would be less visible in a clear bluish- green water?

  5. Member Stroker3.2XS's Avatar
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    #5
    Chartreuse for soft plastics and moss green for reaction baits with a fluorocarbon leader

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Stroker3.2XS View Post
    Chartreuse for soft plastics and moss green for reaction baits with a fluorocarbon leader
    Pretty much the same for me — I love using bright leader and then use a long enough leader (at least 20 ft) that the braid color doesn’t matter.

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    #7
    Thanks guys

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    #8
    I just use regular green power pro with most reels, and my dropshot rods get yellow.

    I use leaders with every setup with the exception of my frogging/heavy flipping rod. Anywheres from 6-15lb test and 10-20’ long depending on how I feel
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  9. Member mflora98ss's Avatar
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    #9
    I use gray braid in clear colored water.

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  10. Member DrewFlu33's Avatar
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    #10
    I use the brightest orange or red or pink I can find, and if I can't find that then it's the brightest chartreuse I can find. I'm convinced that if you're using a leader, a fish doesn't know or care that there's a colored string several feet away. To be fair, the only time I'm not using a leader is if I'm throwing a topwater. I'm even tacking a 25 lb leader onto my heavy cover pitching/flipping rod these days...though that's not really because of the visibility of braid, but because of the noise I think it makes moving through vegetation.

    Interestingly, I even used to have bright yellow braid on my frog rod before I "knew better," and one of the best days I ever had frogging was during prespawn on an ultra-clear lake throwing that bright yellow braid. I'm maybe digressing, but as I've thought about that over the years, I've almost landed in a place where I think brighter/lighter colored braid is better for topwaters than something dark colored. If the fish can see the color of the line at all (which I doubt since braid isn't exactly transparent) or if they can even perceive the line, a lighter color is going to look a lot more like what they're used to seeing when they look up compared to something dark green or black.

    The only exception I've found is around highly pressured trout in a stream. There were definitely times when I was really into that type of thing where I found using a natural colored fly line would make a big difference despite using a 9-12' mono/fluoro leader, though I also regularly caught trout on flies down to size 28 and occasionally as small as 32 so I think that's a lot different than what we're talking about here.
    Last edited by DrewFlu33; 12-19-2022 at 10:36 AM. Reason: More rambling
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  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by DrewFlu33 View Post
    I use the brightest orange or red or pink I can find, and if I can't find that then it's the brightest chartreuse I can find. I'm convinced that if you're using a leader, a fish doesn't know or care that there's a colored string several feet away. To be fair, the only time I'm not using a leader is if I'm throwing a topwater. I'm even tacking a 25 lb leader onto my heavy cover pitching/flipping rod these days...though that's not really because of the visibility of braid, but because of the noise I think it makes moving through vegetation.
    I was once fishing with Scott Martin and he told me that he did the same thing during a tournament in the Potomac - he went to a fluoro leader for his vibrating jig because it was a heavily pressured area and everyone around him was using straight braid. He thought that fluoro leader going thru the milfoil dulled the noise and made a big difference.

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    #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Runsome View Post
    I was once fishing with Scott Martin and he told me that he did the same thing during a tournament in the Potomac - he went to a fluoro leader for his vibrating jig because it was a heavily pressured area and everyone around him was using straight braid. He thought that fluoro leader going thru the milfoil dulled the noise and made a big difference.
    Ray Hanselman has told me the same thing. At least use slick braid. I don’t know that these guys really know, but I hate the feel of braid sawing through cover anyway.

  13. Member Solitario Lupo's Avatar
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    #13
    Green