Fireline vs. Braid and Leader

[Bemoredog]

Tried to get answers from the interwebs but not really having luck.

Just wondering if I can simplify my set up by using straight 20 lb fireline rather than 20 lb braid and ~10lb mono.

For icefishing if it's unclear.

Second question. Does it matter what colour the braided lines are? I've seen them in green, white, black and even neon orange. I'm mainly asking because the cheaper braided lines ($5 for 50 yds @20lb) always seem to be green or black in colour. I don't want to toss out $20 bucks for white braided line just for my tip ups.

Common sense seems to tell me using a coloured line might spook the fish, but with a 5 to 10 ft leader I'm not sure if it actually would.

Thanks fish bros.

[tiger woods]

I run a +/- 30" fluorocarbon leader at the terminal end of braid almost exclusively through the ice these days. I have never noticed a difference in fish behavior based on the braid's colour, to be honest I don't think it matters even the slightest bit. 19 out of 20 fish come in below the hook near bottom with the species that I target, and that 1 out of 20 that doesn't is usually a hungry pike who would eat anything that you threw in front of it anyways.

No doubt that my catch rate has increased since I started using the fluoro leader.

[Bowhntr4life]

I have set ups on both ways. All my rods are on 15lb black fire line and my tip ups are the 30 lb braided black line. I use ONLY fluorocarbon leaders after that on both set ups. I've heard it doesn't make a difference to the fish with the line color, but it's nice to see what direction the fish runs under the ice if it's colored. Advantage of the braid on a tip-up is the hand damage. Fire line will cut right through when playing a nice pike, where braid doesn't nearly as much. If you're using it for smaller species, have at it. Fire line also has more memory than braided line, so it's better to be kept on a reel than something you're managing by hand when pulling in a fish.

I switched to using only fluorocarbon leaders about 6' with 60lb line for my leaders (for pike) and I've noticed better results. For trout, I use 6-8 lb, usually jigging with a rod or on a jaw-jacker if I'm feeling lazy.


Happy fishing!

[anthony5]

[QUOTE=Bemoredog;3147464]Tried to get answers from the interwebs but not really having luck.

Just wondering if I can simplify my set up by using straight 20 lb fireline rather than 20 lb braid and ~10lb mono.

For icefishing if it's unclear.

Second question. Does it matter what colour the braided lines are? I've seen them in green, white, black and even neon orange. I'm mainly asking because the cheaper braided lines ($5 for 50 yds @20lb) always seem to be green or black in colour. I don't want to toss out $20 bucks for white braided line just for my tip ups.

Common sense seems to tell me using a coloured line might spook the fish, but with a 5 to 10 ft leader I'm not sure if it actually would.

Thanks fish bros.[/QUOTE

Colour shouldn't matter if presentation is good, but the more natural it looks the better, black, white or green has worked for me, mostly use black, but a 12-24" Flourocarbon leader 50lb or heavier may help.

[cube]

Originally Posted by Bemoredog

Tried to get answers from the interwebs but not really having luck.

Just wondering if I can simplify my set up by using straight 20 lb fireline rather than 20 lb braid and ~10lb mono.

For icefishing if it's unclear.

Second question. Does it matter what colour the braided lines are? I've seen them in green, white, black and even neon orange. I'm mainly asking because the cheaper braided lines ($5 for 50 yds @20lb) always seem to be green or black in colour. I don't want to toss out $20 bucks for white braided line just for my tip ups.

Common sense seems to tell me using a coloured line might spook the fish, but with a 5 to 10 ft leader I'm not sure if it actually would.

Thanks fish bros.

If it's for tip ups get Dacron tip-up line. Very supple and thick so you don't cut up your hands. If you think the color is going to affect it, like others have said use a long flouro leader.

As for line color affecting fishing I have found white and blue to give me reduced catches so typically I shy away from these. Though my testing was far from scientific and one would think that a fish looking up at a lure/ice would see white or blue in the background.