high vis lines and live bait drifting?

[controlled chaos]

I figured I would bring this subject up b/c I wanted to hear what you all thought about hi vis lines(yellow or neon fire orange) vs. low vis(white or moss green). I am about to spend a decent amount of money on braided line for 5 shimano baitrunners. I am not gonna go super heavy as far as lb test goes but for my 4500s I was gonna put on 25lb test and on my 6500s I wanted to go with 30 or 40 lb test. I am mainly gonna drift with live bait with these setups with a litte kite fishing as well. The reason I thought a hi vis line would be good was b/c I have had those bigger live baits sneak back up on the boat and get fouled in the prop and I wouldn't know it until it was too late. Maybe I need to pay more attention but you all know how it can be when you take people out who aren't experienced. You end up doing a ton of work... Which is fine b/c I love sharing my favorite activity with people who have never experienced fishing but it gets tough to keep everything straight all the time.

This brings up the question of line color and possibly spooking a fish b/c there are 5 bright orange lines sitting in the water near the surface. Do you guys think that this is gonna be a huge factor when it comes to spooking fish? We are talking normal drift fishing type of fish like dolphin, blackfin tuna, kings, sailfish and all the other critters that might show up. I have been a loyal monofilament user for most of my live bait drifitng life and I always used Ande pink or blue. Mono never seemed to cause any issues with spooking fish but when you come across a big fish I have found myself undergunned on more than one occasion. That would be the reason for switching over to braid. Not only will it allow me to run a little stronger line but it will give me a little more capacity as well.

I am in a bind and I am having trouble making the decision and I just kinda wanted to hear what you guys have to say on the subject. I probably left a few things out but I am mainly looking at suffix neon fire braided line or jerry brown line one solid white spectra nut I am not dead set on any particular line. Lets here some opinions on this guys.


Dave

[tom@marlinstar]

I will add this tidbit of info to the question....I would say 95 % (including me) of the west coast tournament fleet fish high vis on their marlin casters. You generally have a 9-10' piece of fluoro as your leader, tied to your high vis. Definitely an advantage when you have 4 guys soaking bait....

[controlled chaos]

Yeah I kinda figured high vis would be more of a benefit to me than a negative since I am gonna have a few baits in the water at a time. I always like to see what everyone else is doing out there so I can put different techniques in the toolbox. I appreciate your input bro! It is just too easy to get all tangled up especially when you have a big blue runner stuck to your hook and he is freakin out b/c he knows he is toast. Are you guys casting to marlin over there with a big live bait on the drift or are you all doing more trolling and dropping the baits back/casting to the side of the boat wherever the fish shows himself?

By the way... Nice quiver you got there bro!!!

Dave

[tom@marlinstar]

Dave,

The high vis marlin casters get used from everything to drop backs,casting on feeders,tailers, or sleepers..and soaking in areas where a fish might have sunk out or the meter marks are too good to ignore. All bait fishing is with live bait (greenies) and all trollers are set up with high vis also. Now, you have to remember we are using fluoro leaders so their is a 9 to 10' gap between the high vis and the hook.

[controlled chaos]

Yeah fluoro is all I will use when live baiting unless a short shot of wire is needed. I usually use 4-10 ft of fluoro depending on the setup. When kite fishing I only use a short length b/c the bait shouldn't ever get more than a foot underwater if you are watching it like you are supposed to. Of course it doesn't always go down like that so the fluoro gives me a little buffer incase the fish does get under the water for a second or two. I gotta get me some of those smaller tiagras one day. They are sick little reels that can take a beating!

Dave

[Catcher's Mitt]

if you use a leader hi vis is fine.

[JasonB]

I am a fan of hv line myself and have it on all of my reels. I just adjust my leader length to the type of fishing I am doing. For live bait fishing I use an 18ft+ windon and for trolling I adjust the length based on location to keep the main line out of the water.

I hate it when I can't see my bait and the hv line realy makes a difference for me.

Jason

[BTH284]

Have the 4500s and 6500s and run 315 yds of 50 braid on the 4500s and 65 braid on the 6500. A shot of 30 flouro for live bait and 60 lb mono clear for pitch baits tarpon and old drum etc. The braid colors are hi vis with no problems with spook

[Mustang Sally]

If you are trolling, only about the last few feet of line are in the water, so why not use hi vis?
We have hi vis momoi or braid and 15-20 feet of flouro connected using a no name or yucatan knot.

For light lining, you can even join the leader with a triple surgeons since you are only putting 2-3 lbs of drag on anyway.

I am haunted by not being able to see my lines.