Line color...does it matter?

It's about time for me to re-spool my Abu-Garcia. I've been using a dark green 60lb test braided line and it's worked well for me. I've got some hi-vis yellow 60lb braid on hand but am wondering if that could potentially spook some fish. Btw I use fluorocarbon leaders for salmon and big game maxima leaders for halibut. Thanks in advance...

  It won't matter. Use the high vis yellow. It's already paid for......

Awesome, that's what I wanted to hear, thanks!


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Yeah,hi-vis yellow on both my salmon rods. Like to be able to see the angle easily. Hope it hasn't scared any off!

On one day of sturgeon fishing in Oregon I had yellow line and my brother and girlfriend had green. I caught almost nothing and they were reeling them in over and over again right next to me. I wasn't even getting bites. Same bite just a few feet away. I might have just been unlucky, but we all agreed that with how much action they were getting and how much I was getting, it probably was the line. That being said, I guided out of Seward last summer and I never noticed any effect that line color had on salmon or halibut. We used yellow line for salmon and all sorts of colors for halibut. My overall opinion is that when the fishing is great as it often is in Alaska,it doesn't matter much, a fish will bite. But when you're getting just a couple of bites in a day, you may was well use the most inconspicuous presentation possible. Yellow line is definitely not that. [emoji1]


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On one day of sturgeon fishing in Oregon I had yellow line and my brother and girlfriend had green. I caught almost nothing and they were reeling them in over and over again right next to me. I wasn't even getting bites. Same bite just a few feet away. I might have just been unlucky, but we all agreed that with how much action they were getting and how much I was getting, it probably was the line. That being said, I guided out of Seward last summer and I never noticed any effect that line color had on salmon or halibut. We used yellow line for salmon and all sorts of colors for halibut. My overall opinion is that when the fishing is great as it often is in Alaska,it doesn't matter much, a fish will bite. But when you're getting just a couple of bites in a day, you may was well use the most inconspicuous presentation possible. Yellow line is definitely not that. [emoji1]


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You were just unlucky that day, line color doesn't matter for sturgeon.  It doesn't matter much for salmon if using mono or fluorocarbon leaders .  It may matter for summer steelhead when the water is clear and low depending on what kind of fishing you're doing.

I use both colors and haven't noticed a difference. I had always used green but wanted the vis of yellow and gave it a shot. Now I'm sticking with yellow so I can see it better.


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On the same topic I never use anything other than clear for my terminal line.


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On the topic of line color, I recently put a 30-40' top shot of 40# hi-vis green mono over my usual 30# braid and it helps with a few of the problems I was having while trolling.

Running braid between my downrigger release and triangle flasher left me with a twisted mess because braid isn't stiff enough to let the swivels on my flasher do their thing. The heavy mono resists the twist enough that it all stops at the swivel when the mono is clipped in the release.

The hi-vis mono also makes it easier to deploy my gear without tangling in my rudder because it's easier to see and keep track of in the water.


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I've used various color lines in the past. I was a guide in Cook Inlet for a number of years. I started using different color lines on my halibut rods on the charter boat. I didn't notice any difference between the colors as far as catching was concerned. The different colors did make it much easier to deal with tangled lines

I personally stick with the green braid or clear mono just as a preference, I wouldn't think rockfish or halibut would really care if you were using glowing line but for salmon it may be the difference in catching finicky fish or not.  Regardless I started using 100% fluorocarbon leaders(4-6ft long) about 5 years ago for salmon and my catch rate went up a lot, some may not agree but that's just my experience.