Can Bass See Braided Line?

Bass are one of the most popular fish species all over the world and over the years bass fishing has quickly become a favorite among anglers everywhere. As with any angling experience, selecting the right equipment is crucial in making big catches. One important factor is choosing the right fishing line. Braided lines are a popular choice for anglers due to their multiple advantages and very few cons. But the prevalent question arises, can bass see the braided line?

Bass have the ability to see braided line. Depending on the conditions and color of line, braided line can still be a great choice for bass fishing. Anglers need to know how to pick the right line in the right situations to maximize their ability to disguise it from bass. Keeping the braided line discreet will allow anglers to find success when fishing for bass with braided line.

Bass Fishing with Braided Line

To understand if the bass can see your braided line, it’s essential to understand the bass itself. The structure of the bass’ eyes alongside, the water clarity and your choice of braided line is what affects the visibility of the braided line. The color of braided line chosen also plays a large part in your success and ensuring bass cannot see the different color braids.

Here we explain all these factors in detail.

Eyes of the Bass

To understand the art of bass fishing with braided lines, it’s vital to get a good understanding of the eyes of the bass and how they work. 

The eyes of the bass are monocular, not binocular which means that unless the bass is focusing on the line and bait with both its eyes, it can’t see the braided line visibly. 

However, if both its eyes are focused in the same direction and the water is clear, detection of the braided line is made easier for the bass. 

Do Bass See Color?

Another common question is do bass see color? 

Through recent studies, marine biologists have declared that bass can see colors as well as the shades within the grey, black and white spectrums. However, their detection of colored objects might be compromised in conditions with low light.

While human and bass eyes have similar makeup both featuring rods and cones, bass eyes only have two cone cells while humans have three. Cone cells aresensitive to certain colors. Bass can detect green and red colors the best according to recent studies. Therefore, choosing your braided line’s color is an important task. Dark colors are difficult for bass to distinguish due to their dichromatic vision (cone cells sensitive to two colors).

Condition of the Water

The clarity of the water body itself impacts the visibility of the braided line to the bass. Thus, it’s imperative that you observe the water conditions and choose the color accordingly. 

For example, if you use a clear line in absolutely clean waters then the chances of the braided line being detected are slim.

However, if you use a bright-colored line in the same conditions, the bass will automatically detect the line and try to stay away from it. 

One tip I use to remember this is clear days = clear lines.

What Color Braided Line to Use?

An advantage to braided lines is that they provide flat colors, so unlike fluorocarbon lines, they don’t reflect off light. This makes color selection easier for any angler. 

The choice of the right color is significantly dependent on the water you’re angling in. If you happen to be fishing in clear blue water then white braided lines or blue ones are your best bets. That is because in blue water, white and blue lines are most likely to get lost in the color of the water. Since bass see dark colors similarly, blue water is going to show as a shade of dark to them. Thus blue lines are more likely to blend in.

Similarly in murky and muddy braided lines, you can either choose clear lines or go for green braided lines which become invisible in that condition of the water. As water becomes murkier bass vision becomes worse so the green will not seem as obvious to them.

What Color Braided Line to Avoid?

If you’re using a long leader with your braided line then the color of the braided line won’t matter and you can opt for any fluorescent color even. Leaders can make up for the visibility of braided line in certain situations.

However, if you plan to use the braided line alone, there are some colors you can’t use. Primarily, red and yellow braided lines are to be avoided. These lines are clearly visible whether you’re angling in clear water or the murkiest water due to the bass’ ability to see colors of red, green, and combinations/ shades of the two.

Choosing the right color is proportional to the condition of the water you’re fishing in, so any one color isn’t the perfect fit for all bass fishing expeditions.

Advantages of Braided Lines

Braided lines have become popular due to their massive advantages over monofilaments and fluorocarbons. 

While you can still use two fishing lines in combination with a leader, there are certain pros when it comes to using braided lines specifically.

Pros

• Smaller Dimensions: Braided line fibers are weaved tight making them smaller in dimensions than monofilament lines.
• Great Strength: Despite their intricate dimensions, their braided fibers make them stronger and more durable
• Low Buoyancy: Braided lines are less buoyant making them ideal for casting farther and in situations when you need the line to sink deep
• No UV Damage: These lines aren’t susceptible to UV damage making them great for long-term use. UV rays generally break down fishing lines which adversely affects the durability of the line.
• Relatively less visibility: Due to their flat-colored nature, they are less visible than monofilament lines. They also do not reflect light like fluorocarbon lines which allows them to remain discreet.
• Less Stretch and Flexibility: Compared to monofilaments, the braided lines offer less stretch and flexibility making it easier for the angler to detect bites.
• No Line Memory: Braided lines do not have line memory meaning they are not going to retain the shape of being wrapped around the spool. This allows for less tangles when casting and longer distance casts.

Conclusion

Even though bass can see color and see braided line, there are still a lot of benefits of using braided lines. Ensuring you know the different color braids and how to use them will provide optimal success in keeping your line less visible while providing you strength, durability, and the ability to detect bites easier.

Using a leader with your braided line is recommended for expert anglers to ensure that bass can’t see your braided line. You get to attain the benefits of the braided line without worrying much about visibility.