Whilst fishing yesterday, I was looking around the lakes as you do (being nosey in other words), and got to thinking. There is an inordinate variety of colours when it comes to fly lines. So do the high vis yellow and orange floating lines look any different from a fishes point of view. I assume that as it's a floating line, it will just be a dark shadow whatever the colour?? What do you think?

yep, just a dark sillouette from bellow.

It doesn't matter what anyone thinks. Only the fish know for sure and they ain't talkin'.

Whether or not line color matters depends on two factors:

1. What does the fish actually see, and. . .

2. What meaning do they attach to what they see when they see it.

No one can answer either of these two questions with any degree of certainty and even if they could there is likely to be considerable variation between species and bodies of water.

That's why I always say, if you think it matters, then it matters and choose your color accordingly.

Grouse

lets add a third factor.

when casting, some lines/colours glare more, hence the term line flash, this "flash" when casting, spooks fish more than the actual colour, when laid out on water.
now i know, through many years experience, which manufacturers lines, in various colours, glare, or have more line flash than others, however in certain situations i will still use them. (those that glare).
this factor, to me, is more important than colour, on or in water, of various lines.
regards
bert

Next time you are out have a look at the shadow cast by your floating line on the bottom. Drop it in the shallows and have a butchers, especialy with the sun on it. Imagine what that will do when it goes over a fish Far more important than line colour I think.................Birdsnest

__________________
Fear not if I steal from your side, as of yore, from paradise streams to fish Teifi once more.
BN based in Wolverhampton

Stuff the fish - if i can see it in the air I can cast and present better .

Hopefully the fish I am after can't see it because as I've turned the leader over the flyline tip should be at least 15' short of them !

And then there's the matter of watching the curve between tip and water and seeing it react when a fish takes a little nip ! My eyes work better on the right fluorescent for the light conditions - so I carry a couple of floaters - but then and agin I get them Trade !

Best wishes

Steve P

There will be a dark silhuette if fish shall look at floating line in a direction of the sun. And even there, as you can assure yourself with a little help from a diving mask, you might see some color. On most occasions fish can clearly see the color of the line. Dark line looks like something from nature, a branch etc. There are not many orange branches by the water. If your line flies through a visible field of a fish, it is much harder to spot let`s say dark brown or green line with green or green brown background as some bright colored line.

It really depends on what kind of fish you are after, some wildies on well fished waters, one cast of a line in their visual field and they are gone. You can see the change of behaviour immediately, normaly a fish stops feeding, dives a little deeper, becomes less active and if you repeat a cast or two it is gone.

On the subject of line color and its importance i can add one example. A few years ago i made myself a super fast sinking shooting head, which was nothing else, but a lead wire dressed in climax braided monofilament (prestreched-and it really is a pain to get it over a lead wire). Anyway, next scene is me on a rock over a small pool formed between rocks with some huge graylings below. Fast current etc, so you need to get down deep. And i tried normal fast sinking dark line and this super fast sinking line of mine, which was btw. in screaming red color. The dark brown line would go unnoticed and would almost slam a fish in its nose, before it would move. No wonder, many things in nature, that water brings past fish are of such color. But when i have put that screaming red line on.....it was really interesting to see how graylings were avoiding it. I did catch some fish with brigh red line, but withouth a doubt it was much more disturbing to graylings than a dark brown one, as one could easily see from their behaviour.

BlueOne

AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH not again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BlueOne has a point about sinking lines - there is definitely an issue there - it must look natural-coloured IMHO. However I think Steve P and Birdsnest are on the money as regards floating lines. Just don't line fish - that includes when false casting - and the colour of the line will simply not be an issue. A fish should just see your fly and maybe some tippet/leader. As regards flash or whatever; I think the coating on a line will also flash in sunlight if it is shiny (as some are) and is as much of an issue than the colour. As we have heard rods can flash too. So where does it stop? Matt stripping guides and eyes, matt reels, don't wear a watch? Cam cream on arms and face? I know all these shiny things add up but good technique will eradicate pretty much all of them. I've caught as many fish with glossy rods with nickel reel seats and chrome eyes and a shiny reel as I have with a black reel and a matt black rod and a khaki line. Technique can overcome so much, and while I would not profess to be an expert fly fisherman I try my hardest to work on technique - it is the most important IMHO.

As regards what the fish sees you simply cannot say that it sees a silhouette or it sees the line colour. What it sees depends on - as Grouse says - what the fish sees and we'll never know that. However, assuming it has vision similar to ours, then what it sees depends on:

1. Angle of incidence ie angle between the fish and the line on the surface; this will either allow the fish to see the line against the background of the sky or bankside vegetation etc (whatever is above the water), or it will see the line against what appears to be a mirror in the underside of the water surface ie if the line falls outside the fish's 'window'. The reflectivity of the bottom will affect this equation too. If you don't believe me watch the Once in a Blue Moon DVD - a white line on the mirrored underside of the surface is clear to see. This is due to the line landing a little distance away and not being in the fish's window.

2. If the line is viewed against the sky or bankside ie if it is in the fish's window, then what it sees depends on the amount of natural light and the relative angle of that light expecially if direct sunlight, the reflectivity of the bottom (this all determines whether it sees a silhouette or not) and the colour of the line versus the surroundings, which cannot be a given as a khaki line may be viewed against the sky in which case it's no good at all (in theory) even though it's great if viewed against foliage (in theory). However if a fish is somewhere that nothing long and thin ever falls on the water then any colour line will spook it...

Some swear by grey lines, some by ivory, some by straw coloured, some by buckskin, some by coral, some by orange, some by chartreuse, some by green, some by brown etc etc. This goes to prove that there is simply no single answer - there are simply too many variables. I've been just as successful with a khaki line as I have with a lemon yellow one or a white one.

Pick whatever you're happy with but don't line fish, and remember that includes false casting.

Top advice for river fishing, but I am not sure how practical it is on lakes ? Other than perhaps to cast towards the near edge of surface activity as opposed to right into the middle of it when using a dry or emerger.

My own modest conclusion from experience is that it's worth considering the line colour if fish will see the line flash against a dark background, which means rivers and a lot of small stillwaters. In practice that means an olive green floating line (actually a Snowbee XS) for river dry fly fishing, and a relatively sober mint to grass-green floating line (actually a Scientific Anglers professional) for small stillwater work. I find the latter a good compromise as between camouflage and visibility to the angler, as rightly advocated by Steve Parton.

More than happy to use white floating lines on reservoirs as I believe the flash is lost against the bright sky.

__________________
"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Although the advice that one should not cast over a fish is a very good one, it is unfortunately not always possible to follow it.

First case is a blind search for fish. I often do this, also with dry fly while river fishing. If you do not see a fish, it does not mean, it si not there. So one cast to the most likely locations and lets the fly go over them. Of course you are at the same time casting by or over other locations where fish might be.

Second case would be fishing for a target fish. Now that is all ok, but often, there is at least one fish between you and this one, which you either do not see, or do not wish to target (if you have a rising 50cm trout, you are most probably not going to target the 25cm one closer to you). Unfortunately, if one fish gets spooked and starts running, it goes like an avalanche and soon everythig 20m in front of you is running like crazy, although 99% of those fish do not have the slightest idea, why they are running.

Sometimes in river fishing, you must deliberately overcast or side cast by the targeted fish, to present the fly to it. Normaly this is due to current conditions, specially when you are using nymph (getting down to fish is one of the reasons), but such cases can appear also in dry fly fishing.

Regarding the possibility of fish, to see the color of floating line...just think of it like that. If it can judge our flies by the color it sure can see a difference in line color as well. I know some people claim that fly color is not important, but i am having a really hard time convincing fish into this theory. Somehow they do not wish to take that black or brown version of same dry fly and even when it comes to gray for example, they are picky about the gray itself... And i would not mind if fish would not care about the fly color it would make my fly tying much easier

BlueOne