Best Braided Fishing Line Color | Bright vs. Natural

The use of braided fishing lines on spinning reels has become prevalent for various reasons outlined below. Color is the most apparent attribute (after material difference), from bright and obnoxiously visible to more subdued hues of greens, grays, and blacks. So what braided fishing line color should you use, and in what situations? Bassmaster Elite Series pro Bob Downey discusses how he chooses braid colors for spinning applications based on fishing techniques.

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THE BENEFITS OF BRAID ON SPINNING REELS
Braided fishing lines last longer and resist memory (coiling) that plagues fluorocarbon and monofilament -- this equates to cost savings and superior casting distance. Additionally, low or no-stretch attributes make it extremely sensitive for superb bite detection and driving hooks home. Third, you can easily add a piece of fluorocarbon or monofilament to match your technique and for stealth with a simple line-to-line knot.

BRAID COLOR CATEGORIES
Braided fishing line colors are broken down into high-visibility or low-visibility categories. Bright yellows, greens, pinks, and whites round out the most common high-visibility varieties, while hues of greens and grays tend to blend best with the water and cover.

BRAID FOR BOTTOM-ORIENTED TECHNIQUES
Downey uses high-visibility braid for bottom contact techniques, such as jigs, Ned rigs, and drop shot rigging, to name a few. Why? Because he constantly watches his line with bottom baits, where slack line is the norm. When the line goes slack, you know you're on the bottom, and you usually have a bite when the line behaves oddly. What about stealth? Fish can be line shy on pressured lakes and in clear water. Add a fluorocarbon leader to counteract the high-visibility braid. Use a longer leader the clearer the water.

BRAID FOR MOVING BAITS AND CLEAR WATER
Low-visibility braids get the nod when Downey retrieves moving baits through the water column. Your line is often tight (no slack) to presentations such as spybaits, hair jigs, Damiki rigs, and swimbaits. It's easy to detect bites on a tight line, either bite transmission to your hand, your rod loading up, or both. As such, watching your line is less important, with a less visible line offering more benefits. Darker braids camouflage better in the water column, leading to more bites for Downey.

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[ericpettyfishing]

I have used all those colors. I have kept the yellow, the hi vis green and the moss green. I mainly just use black now.

[Gstar]

I was reading an article where they said that chartreuse and red fade fastest in stained water, yet it also said white clear fluoro or mono is best for all water clarities.

[johnjohnson]

If you don't have leader material with you can simply take a black marker and blacken the line up from the hook. Black almost disappears in the water and I've never had an issue with bass not wanting my presentation.

[Mbtharp]

Braid to leader with an FG knot is amazing on baitcaster setups too. 30 lb braid with whatever leader fits the application, and a more moderate or lighter rod is a great setup. Great sensitivity and low vis. Best of both worlds.

[Smith]

Braid on spinning reel was around over 20 years ago. I bought a ryobi spinner and told the guy to spool with the latest. He put braid on it. i was scratching my head what it was. 😂

[MJ_Bass]

I always go with white for deep presentations. Works great for hi viz, and blends into overcast sky (in theory anyways)

[shawneldridge]

When it comes to trout fishing, I'm always using 6 lb test and clear line and pretty much that's it. Trout fishing is a lot of fun to do. Anyway I would like to start getting into bass fishing too, at some point in 2023. so what would be the best pound test line and color for that. Great tips and information, This truly will come in handy for a lot of people.
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[NytronX]

The high vis green and yellow look exactly like the stem of a common weed that you'll find in the lake. Therefore, it is actually more camo than camo braid or darker braid.

[williamcote]

I use high visibility line when float fishing so I can see where it is and manage my line better

[larryn]

Moss Green does well in the lakes I fish.

[FullTimeFishing]

I always fish a high viz yellow. The only time I don’t is on straight braid rods (swim jig/frog).

[ericpennington]

I use about a 4 or 5 foot piece of flourocarbon fly fishing tippet for my leader on high vis braid. I use flourocarbon leaders on mono too.

[brady]

I know it’s off topic but what’s the best color when using mono? One of the big selling points for fluorocarbon is underwater invisibility and I’m trying to get the mono that’s least visible to the bass.

[enewm]

Moss Green power pro on everything haha.

[GotHooked]

I just bought a Lew’s Xfinity SpeedStick IM7 6 ft 6 in Medium power fast action rod with a spinning reel, I’m thinking of putting a 20 lb braid (spider wire ) line as the main line then attach a 15lb fluorocarbon (seaguar) as the leader line. Would you recommend this? I’m new to fishing and this is something recommended to me by a friend. In my area it’s mainly bass, trout and catfish I’m hoping this rod is good enough for them. Looking forward to your input thank you so much.

[SierraKilo]

I thought white braid is the least visible?

[linkbond]

Fishing in SE Georgia Dark Green low vis every time.

[mysteryman]

Would it be advisable to always use a leader when using any high vis braid line?

[fraudsarentfriends]

Braid is too fragile, Can't stand it 
There isn't a single problem solved by using braid and it's expensive if you have a lot of reels to line.
I see very few people using it on spinning reels. Line capacity isn't as much an issue with a spinner.
The only people I see using braid are people just getting into the hobby and haven't learned (yet) from experience there's a lot of scams with lures and lines in the fishing hobby.
I see very few people using it on spinning reels. Line capacity isn't as much an issue with a spinner.