Most people do not pay a lot of attention to the color of the fishing line they use.
While not caring about the color of your fishing line is not a bad thing, getting and using the right color fishing line increases your chances of landing more fish when you go fishing.
Now that you know that using the right color fishing line increases your likelihood of landing fish, the question on your mind is probably, “What is the right color fishing line?”
This is natural because there are many fishing line color options available on the market.
There are wild stories of guys going to sporting goods stores expecting to walk and walk out with a fishing line in 15 minutes tops but ending up spending nearly one hour trying to figure out which color is right.
The fact that you are reading this means either you are at a sports good store right now or you want to avoid spending a lot of time at your local sporting goods store.
Either way, I have all the information you are looking for to help you to quickly figure out the right color fishing line to use for your first or next fishing adventure.
How To Choose The Right Color Fishing Line For Saltwater Fishing
As I mentioned, choosing the right color fishing line increases your chances of landing more fish.
However, if you are simply going fishing with your family and not for sport fishing or tournaments, then the color of the fishing line you choose and use does not matter.
You should just pick a clear fishing line, which is the most common fishing line color, and go and have fun with your family.
A clear fishing line, the right hook, and the right setup will help you catch a good number of fish.
However, if you are going for sport fishing or tournament fishing or you want to land a good catch, you should strongly consider getting a colored fishing line.
“What type of fishing line color should I go for?” Well, check out the information about fishing line colors below to decide.
Types of Fishing Lines
Clear Fishing Lines
You can never go wrong with a clear fishing line. The majority of fishing lines available on the market are clear fishing lines.
This is because clear fishing lines are perfect for most scenarios. After all, they are invisible underwater. Therefore, if you do not intend to go sport fishing, tournament fishing, or anything similar anytime soon, you should just get a clear fishing line.
Green Fishing Lines
A green fishing line is a great choice to use for fishing if you are fishing in a place where the water looks green. This is because green fishing lines look invisible in greenish water. Therefore, it is unlikely for fish to easily spot them since they are perfectly camouflaged.
Green fishing lines are also perfect for fishing near mangroves and other sea vegetation because they look just like the natural surroundings and, therefore, make it easy to land fish.
If you want to fish in a place where the water is clear, you should not go for a green fishing line since it will be easily seen by fish and they will avoid it and your bait. The best color fishing lines for clear waters are clear and yellow fishing lines.
Yellow Fishing Lines
A yellow fishing line is a high-visibility line. By this I mean it is a line that both you and the fish can easily see. Professional anglers only use yellow fishing lines when they want to spot movement on their fishing lines very early.
The advantage of spotting movement early is that it helps anglers to set their hooks quickly reducing the possibility of fish escaping.
While using a yellow fishing line allows anglers to spot movement and react quickly, it is not recommended in clear waters because fish can also see such a line and think something is odd. This is the reason why pros only use yellow fishing lines in muddy waters.
Blue Fishing Lines
Saltwater anglers occasionally use blue fishing lines especially if they fish in an area where the water is quite blue. The advantage of using a blue fishing line in blue water is that it makes the line nearly invisible to the fish and, therefore, makes it easier to catch fish.
However, I believe it is important for me to tell you that while the saltwater usually appears blue to the human eyes, it usually looks just slightly greenish to fish.
This is the reason why it is usually more advisable for anglers to use light green and not blue colored lines while fishing.
Red Fishing Lines
There are many red fishing lines on the market. However, they are controversial. Some believe they work, while others believe they do not work.
Those who believe they work, do so because they argue that red lines are invisible underwater. This argument is based on the findings of several studies that concluded that red things lose their color underwater.
However, the counterargument by those who believe red fishing lines do not work is based on reports by scuba divers. Most scuba divers agree that red things look black underwater.
This means that a red fishing line is highly visible and it also means that fish will see it and the probability of landing fish with such a line is lower than with a normal clear line.
The Best Fishing Line Color For Saltwater Fishing
Based on the information I have offered above, the best type of fishing line color for saltwater fishing is the clear fishing line.
This is because it is clear/ transparent and, therefore, fish cannot spot it easily whether in clear or muddy waters.
Some would argue that a blue fishing line color is the best for saltwater fishing because most saltwater bodies are blue in color.
However, this is usually not the case. While seawater looks blue in many cases it is usually either clear or greenish to fish.
The blue is just an illusion visible to humans. So to avoid the hassle of trying to decide if the water you are fishing in is really blue, clear, or turquoise, you should just use a clear fishing line.
Since a clear fishing line will not easily make any fish suspicious because of its transparency/ invisibility.
Summary
There are several different fishing line color options on the market. This often makes it difficult for newbies to choose one color option. In my opinion, while the different color options have their pros and cons, the best fishing line color option is the clear fishing line. This is because it is transparent/ invisible in most options.