Question? line color for fishing 'Lupe

[MikeyLikesIt]

so, after watching our chartermaster Senor TunaBelly just S L A Y the Yellow Fin Tuna last year with his "gold" colored line, I gotta ask myself......

"do you feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?" Meaning, shall I stick to my P-line blue?

anybody done any armchair research on line color vs. catching results while fishing at the 'Lupe?

I do intend to load one of my 40# reels with Maxima Gold color........wondered if anybody else had tried it.

[Weazel]

I was at the Lupe a few years ago on the Qualifier 105. Sdangler was on the trip. There was a rep from Maxima (Kevin) who was fishing green line. He swore that the bite ratio is a lot better with green line over any other color at the Lupe. I believe him since he was hook'd up most of the time in a very pick bite.

[South Bend]

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[djplog]

Been to the Lupe many times. My favorite is 30 or 40 Clear Big Game with a 3'to 4' Flourocarbon leader tied on with a Seaguar knot. This rig seems to get bit at least as well as anything else. Never had a failure of the Seaguar knot either.

[afraser]

In my experience, confidence in your gear is the best fishing tackle, whatever color that is. Obviously, connecting a 12/0 hook to a straight tuna cord isn't going to work, but as long as you fish something that has worked for you in the past under the same conditions, and you fish it with confidence, that will work better than trying the next best thing.

For example, I was on a 3 day trip recently and one of my friends on the boat insisted he couldn't get bit on anything other than 20# fluoro. I told him nonsense and that I had been fishing 35# all day. To prove the point (and to get under his skin a little ), I put 45# fluoro on. Next stop, there was 1 bait fish, it was on the 45#.

I would say, your bait selection, where you put your bait compared to the current chumming, and matching hook size to bait size has more of an affect than what color line you use. Line color? Irrelevant if you are using a reasonable fluoro leader.

[mcrae]

I like Maxima ivory and sometimes line color matters. Most days I don't think it makes much of a difference. There are a lot of perspectives on line color. My prefference these days is clear Big Game line. I fish with a fluoro leader when the bite is picky. Using a cheaper line that I don't hesitate to replace because it is cheap works better for me than using a more expensive line that may or may not be less visable.

[eightmd]

Yea I hope line color has nothing to do with it. I mean the point is for the fish not to see the line. I always use Izorline clear, and then flouro if I have to. I would hope/think that line color has the least to do with getting bit. I think the confidence thing is very valid. When you are confident in what you are fishing I think you are more attentive.

[terryc.]

George just gets bit the same way he has for years no flouro for him. I thought it was the gold hooks I never noticed the gold line.

[Arvin_OnTheIron]

Mikey,

The color of your line does not matter much when swimming a jig or skip jigging.

[fishnrust]

TB has good juju, that's why he gets bit.

[Luv2Fish]

I think I'll weigh in here a bit...I have run the gamut of fishing line color and years ago at Guadalupe the color to have was Izorline Blue. Since 1992 I have used Soft Steel clear and blue with much success on long range and inshore fishing trips. This coupled with using ringed hooks (back then all there was were Eagle Claw) led to a great many hook-ups for me on trips. This all began to change as the use of flourocarbon became widespread, this coupled with more anglers using ringed hooks also led to more anglers getting bit more than I was. Now, you add spectra into the mix with flourocarbon and ringed hooks and even more get bit. Eventually, we all begin using a combination of one or all of these elements of line and then we achieve parity. We're all the same again and until something better or different comes along, one angler's success over the others will attributed to skills not widely observed such as bait selection and presentation to name a few. As for me, I have finally succumbed to the modern age and no longer fill my reels full of Monofilament line. I have made the switch to spectra with a full 25yd topshot of flourocarbon (cutting back as I need to) and of course, ringed hooks. This was the long way around the barn to tell you that your best bet at Guadalupe is spectra/ flourocarbon combination. I truly believe what afraser says above, line color is irrelavent with a flourocarbon leader.
just my 2 cents worth.

[Shaka760]

Blue Izor works great, but it's all about bait selection and presentation, especially on plunker-style bites.