Re: More on Ralph's Leader Visibility.

Posted by Marcus S on 2012-04-01 09:49:03 in reply to Re: More on Ralph's Leader Visibility. posted by Phil Ewanicki on 2012-04-01 08:48:47

I think we have to define "Fish"... there are huge differences between species, as well as size/age classes between species. There are also differences between educated populations that have been caught and released, and watched their friends get caught and released, vs. dumb fish that haven't learned any lessons. In addition, we would really need to have this conversation specific to a particular species of fish, in a particular environment. Saying "Fish" is almost as general as saying "Animals". There are also huge variances between the weather/water conditions and how that factors into this discussion... I can catch largemouth bass over 10# (as one example) at night or in very low light with a heavy 50# mono shock leader (to protect my priceless handmade giant plugs that produce), but try to apply that presentation to slick calm sunny day with good water clarity a few hundred times over the years and you'll learn quickly that it is not the same thing, at all! You might get em burning it fast but give them time to watch and study and they won't touch it! Same parallels could be drawn for striped bass or brown trout, and the more pressured the fish are or have been, the more likely it is to matter, very much! Talk to old time trophy brown trout junkies and ask them if line shyness is a factor to consider. Short lifecycle fish like tuna or salmon that roam far and wide are generally very different, they are not caught and released as much nor are they concentrated enough to watch each other's experiences and reactions. I know from repeated personal observations that when a pod of fish is chasing, if the lead fish refuses, the others often will break off as well, if the "food" is passed up, then it must not be food! But even with tunas I have personally experienced line diameter and color/clarity (fluoro vs. mono vs. what color of mono, etc...) making a huge difference with anglers fishing side by side with the same hooks, same baits, etc.... Lakes and smaller rivers where you repeatedly encounter the same general population of fish it is very easy to witness this sort of stuff if you fish alot with your eyes open, provided you are catching fish some of the time with some repeatability so you can compare successes to failures. I get one year, maybe 2, if I'm lucky, at a lake with a given presentation (speed/depth/specific lure), before 90% of those fish are wise to it and I have to show them something new. They just won't touch it anymore! Unless you really catch them with their pants down, and even then they'll often correct themselves at the last second. Fishing pressure makes a huge difference on this stuff!!! I am not referring to catching young fish that are still learning lessons and actively getting culled from the population (very popular with most fly fisherman! haha). All of that said line/leader is just one point of consideration of many, there are many other little things that can also matter. Exceptions don't prove the rule - and unfortunately most of us as anglers (myself included) are slaves to their own personal experiences and observations, and won't believe anything that haven't seen themselves. Marcus PS I catch plenty of largemouth bass dragging things ON THE BOTTOM... or ON THE SURFACE... the fish look anywhere they want to, and feed up, or feed down, or feed sideways. Just look at redfish hitting a topwater with their funny bottom feeder lips. Fish are where you find them.

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