Question on fishing line???????

[piscesman]

I was wondering if the color of line light to dark really makes a difference icefishing?? If you have 12" of ice and a layer of snow while fishing 30' down do the fish really get spooked by the lighter line? Plus you have 2' of florocarbon line as a leader. On another topic people use luminous jigs to get the fishes attention. Just checking for opinions........
      Kim     

[MikeMunn]

I only use glow in the dark jigs for Crappie fishing.  The fish love 'em!  Where I fish for them, the bite seems to start shortly after dark and the glow jigs out produce the regular ones by a wide margin in my limited experience.  As far as line color, I've never seen much of a difference.

[billditrite]

the only preference i have over the color of my backing is i like to be able to see in which direction the fish is...with darker colored lines you cant see down the hole far enough to see which way the line is going...if i have a fish i want to let run i will spin my tipup so the spool lines up with the direction the line is going for less resistance...i dont think the fish care at all...in very clear water i will use a longer  8' -10' flourocarbon leader

[esox slayer]

I use the tan (or maybe you call it white) colored braided line, tied to a 12 inch black steel leader..I don't think the color of the line makes a bit of difference to a pike.  I generally fish in waters from 4-20 feet deep and always have used the same setup on my tip ups...Esox

[ifishhi]

i feel it has more to do with a natural presentation then color  ,i use a light # test ,it lets the bait act more natural the heavier the line the less the bait swim freely

[icejunky]

Over the last 2 seasons I must have treid atleast 10 different lines if not more, I have not noticed a big difference when it comes to colour, other then personal preference, I found the Power Pro blue line was to light, even more so when using a camera that lights it up while under water.

As mentioned above the two main things to look for in ice lines are the #LB (for lure action)  and its ability to get down fast. I always give the same line advice and that is try as many as you can afford until you get one that you perfer, as it all comes down the personal feel and preference.

[piscesman]

Thanks for the info guys... How heavy lb. wise do you use leaders for PIKE? Length also. Do they "feel" the bait like other gamefish??? Size of hooks??? I'm trying to set-up different tip-ups for differnt spieces I'm going after.
      Kim   

[esox slayer]

Thanks for the info guys... How heavy lb. wise do you use leaders for PIKE? Length also. Do they "feel" the bait like other gamefish??? Size of hooks??? I'm trying to set-up different tip-ups for differnt spieces I'm going after.
      Kim   

I normally run a 36 pound or heavier braided nylon line, and a leader of 12 inches.  I always use the black steel leaders with a berkeley cross lock type swivel.....my hooks are usually a 2/0 hook, and I may go as small as a #6 but a #4 is usually as small as I'll go....Esox

[piscesman]

Thanks esoxs. I made my own last year from 20lb leader material. About 18" long and used the tubes that crimp on the ends. Hooks varied in size from what you mentioned. Just wanted to see if I was on the right path. If I get a fish bigger than 20 lbs I'll either have to wake up from my dream or excuse myself from pulling in the other guy's fish!!!!!!!!!!
      Kim