schwung17,
I tried it last year for that exact reason, with a 2' clear mono or flourocarbon leader. It didn't help with detecting bites for me, but I'm not very good at seeing the little subtle movements of the line. I tend to feel the bite much more than I see it.
I did learn one lesson from using it. Somehow I got a knot in the line that was about 3" below the surface of the water at fishing depth. I found that by watching that knot I could detect some of the bites that I couldn't feel. This year I'm going to try and duplicate that same set-up with a slip-bobber knot. I'll post how it works if the weather ever cooperates again.
kerosene