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MAGIC FISHING LINES
Newly designed fishing lines are thought to possess magical powers, often catching fish that seemingly are too smart for old fishing lines and tactics.
by Terry Lacoss

Fishing line colors, diameters and the materials they are constructed of have often been a determining factor on how successful fishermen are in catching fish, particularly on a regular basis.
Throw in a few other factors including fishing pressure, which has increased tremendously during recent years, water clarity, moon phases, tides, winds, barometer pressure and a few other factors. Sometimes it’s almost impossible to get fish to bite!
However, newly designed fishing lines are making it possible for fishermen to catch game fish that, in many cases, would not strike a bait or lure after several attempts by the frustrated angler.
A major factor in getting spooky fish to bite is line visibility. Game fish are very aware of the presence of fishing lines in the water column, particularly when the water is ultra-clear. The line diameter creates vibrations in the water, where nearby game fish can easily detect through their lateral lines. They can also see colored lines in the water and simply will not feed with the anticipation that something in their underwater world just isn’t right.
Cobia often aggravate fishermen to a point where I once heard a fishermen explain, “I tried to catch a boat-side cobia with every lure in may tackle box and was turned down just like a clumsy teenager asking the high school beauty queen for a dance! I kept that fifty-pound cobia close to the boat by tossing it small pieces of chum, while I tied on a variety of lures without success.”
“Finally I barbed a chunk of cut bait with a large saltwater hook, thinking there wasn’t any way that cobia could turn down the barbed bait. Needless to say that cobia even turned down the barbed bait and soon swam away from the boat.”
On several occasions I have watched king mackerel feed in our chum slick, only to come up to a barbed bait fished on the surface and pass it up for a piece of nearby chum. More than likely the feeding kingfish detected the fishing line and hardware with the presence of clear ocean water and made a good decision.
Finally on a more recent note, my son Terry David and I engaged our boat’s “Power Pole” anchor onto a Sarasota Bay grass flat and waited quietly for schools of nearby redfish to come within casting distance.
After only 15 minutes of waiting, we were literally surrounded by a huge school of four- to ten-pound West Coast redfish!
We actually thought that we were rigged right and began making long casts away from our shallow water boat. After 30 minutes of casting, not one of those redfish was fooled into striking our lures!
We returned the next day with different fishing lines spooled on our redfish reels and tricked those redfish into biting!
Needless to say, on days when fish simply do not bite, fishermen are often too quick to point the finger at moon phases, wrong tides, water clarity, barometer pressure and other factors.
You can actually make those fish bite and it’s not magic!
Obviously one of the biggest improvements in fishing lines in recent years is the introduction of new braided fishing lines. However, game fish can also see these braided fishing lines in the water. But with a few fishing tricks, braided fishing lines can produce magical tricks with game fish that simply will not bite.
One of the newest members of the braided fishing line family includes Tuf Line. Tuf Line is manufactured so that it is more compact, easier to cast, troll and when a backlash, or wind knot occurs, the slick coating allows fishermen to untangle the line a lot faster.
One factor that all braided fishing lines possess is the ability to load more fishing line onto fishing reels because of smaller diameters. Longer casts can also be made to fish that have not yet discovered that fishermen are present. More importantly, the smaller diameter is less apt to spook game fish with less vibration in the water.
Wahoo fishermen are also using the new braided fishing lines when trolling high speed lures, simply because the line diameter is much smaller than wire, or monofilament, fishing line. Also, there is zero percent stretch in the fishing line when a 50- to 80-pound wahoo is hooked up at trolling speeds of 12 to 14 knots!
King mackerel fishermen are also using braided fishing lines because of their smaller diameters. This allows king fishermen to spool more fishing line onto their kingfish reels, giving them the peace of mind that the chances of a tournament-winning king mackerel spooling their fishing reel is very slim.
However there is one trick in using braided fishing lines when fishing for ultra spooky game fish, you will need to attach a long fluorocarbon shock leader between you bait or lure to the tag end of your braided fishing line.
Game fish cannot see the fluorocarbon fishing line in the water, giving the fishermen an upper edge in success. The length of the shock leader can be from three to ten feet, depending on how spooky your targeted game fish are.
Be sure to connect your fluorocarbon shock leader to the braided fishing line by using two Uni-knots. Pull the knot super-tight and clip both of the tag ends off close to the knot, so the knot will pass easily through the rod guides. To take it a step further, place a drop of super glue onto the knot to strengthen the knot.
If you’re looking for fluorocarbon leader, Yo-Zuri’s H.D. Carbon comes in disappearing pink, again making use of the red color spectrum dropping off first underwater. With high sensitivity and superior knot strength, the H.D. Carbon Fluoro will definitely help demystify other angler’s success.
Let’s get back to fish that simply would not bite, including that cobia I mentioned earlier in this article. We always bring along fishing reels that are spooled entirely with nothing but fluorocarbon fishing line. Now targeted game fish cannot detect the fishing line in the water and often bite when all other attempts have failed.
One of the more productive fluorocarbon fishing lines has been Berkley’s “Vanish”.
Another line that has shown tournament-winning success is the Hi-Seas Red Devil series. A unique blend of polymers and silicone ensure a soft, low memory line with smooth casting. Plus, the high-visibility red will also fade as it descends the water column.
Finally, the new Cajun Line Company’s red fishing has also been very successful in making fish bite when other fishing lines fail. As the red fishing line enters the water and sinks it completely disappears!
Although it may appear that some fishermen are using magical tricks to make game fish bite, they are actually employing newly designed fishing lines and leaders. Make sure that you are fully prepared with several types of fishing lines spooled on your fishing reels for when targeted game fish are super spooky. Newly designed braided fishing lines will help you increase your casting distances, while fluorocarbon fishing lines will simply disappear in the water.
Combine braided fishing lines with fluorocarbon shock leaders and your fishing success will almost become magical!