Fireline - Smoke Or Green?

[chopper]

Hi

i bought some fireline 6lb smoke color, now im thinking whether i should use smoke color for estuary fishing or the green color.

im thinki the smoke color will show less in water compared to green, but thats just my opinion.

let me know thanks, im a total begginer, so need your advice

[Craig H]

I wouldn't be too concerned about what the fish see, as this is what your leader is for.

I started using the smoke colour, but switched to green mainly because I do a lot of fishing in the evenings in low light, and at night time. Just makes it a tad easier to see where your line is, etc.

Craig H

[dantheman]

i use green because in the water it shows up better if you are getting hits on the drop,.you'll find most guys use green
cheers Dan

[The Guru]

i use the green as it seems to look better than the smoke once it gets a bit older. Also agree on the visability advantges.

Cheers Justin.

[torvic]

I use green because it makes it look more professional, that way it looks like I know what im doing.

[chopper]

wont the fish still get scared if they see a long stream of green fireline in the water? considering your leader is only around 50-100cm?

[Brody]

i normally have about a 3 metre leader at least

[chopper]

Brody

do you use the uni to uni knot to attach your leader to your fireline?

also, do you fish using SP?

thanks

[Mim]

Hi Chopper,

Most of us use about a rod's length of leader or just shorter.

Brody,
Three metres may be a bit long.

The problem when you have a long leader is that the knot gets caught when you try to cast and can cause loops or shorter casting distances.

There is much debate about what knot to use when tying your leader to the fireline. JP and I both use the double uni and it works well for us. When we get snagged we tend to bust off at the jig and not at the join. Others prefer a bimini and a form of an albright.

The best thing to do is get a hold of a knot book and try a few different joining knots. Test them and see which one works best for you and feels most comfortable to tie to you.

JP and I mainly fish sp's and use a loop knot to tie the jig on as this seems to give the sp more action. Others tie a uni or a blood knot to the jig, again it is a matter of trying different things till you work out what you like best.

Mix up your retrieves, try jerks, try dead sticking, try straight retrieves. You will learn that each sp works in its own way and some days different retrieves work better than others.

Hope this helps

Cheers
Mim

hey guys...
I use a granny knot to tie my leaders together...and if im using smoke...i use it to tie to my placcie coz the fish cant see it!

[chopper]

ok, since im new to fireline/sp/jigheads

just want to ask, am i safe if i use uni to uni knot for leader/line and palomar knot for jig?

Hey guys...
I was kidding bout the granny knot. I use an albright to tie my leader. normally bout 2-3 m long. if im using 4lb i tie a 4m long leader at times.
Mim i disagree about 3m being too long. If the knot is tied prperly and trimmed short enough, it wont casue any problems at all. the only downside is the loss of feel due to the extra amount of stretch. On a couple of the monster sessions we've had this year (the canning and barrack st ones) GeoffP and were both using 4m long 4lb leaders. No hassles at all, and the hook rate was definately increased by doing so on those occasions.
JMO

Dave

[Dave W]

Originally posted by chopper
ok, since im new to fireline/sp/jigheads

just want to ask, am i safe if i use uni to uni knot for leader/line and palomar knot for jig?

The uni knot should be fine (although I personally prefer the Albright), but please steer clear of the Palomar knot - it can reduce your line strength by up to 50%.

As Mim said above, there are a few knots used to attach your jighead to your leader - I use a plain old blood knot and don't have any hassles


There's a pic below of the Albright knot if you're interested, and rather than doing all the turns towards the Fireline, I do around 6 up the leader and 5 back, depending on leader diameter.

Hope this helps,

[chris_lemess]

I often use a leader up to 4m and connect using a bimini twist and an improved albright. Has no trouble staying on the spool or passing through the guides. Use at least a metre long leader.

Go the green fizzalizza it's easier to see. Fish don't mind it if there's 2m+ of leader hanging off...

cheers

[chopper]

Dave thanks for that diagram

ill start practising it soon