Clear water

[kennethdaysale]

Originally Posted by MIbasser

Just wondering, but why would you want to go with "small lures"? Are you trying to catch small fish? I think a lot of people have a way different perception of "clear" water then I do. When I hear the term clear water, I think of what we have in Michigan. On a nice sunny day you can see bottom in 20'+ of water. I use 10+ FC and braid and have no issues catching fish. I've never thought about going to a 4 or 6lb line because I was afraid the fish would see it.

Of course Fred is right about using light line to throw small lures, but your question raises other deeper issues. Let's start by agreeing that "clear" water can be defined as having a minimum of 10+ ft of visibilty. It's my belief that if two equally talented fisherman are fishing from the same boat and for the same cold clearwater fish, that the angler throwing small baits on light line will get more bites/catch more fish than the angler throwing bigger baits on 12-14 lb FC or 20-40 lb braid. Will the latter catch bigger fish? Possibly, but certainly not a lock. I guess it also depends on your goals, does Fred want to go out Sat and get bit often and have some fun or is he looking for a PB?