Reviewed by: Capt. Mike Schoonveld
There is one major reason to select a fluorocarbon line when fishing. It’s less visible to fish than traditional monofilament and braided line. Time and again, line visibility has proven to be the difference between making a catch or not, or making a great catch or getting marginal results. There are other, more subtle reasons for paying extra for fluoro-tech line, but they pale compared to the invisibility factor.
But for guys like me who prefer to use high-visibility lines, I relied on fluorocarbon only as a leader material. There was no “best of both worlds” until the line-scientists at Berkley figured how to combine their “Trans Optic” technology – originally available in only in monofilament – into their fluorocarbon line. Berkley’s Vanish fluorocarbon line has always been one of my favorite “invisible” fluorocarbon lines. Transition is essentially the same chemistry except it’s a “highly” visible to humans in a boat but invisible to fish in the water. I use the word “highly” instead of high because compared to other hi-vis line, such as the bright fluorescent green, yellow and orange monofilaments, it pales. Still, compared to clear fluorocarbon line, it is more easily seen.
What happens is above the water, light from the sky causes the line to take on either a solid gold color, or reddish gold tint (either color is available), similarly to how clear/UV lines charge up to glow with a bluish tinge when in sunlight. Once in or under the water, as the sunlight is filtered out, the line abruptly loses its gold or gold/red color and it performs as a regular fluorocarbon line. I particularly like it on downrigged lines since it gives anglers reeling in a fish just enough awareness of the downrigged lines to allow them to guide the fish past them and into the net.
Many anglers are reluctant to go the hi-vis line with fluoro-leader route due to their unfamiliarity with tying a good leader knot, the potential for failure in the line-to-leader knot or they don’t like the way leader knots pass through the rod’s line guides. Vanish Transition Fluorocarbon gives anglers all the advantage of fluorocarbon line and a bit of the advantage of fishing with a hi-vis line. It’s available in strengths fro 4 to 20-pound test. Widely available at retailers, online outlets or at www.berkley-fishing.com.
FISHING TOYS 