Color at depths - what can fish really see?

[Mike Carey]

This topic is interesting to me because as the season progresses we fish deeper for kokanee. Colors become a popular topic but I wonder - does it even matter once you get deep enough that no light penetrates the water column? Depending on various water clarity factors, visible light is gone around 75 ft or so.

Here's some interesting articles on what fish see and what colors are visible deeper in the water column:

http://midcurrent.com/science/fish-eyes ... or-matter/

http://www.oocities.org/wwindmills/fishcolor.html

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/lure.html

http://www.deep-six.com/page77.htm

http://www.scuba-tutor.com/dive-physics ... rption.php

[Xylph]

Very very interesting read Mike. Thanks for sharing

[Steelheadin360]

Thanks for the share mike!

[Gringo Pescador]

Hey Mike,

I got the book "What fish See" for x-mas. It is a very interesting read. I'll pass it on to you the next time we get together if you are interested.

[Mike Carey]

Hey Mike,

I got the book "What fish See" for x-mas. It is a very interesting read. I'll pass it on to you the next time we get together if you are interested.

You bet, thanks

[Anglinarcher]

Good read Mike. Other things to add to this is that, as indicated, different fish see different colors.

For example, the chemical test of the fish eyes has proven that the minnows, to include carp which is in the minnow family, can see ultraviolet through Infrared. Of course, with the almost no transmission distance for infrared, I don't know if it makes any difference to us.

Trout and Salmon can see near ultraviolet (UV A) through red, so it makes since to have a selection of colors that you can use. For trout and salmon, I can agree that UV sprays or UV paints may help.

The sunfish family, to include Bass, can see Violet through Red, but not ultraviolet, so the UV sprays do nothing for them.

The perch family, to include Walleye, have only two cones, red and green. This makes for some interesting arguments on what they see, but it matters not............. they see something from near blue to red. Near blue is a strange way of defining the transition between green and blue. In short, blue and violet will look black to Walleye. Purple, a color claimed to be good my many for walleye, would look red to them (purple is red and violet mixed, so ..) in shallow enough water, black the rest of the time.

I usually have a list of priorities that I use for choosing a lure. I look first for lure action, second for lure size, third for lure profile, forth would be lure scent and last would be lure color. For me, lure color is therefore pretty far down the list..... right????? Nope, all are important, but color is the last thing I consider before I choose a lure.

All said, there are times that a specific color makes all the difference in the world.

[Bustinbeats]

Who hasn't spent hours on the water, contemplating lure colors while waiting for a strike ? I certainly have.

I've always been more concerned with the "flash" factor than the actual color , especially when things are happening on or near the surface where there is ample light available to be reflected by the lure. Since I have a sneaking suspicion that almost ALL game fish can see reflected sunlight quite well(I suppose a good analogy would be a tiny signal mirror being seen from miles away ).... I tend to look to metallic finishes first, rather than reds ,whites, or other solid colors. Just a personal preference ... and I certainly do use solid colors to effect sometimes, no doubt. Other than that, I think anglers tend to overestimate the importance of color to a degree , while most fish tend to use both sound and vibration at least as much as vision to locate food , especially in stained water or low light conditions.

I do like to use "natural" colors when fishing topwater ....for instance, it just makes sense to imitate a frog's coloration if you are fishing a frog imitator in a pond full of bass that feed on frogs, right ? Match the hatch, so to speak. This is especially true when a fish has a chance to come have a goooood long look at your offering before deciding to smack the bejabbers out of it. I suppose something could be said for using "reverse psychiatry" (lol) by making your lure completely different , therefor standing out and .....oh man, how far down the rabbit hole we gonna go here ?

Then you have situations like buzz-baits and such, which are designed to challenge or even anger a territorial fish like bass. Crazy , "unnatural" colors are perfectly appropriate in these situations IMO, since you are just trying to provoke an "alpha dog" response from the fish. No stinkin' four inch chartreuse and orange blabbermouth is going to waltz right through MY favorite hunting zone....I'm the BIG fish here, so take THAT !!!! (splash , hookset) .

One thing is for sure...from a marketing standpoint, it makes sense for a lure manufacturer to offer a gazillion colors, since some folks will feel the need to stock up on ALL of them, right ?

[troutfinatic]

I love this topic, Ive been studying colors for trolling for trout, for many years.
Thanks for the info Mike.
I have read most this info before, but nice to see it confirmed by others.
I like Bustinbeats comment:
I suppose something could be said for using "reverse psychiatry" (lol) by making your lure completely different , therefor standing out and .....oh man, how far down the rabbit hole we gonna go here ?
I'm so deep down that rabbit hole, I can start a bead shop.
Color makes a bigger difference than most people think.