Do fish really see color

[dick tabbert]

Does color really matter   Part 1 Clear Water
Here is my take or opinion on the subject of color.
Clear water 1’ to 12’ and crystal clear (gin Clear) water 20’ and beyond.  The key word here is Clear and crystal clear-gin clear. Your lure colors are more visible in the upper water column of clear water due to the clarity of the water and light penetration. Light penetration is the biggest factor and can change the way fish see the lure although not as big a factor in our clear water lakes.
In these conditions natural baits work best but still may change and as we go deeper in depth as the sunlight rays change. The light changes the way fish see our lure. The biggest thing that may change the lure color or the way fish see the lure is full sun, intermitting clouds and overcast and something we rarely think about the angle of the sun across the water. One rule of thumb is to fish with multiple colors. I always fish at least 2 colors and 3 if possible.
Nighttime is another story. Fish can see shadows not color although the full moon may help as far as color is concerned but not very likely. Remember a darker color will have a darker shadow. This is a time when you would want to fish lures that may rattle or blade clanking together or bait that would have a lot of vibration. Fish hear using their lateral line. With any clanking, rattling, or vibrating baits the fish can zero in on the target then fine tune when it sees the dark shadow.




 

[Tony Livingston]

Good observations Dick, thanks for sharing them!

[dick tabbert]

Does color really matter   Part 2 Stained Water
Here is my take or opinion on the subject of color.
Stained water although a bit harder to fish it has some good points. I personally love to fish stained water the best. We can get closer to the fish don’t have to make as long of casts. Fishing the upper water column maybe 1 to about 8 foot color is of little interest to me as far as fish seeing the lure. But as we start fishing deeper depths sunlight and overcast will affect the color spectrum of our lure. what use to be red is now a shadow. We have colors that wash out and as we continue to go deeper and if we go deep enough we no longer have colors we have shadows with darker lures casting a darker shadows so we tend to want to fish darker colors as we fish the deeper water. Along with the darker color lure we want to fish larger lures to cast a larger shadow. Here again we want to use a rattling type of lures or blade clanking lures or lures that would have a lot of vibration. Now is a good time to use scents. The more senses the fish uses the better chance of it hitting your lure. Now it has the option to use all 3 of its senses sight, sound, and smell increasing its ability to locate its food sources. Different colors turn into shadows at different depths with red the first to loose it coloring and the first to fade into shadow.
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[dick tabbert]

Part 2 do fish really see colors

[dick tabbert]

Worth at looking at again we have many new members.

[Stan Wright]

Remember the Color-C-Lector that came out some 30 years ago?  Told you what color lure to fish with?  You drop a probe into the water and it tells you what color is the most visible under that particular light condition and water quality... clear, stained, or muddy.  Well, I'm here to tell you it works.  We were doing a TV show and were catching like crazy on a Blue color.  The bite slowed and I used the Color-C-Lector. It said switch to Orange...  Everyone laughed at me... but after 3 casts and 3 fish, all the other guys were scrambling to find that color orange lures.  Now whether it's the actual color, or the shade of colors that make the difference I don't know. But color does make a big difference.

I've seen people using exactly the same gear...  rods, line, bait... every thing... except the color of the fish hook. The little kid using the RED hook was catching 5 to 1 over the adults.  Go figure.

[dick tabbert]

Yea I do remember it and they still sell it today I think at Bass Pro or Cabela's one.

[carl hendrix]

in fact; just this past weekend; on some outdoor fishing show; they were showing a newer version of a color selctor !  now;; if they could just make something; to tell fishermen; just WHAT kind of fish  we see on our electronics !!  bait fish;; shad; crappie; stripe; etc.  wouldnt that be great !

[dick tabbert]

Back then that was a good tool my goodness what time brings. Now they have fish finders that tell you where the fish are how deep they are shortest route to your spot they even have some kinda thing that sends out sound wave and the fish come into it. We have copilots for our trolling motor just tell it where you want to go and set back. Wow what can they possibly think of next.

[dick tabbert]

Does color really matter   Part 3 Muddy Water
Here is my take or opinion on the subject of color.
Muddy water 6 inches of depth and beyond. Now we have to put everything together and make it work. We can throw the color theory out the window although darker colors may help in our first 6 inches of water that might mean catching a fish and boating it so bye all means always fish the darker lures. Sunlight no bearing beyond the first 6 inches of water. Fishing muddy water we almost have to put the lure in the fishes mouth. Years ago we had to do it the hard way sort of hit and miss. We didn’t know were the fish were and we would be lucky to catch any in muddy waters we fished. Now with the world of electronics we can pin point the fish to within inches. Now if we done our homework and the fish are hungry we should be able to catch some. Again this is ware the fish will use all three of its senses with sight being the least affective. Most affective in this situation is sound (vibration) and smell with very little emphasis on sight especially as we tend to fish deeper depths. With the electronics of today for locating the fish we now know ware to fish. Now the fish should do the rest using his sense of sound and smell.

[dick tabbert]

Part 3 Muddy waters do fish really see colors.

[dick tabbert]

Worth at looking at again we have many new members.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Good stuff  - holy cow!