One of the most perplexing things in all of angling is how fish see and respond to color. And the more one learns about fish vision, the greater the puzzle becomes. That’s because fish apparently do not see color the same way that humans do. You might logically think that a beautifully finished frog-pattern lure is eaten by a bass because the fish thinks it looks like a frog. But that’s not necessarily so.

As most people know, the spectrum of visible light is composed of a variety of colors ranging from reds to deep violets. That spectrum includes ultraviolet light invisible to humans but visible to fish. There are some new soft-plastic baits out now [photo]  with additives that fluoresce under UV or so-called black light. The color difference is striking.

Tightlines Lure Company in Missouri introduced these baits last summer. I have fished with some and can report that they do indeed work on largemouth bass. I have not yet fished them enough to say they work better than more conventional baits.

Even though the baits glow brightly under UV light, that glow is what humans see and is not necessarily what fish see with their different spectral response. It’s going to take a lot of trial-and-error testing on the part of anglers to see if and how differently the new baits work.

Meanwhile, know the color problem pertains just as much to dry-fly fishing for trout, for example, as it does to bass fishing with soft plastics or anything else. Long-term trial and error creates certain successful traditions in lure choice. I might know that a yellow lure or fly works especially well in certain circumstances. But I don’t know exactly why that is so, and not knowing has bugged me for a very long time.

Comments (7)

from buckhunter wrote 42 weeks 2 days ago

John,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I always thought color selection was one of my shortcomings but now I can rest at ease knowing there is no known scientific explaination.

I really like the way you put it "Long term trial and error creates certain successful traditions".

I've always wondered why yellow will out fish white somedays and visa-versa other days.

I've also always wondered why some non-natural colors outfish natural colors. What induces a fish to strike a chartreuse lure when it's a color it has never seen before?

Sometimes the addition of science to fishing takes away some of the enjoyment so for me I will say that ignorance is bliss.

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from cdavis1887 wrote 42 weeks 1 day ago

i keep seeing Roland Martin using something that measures the color of the water and what color baits would be best, but can't find any reviews of it from non show hosts

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from steve182 wrote 42 weeks 1 day ago

i'm color-blind anyhow. I keep switching til i find one that works. hopefully.

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from hawg daddy wrote 42 weeks 23 hours ago

i always fish were color blind and just saw the patterns

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from slush wrote 24 weeks 1 day ago

I've chased these critters with far too much time and $ for better than 50 years. My belief is color is its probably so much bunk. Caught a lot of fish on chartreuse; that matches nothing in nature. I catch more fish on white, soft or hard, or some color close to it, than any other color. But then I have supreme confidence in it and fish it a lot.

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from ocbslim wrote 4 weeks 6 days ago

i keep seeing Roland Martin using something that measures the color of the water and what color baits would be best, but can't find any reviews of it from non show hosts games

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from buckhunter wrote 42 weeks 2 days ago

John,

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I always thought color selection was one of my shortcomings but now I can rest at ease knowing there is no known scientific explaination.

I really like the way you put it "Long term trial and error creates certain successful traditions".

I've always wondered why yellow will out fish white somedays and visa-versa other days.

I've also always wondered why some non-natural colors outfish natural colors. What induces a fish to strike a chartreuse lure when it's a color it has never seen before?

Sometimes the addition of science to fishing takes away some of the enjoyment so for me I will say that ignorance is bliss.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from cdavis1887 wrote 42 weeks 1 day ago

i keep seeing Roland Martin using something that measures the color of the water and what color baits would be best, but can't find any reviews of it from non show hosts

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from steve182 wrote 42 weeks 1 day ago

i'm color-blind anyhow. I keep switching til i find one that works. hopefully.

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from hawg daddy wrote 42 weeks 23 hours ago

i always fish were color blind and just saw the patterns

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from slush wrote 24 weeks 1 day ago

I've chased these critters with far too much time and $ for better than 50 years. My belief is color is its probably so much bunk. Caught a lot of fish on chartreuse; that matches nothing in nature. I catch more fish on white, soft or hard, or some color close to it, than any other color. But then I have supreme confidence in it and fish it a lot.

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from mark4567 wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

How to use Remote Desktop Connection for the two systems which have same IP Address?
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from ocbslim wrote 4 weeks 6 days ago

i keep seeing Roland Martin using something that measures the color of the water and what color baits would be best, but can't find any reviews of it from non show hosts games

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.