 Click on image to go to FishTackler® On the
right Brownsville Marina
near Bremerton, WA. A favorite place to fish from the dock.
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Do Fish See Colors? According
to an article
published by Mepps
® fish
do not have an innate desire for any particular color. However, some
colors under various water and light conditions are more easily seen,
which makes color a critical factor for some migrating fish, like Shad or Salmon, have eye receptors readily adapted
to see green in the ocean and red during spawning, but will strike
spinners and lures of any color if they can be seen. So color can and
often is a prime mechanism for determining how spinners and lures will
contrast with their background. In other words, color can make spinners
and lures easily seen, or can camouflage the same spinners and lures
making them invisible to fish. |
Glo-Wings tm
in the dark. GloWings produce their own light thus increasing the strike zone size! Click to go to FishTackler®  So, which strike zone would you rather fish in? From the Brownsville dock you can
fish for Salmon, bottom fish or jig for Squid.
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Another function of color on any spinner or lure is to give degrees of brightness. As a fishes metabolism changes with water temperature, spinner and lure brightness becomes critical in attracting fish. Bright lures for cold sluggish fish and toned down lures for fully active fish. During a recent research project, observations gave credence to the idea that brightness may be just as important or maybe more so than color.
 Looking north from Illahee State
Park in Bremerton, WA. Bainbridge Island is on the right and the Kitsap Peninsula is on
the left. These are prime waters for Salmon trolling.
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 The
floating dock at Illahee is another place local angler like to fish
from. It is protected by a break water and is accessible via the walk
way on the right of the picture. In the background is
Bainbridge Island
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Projecting
a
red laser into several tropical fish tanks, we found the
aggressive fish like the sharks immediately attacked the laser dot
trying to
eat it. Slower fish, such as angle fish, showed luke warm interest and
also tried to eat the dot but
were not as aggressive and their efforts were not as sustained as was
the sharks aggressive behavior. Switching colors and projecting a green
laser
onto the bottom of several tanks, the results were exactly the same.
All of the fish made some effort to eat the red and green dots and
there was no observable preference for one color over the other.
Preliminary conclusion is that visibility is vital regardless of color.
It is probably much like moving a laser dot or like pulling a string
across the floor in front of a playful cat. The cat does not care if it
smells or tastes like a mouse. It is visible and it moves! And that is
all it takes to trigger a response in a cat or a fish.
Using the same experiment on native Salmon Fry in a natural setting
gave exactly the same results. These fish had never seen a laser dot
before and certainly nothing as brilliantly bright as the red and green
laser colors. Yet because they could see it, it was the right size and
it moved they went after it. From the foregoing experiment it would
appear that visibility and movement trigger a reaction in fish.
Unfamiliarity didn't seem to deter their curiosity in the least. As a
fish gets closer to the target other senses presumably kick in such as
smell or taste, vibration, and in some cases electrical sensory input.
So here
is your rule of thumb. Present the fish you are going after with the
right size lure, make sure it is visible against the ambient background
colors and present the right movement. You may also want to consider
adding scent to your lure giving the fish one more reason to take it.
The size of each spinner or lure is critical. If you are serious about
that big lunker, using a lure that looks like a good meal is important.
If the lure is too small, it takes more energy to catch it than it is
worth. Many fishermen conclude that fish will eat a meal that is up to
half its length, and no smaller than one eighth its length. So if you
are after a 40 inch fish, using a lure that is no bigger than 20
inches,
and no smaller 5 inches is a good rule of thumb.
Many
fish do have the ability to
see color. Those
that do see color
have cones in their eyes. Cones are needed for color perception and at
least two cones that are sensitive to two different colors. People with
normal sight have three types of cones. One that is sensitive to red,
one to green and the other is sensitive to blue. The three kinds of
cones in our eyes and the number we have enables us to discern over
300,000 shades of color.
What about fish? Is color important? Earlier, we concluded that
visibility is of prime importance. Color often is the critical factor
in making a fishes meal visible.
Here are some interesting facts about fish. Catfish have no cones. They
posses only rods, which gives them the ability to see bright light as
white and the absence of light as black and everything in between as
varying shades of gray. Though blind to color catfish have amazing
sight. On a moon less cloudy night they can see what we could only see
under a crystal clear sky and a full moon. Along with their extremely
sensitive night vision Catfish have extraordinary taste/smell. So as
most Cat fishers know, good stink bait and a glowing light source next
to the bait offers the best chance of landing that big Channel Cat. The
color of the glowing bait enhancer is of little consequence to the
Catfish. However, color is still very important for increasing the
strike zone even though the Catfish is colorblind.
Some colors penetrate dark and murky waters better than others. Catfish
see shades very well and a yellow or florescent lure may show up better
than a blue or brown lure. Remember that in clear water blue and green
light penetrate best and in turbid or muddy waters the warmer colors
are better. Glowing bait enhancers do not depend on ambient light for
the fish to see it. Choosing the right glowing color will depend upon
the water conditions stated above. Generally, a green glow enhancer
creates the largest strike zone. However, other glowing colors will be
important in creating distinction and visibility against the ambient
background. Because glowing
bait enhancers provide their own light, the
importance of water conditions and available light is greatly
diminished.
Most predatory fish have cones that allow them to distinguish
colors. Some even have four to five different cones. Incredibly, this
means they can see colors we cannot even imagine. Reasons for this
increased ability to see a whole new range of colors is still an
issue for marine biologists and scientists. It may help identify food
or it may have something to do with mating. The jury is still out on
this.
We know that some fish see into the ultraviolet range, which is
invisible to us. Again, what this invisible light lets them see we
don't know but here are some tantalizing clues. Now let's get down and
personal.
While fishing the Weber River in Utah, we saw something intriguing.
Fishing was slow so like all good fishermen, we began to experiment.
Mepps spinners, that had been "hot as a firecracker" a few weeks ago,
weren't getting results. So we started digging around the bank for some
bait. We found only small night crawlers and in a pool of water there
were
some marine worms that looked for all intents and purposes like the
small night crawlers. The coloring was nearly identical and the size
the same. Throwing a small night crawler into the pool brought small
fish
immediately. They came from all directions and attacked the crawler in
a
"free for all feeding frenzy". Then tossing one of the marine worms
into the water, nothing happened! None of the fish showed any interest
in the marine worm even though it wiggled and wriggled just like the
night crawler. We threw in another night crawler and it was again
attacked
vigorously. We tried another marine worm and not a single fish even
turned in its direction. They totally ignored the marine worms.
The smell couldn't be the triggering mechanism since the attack on the
night crawler came almost instantaneously from all directions including
upstream. Smell could not have traveled that far, that fast, and
certainly not upstream.
The attacks came faster than the smell could have dispersed in the
water and the fish that were upstream from any smell responded just as
fast and in some cases faster than
the downstream fish did. Venturing an opinion, we believe the fish were
seeing two differently colored worms. To our eyes they were the same
color but because of increased cones in some fishes eyes, we believe
the
small trout saw colors they liked in the night crawlers and they saw
colors they
didn't like in the marine worms.
Another incident helps to support the idea that some fish see colors we
can't see. While fishing a small stream near Pony, Montana we witnessed
something that many fishermen have seen. Creeping up to the bank of a
small brook, a nice juicy night crawler was sent drifting downstream
into a nice hole and from our hiding place we watched an Eastern
Brooke Trout dart out, grab the lead sinker and run
with it. It was as good a strike as any except the fish had the sinker
instead of the night crawler. This has happened over and over again and
in our experiences we have seen
it many times. Even in salt water here in Washington's Puget Sound. We
tried
silver colored lures but in many cases they still preferred the
oxidized sinkers.
There seems to be something about the color of oxidized lead that many
types of
fish seem to like. Could the fish be seeing the oxidized lead as a
brilliant, vibrant color that we are unable to see?
If so it baits the question: are there natural baits that is mimicked
by the color of lead sinkers? Here is a chance for some enterprising
inventor to create a pigment that attracts fish like the oxidized lead,
but hopefully not lead.
In conclusion, color does make a difference even if the fish are not
fussy about the color of their food or are color-blind. Visibility is
the key. Keep in mind though, that all fish are color-blind at night
because the color cones retract and the rods extend for more acute
black and white night vision, making a glowing bait enhancer important
for increasing the strike zone.
Good luck and keep the inside of your waders dry!
