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I originally posted this on another forum, but was asked if I would put it up here and am more than happy to oblige.
In order to put color into context, we need to understand a little about light, temperature, and fish physiology, intelligence, patterning, etc. I will attempt to deal with these areas in some semblance of order. The following material has been gathered by research, and the experience of others, as well as my limited experience.
The Fish
Most of our present day game fish have been around about 60 million years, and have survived primarily because of their incredible sensory abilities that have allowed them to adapt to the changing world. Sadly, the only real threat to their continued existence is man.
Most game fish have 2 sets of rods and cones in their retina and can see color quite well. Some have sight specialized for certain prevailing water conditions. For example, salmon eyes are blue and green sensitive in the ocean and become red sensitive when they enter fresh water to spawn. Towards evening fish eyes adapt to diminishing light conditions allowing them to see shades of grey and black as well.
Hearing resides in the two inner ears (controls equilibrium as well) and the lateral line. Their hearing is biased to lower (30to 3000 Hz) frequencies which happens to correspond to the frequencies generated by the tails of swimming prey fish. Because the hearing organs are so close together the fish cannot determine direction of sound and must rely on sight to locate the prey. The appropriate sound does alert the fish so they begin actively searching for the source. As a side note, lures with rattles do not generate noise in the low frequencies, so these lures do not by themselves excite the fish. However, it is certainly possible to tweak “curiosity” in some fish, but it is sight that will trigger the alert response that will result in a “strike”.
While fish have an acute sense of smell, odors coming from an object in the water dot produce a uniform trail or concentration gradient. Rather the scent will be in disconnected patches and concentrations due to the normal turbulence of the water. The right scent will bring the fish to an alert state but it still relies on sight to find the “food”. Often it is necessary to combine smell and taste (chemoreception) to understand how these senses work in a fish. The odor an injured prey fish gives off to warn shoal mates of danger is at the same time a powerful alerting agent to the predator fish.
Fish behaviour is not too difficult to define. Fish learn through conditioned response or learned behaviour. If the response is positive, the fish eats and says alive. A negative response results in punishment, often death. Fish are not intelligent, as a salmon has a brain about the size of a pea. Learned correct response patterns allow fish to adapt to changing conditions and the species will survive. They bite lures to sate hunger or react (conditioned response) to other stimuli. Most “bites” are reaction strikes triggered by a conditioned response.
Water Temperature
Water temperature can be divided into three ranges: cold, cool, and warm. When water is colder than optimum for a fish, they are sluggish, their action is slowed and they will not chase prey far or fast. Brighter lures are required to trigger a response. In cool (optimum temperature range) water, fish are most active, forage and feed frequently and most efficient. Lure brightness should be mid-range. In warmer than optimum water fish will become sluggish and a lure must be substantially less bright or cause the fish to spook or stand off. Remember that when the water is warmer there is less oxygen in the water, and usually there is more (sun) direct light. The fish will use depth or cover to modulate the intensity of the light. Smaller, darker lures would be indicated.
Optimal Temperature Ranges
Species Temperature Range in Fahrenheit
Pacific Salmon 53 - 55
Coho 52 - 57
Atlantic Salmon 57 - 61
Steelhead 46 - 54
Largemouth Bass 68 - 75
Smallmouth Bass 65 - 71
Walleye 60 - 70
Lake Trout 45 - 55
Brown Trout 57 - 68
Rainbow Trout 51 - 59
Brook Trout 53 - 65
Light Brightness
Eyes can only absorb a limited amount of light in a particular portion of the spectrum before they overload. With fish, the ability to see color can be rapidly downgraded if it is too bright or there is no contrasting background to see the lure or prey fish. Water temperature will significantly affect the ability of the fish to see color. For example, in colder temperatures they can withstand a lot of brightness and still see colors, but warmer water results in their eyes being more easily ‘blinded’. If the lure or flasher is too bright the fish will spook or stand off, using the water column to dim the brightness.
Contrast
Light can penetrate near the surface, but the water becomes darker and more monochromatic the deeper you go. Instead of direct light, the light bounces off particles in the water and becomes indirect light, or “colored fog”. Sunny, cloudy, or shaded conditions make a huge difference in background color. On a cloudy or rainy day, with even a light chop, direct light barely penetrates the surface. Remember that the water’s color creates a background against which you lure is viewed. USE DARK LURES AGAINST A LIGHT BACKGROUND, AND LIGHT HUED LURES AGAINST A DARK BACKGROUND! In clear water conditions in oceans and lakes, water becomes more blue and monochromatic as depth increases. In water with green organic matter suspended, light at all wavelengths is absorbed faster, and the water becomes dark green sooner. Remember that any lure in water where it’s wavelength of light does not exist will show up dark or lacking color.
Backgrounds
Near shore, fish can view lures against varied (shoreline, bottom, other objects) backgrounds, and light conditions creating different colors, clarity, etc. Light intensity varies with the angle of the sunlight. Overcast lighting is only 70% of direct sun, while drizzle is only 50% of the intensity of direct sunlight. Try lowering a white object and mark the depth it almost disappears, and double the distance. Beyond that point water becomes dark very quickly. It is worth noting that absolute depth varies for each basic water color with blue being about 4 times deeper than green and substantially deeper than brown.
Brightness of Metals/Plates/Finishes in Descending Order
Silver Plate
Gold Plate
Polished Brass
Polished Aluminum
Polished Copper
Chrome Plate
Nickel Plate
Tarnished Brass
Coffee
Black
Operative Colors – Blue Water
White – clear water, direct light use glow white when deep
Silver Plate – clear water, direct light
Gold Plate – overcast conditions
Fluorescent Blue -
Fluorescent Green
Fluorescent Chartreuse
Fluorescent Red - short range, cold water
Fluorescent Orange - short range, cold water
Pink - short range, cold water
In low light, Black, Glo White, silver plate (e.g. Cop Car Coyote) works well.
Lure decoration
Using the principle of light on dark and dark on light, lure can be decorated that themselves produce contrast. Colors MUST stay delineated, or the motion of the lure will cause the colors to blend together, creating a combination of the colors which no self respecting fish will want. You can create a desirable stroboscopic effect by using different colors on each side of the lure and flasher. When using tapes, be careful. Plain fluorescent tapes are okay, beware of the rest. ‘Silver’ etched tapes reflect 25 % less light than silver plate and thus don’t do well in cold water, plus they reflect ambient water color diminishing contrast. Remember that how the colors look in the boat and how they look at depth are two different things!
River Fishing
In cold water (blue) we need large bright lures. If it is overcast, silver blades and bodies with fluorescent red decorations will be effective. If it is sunny, try silver blades, brass bodies, fluorescent green decorations. In low light, combinations of silver blades, black bodies, and luminescent white decorations.
In cool water, less bright lures are better. Reduce the size and tone down the colors. If overcast, try gold blades, black and brass bodies with black and green decoration. If it is sunny, black blades, brass bodies, chartreuse decoration. For low light, just use one size smaller than the equivalent cold lure.
If is warm and overcast, tarnished brass bodies, green bodies and decorations. If sunny, coffee color blades, black bodies, green decorations. For low light, just reduce lure size ons size from cool.
In green (snow or glacier melt) water, use combinations of silver, fluorescent red and fluorescent chartreuse.
Lake fishing
Alpine lakes are generally cold year round, green during snow melt, blue through summer to freeze up. Algae blooms can change water to green. If lakes are full of rotting material like trees, they can be turbid/tan color. The same color principles will apply to lakes as rivers.
Ocean Fishing
Use long range colors except when fish are staging for spawning runs, or the water is cold.
In cold water that is direct lighted, use combinations of gold and silver plate, white, blue, fluorescent green and fluorescent chartreuse.
Where spawning staging is happening, add fluorescent red, pink, or orange.
In indirect cold water, try fluorescent chartreuse with dark chevron decorations. Or try fluorescent chartreuse and fluorescent light blue in combination. Or try fluorescent chartreuse with fluorescent green and fluorescent orange.
In cool water, tone it down by using gold plate or polished brass in combination with darker hues.
If fishing inshore in summer heat, avoid bright lures and stick with darker hues.
Green water is sometimes encountered due to algae bloom, glacial melt, etc. Operative colors would be silver, black, luminescent white, fluorescents in chartreuse, red, orange, pink. If shallow silver plate, chartreuse, and fluorescent red combinations should be tried.
Lure Size and Shape
Generally small fish take prey that is 40% to 50% of their own length. Full grown fish tend to take prey that is 10% to 20% of their own length. As the bait/lure size increases watch that the brightness is not excessive. Seldom are fish conditioned to a particular shape, although salmon especially seem to favour certain generic shapes.
Conclusion
While this is not intended to be the only answer, this information could be added to our knowledge base, and perhaps increase our productivity on our fishing trips.
Cheers
_________________
Too much water, too little time.
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