Does lure color matter underwater?

[omega50]

Interesting. Of course most of my lures are red:snapoutofit:

http://www.fix.com/blog/view-from-below-lures-underwater/

[EZM]

Interesting article .................... however ........... the perception of color underwater is based on who's eyes?

The human eye? ............ or the the fishes eye?

My personal opinion is lure presentation is far, far more important than color.

Depth of presentation (in relation to where the fish are holding), speed, action (vibration) and ..............somewhere near the bottom of my list is .............. color.

I do, however, agree with most of what is outlined in the article. It makes sense, especially on sunny days (using metallic and reflective lures) and in dark/murky water or on cloudy days using darker lures.

[Hooker]

A very interesting article. Both the author of the web page and EZM are quite correct. Presentation and size of lure are critical. In fly fishing the golden rule is "match the hatch". Same holds true when fishing with lures. If you know what the forage fish are and what their size and color are then you "match the forage". I know from experience that the amount of sunlight hitting your lure makes a lot of difference because if the fish don't see the lure they sure aren't going to strike it. And,yes, it the day is overcast then you should be using a darker lure as it has a more natural appearance than a flashy silver or gold lure. The last golden rule is "fish the terrain". Predatory fish love drop offs or cover. The best way to find those two things is with a depth finder. If you don't have one then get one and have it mounted properly on your boat. You don't have to get an expensive one. Start with one in the $100.00 range and use it until you get used to it. You would be surprised how it can save your boat or prop from hidden rocks too. I don't know if that helped but there is some of my experience from over the past 50 years.

[Walleyedude]

Everything else being equal, I've witnessed the importance of lure colour with my own eyes too many times to discount it as much as that article would suggest.

[catnthehat]

Everything else being equal, I've witnessed the importance of lure colour with my own eyes too many times to discount it as much as that article would suggest.
Totally agree , and for the record I don't care what a certain colour looks like to me underwater- or to a fish for that matter, as long as that particular colour is working I'll use it!!:)
Cat

[BassDude]

I have seen color "seem" to matter many times while guiding for Pike and Smallies. But I've also seen everyone fishing the same jig color and only one angler hooking up..... I think EZM's list is legit.....presentation is everything me thinks.....

[coachman]

How many times have you been fishing, everybody using the same hook but different colors and only one color is catching, It has happened more time than I can remember. I will always change hook color first, that pattern or size after if I am not catching fish.

[fish gunner]

Fish salt or the big BC lakes imo some days colour is all that matters. Some fish have colour vision on par with humans with an advance in the uv spectrum. As light levels fall their vision reverts to black and white to aid in detection of contrast and movement. :) I have witnessed literally a hand full of fibers of one color on a bucktail catch non stop on one side of the boat and catch nothing on the other side as the tiny amount of that colour is on the noisily boat side. Put it back across zingg fish on .
On rivers buddy and I throwing same spoon different colours im having bulls and browns swiming half way across the river to smash one colour and completely ignor the other offering.

[Flieguy]

Light does diffuse underwater in the ROYGBIV format, but it starts at like 20 feet down. I put lots of stock into lure (and fly) colors.

[RavYak]

Definitely seen colour affect fishing. Multiple times have been in a boat trolling with same lures but different colours and one gets hit much more often.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Interesting.

I have found the gold Len Thompson works best on an overcast day where the water is grey and like glass.

Use the same lure when it is Sunny and I can't get anything.

[buckman]

If color is not seen by fish why do so many of them especially salmonids change to much brighter shades in the spawning season.

Must be a reason for this.I find flash,shape,size,movement of the lure, and presentation more important with silver,red and gold in colors working the best.

[Freedom55]

I'm no expert when it comes to knowing what a fish sees, but I know that color makes a huge difference to the guy who makes/markets the lures.

[Luxor]

Of course colour matters whether it's a lure, fly or bait.

Reading the sunlight along with water colour and what the fish are feeding on is just par for the course for experienced angler's and is common practice.

This is definitely an important topic for angler's of all experience levels.

[fish gunner]

Fish use colour for mating and territorial displays so many if not all fish havefair or better colour vision. Ime the tiniest hint or shade can make the difference.

[TROLLER]

While I too am a big believer in lure colour here's a question

If most fish strike upwards and most lures have either a silver, gold or white under side then that would lead one to think lure colour either than silver white or gold is a total waste of money.:thinking-006:

[gnugen]

Interesting article .................... however ........... the perception of color underwater is based on who's eyes?

The human eye? ............ or the the fishes eye?

My personal opinion is lure presentation is far, far more important than color.

Depth of presentation (in relation to where the fish are holding), speed, action (vibration) and ..............somewhere near the bottom of my list is .............. color.

I do, however, agree with most of what is outlined in the article. It makes sense, especially on sunny days (using metallic and reflective lures) and in dark/murky water or on cloudy days using darker lures.
I agree with presentation being key! Watching the Bassmasters Classic this year, red was the color at 6ft lure bodies were varied.

[Saltmania]

It seems to me that while this article discusses how visible various colours are in water, it doesn't speak at all to how a fish will react to various colours once it sees them.

I'm going with colour matters. I've fished days where for example a red doc spratley gets nothing while a green one gets hammered. Not very scientific but it's the best I've got :)

[cube]

I'm going with colour matters. I've fished days where for example a red doc spratley gets nothing while a green one gets hammered. Not very scientific but it's the best I've got :)

I'm going with color does not matter, at least not much or often. I have only ever found color to make all the difference twice in my life. There was a hatch going on and the fish were very keyed into that. You could have the same type of lure on but they would only hit on the color of the hatch that was happening at that moment. The same lure of slightly different colors got nothing.

As for your example above I have fished with 2 lures the same color length etc. bought at the same time even fished in the same position of the boat at the same speed and depth and one lure caught fish like crazy and the other not. If you looked at their actions you could not tell the difference but obviously the fish could. so perhaps it was not just the color. I am reminded of a fishing guide who kept very good logs books for years and decided to do an experiment where he only use one lure (same color, style and manufacturer) for the entire year. At the end of the year when going through his log book he found he caught the same number of fish as when he was changing color and types of lures. His conclusion was location, depth, speed, and presentation are the keys to fishing success.

Have a great season.

[hibby56]

pretty cool article!

[EZM]

While I too am a big believer in lure colour here's a question

If most fish strike upwards and most lures have either a silver, gold or white under side then that would lead one to think lure colour either than silver white or gold is a total waste of money.:thinking-006:

I would suggest a spoon flutters and does not, indeed, remain "color side up".

I think this feature (right side up orientation) is specific to only lures with a swimming lip or weighted body (like a plug, flatfish, apex etc....).

If your lure rides along the bottom, a fish may, strike sideways, down or in whatever direction your lure is running in relation to the fishes position.

:thinking-006:

[CanuckShooter]

It seems to me that while this article discusses how visible various colours are in water, it doesn't speak at all to how a fish will react to various colours once it sees them.

I'm going with colour matters. I've fished days where for example a red doc spratley gets nothing while a green one gets hammered. Not very scientific but it's the best I've got :)

I have fished lakes where trolled lures in green or blue will catch fish...all other colours get ignored...even the ones you buy thinking will be the 'ticket' for those lakes...only the old blue and green combos catch fish.

[BPman]

Read the paperback book "What Fish See". It is quite based on science of fish vision and the behavior of sunlight under water. Author considers different colors of clear and turbid water and then compares lure visibility at close and far distances, and how fish react to the apparent color change as they approach a lure. Study is based on steelhead and rainbows but much can be translated to fishing for other species. Under certain circumstances color can be really important but you still must be fishing where the fish are!

[nytbyt]

i believe that color fools the fisherman more than the fish. color is not as important as flash, vibration and contrast of the paint job on a lure. flash is more of a factor than color. in murky water the fish will rely on the vibration of the lure by the lateral lines on their body . in clear water they are attracted by flash and vibration. when u look up at a lure against a lighted back ground (ex: sky ) all u see are shades of grey . try it. At 30 feet u will lose all red from the spectrum that is why u use a flash to take underwater pics at that depth eventually every thing will be black. i was a scuba diver. i seen it. also red and white dare devel killed the pike because i believe the combination of the silver back and the contrast of the stripes attracted the fish. spinner blades come in all colors but the fish hits the lure from behind the blade not the front. the flash of the silver backing and vibration of the blade attract them.. The northern guides used to fish with a strip of perch for 2 reason. not the color but the reflection of the scales and also they stayed on the hook all day. Any way thats my thoughts..