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Posts: 32951
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Night fishing has some interesting twists as far as light and contrast go. The moon does offer some light, mostly just enough for contrast. There's also a weird almost phosphorescent light on the surface when it's perfectly calm, but that is REALLY muted.
Darker background with a bit of light, light colored bait contrasts. Black contrasts with everything, so dark, REALLY dark with no light at all, black is my choice. |
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Posts: 938
Location: NeverNever Lake | Color means everything. Color means nothing.
Edited by RAZE1 12/3/2006 11:18 PM
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Very interesting stuff. Jeremy, I saw the same thing this fall. Red was not only a confidence color, but it was chosen by fish over others quite often. In fact(I think you saw it too), if I wasn't using the certain red crankbait, I was limiting my catches at times. This was in very very dark water. Some days, red would produce musky hits at a rate of 7 or 8 to 1 over other colors of the same lure. Now, the red may not have been showing itself as 'red' with all of the absorbance involved in the color, and the rays being largely absorbved even more greatly by particulate matter, but I am sure it looked different that the other colors, even the black that it supposedly transorms into. Maybe that is the point here. If I could pinpoint exactly what the red looks like at the depth it is most effective at, and paint a few lures in that color for shallower use, would they perform? Would they look different when taken down deep?
The interesting note continues to be bright reds' occasional effectiveness in gin. I just do not beleive that all red is lost at 10'(75% of color light is lost at 10 meters though in very clear water, or 33 feet). White light can get down much deeper, then the red might only have to be transmitted a few feet to the fish(is this possible?). Also, different shades are definately in question here, and it is worth mentioning that 'bright' red is the color we tend to rely on alot. A bright red paint will be seen much deeper than a dull red object. Dumb science but in some lakes that I fish, I can see a red pop(in color) can at over 10'. I'd argue a fish can see it too..?... With bulged eyes, advanced cones and rods, they can see red further down and in less light than we can, as long as there is sufficient light. Further, as a predator, if the red is lost at a certain depth to a light grey or form of black, I am guessing they know or have an innate response to the injury response triggering red. That said, my red lures are rarely maintaining 10' of depth. The red lures we typically excel with are cranks, jerks or spinners, that might reach 10'(at most) for a few seconds, but are within a few feet of the surface most of the time.
Another intersting thing to note that I always found intruging(and even mentioned in one of the articles that Sworral posted a link to) are the glitter rays. A professor/instructor would tell us how light transmitted into water was effected by depth, turbitdity, and photoperiod. Then they'd start making waves in the aquarium or pool being used as the lab madia, and light waves of all colors would start bouncing all over the place at all depths. Many people believe waves always have a negative effect on light transmission, when in fact they most often increase light transmission to a certain degree, though for split second time frames.
Finally, I totally agree that choosing color is overrated. I no longer lose sleep over what color to use where, or stare over an open tackle box trying to decide. I like to use the same type of bright to dark to contrast type of reasoning that simple science tells me to use. This has allowed me to cut down to just a few baits along on a trip to a new lake, vs. the whole box that I used to have along. But, there is something to be said for the sometimes 'hot' color concept on certain waters. It is the concept that most still cannot explain. Talking to my friend Chuck Schauer last night about the color red, we delved into the 'hot' color concept. He only fishes the pressured waters of Oneida and Vilas Co. said it never ceases to amaze him how a certain color will tear fish up on one lake, and be pedestrian next door. Knowing that behavioral observance trumps written science(what 'should happen), helps reinforce that these critters really don't play by the rules.... |
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Posts: 8856
| We've all heard it -- bright day, bright lures...
But against the background of a bright blue sky, a dark lure will stand out more.
I tend to do just the opposite of what BN does -- I will pick the brightest lures, like firetiger, orange, and chartreuse under low-light conditions. Once the sun comes out, I favor natural patterns like Perch and Crappie. But then Brad catches a ton of fish, and I do not...
I tend to believe contrast is important, black bars on a white background for clear water, combinations of red and chartreuse in more turbid water.
Some one said black bars would help a bait stand out. I agree. BUT:
If you look in nature taking the patterns we see on a perch for example... Aren't those bars meant to provide camouflage? The contrast in that case breaks up the silhouette of the fish, making it MORE DIFFICULT to distinguish in the water.
So do we want to mimic muskie's normal prey, that is colored in such a way to make it harder to distinguish from its surroundings? Or do we want to do just the opposite??
And here is something for you all to chew on:
In nature, the predator/prey relationship is such that the weak and slow animals get taken most often...
Think about suckers, perch, bass, or any of the fish you typically see in freshwater lake ecosystems.
Ever notice how the sick ones are a different color??? How the slowest most sluggish sucker in the tank is a different color? Notice how a bluegill, if injured, darkens up, and stands out from all the others?
Could this be a signal to predators?? Do those color transitions that take place when a fish goes from being healthy to being sick/injured/dying cause them to be more visible to predatory fish, to stand out from the healthy fish from the school, in essence signaling "Eat me!"?
If that is true, than the way we paint lures really needs to be looked at.
Presuming of course that color matters as much as some think it does...  |
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Posts: 32951
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | White light can get down much deeper, then the red might only have to be transmitted a few feet to the fish(is this possible?).
In short, no. The red wavelength is removed by the prism effect of the water column, so 'white' light no longer contains the red wavelength after it's filtered out. 'Bright' red is either optically brightened by adding some yellow or another color or placed over a light gathering coating, which can help some, but without it's own light source, red is gone when red is gone. In the testing I have done in low light, without a direct light source all colors are severely muted. Even fluorescent red is gone pretty quickly in water columns with expected particulate levels. Does this mean red isn't a good color? Of course not, it just isn't what we see in the boat.
Addict,
My aquarium fish won't touch injured or sick prey. I don't know why, but they flat ignore them, going for the healthy prey available and ignoring the sick ones. |
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Posts: 8856
| Good point Steve. That also may explains why the lively suckers get eaten more often.
So perhaps the change in color is a "don't eat me" signal? Or maybe lateral line stimulation affects feeding behavior and color has little to do with it...
Here's a really cool illustration of what happens to different lure colors at different depths in different colored water:
http://www.mepps.com/mepps/colortech/color_tech.pdf
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | Great discussion! Just talked to my local bluegill icefishing source. He was on his way to Gander to pick up some red plastics. I told him I was in the midst of this conversation, and that I might just try grey and black this year when the fish are on red(they were really on red on Pelican last season). It is noteworthy that the red seems to shine in the shallows in winter, further reinforcing the need for more light. Bluegills tend to be pickier than the most persnickety Musky ever thought of being. When they want a certain something, you'd better have it... |
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Posts: 80
Location: Waukesha, WI | All I have to say is WOW! About the sucker thing the most lively suckers tend to be darker in color and that color is almost resembling a sauger's blotches. I have noticed with small suckers in a bait bucket they lose almost all color to blend in with the white of the bait bucket. But those same suckers when put into a dark bottomed fishtank with black rocks go into the dark pattern I described. When the suckers got sick they would turn back into the pale sided fish that was blending into the bait bucket. So in a way you can say that the prey color(dark/light) is a direct link to light.
I have to read more and again. Thanks 
Mike Warren |
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Posts: 3918
| dammit, you only see what waves yer eyes/brain can or will manage. Colors are just reflections of refractions. Same with fish. But you don't see like fish see, see? And yer brain can change the manner in which you intrepret visual stimuli, plus, obsticals that bend waves from the source of light (sun, usually) will change the colors as you think you see 'em. Raze is right.
Old school Dead show parking lot discussion. |
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