Dazzling lure colors

How to choose the color of lures is a common myth among novices. Open a treasure, a more, face each kind of lure less than 4, 5, more than a 20 kinds of colors, newcomers are always dazzled, at a loss.

I remember I bought a pack of T-tail when I first entered the pit, not to mention the size of 8cm, the pink color makes the old fishing friends shake their heads. This is when I learned that the summer heat and high pressure fishing bass activity is low, the natural color is more likely to let the fish let down their guard. So the second time to go with brown Changji bbb shrimp, finally found the feeling of the fish.

Fish's vision

About vision, the difference between fish and fish may be greater than the difference between fish and people, so we are talking about fish vision here in a general sense.

Visual range

The observation range of fish eyes is larger than that of human beings

From the above figure, we can see that the fish's perspective is much larger than that of a human (the horizontal perspective of a human's single eye can be up to 150 degrees, and the horizontal perspective of both eyes can be up to 188 degrees. (The two eyes of a person have a combined field of view of 124 degrees, while the comfortable field of view of a single eye is 60 degrees). But binocular vision (with stereo vision) fish are much smaller than people. (Summer fishing: [fish basics] understand fish vision, fishing "the eldest son is better than the short" is justified!)

These are theories, personal test on bass: in the shallow bank of clear water, the bait will be gently pulled to the back and sides of the bass, the bass did not have any reaction. But from the front of the pull to the front of the bass, the bass often observe a while on the bait. There is a similar phenomenon on the surface of the water, and potatoes are more likely to cause an attack when they pass in front of the head of the bass. It shows that although fish have vision on both sides, it should be similar to the human afterglow, and the perception of small, slow objects is weak.

The lens of the fish is similar to the human, but the lack of elasticity, is born "near-sighted". Clear water is generally no more than 10-12 meters, and turbid water is even closer.

Special attention should be paid to the fish's ability to see objects above the surface of the water, such as anglers and flying birds. Sometimes I can see fish at the surface of the water starting to flee before the bait hits the water.

In summary, fish can see more widely but more closely than people.

Color perception

The retina of fish contains cone cells and rod cells. The cone cells are suitable for perceiving visible light of normal intensity and distinguishing colors, while the rod cells are sensitive to low light. In general, the cone cells are responsible for color discrimination, while the rod cells are responsible for light perception and are suitable for distinguishing contours.

In general, fish living in the upper layer have well-developed optic cone cells and stronger color changing ability, while fish living in the bottom layer and deep sea have well-developed optic rod cells and weaker optic cone cells. (The visual mystery of deep-water fish ---- South China Sea Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

In deep water and turbid water, fish have weak color perception due to weak light, and rely mainly on light perception.

Colors in the water

We often say "red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple", in fact, is the visible light wavelength from long to short arrangement. Red light has the longest wavelength, the strongest penetration in the air, but in the water is the opposite. Red light is most easily absorbed by water, blue, violet light in water penetration is strongest. Blue, violet and pink are more visible in water.

That's why some people say that red is almost as good as black to fish, just because red looks like black when it is absorbed in deep water or at a distance in the water.

The red color in the sunlight at a depth of 15 meters has been mostly absorbed

But when the distance is close and the water is clear, many fish can clearly distinguish between the various colors.

Basic principles of lure color selection

Understanding the visual characteristics of fish and the effect of water on color, we know that there are three main factors that influence the choice of color for lures: light intensity, water clarity and water depth.

There are two basic principles for choosing the color of bait: eye-catching and natural. Eye-catching means that the color should be easy to attract fish, with strong contrast with the surrounding, such as the use of bright colors and dark colors. Natural is similar to the color of the fish's food, to reduce the fish's alertness.

When the water body is well lit

In clear daylight, clear water, shallow water, fish can clearly observe the bait from a distance, the closer it is to the fish's food the easier it is to attract fish to feed, so natural color is a better choice. Therefore, natural colors are better. Too bright colors may scare the fish and make them afraid to approach.

When the water body light is low

In cloudy or cloudy weather, or murky water, or in the morning and evening, the visible range in the water is very small in this kind of light, and the fish's ability to distinguish colors is weak, so the use of bright, vivid colors will be more obvious, or black, dark blue will have a stronger contrast with the environment, more likely to attract the fish's attention.

Nighttime

When there is no light at night, the lure usually does not need to consider the color, or use self-luminous fluorescent. If there is very weak moonlight, consider black or dark blue, which has stronger contrast.

Wind and Rainy Weather

When it is windy or heavy rain, the water surface reflects a lot of light, so it is more eye-catching to use pure black.

Water depth

In tens of meters of deep water, the red color of the light shining in the sky is absorbed, and the light is more visible as blue. Therefore, blue and purple are brighter, while other colors are more like black.

If the main purpose is to imitate bait fish and bug shape and color, no matter soft or hard bait, when the water body light is good, it should be close to the imitation object and use natural color, while when the water body light is weak, it needs to be bright or dark color.

For VIB, spinning sequins and other mimics that create noise and disturbance as the main means of attracting fish, color is relatively less important.

Or rather, the color of the reaction bait is less important and the color of the contact bait is more important.

Suggestions for lure colors for common fish species

Rainbow Trout

Vibrant colors such as pink, orange, red and silver are more attractive to rainbow trout in clear water, while brown, white, black and gold are more suitable in low light water.

Smallmouth Bass

Pumpkin green, brown, watermelon green, white

Largemouth bass

Green, yellow, watermelon green, brown, purple, black

White spotted dogfish

White, orange, silver, yellow-green, yellow, black