Should I Wear Dark/camo While Fishing?

[Unknownwaters]

Does wearing bright/white clothing really matter? I have always heard that you want to wear dark, less noticeable clothing while you fish because the fish could see it, especially from the shore. I have also heard that camo clothing isnt all that much better than dark clothing.

I would like to know what colour, if any, you prefer while fishing

[Long Mike]

I fish from a boat, so I generally wear neutral colors, such as beige or light blue to more closely mimic the background sky.. That said, I really don't think it makes much of a difference what you wear. After all, look at the pros. They have garish boats and garish outfits. It doesn't seem to affect their fishing success.

[Fishing Rhino]

On hot, sunny days, I wear lighter colors, preferably white since it absorbs less radiant heat from the sun. On cool days, I'll wear dark colors to better absorb the suns heating rays.

The weather dictates what I wear. It's difficult to enjoy just about anything, including fishing, if you are too hot, too cold, or miserably wet.

[BassAssassin726]

I fish from shore, I only really worry about the color of my clothing during the spawn when the fish can see you. I wear dark colors, brown, green, black all year around just out of habit I guess. But I would only really worry about it like i said during spawn when fish are right on the bank and so are you.

[BASSclary]

Should you wear dark/camo? Only if you want to.

Most of my wardrobe is under armor t-shirts, colors from blaze orange to sky blue. I catch fish from shore either way year round.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

top of list

noise/vibration= walk very softly

movement=slow

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color of clothing=doesnt matter

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my favorite shirt is bright yellow I catch many fish within rods lenght of me- clear water

[MarkH024]

Alton Jones had talked about that when he was fishing the classic this year I believe. From the "pro" perspective, he said it really only matters when you're sight fishing or fishing in really shallow areas and the water is very clear. He was wearing an olive green polo shirt. I think at the caliber those guys fish they can wear a clown suit and still catch 10x the amount of fish than us, lol.

Wear whatever you're comfortable with. Yellows and Reds make for good fish pictures, as it makes your catch really pop out when you're holding them. I wear a lot of gray/ash colored shirts...I stay away from dark when its hot just because it absorbs so much more heat. I hate the heat...

[craww]

It can be a HUGE FACTOR. Bass chase lures down from 30' away, catch dragonflies 20" out of the water, etc. Their eyes are on the top portion of their head. They see alot more outside of the water than folks think. Camo may or may not be the best option, Heck a darker pattern may make you stand out MORE. Just depends on the situation.

When I'm on foot, I fish like I'm hunting. Heres a few things I do.

-Cast to an area 30-40' from the bank BEFORE you slug your way up to it. When you get your bait to the bank, "pop" it back to you. With practice you can get pretty effecient doing this. I caught a nice topwater smallmouth week before last doing this.

-Your posture can give you away to. Crouch when necessary. Use whatever cover nature provides. Catails, trees, tall weeds, rocks are all things Ive hidden behind.

-Every body of water is different, but in my experience fish are more spooked by things on the shore than in the water. Maybe its from 1000's of years of herons stalking the shorelines, I dont know. Stealth is key. If you feel like you've spooked them, back off and let the spot rest, they'll usually return if you didnt booger them up too bad.

-Clear water river Smallmouth are the spookiest fish Ive been around, I cant tell you how many big smallies Ive seen pull up on a bait right at my feet just to back off when they see me.

For me it boils down to this. There are many negative cues that we as fisherman can give the bass, this is one of the things YOU CAN control. Sure we hear about guys catching bass in pink polo shirts, but we have no idea how many bass get spooked by them either.

[Sam]

_{I don't think it matters.}

_{What matters is the sunlight protection rating of what you wear.}

_{I wear long jeans or khaki's with a yellow or light blue Columbia fishing shirt.}

_{My khaki cap has a flap over the back to shield my neck and ears.}

_{If you are in a boat and you think the fish will see your clothes colors, what do you think they see when they look up and note a 17 to 21 foot boat in the water?}

_{If you are shore fishing, keep 50 feet back when moving from place to place very quietly and then flip or pitch your bait into the water from10 feet off the bank.}

_{I don't think it is the clothes color as compared to seeing your entire body and rod standing above them on the shore or in a boat.}

[SirSnookalot]

It's true we have no idea how many fish may be spooked by an unnatural color, but we don't know if more fish are caught because one is stealth. I say use what you are comfortable with. I only wear pants and long sleeves for insect protection from no seeums, fishing shirts made of synthetic materials get too hot for me, I prefer long sleeve cotton t-shirts, my head buff is like being in a sauna, it's a last resort measure. No bugs around and it's shorts and a t shirt, one size too big for more air ventilation.

I think a lure plopping heavy into the water may do more spooking than anything, good reason fly fisherman are very successful.

[matstone7]

On hot, sunny days, I wear lighter colors, preferably white since it absorbs less radiant heat from the sun. On cool days, I'll wear dark colors to better absorb the suns heating rays.

The weather dictates what I wear. It's difficult to enjoy just about anything, including fishing, if you are too hot, too cold, or miserably wet.

Well put.

The fish are supposed to be looking at my baits not worrying about what I'm wearing.

[Crestliner2008]

Fishing from a boat, it's mainly a matter of protecting yourself and not so much if the fish can see you or not. However, when fishing from shore, I like to blend in with my surroundings as much as possible. In this situation, you need all the help you can get!

[NBR]

I too have heard you should wear dark, earth tones or camo but look at the pros. Walking bill boards reds, yellows, greens etc. If it were a big deal I think they would tone down their clothing.

[Wayne P.]

A couple of BASS Elite pros wear yellow shirts, Bobby Lane and Skeet Reese.

[A-Jay]

I have no idea whether camo colored apparel make any difference at all -

But check out what Big-O in wearing while he's hoisting up every one of those Mutant Bass -

So here's me -

A-Jay

http://www.bassresou...attach_id=19745

[craww]

At the end of the day its one of those hard to quantify things... The OP mentioned being shorebound. From the bank I think at times it can absolutely be the difference between getting bit or not. I know a few trout guys who certainly think so.

Does braid make fish line shy??? I caught tons of straight braid fish before I used leaders. Ive also smoked buddies fishng on the pier with a leader when they werent. Same argument, with infinite variables. I DO know that a properly executed leader to mainline connection won't HURT me. I can control it, so I choose to.