How Bass See Color

[Ozark_Basser]

This has probably been covered more than once, but I'm starting the topic again because I feel I might have specific questions for those in the know.  

 

I have read that bass, like humans, have cones and rods in there eyes.  However, bass don't have pupils to adjust to light, so in instances of bright or dim light, they adjust their vision by repositioning the rods behind the cones in bright light and the cones behind the rods in dim light.  Cones are what a bass uses to see color, so in shallow clear water with high skies, bass can perceive color very well, but do they have as many cones as humans?  In other words, do they see as many colors as we do?  I have read they actually have more and better rods (used to see shades of grey) than humans.  This would explain how they can see at night so well.  Also this suggests that color is of no difference at night due to the repositioning of cones behind rods which means that black would be the best color followed by white.  But, again, what about the number of cones? 

 

I have a feeling if anyone actually knew if bass didn't have as many or as good of cones as humans, the tackle industry would like to keep that information as secret as possible 

[Catch 22]

I don`t know about smb & lmb, but  a  friend and I proved time and time again that stripers could be  color selective at night . We used to throw the old Rebel fast tracks, primarily in blk silver,blue silver and purple silver. Many times they would take one and not any others at all. Next trip it could be totally different. It cost us a fortune to stay current with those critters. 

C22 

[WRB]

Until someone figures out how the bass brain processes the light wave length it's eyes sends to it we will not know. Trying to compare the fish eye structure to any animal, including humans, that live above water to predator fish that evolved in water isn't valid.

We know from experience that minute changes in color can have a big impact enticing bass to strike lures, under bright and poor light conditions.

Tom.

[aavery2]

Many scientist believe that bass have excellent color vision, actually better than our own.  Many believe they can see  as  high as deep red 720 nanometers down into the UV at 400 nanometers.  

[Catt]

How Bass See Color as Seen Through The Human Mind!

[WRB]

How Bass See Color as Seen Through The Human Mind!

+1, Catt you did again, summed it up in one sentence.

Tom

[HoosierHawgs]

This is A great topic. If anyone finds any new information, I'd love to know. I am as confused as you guys are! 

[BammerBass]

This is a very interesting topic,and it would be exciting if scientist could provide insight into how bass perceive color and divulge more into why they like a certain color lure more than the same lure of a different color. For instance, I know apparently they DO like dark grey colors thst resemble shad, as evidenced by some of my catches this year. But I also havr a pack of bright colored (obnoxiously bright to be honest) panfish assassins that im trying to find if there is any condition that they are suited for and will perhaps elicit strikes. Th color is called " electric chicken" and is pink on top, green on bottom, with gold and silver specks. Looks a lot like a watermelon and im wondering if they just thought "ooooo, lets try these obnoxiously bright color combos to see if we can get some poor saps to buy it!" almost seems they are colored that way to attract people more, lol.

[Catt]

I don't disagree with the evidence, there is evidence that bass have cones & rods.

I disagree with the interpretation of that evidence!

Just because scientist "believe" something does not make it fact.

Observable

Testable

Repeatable

Falsifiable

That's science!

No where does it ask for opinions!

[aavery2]

This is a very interesting topic,and it would be exciting if scientist could provide insight into how bass perceive color and divulge more into why they like a certain color lure more than the same lure of a different color. For instance, I know apparently they DO like dark grey colors thst resemble shad, as evidenced by some of my catches this year. But I also havr a pack of bright colored (obnoxiously bright to be honest) panfish assassins that im trying to find if there is any condition that they are suited for and will perhaps elicit strikes. Th color is called " electric chicken" and is pink on top, green on bottom, with gold and silver specks. Looks a lot like a watermelon and im wondering if they just thought "ooooo, lets try these obnoxiously bright color combos to see if we can get some poor saps to buy it!" almost seems they are colored that way to attract people more, lol.

 

I like your electric chicken example.  As humans we live in a environment where the light is white, white is the inclusion of all colors of the spectrum.   Color as we see it is the reflection of light, some colors are absorbed and others are reflected.   For an apple to appear red, it must be struck with and reflect red light, if red light were filtered then the red apple would appear as another color depending on the light that was reaching it  and was being reflected.

When you cast a lure into the water and it begins to sink, the water then start to act like a filter.  It blocks some of the light from reaching the electric chicken jig you just cast.    The deeper is goes the less light that reaches it, the muddier the water the less light reaches it, the color of the water has an effect on what light will reach it.  If the  light that reflects as pink cannot reach your electric chicken jig, then the color it becomes underwater shifts, dependent on what light is able to reach and reflect off of the jig.

 

My point is that because it looks pink and green above the water while it is being struck with white light does not mean it will appear the same under water.

[Catt]

Very well put aavery2

Another prime example is color red, we are told the red disappears underwater. Yet I know from experience that on Toledo Bend watermelon red will out produce watermelon seed.

So what does the bass actually see?

[Senko lover]

I'm not a fish scientist, but I have found one color of bait to be 10x more productive than other colors at certain times, so I'm a believer in colors.

[Ozark_Basser]

Very well put aavery2

Another prime example is color red, we are told the red disappears underwater. Yet I know from experience that on Toledo Bend watermelon red will out produce watermelon seed.

So what does the bass actually see?

Red is supposedly the first color that disappears once the bait gets so far down depending on water clarity.  It would appear as black to us. This is supposed to happen at about the 17 foot range in perfectly clear water. So it seems to me there are way too many variables to come up with a definitive answer.  

[aavery2]

Very well put aavery2

Another prime example is color red, we are told the red disappears underwater. Yet I know from experience that on Toledo Bend watermelon red will out produce watermelon seed.

So what does the bass actually see?

Thank you, the fish at Amistad also seem to prefer watermelon red, IMO.

[WRB]

My most productive big bass lure is a hair jig with 3 colors of dyed bucktail; black back, purple mid area and rust brown belly. To this color combo I add 4 strands of red crystal flash when fishing low light conditions.

Average depth fished is between 15 to 30 feet.

Red crystal flash, a color bass can't see works very well. The color combo doesn't represent the red swamp crawdads planted in my lake to my eye, the bass think differently.

By low light I mean overcast and rain at dawn and dusk. I use the same color combo during blue bird bright days, less the crystal flash tends to be more productive, but not always. Our lakes usually have 10+ feet of good water clarity, the bass have no problems seeing this jig, day or night.

Tom

PS, fished this jig since '71 from coast to coast, Canada and Mexico...anywhere anytime!

Purple = red + blue, brown = red+ black (rust brown has more red).

[BammerBass]

I like your electric chicken example.  As humans we live in a environment where the light is white, white is the inclusion of all colors of the spectrum.   Color as we see it is the reflection of light, some colors are absorbed and others are reflected.   For an apple to appear red, it must be struck with and reflect red light, if red light were filtered then the red apple would appear as another color depending on the light that was reaching it  and was being reflected.

When you cast a lure into the water and it begins to sink, the water then start to act like a filter.  It blocks some of the light from reaching the electric chicken jig you just cast.    The deeper is goes the less light that reaches it, the muddier the water the less light reaches it, the color of the water has an effect on what light will reach it.  If the  light that reflects as pink cannot reach your electric chicken jig, then the color it becomes underwater shifts, dependent on what light is able to reach and reflect off of the jig.

 

My point is that because it looks pink and green above the water while it is being struck with white light does not mean it will appear the same under water.

so then in such case, what seems like an absurd color choice, may not be absurd at all if certain factors are just right then, eh?

[aavery2]

so then in such case, what seems like an absurd color choice, may not be absurd at all if certain factors are just right then, eh?

Exactly, Many of the baits we buy are purchased based on how we see them in full light. These same baits will present themselves very differently once they are in filtered light as in under water. This was my first true realization of just how much colors catch fishermen not fish.

What we need to develop is a better way to determine what color patterns look like in different light conditions.

[hawgenvy]

According to a passage in the wonderful book (which I highly recommend to scientific-minded folks among you bassers),  KNOWING BASS, The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish, by Keith A. Jones, PhD (Lyons Press, 2002):

 

Dr. Don McCoy of Univ. Kentucky "found that largemouths ... quickly learned to distinguish between colors falling in the red and green sectors of the spectrum but struggled to differenciate shades of blue. This suggests that bass color vision is relatively good from red to green but weak in the blues and violets. According to McCoy's findings, bass have their highest color discrimination capabilities around two areas: yellow-green (wavelengths measuring 540 nm) and yellow-orange (610nm). In these areas they could distinguish between colors differing as little as 5 nm".

 

Now, this does not tell us what baits to use when, but there are other passages in the book that address lure selection based on science. Clearly water depth, water color, water clarity, and time of day all play a role in color vision. Contrast between bait and surroundings are important, and of course odor, low frequency sounds, and lure vibration and water movement detectable by the lateral line system are all factors that combine to determine if and how a bass bites a bait. And then there are factors that are internal in the bass, like how hungry the guy is. I am glad there are good scientists out there learning more about bass biology and behavior.

 

I have noticed lately a seeming increase in the subtle turqoise blue coloration on the underside of the jaws of LMB that I have cought over the past two weeks, wondering if it has something to do with mating behavior. I guess it is odd since they supposedly don't see blue well.  (Where I live in S Florida, spawning season starts soon.) If anyone has noticed this blue color and understands what it might be, please let me know!

 

Happy catching!

[Paul Roberts]

...

I have noticed lately a seeming increase in the subtle turqoise blue coloration on the underside of the jaws of LMB that I have cought over the past two weeks, wondering if it has something to do with mating behavior. I guess it is odd since they supposedly don't see blue well.  (Where I live in S Florida, spawning season starts soon.) If anyone has noticed this blue color and understands what it might be, please let me know!

...

 

hawgenvy, are you able to post an image of that?

[Catt]

There is a lot of "scientific" information out there that is nothing more than interesting information.

[aavery2]

According to a passage in the wonderful book (which I highly recommend to scientific-minded folks among you bassers),  KNOWING BASS, The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish, by Keith A. Jones, PhD (Lyons Press, 2002):

 

Dr. Don McCoy of Univ. Kentucky "found that largemouths ... quickly learned to distinguish between colors falling in the red and green sectors of the spectrum but struggled to differenciate shades of blue. This suggests that bass color vision is relatively good from red to green but weak in the blues and violets. According to McCoy's findings, bass have their highest color discrimination capabilities around two areas: yellow-green (wavelengths measuring 540 nm) and yellow-orange (610nm). In these areas they could distinguish between colors differing as little as 5 nm".

 

Now, this does not tell us what baits to use when, but there are other passages in the book that address lure selection based on science. Clearly water depth, water color, water clarity, and time of day all play a role in color vision. Contrast between bait and surroundings are important, and of course odor, low frequency sounds, and lure vibration and water movement detectable by the lateral line system are all factors that combine to determine if and how a bass bites a bait. And then there are factors that are internal in the bass, like how hungry the guy is. I am glad there are good scientists out there learning more about bass biology and behavior.

 

I have noticed lately a seeming increase in the subtle turqoise blue coloration on the underside of the jaws of LMB that I have cought over the past two weeks, wondering if it has something to do with mating behavior. I guess it is odd since they supposedly don't see blue well.  (Where I live in S Florida, spawning season starts soon.) If anyone has noticed this blue color and understands what it might be, please let me know!

 

Happy catching!

Great post.  I have read several articles that suggest the same, bass have fewer blue sensitive cone cells and a much greater number of red and green.   Dr. Colin Kageyama suggest that it has to do with where the bass primarily lives and feeds.    " Freshwater fish tend to have rods which are sensitive to longer wavelengths of light, although not quite so long as the light which actually reaches them.  The cones (used to distinguish color) in the eyes of fish tend to be more closely related the color of light which reaches them underwater.  The pigments in the cones of freshwater fish are often highly adapted to the light conditions in which they feed".  

 

I think his theory supports what you posted.   Bass tend to live and feed in medium to shallow water, spending most of their time above the thermocline on deep lakes.   In the shallow to medium depth water the wavelength of light that is predominant is between red and green, with blue being associated with deeper water.   This would explain why bass tend to have better color vision between red and green wavelengths and less definition at blue.

 

As Catt suggested it all has to be taken with a grain of salt.  I for one am happy that there are scientist and doctors that are doing the research and are willing to share their results.  We need this information so that we can further prove or disprove their work.

 

Again great post.

[Catt]

Lot of unasked questions about that research!

At what depths was this research done?

Single depth or multiple depths?

Water clarity?

Multiple clarities?

What colors as in Opaque or Translucent?

[Team9nine]

I guess I'm just wanting to know, based on all the discussion above, should I go ahead and buy those UV enhanced baits or not???

 

 

-T9

[F14A-B]

I'm putting a Flir system on my boat this winter..

Seriously, I am

I believe fish see in IR and I don't worry about the science part.. Wood baits seem to work a bit better for me in spring, maybe a heat signiture? Idk.. But it's my theory and that's the fun of it for me!

[WRB]

Bass and all other fresh water fish are cold blooded, body temps same as the water they are in.

There is something to a critter being alive and dead, bass rare eat anything that was living and is dead at the time they see it. I fished with live bait back in the 60's to early 70's for bass with crawdads, water dogs, big night crawlers, mud suckers, shiners, shad, etc. Bass would not eat a fresh dead crawdad that died as a result of nose hooking it, it had to be alive and I couldn't see any difference in color. Bass hit a jig falling through the water column, not a dead crawdad or any other dead bait

Tom