Bass and the color blue

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

3 hours ago, Catt said:

 

And yet red is an extremely effective color even at depth.

IF that chart can be believed red stands out at depth except it looks black. Interesting but I still fall back on my own experience and anecdotal evidence. 

[Shimano_1]

I doubt anyone can confidently say what a bass sees. I see that the color blue works so I fish it lol. Never really thought about it 

[CrankFate]

Fish can recognize each other and can tell if other fish are happy, sad or anything else. In certain ways, they probably see certain things better than we do. It’s almost impossible to tell if a fish is a male or female from looking at their faces, than it is with people, but the fish can still tell.

[king fisher]

Why can the bass see my friends blue bait, but not my blue bait?  

[Dirtyeggroll]

6 hours ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

 

So exactly what color bass see when you show them something "blue" ought to depend on exactly what range of wavelengths are being reflected and in which intensity. We can't really know this just by looking at the bait; you'd need to actually analyze reflectance of the color with a spectrometer. 

While this is a good explanation for the physics of light, it does not account for the biology of the bass. If the bass don’t have the machinery to perceive the machinery then the reflectance makes no difference. Not all light is created equal and different biology is necessary to discern differences in light.

 

Im not saying they can’t, I’m just saying that just because the physics dictate the light may be there, does not necessarily mean the bass can perceive it.

 

Im not sure if this bass knew this bait was blue, but I know she found her way into my net

[RoLo]

41 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

Fish can recognize each other and can tell if other fish are happy, sad or anything else

 

Sometimes I Can Tell When A Fish Isn't Happy

 

 

 

[Bluebasser86]

Not sure what they see, but I know they see food.

 

[Captain Phil]

10 hours ago, CrankFate said:

Fish can recognize each other and can tell if other fish are happy, sad or anything else. 

Bass are cold blooded animals with small brains and simple nervous systems. They eat, mate and protect territory.  If a bass hits your lure, it's out of one or all of those reasons.  They don't have friends. They aren't happy, sad or anything else that you may feel.  Don't make this harder than it is.  

[MIbassyaker]

12 hours ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

While this is a good explanation for the physics of light, it does not account for the biology of the bass. If the bass don’t have the machinery to perceive the machinery then the reflectance makes no difference. Not all light is created equal and different biology is necessary to discern differences in light.

 

Im not saying they can’t, I’m just saying that just because the physics dictate the light may be there, does not necessarily mean the bass can perceive it.

 

Im not sure if this bass knew this bait was blue, but I know she found her way into my net

 

Yes, but to be clear, I'm not saying physical reflectance in other wavelengths is the only factor that matters, just that there is reason to expect it should make a difference given what we do know about the biological mechanisms of bass vision (e.g., that they are dichromats with cone sensitivity at "medium" and "long" ranges, and no "short" cone), as well as basic mechanisms generally common to vertebrate visual systems (e.g. opponency, adaptation, and color constancy).

 

With no short cone response, we should expect a bass perceives your blue crankbait about the same it would as a grayish one that has the same intensity of reflectance in the medium and long ranges.

[WRB]

The longer you bass fish the more you become convinced bass see colors extremely good in low light and deep water below the depth of light. We on the other hand can't see any color in very low light. You can't compare what a fish can see based on what a human can see, fish evolved in water we didn't.

Too many example to share here are a few.

The most effective soft plastic color at Castaic in the winter is blue ice, neon blue vain smoke 4" straight trial worm 45'-60' depth. Second is smoke with red flakes.

Good night color Midnight black with blue flakes out fishes solid black. Another god night color is Uptons Heresy (dark brown) with blue neon vain and Otay Spl brown with black vain. The dark brown with black vain is so close color tones we can tell the difference without a flash yet bass see the difference in the dark.

The fact is we can't see any color without light, fish obviously can.

Tom

[CrankFate]

18 hours ago, RoLo said:

 

Sometimes I Can Tell When A Fish Isn't Happy

 

 

 

I know! Sometimes you can

9 hours ago, Captain Phil said:

Bass are cold blooded animals with small brains and simple nervous systems. They eat, mate and protect territory.  If a bass hits your lure, it's out of one or all of those reasons.  They don't have friends. They aren't happy, sad or anything else that you may feel.  Don't make this harder than it is.  

I think they do get happy, sad and mad, but you’re right they have tiny brains and aren’t that smart. So even if they see certain things better, they can still be fooled. But considering how many I catch, that’s not saying too much about me though, when I think of it....

[JLewis134]

4 hours ago, WRB said:

The longer you bass fish the more you become convinced bass see colors extremely good in low light and deep water below the depth of light. We on the other hand can't see any color in very low light. You can't compare what a fish can see based on what a human can see, fish evolved in water we didn't.

Too many example to share here are a few.

The most effective soft plastic color at Castaic in the winter is blue ice, neon blue vain smoke 4" straight trial worm 45'-60' depth. Second is smoke with red flakes.

Good night color Midnight black with blue flakes out fishes solid black. Another god night color is Uptons Heresy (dark brown) with blue neon vain and Otay Spl brown with black vain. The dark brown with black vain is so close color tones we can tell the difference without a flash yet bass see the difference in the dark.

The fact is we can't see any color without light, fish obviously can.

Tom

I don't know if we can ever say the most productive color. There is no such proven facts. Color selection changes based on too many factors. Sometimes it's just presenting the bait properly at the right location, at a fish willing to bite. While fishing can be scientific, it's not a pure science. They are still living creatures.

 

Your basis of evidence is purely anecdoctal response (not based scientifically, rather individual's experience).

 

I honestly think if you threw a black jig and a black/blue jig presented the same, the results would be nearly identical (test would be impossible as too many variables change from location, the way you present a bait, fish, fish activity, time of day, cast, etc.) If you tested it enough, it would be close to a wash.

 

[king fisher]

Trying to determine if one color is better than another by casting a jig would be difficult ( so many variables) but if someone has fished jigs for many years I would have to believe through trail and error, they would would have a good idea, where and when what color works.                                                                                                                               I have found one of the best experiments to see if color makes a difference is by trolling.  Troll multiple lures at the same time, the same distance back, with the only difference being the color.  I have done this and seen times, when one color is the only one to get hit, and times when it doesn't matter.  Most of the time all will work, but one will work  better, very rarely is the difference night and day, but it does happen.  Like others on this site have said, color doesn't matter until it matters.  I have also seen times, when there only has to be a small amount of a particular color on the lure to make a big difference.  Like two shad colored crankbaits, one has some chartreuse, on it, the other has some blue.  One gets crushed the other doesn't.  I don't know what the bass saw, All I can say is the only difference I could detect was the color.  The other way I have found how important  color can be, is watching my friend slay the bass on the only color, the bait monkey never told me about. I continue to be stubborn and refuse to borrow one of his. Partly because of me already saying he didn't need to bring anything, because I know the lake well and have anything we could possibly need. He just sets the hook and laughs while I tell him color doesn't  matter any way.  He replies, of course not, it's the angler.   Yes I do believe bass see blue.  

[WRB]

4 hours ago, JLewis134 said:

I don't know if we can ever say the most productive color. There is no such proven facts. Color selection changes based on too many factors. Sometimes it's just presenting the bait properly at the right location, at a fish willing to bite. While fishing can be scientific, it's not a pure science. They are still living creatures.

 

Your basis of evidence is purely anecdoctal response (not based scientifically, rather individual's experience).

 

I honestly think if you threw a black jig and a black/blue jig presented the same, the results would be nearly identical (test would be impossible as too many variables change from location, the way you present a bait, fish, fish activity, time of day, cast, etc.) If you tested it enough, it would be close to a wash.

 

It's a subjective topic until we can determine how the basses brain inturpreted color.

Bill Murphy talks about color and his experience during a night tournament using the exact same worms 1 bag black and 1 bag Otay Spl ( brown w/ black strip. He and is partner started catching bass using Otay Spl and bite shut off immediately. Bill looks at the second bag with his light and realized they started usiing worms from the black bag when the bite shuts off. Bill found another bag of Otay Spl and the bite started up immediately. Considering they anchored and didn't move it was obvious the difference in color that made the difference with both anglers.

I have had similar experiences multiple times when I am knocking them dead and a partner isn't or I am not until we share the same bag of worms, same brand, same length and type the only difference is color. It's a common experience in our clear water lakes.

Tom 

[soflabasser]

Black and blue is a very popular color combination for jigs and other lures.

[Captain Phil]

14 hours ago, CrankFate said:

I think they do get happy, sad and mad, but you’re right they have tiny brains and aren’t that smart. So even if they see certain things better, they can still be fooled. But considering how many I catch, that’s not saying too much about me though, when I think of it....

Bass have a way of making even the best anglers feel stupid.  If you want proof, check the score board at a national tournament and see how many pros zero.

[Sam]

On 5/15/2020 at 1:14 PM, OnthePotomac said:

This might help.  colors to bass at various depths

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

[scaleface]

To  further complicate matters , according to this chart,  the  order  in which  light waves  get absorbed  under water has a lot to do with turbidity . In this chart, the short light waves "blue" is the first to be absorbed in muddy water .  The article https://www.fatguppyfishing.com/single-post/2016/1/7/Selecting-Lure-Colors-for-Successful-Fishing

[frogflogger]

I love the choices of colors these days but not sure it means that much. In Knowing Bass they go into it in great detail - in Bill Murphy's experience I'm convinced that it was contrast more than color - two tone baits have outfished single colored baits for me many times. Look at any prey of bass and they have contrasting colors, maybe subtle but contrasts nonetheless.

[plawren53202]

4 hours ago, frogflogger said:

I love the choices of colors these days but not sure it means that much. In Knowing Bass they go into it in great detail - in Bill Murphy's experience I'm convinced that it was contrast more than color - two tone baits have outfished single colored baits for me many times. Look at any prey of bass and they have contrasting colors, maybe subtle but contrasts nonetheless.

You've made another good point to add into the mix. The two baits that led me to post this question originally--a Bream color Yum Dinger and a Blue Craw TRD Finesse--both have a fairly high level of contrast between the two colors, the greens are pretty dark green pumpkin, and the blues are lighter blues. And for both, there is a distinct line between the two colors (both have one color on top and one on bottom) running horizontally along the body of the bait. 

 

So this is different than most of the soft plastics I use, certainly other Senko-style worms because most of mine are more traditional one-colored even if they have a different color flake in them (watermelon w/red flakes, Junebug). On the other hand, now that I sit here and think about it, the other TRD Finesse colors that I seem to do well on are similar one color on top/one on bottom, like Drew's craw, molting craw and hot craw.  And for that matter, at this same pond, I use a fluke a lot and the color that does the best, bluegill flash, also has dark on top/light on bottom. Contrast to a watermelon fluke, which is more uniform, and has never done as well for me here.

 

That's not to say, of course, that monochromatic baits don't work, because obviously they do. I spent many years catching nearly every bass I caught on a plain purple worm; and just last weekend a junebug Senko took me from a skunking to end up a pretty good day. But this has definitely caused me to think more about split color baits with strong contrast between a darker and lighter color and a clear line between the two running horizontally down the body of the bait.

[Captain Phil]

The clarity of the water has a significant affect on lure color selection.  In clear water, watermelon and natural colors work better.  In turbid water, black and dark colors work better.  The Harris Chain has all kinds of water clarity from crystal clear to coffee with cream.  In the darkest water, paddle tail worms attract more strikes.  In clear water, watermelon colored wacky worms are my choice.  For years, the best all around worm color in our waters has been June bug.  As the lakes have cleared, lighter colored worms have come into their own.  In Florida, you can't do better than a chartreuse and white spinnerbait with gold blades.  Color doesn't seem to matter much in crankbaits.  As long as the vibrations are right, fish will hit them.  

[roadwarrior]

Blue works for me  ALL  the time.