The color red?

[BassinBoy]

You here about the color red to be great and look like a wounded baitfish but then you here about how red line dissapears.  What is the case with that?  Does red really look like blood and is it a good color for lures(i think so).

[Tokyo Tony]

Marketing hype, IMO.  That's not to say that red crankbaits/rattletraps don't produce very well at times, but the vast majority of the hype we hear is just that.

[Bassackward]

Actuallu just read a long article about this is in an In-Fisherman magazine.  An really intersting thing that they mentioned was that the whole "bleeding bait" concept is just hype.  They said that bass dont have the mental ability to associate red on the lure with the bait being wounded.  As far as the line goes, they said that it really doesnt dissapear any better than anything else.  They talked about maybe using in next to red background that you would find in some oklahoma lakes.  They did, however, show what color bass see best in deep, mirky water, and red was ones of the best.  

[islandbass]

There are a number of threads that addressed this that a quick search for "red" ought to bring you to them.

I am also of the sentiment of gimmick for "bleeding" red, but I used to buy red hooks 'cause they looked purty. ;D

[powerman970]

Those red hooks are only pretty till the color starts coming off and then they look like garbage.

As far as the red line disappearing, I don't know how things look through a bass's eyes but I do know how they look through mine.  In a tank red is nearly completely invisible and it is a noticeable difference over other lines.  As far as the red baits for the "bleeding" effect, it would seem to me that in order for a bass to recognize red as bleeding it would have to be able to reason.  I think red is 90% gimmick and 10% maybe.  But if it helps your confidence then you should use it.

[The Next KVD]

Red line is translucent which a makes it dissappear under water.  Red hooks however isn't translucent and when light hits the hook it flashes red into the water.  I totally believe in this and I have noticed a huge difference in the bites I have gotten.  With a front red treble 90% of the fish I have caught on a crankbait, the red treble was wat stuck the fish.  I don't fish red line so I'll leave it at that.

[Al Wolbach]

Actuallu just read a long article about this is in an In-Fisherman magazine. An really intersting thing that they mentioned was that the whole "bleeding bait" concept is just hype. They said that bass dont have the mental ability to associate red on the lure with the bait being wounded. As far as the line goes, they said that it really doesnt dissapear any better than anything else. They talked about maybe using in next to red background that you would find in some oklahoma lakes. They did, however, show what color bass see best in deep, mirky water, and red was ones of the best.

Next weeks In-Fisherman TV show is going to cover this topic.........AL

[NBR]

A color is what is reflected off an object. So a red line is one that reflects the red in the color spectrum. When the line or color gets below the depth/murky level that absorbs or filters out the red then the line or color would appear black or maybe grey. So at depth gills or blood would appear grey or black and the fish would see blood or gills at depth as they always have.

Having said all that I don't think the red makes a hoot of difference except in the confidence factor which can really be big.

[Raul]

Red hooks do make a difference !

Purchased 4 extra packs of EWG cuz red hooks were cheaper than regular hooks by 50 cents a pack ..... aside from being the only ones available that day at the store the difference was in the pocket.  

[.ghoti.]

Red hooks do make a difference !

Purchased 4 extra packs of EWG cuz red hooks were cheaper than regular hooks by 50 cents a pack ..... aside from being the only ones available that day at the store the difference was in the pocket.

Precisely!  ;D  ;D  ;D

I have an experiment designed to answer this question once and for all.This is for some of you who have a bass in your aquarium. What we want to determine is; do red hooks provoke more strikes, and, does red line disappear in the water.

Simple enough.

Step 1; teach your bass to speak english. This will be much harder if you have to teach it to press two para espanol.

Step2; ask it these questions.

Step3; post the fish's replies here for all to read.

That should put an end to this silly "red" debate.

[Catt]

While there is no scientific evidence behind it I know for a fact if y'all are fishing against me on Toledo Bend and your bait doesn't contain some sort of red you're just donating an entry fee.

I don't know dude I think Raul's bass are pretty fluent in español  

[.ghoti.]

While there is no scientific evidence behind it I know for a fact if y'all are fishing against me on Toledo Bend and your bait doesn't contain some sort of red you're just donating an entry fee.

I don't know dude I think Raul's bass are pretty fluent in español

Good one, buddy.

My most productive bait has been a red shad Senko. Number three one my list is a red shad power worm.

But, I do not believe that these colors provoke a feeding reaction because they look like blood. That is simply BS.  A bass brain does not have the horsepower ( or would that be fishpower) to perform this type of reasoning.

I think these colors works in part because their mottled appearance tends to blur the outline a bit, making these baits a little harder for the fish to ignore as unnatural.

If you want your line to "disappear" in the water, then fish green line in green water, blue line in blue water, clear line in clear water, and if you find some red water, then try that red line.

[Joel W]

The only thing that I've found that Red hook catches more then a regular hook is the fishermen who buys them.  Reaction lures are just that, the Bass react to them, by their movement and bouncing off of things. There is no proof that Bass ever key in on the hooks, just the lure itself.  

[snyper77]

There's one good bass lake near my home (Greenwood, MS) and 90% of my productive days are from using black-red (red shad) colors. I've tried black-blue pig n jigs, white spinnerbaits, chrome crankbaits... dead results. But black-red pig 'n jigs, black-red brush hogs, etc. always land fish. Today, I went to another lake that I'm not very familiar with. Fished a black-blue pig 'n jig and a white chatterbait for about 3 hours. At the end of those 3 hours, I caught one 10" bass on the black-blue jig. I then spoke to a passer by who was fishing for crappie. He asked "What are you fishing for?" I said "bass". He said "I just caught 3, on a red-white jig. THrow something with red in it". So, I cut my jig off, and tied on a black-red jig with black trailer. Within 5 casts, I set the hook on a 2 pound bass. Coincidence? Maybe. Color? Maybe. Simply put, I love a black-red combo for all soft plastics. Question though: Have you guys had good luck with crankbaits or spinnerbaits in that color?

[DrumintheSuds]

I have only found one situation where red makes any difference. I fish a lot of stained water ponds and I have caught many fish on darker colored plastics like purple and blue. I found that when I added a red tail it made a significant difference. The reason?.........Contrast of dark body and bright tail. My favorite set-up in stained water is a Grape / Firetail culprit worm dipped in red spike. I buy them by the case.

[Just_Old_Fisherman]

Here is what Doug Hannon thinks about it.  This is an excerpt from the Professors Forum:

Quote:

"is red line like Cajun red cast really less visible to fish than regular low vis green mono? "

Answer:

Many gamefish have a heightened sensitivity to the color red. It is the only color known to increase the strike reflex in fish, and, as such, has a place in lure presentation.  I don't buy that it would be good in a line color, because typically we do not want the line to be noticed.  The fact that it disappears at depth does not mean it is rendered invisible.  The red is simply replaced with black.  I would favor pale green as the least visible line.  Doug Hannon

[MickD]

I think off-line has it right, the way I remember the In Fisherman article is that red doesn't disappear at depth, it just loses its red and looks black.

If you say red doesn't make any difference to fish(in shallow enough water to stay red) then you are in essence saying no color makes any difference, and I know that is not true.

In clear water in Canada, less than 10 foot depth, using spinner baits and other similar lures for pike, color makes a big difference.  Some days red/white is best, some days firetiger, some days purple/white.  One year it was clown Rapala Husky Jerks.  Last year they were not good, but firetiger and green/black similar lures worked well.  Last year it appeared that the walleyes really liked yellow and orange jigs better than anything.

I'm talking only clear water.