red?

[celandra]

If cajun red fishing line disappears under water why the hype with red lures and hooks, is that red visable to the bass?

[RoLo]

Welcome aboard Celandra,

Red is the first color to disappear underwater, because it has the longest wave length (most vulnerable).

But as long as the color red is perceptible underwater, studies have shown that it's the only color

to incite a reaction in fish (Toreadors would agree).

Roger

[playmaker47]

The color red disappears somewhere around 12 ft. So I wouldnt recomend cajun line for fishing real shallow water. Red lures and lures with red hooks would be best fished shallow and not so much in deeper water.

[Guest bassmaster79]

From 0 to 5 feet under water most colors can been seen.  After that colors start to turn to black, white, gray.  One day, if you swim, go under water as far as you can and carry a colored object with you and watch what happens.  If you fish really deep than color doesn't really matter, IMO.  If you fish shallow than color will pose an impact on how the fish will react.

[RoLo]

The depth at which a color can be percieved hinges on sky clarity (cloudy/sunny), water clarity,

surface roil and whether you're in sun or shade. Under average conditions, red becomes difficult

to distinguish from black below 6 feet deep. Though I don't like or use red fishing line,

the red hue in a translucent fishing line disappears very quickly.

Roger

[Chris]

I used photo chromic line for years which is a red/orange hue. In some water you can not see the line, it does disappear (pre fluorocarbon). How does Cajun red disappear? Water filters out certain colors more quickly than others. The color red is the first color to be completely filtered. This means that once the line goes under water, it starts to become invisible to fish in as little as 3 ft of water. Why is red a good color for lures? because your dealing with a difference in the amount of red. For example you take a white piece of paper and put a small dot of red on it and next to it make a 2" square of solid red and look at it from across the room. Which are you going to see better? If you take all the colors from white to black and put it on a scale red should be the center color. Red is not considered light or dark. Red is the one color that you should use if you have some visibility in the water and you don't know what to use. If you paint a lure all red with a marker in dirty water it might appear dark in clear water it might appear red or a dull red/gray. The amount of light that can reflect off of a bait makes the color that can be seen. You also need to consider what is in the water making the water the color that it is. Like if you have an algae bloom the water might appear green and this will also alter the color that the lure will appear. This is the color factor that most people miss.

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

Chris, ya got it right. Cajun line is barely red, not painted red, just tinted a poor red compared to a bright red painted lure. Light is absorbed in the Cajun, very little refracting under water, mostly reflecting in air. Red refracts quicker under water, while purple is the last color to go, and it's seen as purple a long way down. That's why purple worms have remained so effective, the number one all time color. But bright painted red both reflects and refracts in water fairly efficiently, especially if there's enough red surface area. I took some scuba lessons a few years ago, won on a radio show, and will never forget a minute of that. Our suits were purple with red and white stripes, yellow numbers on the back. I managed to advance to the 50 foot depth then quit due to ear problems. It's DARK down there even at high noon over clear water! But we carried lanterns that lit up whatever was around us. Down there, when close to another diver, I could see all those colors. In the oceans, a mile down, animals have been photographed in brilliant red. My point is red can be seen anywhere in water as long as there's enough light reaching a red object. However, that reflected or refracted light won't travel far, being absorbed quicker than any other color. I could see the leading diver, but he was only a black blob just 20 feet away. A bass supposedly can see rainbow colors much better than humans, so if we can see red underwater, the bass will see it first. Does a bass see the red Cajun? Maybe. But I've had bass follow a colored line like green, blue, or smoke down with nose to line and eat a lure on the end of it. I don't think a bass can reason in linear terms like we can, seeing no alarming thing about a line. We see a line on the road and project down it. A bass doesn't relate to straight lines, but to movement, objects resembling forage, colors, curious pixel arrangements of images. Add increasing invisibility to the line, as with flourocarbon line, or even the faint red of Cajun, and a bass would have to ignore it.

Jim

[Rob G.]

Celandra,  You got lots of opinions here.  They also say blue is the last color to be filtered out.  To be honest, I do not buy into the "red" reaction theory.  I do not think red hurts your chances of catching bass, but I am not convinced that it really helps much either.  Just another fishing fad.  People site studies and stuff, but if you dig deep enough you will find studies that contradict them.  Simple thing is that these fads or theorys cause us all to go spend money on new baits.  

[RoLo]

They also say blue is the last color to be filtered out.

It's really not hokus pokus but is based on the length of the light waves, which are neatly delineated

by the color spectrum seen with a prism. The order in which colors disappear, whether underwater

or above water, is Red - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - Indigo - Violet

Violet is the last to disappear, but that doesn't make it the best color, only the last to disappear.

To be honest, I do not buy into the "red" reaction theory.

Although I don't buy into the match-the-hatch theory, I do buy into the red-reaction theory.

I've never read a study refuting that red induces a reaction in bass apart from the visibility factor.

It may be because blood is red, but no one really knows. Unfortunately, red becomes black

rather quickly underwater depending on available light. Which is to say water clarity, sky clarity, surface disturbance and whether it's in the sun or shade.

Roger

[logger]

Great topic. I also noticed the same question in this month's bassmaster magazine. They probably don't want to upset any of their advertisers by taking a position on it. They dodged the question pretty much. I have used red hooks while tube, lizard, and worm fishing. IMO I don't think it changed my catch rate much.

[Peter E.]

I agree with Roger, he took the words out of my keyboard! Like anything else though if you throw it more you catch more on it. As far as line goes try flourocarbon. and the red works for me on lures, I take finger nail polish and put it on if there is none on it.

Peter

[tipptruck1]

Well i saw this on some fishing show. Some body asked this question. Heres the answer Snice cajan red line aint solid light passes through it. But snice the paint is solid light reflects off of it. so i hope this helps

[Guest avid]

I could have sworn I replied to this post already.  Maybe I got deleted for extreme sarcasim?  Anyway, Cajun red line does not disappear.  The COLOR red gets filtered out but the object it is connected to, line, lure, whatever is still visible it just does not appear as red.  Don't think that by using Cajun red line you have a line that is invisible to the fish.  Flourocarbon is the least visible line.

[huskertko]

The color red disappears somewhere around 12 ft. So I wouldnt recomend cajun line for fishing real shallow water. Red lures and lures with red hooks would be best fished shallow and not so much in deeper water.

not saying this isn't true, but if you have ever been to Lake Tahoe, you can see a red ball from the surface in 25' of water.

[Chris]

That is because you have enough light that can reflect off of it because the water is clear.

[squid]

I LIKE RED!!.....LOL       RED RED RED RED RED RED RED RED RED....LOL  This coming from a guy who USES all the GAMMA products....lol  I do have one rig with cajun red.  I do use red hooks all the time...cost the same..so why not...lol