Colors Just dont know...

[RecMar8541]

My Dad sent me an article about how fish see different colors.  After reading the crawfish post here I thought I would throw this out there.

I am not sure if I agree with it or not, but heres the jist of it.

Bass see in "tones"  not colors.  Shades of grey so to speak.  For example, chartreuse is ultra bright white, even brighter than plain white.  

So different colors to them, are basically just different shades.

It went on to say that bass often feed by shape recognition.  So the easier it is for them to define the shape of something, the more likely they are to hit it.  

Finally, they explained that to simply have a white bait a black bait and many shades of grey inbetween would not suffice, because of "depth of color" that blues reds etc etc provide.

Ok having said that.  Initially to me that goes against everything I know about fishing plastics, where generally you try to match the lake bottom, or a color of prey ie crawdads.  If you are trying to get your bait to "blend in"  then wouldnt that make it stand out LESS?  

This would throw the black at night right out the window, and match the hatch ridiculous.

To me this article made some points, but all in all just seemed to go against everything I have known about bass....

What do you guys think??

[roadwarrior]

#1 I think color is WAY overrated, but we all know that sometimes a specific color is killer. My favorite colors are "dark" and white. With soft plastics, dark colors are always in play. Yep, I have several that I fish, but I only "need" watermelon with black flakes. For hard baits, white, silver, white & silver or black. However, my favorite is green.

BTW, I caught my PB on a bluegill pattern. Go figure.

[Brian_Reeves]

I just modified this entire post.  Deleted the old one and started from scratch.  Keep on fishing like you do and keep experimenting like us bass'ers are famous for.  If you are catching fish, then who cares if roses are red and violets are blue?

[senile1]

I am one of those who believes in the dark/light color dichotomy mentioned by Roadwarrior, but that only tells you what works for me.  It would be nice to have an explanation for the contradictory information we receive regarding the color of lures from the "experts" but I don't have one.

[Guest avid]

Very thoughtful post.

I have often thought about color.  I've begun to apply my own personal theory and it's working very well for me.

Personally I think that certain lures work better in certain colors.  Why this is I don't know, but I can tell you that a black/blue jig works best for me.  Worms in natural colors work best for me.  Spinnerbaits in white work best for me. lipless crankbaits in gold work best for me. lipped crank baits in chartruese work best for me and so on.

In an attempt to thin out my massive and totally unnecessary tackle collection I am started to replace proven lures in their proven colors, size etc.  No more buying a ratLtrap in 3 sizes and 5 shades.

Yes, there are exceptions.  One notable one is trick worms in merthiolate.  there is nothing in the water that remotely resembles a long skinny snake like creature in an electric pink color, but their are days when the bass will crush it.

to reply directly to your post recmar, I think bass do see colors, and see them very well.  However I think that color is not the primary factor.  Finding the fish and putting a suitable bait in front of them is the most important.  Then things like, flash or no flash, fast or slow, etc. are next.  Choose the color of your baits based on confidence and you should be ok.

Great question.

[Grey Wolf]

I agree with Avid 100%.

[RoLo]

Scientists can't see through a bass's eyes, so it may be a while before they're able

to "prove" whether bass actually see colors, or just shades of gray.

In the meantime, we're left to our own devices and that might be bad,

because fishermen are incorrigible "color bigots".

I lived through the era when the popular phrase was, "Any color is good, as long as it's Purple".

What we really need is an "hour-meter" installed in each of our lures. We might learn

that fishermen and not bass, determine the most effective colors and patterns.

How many fishermen actually participate in the acid-test? That is, when bass action couldn't be better,

how many anglers tie on thier least liked color to see if it actually causes a negative affect?

Then of course, switch back to their favorite color, to see if there's any reverse affect.

To carry any weight, the acid-test would need to be repeated on numerous occasions.

Quite naturally, a color with 10 hours on the meter, cannot compete against a color with 1,000 running hours.

Roger

[BASS fisherman]

From what I read, there have been studies done that state that bass do indeed have "cones" which are used to detect colors.  Just like we have rods and cones in our eyes, so do bass.  Now I have never actually checked myself, but the fact that alot of tournament anglers will often experiment  by rigging up several rods all with the same plastic but in different colors, to find just that right color during practice on a certain body of water is enough proof for me.  

[burleytog]

All I know is that watermelon seed won't catch a thing in one local lake, but you can catch them all day on watermelon/red.

Take those wm/red worms to a lake 20 miles up the road and you won't get a bite.  Tie on a green pumpkin worm and you get bit.

I prefer not to think about color as it makes my head hurt.  

[Bankbeater]

I think color is more important in the shallows where more sunlight can get through.  In deeper water I usually stick to the darker color baits.

[roadwarrior]

All I know is that watermelon seed won't catch a thing in one local lake, but you can catch them all day on watermelon/red.

Take those wm/red worms to a lake 20 miles up the road and you won't get a bite. Tie on a green pumpkin worm and you get bit.

I prefer not to think about color as it makes my head hurt.

This is another of "my" colors, especially in mid-summer. Why? I haven't a clue.

[Pa Angler]

I think color is more important in the shallows where more sunlight can get through. In deeper water I usually stick to the darker color baits.

I agree.

[burleytog]

All I know is that watermelon seed won't catch a thing in one local lake, but you can catch them all day on watermelon/red.

Take those wm/red worms to a lake 20 miles up the road and you won't get a bite. Tie on a green pumpkin worm and you get bit.

I prefer not to think about color as it makes my head hurt.

This is another of "my" colors, especially in mid-summer. Why? I haven't a clue.

You and me both.  I tried every color under the sun last year before settling on wm/red.  Happened on it one morning and ended up catching around 20 that day on every type of Zoom plastic in wm/red that I had.  U-tail, brush hog, finesse worm, trick worm, lizard.  Didn't matter what type of bait it was, all that mattered was the color.

Problem is finding wm/red that looks right.  Zoom has it right, GYBC's wm/red is a bit dark for my liking.

[Blue Streak]

Over the years I have expierenced days when just very subtle changes in color were the only difference between a large catch and nothing at all. So I am a big believer that bass do see colors and have definite preferences.