Fishing Lure Colors Pt 3: How Waves Affect Lure Color Visibility
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- Опубліковано 25 сер 2024
- Fishing Lure Color Selection Charts available at makewoodenlure...
In the third video of this 4 part series, we'll explore why surface waves seriously reduce the visibility of fishing lure colors.
Most people don't realize that it only takes a little bit of surface ripple to seriously reduce the light available beneath the surface. And as the light fades, so does the importance of fishing lure colors.
This is especially the case during the early mornings and late afternoons, when the angle of the sun already minimizes light penetration into the water.
So how do you adjust lure color selection for those days when waves disturb the water surface?
Simple! Fluorescent colors can increase the intensity of what fish can see. A glossy clear coat or a foiled finish can create flash that fish can see more easily than color.
And of course, focus on the action, dive depth and silhouette of your lures under these conditions - and less on lure color selection.
Remember - fish don't have to see color to find or take your lure..... other things are usually more important.
He he! Well spotted! It's actually a glitch in the graphic, although white is very visible at depth - it changes color as the red, orange, yellow and green wavelengths disappear, at depth it just looks blue!
Hi Kambiz,
thanks - I really appreciate the feedback. Taking the guesswork and misinformation out of lure fishing is what I try to do. I'm glad you found it useful.
Regards
Greg
(continued from the post below)
So for example a fluorescent pink lure reflects the pink wavelengths like a normal pink one. But it also absorbs red wavelengths and re-emits them as pink making the color look brighter. So yes, definitely more visible under low light conditions or when the water is a little dirty. How much? Well, as always it depends on a lot of factors, but low light conditions at 35-40 feet would be pushing the limits! If the water was clear enough it might be possible.
finally someone who takes a scientific approach to fishing as opposed to traditional way of hear-say testimonials
Pink wavelengths behave very much like red - they disappear at fairly shallow depths. (I love pink lures for clear, shallow water btw). Fluorescent pinks are good to a slightly greater depth. Browns and other natural colors tend to get darker the deepr the water and slowly become gray or black as the depth increases. Lighter naturals like beiges and creams start to look blue at depth and then turn gray/black when the blue wavelengths eventually petre out.
Dark colors always throw a stronger silhouette when viewed from below. Fluorescence depends on light striking the lure and being reflected with a boost. But if there is no light they don't look any different to any other color. Luminescent ones glow in the dark - but don't seem that attractive to fish. Unless the fish are shining a flashlight upwards they won't get the benefit of fluorescence! But viewed from above or the side in 25-30 feet of water, fluorescent lures are definitely brighter
I know, it does your head in! Fluorescents always absorb higher energy (short wavelength) and emit longer wavelengths - and you're right, always at lower intensity than the shorter wavelength. Also, a lot of fluorescents are changing UV wavelengths to visible ones - but UV doesn't penetrate well into water, so the lures may not be fluorescent once they are below the surface - depends on the paint and how clear the water is!
How would this affect bright white or black?
does this mean that red braid fishing line is much better than any other colors for braid?
Greg these are some great videos for me as i am a beginner in fishing, thank you. I had 1 question. Does this mean in the evening or when its night time and there isn't any light coming from the sun, we should just stick with darker colors like green, blue, or black in shallow and deep fishing ?
Hi Manuel,
All the scientific evidence I've found says that's not the case. But at the end of the day even if they could see red 100 times better than humans it makes no difference if the red wavelengths aren't there to see. The bottom line is that in most aquatic environments red wavelengths are filtered out very quickly.
Regards
Greg
At 40m you fit strobing LEDS on your lures..
Fluorescent chemicals absorb higher wavelengths than they absorb, and never at a higher intensity so at 'blue' depths a lure would likely emit green or yellow (depending on dye used). So it would appear yellow or green at the 'blue' depth. However, wouldn't that make it more difficult to see from a distance since reflected blue light would travel further than emitted green light? Or is the unusual color at that depth just a better trigger to fish up close? I might have to go diving with lures!
Thanks Lloyd, love the questions you guys ask! I was actually planning to do a vid on fluorescents when I managed to find the time! Once again, youtube limits my response - so I'll give you the short answer, but I'll put something on my blog soon. Follow the above link to my homepage, then click the blog tag.
Ok, so here's the short answer: the way fluorescent colors work is that they absorb some wavelengths and then emit them as different wavelengths.
What about "PINK"?! and Brown? Natural colors like a nightcrawler?!
Thankz Bro...
But what about SILVER?
Nice theoretic video - but didn't give a notice that fisheyes see possibly complete different than humans.
Remember: we can't breath underwater - so its obviously that seeing is also guite different.
Or can you explain:
WHY, why, why I always catch best with red/yellow lures, when the water is mirky and/or at sunset???
Fish eyes use the same basic anatomical structures as human eyes (and all other animals). Cone cells in the retina pick up color, while rod cells detect contrast. Fish have a vastly higher proportion of rod cells than human eyes do, which means they are much better at detecting contrast as us and much less effective at detecting color than we are. The reason you most likely do so well with those colors in dirty water and low light is most likely because that's what you most often fish with because you believe it works best for you. In those conditions fish hunt primarily using the lateral line to detect vibration, ears to detect and range the sound (which they hear much better underwater than humans).
to make an add: I have the orange/yellow on silent lures which are making no vibrations: Rubber-Jig and needlefish lure
Haramis Kalfar
You are misunderstanding what I'm saying.... please read again, I didn't say that all species have the same eyes. However, the eyes of every living creature on the planet work in very much the same way (which is very different to how a camera works, by the way - although both require reflected light to create an image).... In the eye a cornea/iris focuses light reflected of objects onto the retina where electrochemical impulses send an signal via optic nerve to the brain for interpretation. It is in the retina that rod and cone cells do their thing - rod cells are super sensitive to light but not discerning of color..... in most fish there are vastly more rod cells for grayscale vision - and unlike in humans, they are retractable, which allows them to adjust more finely to detect silhouettes. Some fish species have large eyes, some small. When it comes to color vision some reef species can see colors that human eyes can't (infra-red or UV). Freshwater species tend to be better able to distinguish between shades of green, yellow and brown. Offshore pelagics can see shades of blues and purples better. Nocturnal and deep water species have larger eyes to capture more light in a poorly lit environment but usually have very poor color vision. They also have a much higher proportion of rod cells which are super sensitive to small amounts of light, but are not discerning of wavelengths. This gives these species much better vision in low light and dirty water - but it's not color vision, it's simply the ability to make out silhouettes and contrast. But the key point you are missing is that in order for an eye (or a camera) to see any color it must detect light of a specific wavelength that has reflected off an object. In an aquatic environment at low light and dirty water those wavelengths aren't even there to be detected. Just like in human beings, when light levels are low there is no color vision. And since the fish's watery environment creates conditions where light levels are frequently very low they don't need to see color. It has nothing to do with what a fish's eyes are capable of detecting. It's basic laws of physics and optics that govern the behavior of light in water and have been known for half a century. Put to guys in a dimly lit room, one in a red shirt and one in a blue shirt and they'll both look like shadowy gray figures.... that's the fishes world.
Haramis Kalfar
There is no such thing as a lure that makes no vibration, to do so it must be perfectly stationary in a place where there is no water movement. The lateral line of fish can detect the minutest movement in water - it's one of the ways they hunt and find prey in complete darkness. The ears of a fish are many times more sensitive than the ears of a human and hear a different range of sounds. Plus, they can determine the direction of a sound in water, which human ears cannot due to anatomical differences.
btw, it's been very wel documented that dogs can see color, but they see a more limited range than humans. And yes, it is the cone cells in their retina that detects the color, just as it does in fish and in humans.
👍👍👍💖💖
What about "PINK"?!
dont some fish see red much better than we do ?
did u notice guys? out of all colors on that lure, only white color on eye is remain visible down to the deepest level of the water! So the conclusion is....... the best lure color for all weather/water condition is WHITE!
Again, you forget the UV and IR spectrum of light, and what Fluorescent colors actually do.
A fluorescent orange will still look orange at 20 meters depth event hough all orange and red light is gone. this is because UV light is still there, and the Fluorescent orange color picks up the UV light and transmits it as an orage light in the spectrum that we can see. Fish can actually see UV light so they will not only see the orange light reflected but also the UV light reflected.
On a still day, in clear oceanic waters with the sun directly overhead less than 22% of the UV light incident at the water surface penetrates to a depth of 10m. The rest has been scattered, absorbed or reflected. That penetration depth is drastically reduced by any kind of turbidity (eg plankton, sediment particles) or if the water surface is rippled. You are correct that an ordinary orange lure at depth will not look orange because there is no there are no incident orange wavelengths to reflect off the lure. UV light striking the lure surface will result in the transmission of orange wavelengths, it's true. So lets say an orange lure at the water surface reflects 100% of orange light. And a fluorescent lure at the water surface reflects 100% of orange light, plus 25% of incident UV is converted to orange wavelengths (the efficiency of wavelength conversion is typically low). So an orange lure at the water surface to our eyes looks 100% bright, a fluorescent orange lure looks 125%. At 10m, all incident orange light is gone, so the orange lure looks 0% orange. And only 22% of uv remains, so the intensity of orange color emitted by the fluorescent lure is 25% x 22%= 5.5% the intensity of the color at the surface at best, under perfect conditions. Sorry to disappoint you, but fluorescent colors don't have the intensity at depth that you might expect.
IR penetration into the water varies depending on wavelength, but it's even more affected by plankton, sediment etc than UV. Plus IR wavelengths don't have the energy to cause fluorescence and I'm not aware of any species that can see IR, so they're not particularly important in a lure fishing sense.
BTW, you might like to check out my eBook explaining in much greater depth (no pun) about light and fish vision: www.amazon.com/Why-Fish-Dont-Your-Lures-ebook/dp/B00B3NPNUU
:)