More....
Many waters have a greenish color and naturally, green light penetrates to the greatest depth. You can usually see 10 to 15 feet deep in these lakes. In stained water, where you can see down to 6 feet, the colors, which penetrate, are orange, green and red. Where you find muddy water, the only light to penetrate is the long wavelength (red color). All other light is reflected by the particles in the water. So it would seem logical to choose a lure with red in it when fishing in muddy water. When I'm bass fishing in the back of muddy coves I always choose a craw pattern which is black with red glitter and a fire claw. The other important aspect of fishing in muddy water is to use a lure, which reflects the small amount of light that is available. A good example would be a Spinnerbait with a silver and black blade. Combine the silver with the contrasting black and you have a lure, which is very easy for fish to see. To make this combo complete, add a black and red skirt and you have one of the best bass catching lures for muddy conditions. If you're chasing pike, make the skirt a hot pink or chartreuse and jump up to the ¾ oz. head. Spinner fishermen, whether working for largemouth bass, pike or rainbow trout can't go wrong with a hand painted red beetle on a silver background and adds black spots for contrast.

If you find yourself faced with a stained water situation, which occurs anytime you have mudline or throughout most of the Canadian shield lakes, you need to choose a lure that is orange, green or chartreuse. The classic example would be a firetiger color. It combines those three colors with a black back for contrast. Rather than choosing silver for flash in your baits, instead try copper, brass or gold. These color combinations of gold with black and silver make the right color of flash to draw fish to the lure. If you are fishing soft plastics, pick a base of smoke, brown, pumpkin or melon and add orange, green and copper flake to make a highly attractive lure.

Many fishing situations occur where you can see your lure up to 15 feet deep. In these waters green, smoke, pumpkin and white are very productive colors. (White is not a color, but rather all of the colors of the spectrum combined.) For the toughest fishing conditions, you should fish these colors without any glitter added for flash. One of these times would be when bass are spawning.

In super clear waters lure selection goes toward clear baits with a variety of glitter colors. When using craw patterns I usually like ones with some pepper combined with green and orange or red glitter. I also like a smoke base with blue, gold and pepper. My selection in hard baits goes toward the flashy side. Combinations of blue and silver or gold and black will always produce fish in almost any species and all of these are productive in clear water with bright skies.

All of the information that was previous discussed, applied to lure selection during high light conditions and various water conditions. So, what do you do when you're faced with low light conditions early in the morning? There are three different light levels, which occur each day. Low light occurs from first light until sunup. Medium light occurs from sunup until the sun reaches 20 degrees to the horizon. (You measure 20 degrees by holding your hand at eye level and pointing your middle finger at the horizon. Spread your index finger as far as you can and sight down your middle finger. If the sun falls inside that area, then it is call medium light. Finally, high light is most of the day, from either side of 20 degrees to the horizon. Here are a few general rules about light condition and lure selection. Keep in mind that these apply to clear water conditions. When you are fishing very early in the morning and the first light appears in the sky, blue, purple or black in combination with silver flash work best. As the sky takes on an orange glow, especially at sunset, red and orange are the most productive colors. Once the sun is up, switch to green lures that use red, yellow or orange for contrast. After the light becomes bright, the more neutral colors of brown or gray will be the best choice. Use lures that only have a splash of bright color, such as fluorescent pink or chartreuse. Too much color triggers a negative response from the fish. To relate light condition back to water clarity, when you are fishing muddy water you are basically fishing low light conditions all of the time. That's why black, silver and red work well under muddy conditions.

Lastly, if you are fishing at night you are fishing in the absence of light. Fish have much better night vision than we do and can easily feed under the darkest sky. In fact many of the largest fish feed at night and avoid most of the fishing pressure. When choosing a lure color for night fishing, the first thing to consider is the amount of available moonlight. If it is a full moon, choose a lure that is dark with a lot of flash. The emphasis here is on a lot of flash. In soft plastics, black with silver glitter, motor oil with gold glitter, smoke with silver glitter or blue with blue glitter can all be equally effective. Another good choice is merthiolate. This combination of black and red can be deadly. Of course fishing a spinnerbait is always a good option. The flash and vibration of the spinner attract fish to the lure and the black or white skirt is an easy target. If you are working a stickbait the foil covered ones produce the most flash and usually catch the most fish. If clouds partially cover the moon, then pearlized chartreuse will out fish any other color. I don't have an explanation for this, I only know it works. On dark of the moon nights, the dark brown of black lures seems to be the best. Slow down you presentation and work very close to shore for most fish when it is very dark. They loose most of their inhibitions when it is dark and will feed in very shallow water.

With tackle boxes full of different sizes, shapes and colors of lures it is often hard to know where to start. Hopefully you can eliminate some of the guesswork when it comes to choosing which color to fish. If you're fishing with a partner, each of you choose a different color of lure in the same style and use the same presentation. You will quickly learn which color fish prefer at that point in time. If fish quit striking your lure, quickly change to another color. This is especially true when light conditions are changing. Once you have mastered color selection, you can advance to lure presentation and fish location at which point you will be a master angler.

Does Color Make A Difference To Fish?
Hidden amongst our carefully organized tackle trays and satchels are a never-ending collection of cranks, jigs, plastics, and flies—duplicates in a myriad of colors, and many in hues that often defy description. The old adage states that lures were designed to catch fishermen and not fish—and each of our tackle boxes certainly support this theory.

The fundamental inquiry remains: Does color really make a difference to fish? The answer to that may surprise you, because in the end, it isn’t so much what fish can see (although that does play a big part in it), but more so how colors appear in the underwater world, which is entirely dependent on a wider range of ever-changing criteria.

THE EYES HAVE IT
Most species of fish possess similar characteristics within their eyes to those of humans. The retina contains two types of cells—rods and cones. Cones allow a fish to see color, and are the cells used for daytime vision. Once darkness falls, a fish will rely on their rod cells, which cannot differentiate color, but can sense light intensity, and are responsible for black, white, and grey vision. Most freshwater fish contain both of these cells in their retina, however, day feeders—think bass and pike—often have more cones than rods, whereas nighttime feeders, such as walleye, will ultimately have more rods.

These rods are light sensitive, and the adjustment from day vision to night vision (and vice versa) requires at least 30 minutes to complete (called accommodation), or as long as two hours. Many of us experience this lull in action as darkness enshrouds the lake and fish readjust their senses.

Different fish species differ considerably in what colors they can see, and what colors they see best. Fish like bass, bluegill, crappie, walleye, and perch are mostly limited to the spectral range of red-orange and yellow-green. They have very little if any color vision in the range of blue and violet. Their best color vision (i.e. the area where they have the best discrimination between fine differences in color hue) typically peaks in the range of red-orange, with a secondary peak in the yellow-green range. Fish like trout and carp have a broader range of color vision.

“Certainly bass use color vision more than do walleye. While both species have color vision, and see roughly the same color spectrum, because bass have a higher concentration of cone cells, they would rely on color vision more than walleye.”

THE LIGHT/COLOR EQUATION
The color of a lure is the result of the color of light it reflects. As this light penetrates the water column in wavelengths, colors begin to be absorbed as the depth increases. Red produces the longest wavelengths, followed in order by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Those colors with the longest wavelength are absorbed first, meaning the hue fades and gradually appears black much quicker than all other colors. Warm colors are first to go, while cool colors hold on to their hue longest.

Shiny lures such as silver and gold are less effective when cloud cover rolls in, and can become almost invisible without the sun shining, even in clear water. The reason for this is that they reflect the grayness that is surrounding them, instead of the bright rays of the sun. Tossing dark colors during periods such as this will often work best, giving your lure the greatest contrast and silhouette.

Keep in mind that as the sun sets, those colors possessing the longest wavelengths—starting with red—will disappear the quickest. Once the sun rises, blue and green are the first colors a fish will see, with red being last.

Largemouth bass see colors very well to a depth of approximately five feet when water clarity is good. Since the majority of their prey reside in shallow water, duplicating or “matching the hatch” of the predominant baitfish (generally shades of silver, white, or perch) can be advantageous. Once that same depth of water becomes stained, and vision is restricted, a switch to brighter hues—chartreuse, red, orange—will often put the odds in your favor. Although all colors are absorbed quickly in this circumstance, orange and red will still be most visible when underwater. Chartreuse is a close second. If the water turns the color of chocolate milk, stick to dark colors.

THE CRITERIA FOR CONTRAST
The ability for a fish to see a lure has a lot to do with background color. If fishing a green-colored lure in thick vegetation, or in algae-stained water, although it may appear natural, a fish may struggle to spot it. More often than not, we actually camouflage our baits without knowing it.

A key in these situations is to choose a lure that contrasts against the background you are fishing. Two-toned lures are an excellent choice when faced with this dilemma. Bass are functionally most sensitive to colors in the ranges of red-orange and yellow-green. However, that is not to say that “colors” like black and white, or colors like blue that are perceived as grey are ineffective, since sometimes these colors contrast better against the prevailing background than do colors to which the bass is more sensitive. For instance, in a reddish muddy river, although the dominant available color is red and bass are most sensitive to red-orange, a lure with a brownish red crawdad pattern would be difficult for the bass to see. Black lures, on the other hand, would contrast much better and be more easily detected.

PREDATOR/PREY CORRELATION
Walleye feeding on perch or smallmouth bass on crayfish are tuned in to the nuances of that specific prey, and rely on the recognition of body shape/profile and color to hunt each morsel down. “One way fish use color vision is in recognizing specific visual patterns. As a fish grows, it gradually accumulates distinct mental images of objects that are important to its survival. Color, or rather color patterns, play a big role in fashioning those mental images, helping to separate one image from another. That is huge when it comes to discerning one prey species from another or avoiding specific predators, since the appropriate behavioral response is highly dependent on what the prey or predator is. For example, in cases when fish are feeding with more reserve and are being more selective, the fish may be hunting for a particular favorite prey, meaning that it is searching for a particular visual pattern. In these cases, it is important to play the old game of “matching the hatch,” to essentially give the fish what it is looking for.

Brown is a color that routinely works well for smallmouth bass. Although it may not appear true to its color once far down below, it will still match the same colorations of a crayfish found at those depths. (Remember: any two items that look the same above water will resemble each other down below.) This is where shade comes in to play. The same can be said for largemouth bass feeding on smelt. Tossing a white/silver lure will replicate the sheen of this baitfish precisely, and activate the recognition switch first through the eyes of the bass, then ultimately in the brain. Spend some time in the shallows seeking out the resident baitfish, or check for regurgitated minnows or craws when bringing a fish to the surface. This will give you invaluable insight into a good starting color to toss.

Working clear water is also a time to experiment with natural colors, and as mentioned earlier, those that contrast the background surroundings. Clear water allows a fish to inspect a bait more closely, and as opposed to murky water and reactionary strikes, the more time a fish can give your lure the once over is the more reason to make it appear as lifelike as possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just adding some other info about Bass eyesight!

Bass Eyesight
Good Enough to See Prey, Lures, Lines, Bait and You!

Arguably, bass eyesight is its most important sense as a bass feeds primarily by sight, especially in clear water.
It can see in all directions because their eyes are set slightly forward and on the sides of its head giving each eye virtually a 180-degree visual field arc of vision on each side of its body.
There are, however, blind spots. It can not see directly behind or below itself. Items in this "dead zone" will go unnoticed. Bass are weary of attack from the rear so often back into cover as a precautionary posture.

Lateral Monocular Vision of Bass

The lens of a bass' eye extends beyond the plane of the pupil giving the bass an exceptionally wide lateral field of view. Vision to its sides is monocular (sees with one eye) and farsighted providing at most a viewing distance no more than 50 feet in clear water.
The visual acuity laterally of a bass' eyesight, the ability to distinguish fine details in images, is quite sharp, though depth perception is inferior to that in its frontal vision. The peripheral ability inherent in bass eyesight to focus on distant objects to its sides contributes to it being one of our top freshwater predators.

Frontal Binocular Vision of Bass

Bass have binocular (two-eyed, three dimensional) vision directly above and to the front of its head. This is where the two lateral fields of view overlap and where there is better depth perception. At rest it can focus forward at only roughly 5-12 inches. This binocular vision is what the bass uses to study its prey after locating it laterally then moving closer in a frontal assault before eating or attacking it. This decision is made in a matter of seconds!
Never doubt that they can see farther, 30 to 40 feet, by changing position or focus. They are also quite capable of seeing the angler above the waters surface. Have you ever had a bass grab a bait or lure you cast just as it hit the water? It saw it coming!
Maintain a low profile, muted colored clothing and stealth when approaching an area where you expect to find bass. You can easily spook them.

Motion Detection, The Basis of Bass Vision

A bass is a visual hunter. Bass eyesight, its vision, is motion based. Motion is an indication of life which could be food. Objects that do not move are ignored as they see them as non-living things. Motion, as with most all predators, grabs its attention and is interpreted by its brain as food.
When motion is detected a bass can determine "all at the same time", the location, size, color, shape, size, flash and action of the object and do so at a substantial distance.

Size. As for size, a feeding bass, especially with age, experience and learned behavior, will be quite selective. They will seek to get the biggest reward for the least exertion of energy but experience will deter them from prey, real or artificial, that poses a threat of injury or which may be beyond its ability to handle in a struggle.

Shape. What about shape? Bass eyesight is wired to see specific shapes as food, specifically objects that are long and slender like prey fish. They evaluate shapes relative to how they fit this instinctual wiring. That may explain why they so readily attack plastic worms, though worms are not aquatic creatures and a bass might never see one in its natural habitat.

Color plays a much smaller part in catching bass than most of us think. That's not to say bass can't see colors or that they don't, on any given day, have preferences. They see best medium green and red shades and to a much lesser extent blue and purple. When these colors fall in the darker end of their shades a bass sees merely a dark object.

Color fades to dark as the available light diminishes in deeper water so play little part in catching bass. The preceding link takes you to a good explanation of color and water depth. But color in topwater or shallow water lures, where there is a greater amount of light, is more important when fished in daylight.

Action relates to motion detection. Bass don't react to stationary objects as possible food. They are able to track rapidly moving objects without blurring. They tend to be excited by erratic movement rather than sustained motion as well as variations in speed. Starting and stopping, especially starts, draw strikes.

So, we'll accept this established premise and not go fan casting into the scientific concepts of visible spectrum, light scattering and absorption, wavelengths of light or the rod and cone cells of the retina of a bass' eyes. We'll limit this discussion to the basic truth that the amount of light present determines the shade and intensity of any color, in or out of water.

What matters to we bass anglers is simply this. Studies have established that bass color vision is strongest in medium to light reds, red-orange and yellow-greens. As for blues and purples it's quite weak.

When fishing, remember, the deeper the water or less clear the water, the less light and color there will be.

Let's just do a little fishing line color comparison and noodle over which fishing line color might be the least visible to bass and why. But first, let's briefly nail down what color is.


What Is Color?

When light hits objects, some of the wavelengths are absorbed and some are reflected (scattered), depending on the materials in the object. The reflected wavelengths, colors if you will, are what we receive through our eyes and process by our brain. No two people, or other creatures including fish, see colors the same way because of the different make up of the brains.

There are seven "wavelength" groups of color. They are those shown in the color chart Mr. SmallJaw is looking at above and correspond to those found in nature's rainbow. Each one, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, has a different wavelength (some short some long) which determines the rapidity with which they fade or transform as light diminishes and particulate in the medium through which the light is passing increases.

For We Bass Fishermen It's Really Quite Simple
Now there are those who will lay out in intricate detail how one determines the light at specific depths by using a Seechi disk and a mathematical computation. From this you determine the best fishing line color that is the most or least visible at any depth. While this does indeed work, it's time consuming and cumbersome. I'd rather spend that time casting.

Simply put, all we bass anglers need to know is..... lots of light, lots of color; little light, little color.

For example, the rate colors transform from bright to gray or black as water deepens and available light diminishes. Note which colors fade out the quickest when water is "clear", "stained" or "muddy", and use it as your rule of thumb yardstick, for determining the best fishing line color, or worst for that matter, to use.

Presentation:

In clear to lightly stained water a Crappie can SEE another fish from 10 feet away...it can also feed and survive on zooplankton the size of a speck of pepper. Large Crappie do not filter feed but will see and pick off the zooplankton with their visually acute and keen eyesite.
Walleye and Bass also have great visual acuity and will also feed on small prey to survive or if they are just being lazy and can fill up/gorge without exertion.

When dealing with fish that have great eyesight it helps to chose colors wisely to improve your chances when fishing for them...you need to help them to be able to "Find" your lure, then you have to be able to "temp them" into biting, which is another problem in itself!

We have noticed during hatches throughout the year that fish will "Key In" on certain colors. Mayfly larva have certain coloration, same with certain minnows that hatch in the Spring, same with shiners or logperch hatches, or when the Crawdads show up again, or locust, grasshoppers, etc.
Even in Stained water, profiles/silhouettes of what they are feeding on, and coloration of Natural prey in the water, come into play...along with surface noise, or swimming vibration, that attracts the fish to the whereabouts of the prey!
Once they find it, then you have to make your lure act the same as the prey they are feeding on during this time so they will strike and want to eat it!
If they are eating minnows, you must make your offering act like a injured minnow, same with craws, splashing or wiggling bugs/larva. The more realistic and easier you make it for them to eat, equals more successes for you.
Just burning a lure through the water throughout the year will not do....EXCEPT....During times, like spawns etc, when a reacting strike will come into play, especially in water that is not clear for them to see the lure as far away...they have a shorter time to make up their mind on what they are going to do!

Presentation is an ART-FORM, you are presenting a lure or bait to a fish in hope that it will react or feed. It is the technique, bait, and trigger that tricks the fish, it is also a blend of personal experiences and skill that are refined over many days of fishing!

Presentation varies from Rivers and Streams, Lakes and Reservoirs, and Bank or Boat...some methods of presentation will work on each!
Methods/Techniques include casting, flipping, pitching, vertical fishing, still fishing, trolling, etc...each has a distinct level of skill that needs to be mastered to present a bait or lure as natural as possible so the fish will either feed or to solicit a reaction to strike at it!

Presentation is controlled mainly by Speed and Depth...you must find the speed needed for the bait you are using to make it look or act like the pattern or species being imitated. Then you have to find the depth where the fish are and be able to sustain that depth in any condition or with any cover or structure where you are fishing!

Presentation is also affected by weather...Stable weather promotes agressiveness and frenzied feeding. Cold fronts and high pressure diminish feeding and agressiveness...BUT, NORMALLY, if you put easy food in front of a fishes face, it will eat!

Presentation incorporates mainly 2 type of fishing...Power fishing or Coverage Fishing, this is reaction fishing, trying to get a reaction out of a fish to quickly strike at a lure for many reasons.
There is also Finesse fishing, where you are trying to get the fish to feed.
Cranks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Alabama rigs, etc are lures and baits made for power fishing.
Jigs, plastic worms, craws, drop-shot, and other State rigs, etc are types of finesse baits or lures because they must be manipulated to provide natural action and attraction of natural forage species.
Each type of fishing lure or bait has it's own BAIT TRIGGERS (things that make a fish react)! Triggers are, scent, sound, taste, texture, shape, vibration, pheromones, color/luminesence, or phosphoresence.

Now, fishermen are agreeing that there is a third type of fishing...a hybrid....Baits like Swimmers are a hybrid and can be used BOTH WAYS!
PLUS the Newer baits are loaded with BAIT TRIGGERS.

In the end, your fishing success comes down to understanding the fish, knowing the lake, the patterns, and then developing a presentation of applying the right tools in the proper way!

BONUS TIP!...IN SUMMER, fish will NORMALLY FEED 3 times a day...in the early morning, late afternoon, and at night!

 

OK, let's see if I've interpreted this encyclopedia of information correctly. On CJ if I'm throwing something that's swimming through the water column like a spinnerbait or a swim jig I'll be covered with Black/Blue, Firetiger and White since I don't throw those a high percentage of the time. If I'm throwing the Keitechs I'll want those same colors but add a silver flake and a fluorescent color. If I'm throwing a worm on the bottom in Black, Med. Brown, Lt. Green and White all I'm going to have is a Black worm and then increasingly lighter shades of grey.

 

any color will work as long as it's firetiger,clown silver or gold

 

Man that was a lot of info! Going to have to print that pot for future reference!

Mr. A

 

OK, let's see if I've interpreted this encyclopedia of information correctly. On CJ if I'm throwing something that's swimming through the water column like a spinnerbait or a swim jig I'll be covered with Black/Blue, Firetiger and White since I don't throw those a high percentage of the time. If I'm throwing the Keitechs I'll want those same colors but add a silver flake and a fluorescent color. If I'm throwing a worm on the bottom in Black, Med. Brown, Lt. Green and White all I'm going to have is a Black worm and then increasingly lighter shades of grey.

What's the matter Bud, did I give ya too much info and made you think??
I need to re-read it when my brain stops hurtin, to make sure it all makes sense!

 

Its simple. The best colors are always the ones I don't have.

I know you have white grubs....get some CS Coatings UV Blast Worm Dip from Jann's Netcraft and dye them any color you need!

Don't get me wrong, Keitech has fabulous Natural colors etc, but sometimes you need that Hi-Vis Chartreuse or Glo Orange and Hot Pink to wake them up!
The Keitech White is called Sight Flash, it is a white top half and clear/silver flake bottom half....when you dye it, it glows eerily!

 

What's the matter Bud, did I give ya too much info and made you think??
I need to re-read it when my brain stops hurtin, to make sure it all makes sense!

Boy does it ever. I've been pondering changes to my tackle box all winter long so far and was just about to order a bunch of stuff when you posted and that's the best info I've ever seen. Except for the TMI thing it really made sense. Here's an example of something I got from the info that I never would have thought of myself. Let's say it's partly cloudy and you're running a Firetiger spinnerbait about 8 ft. deep and heavy clouds roll in. Now I think I would change to Black where before I wouldn't have considered a color change.

 

I know you have white grubs....get some CS Coatings UV Blast Worm Dip from Jann's Netcraft and dye them any color you need!

Don't get me wrong, Keitech has fabulous Natural colors etc, but sometimes you need that Hi-Vis Chartreuse or Glo Orange and Hot Pink to wake them up!
The Keitech White is called Sight Flash, it is a white top half and clear/silver flake bottom half....when you dye it, it glows eerily!

With that dye from Jann's does the color bleed? I've dyed tails of the Sight Flash chartreuse with Spike-It dye and eventually the whole bait turns chartreuse.

 

too.......many.......words......

 

"Now, fishermen are agreeing that there is a third type of fishing...a hybrid....Baits like Swimmers are a hybrid and can be used BOTH WAYS!
PLUS the Newer baits are loaded with BAIT TRIGGERS."

I think this is one of the more interesting things in that article, and why swimbaits can get reactionary strikes from triggers as well as the enticement of a finesse bait. This year, I also want to experiment with another trigger along with my swims- scent! That combination could be deadly on the eyes

 

With that dye from Jann's does the color bleed? I've dyed tails of the Sight Flash chartreuse with Spike-It dye and eventually the whole bait turns chartreuse.

Shag, the only thing I can say right now is no....but I have only done entire baits or half and half colors. I'll try one for you right now!

 

too.......many.......words......

My daggone brain hurt trying to post all of this...that's why I'll print it at work tomorrow and sit down and go over it all!

 

"Now, fishermen are agreeing that there is a third type of fishing...a hybrid....Baits like Swimmers are a hybrid and can be used BOTH WAYS!
PLUS the Newer baits are loaded with BAIT TRIGGERS."

I think this is one of the more interesting things in that article, and why swimbaits can get reactionary strikes from triggers as well as the enticement of a finesse bait. This year, I also want to experiment with another trigger along with my swims- scent! That combination could be deadly on the eyes

Cajun Willie uses swimmers behind beetle spins and does well, a couple other friends are using them on worm harnesses, I have used them on Chatterbaits and in-line spinners with success.

 

I believe what bait you use and how you use it is more important than color.If you got the bait with the right vibes,she is going to hit it regardless of color.All these colors do is snag Fishermen for their $$$.Fish have always and still do hit the very basic colors.I use Black,White,and Firetiger most always.Black the most.Works.


Roscoe

 

I believe what bait you use and how you use it is more important than color.If you got the bait with the right vibes,she is going to hit it regardless of color.All these colors do is snag Fishermen for their $$$.Fish have always and still do hit the very basic colors.I use Black,White,and Firetiger most always.Black the most.Works.
Roscoe

I think if you boiled down everything Intimidator posted it pretty much comes down to Black, White and Firetiger except for a few exceptions. One of them being deep water fishing on the bottom.

 

Don't mean to get off track, but Yea Shaggy,gotta fish live bait for those big Groupers.It's funny,they get so big,some you can't move off the bottom.Very frustrating.Good Luck Fishing.



Roscoe

 

I believe what bait you use and how you use it is more important than color.If you got the bait with the right vibes,she is going to hit it regardless of color.All these colors do is snag Fishermen for their $$$.Fish have always and still do hit the very basic colors.I use Black,White,and Firetiger most always.Black the most.Works.


Roscoe

You have to be careful and not simplify too much...I have never caught a Crappie or Walleye at CJ on Black or Firetiger, maybe someone has....now, white and Fluorescent colors are a different story!
Jeff and I have fished for Crappie and not caught fish on certain colors...then you hit the right color and you catch 100....then they stop and you try everything until you hit another color. ...this may help to get people thinking about colors instead of doing so much trial and error!

 

I had to subscribe, I got a headache looking at all the words.

 

Shag, the only thing I can say right now is no....but I have only done entire baits or half and half colors. I'll try one for you right now!

Shag
Here are a few that I did earlier....and they have not bled.
I did the Keitech tail and it is not moving further up and the blue is not bleeding onto it ftom the Kalin.
The other grub is partial Chartreuse and staying...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Ohub Campfire mobile app

 

That was extremely interesting. Thanks for posting. Just more evidence that the southwestern forum is where all the cool stuff happens. The last few years I've been smallmouth fishing rivers when they are so muddy that in the past I wouldn't have fished for them. And I've had some great trips. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking I should throw more things that really really stand out. I think I'm going to put together a small muddy water box to supplement my normal lure selection in stained and muddy water. I think finding the right "trigger" is the key to those falling muddy water blues rather than finesse presentations.

 

That was extremely interesting. Thanks for posting. Just more evidence that the southwestern forum is where all the cool stuff happens. The last few years I've been smallmouth fishing rivers when they are so muddy that in the past I wouldn't have fished for them. And I've had some great trips. But in the back of my mind I kept thinking I should throw more things that really really stand out. I think I'm going to put together a small muddy water box to supplement my normal lure selection in stained and muddy water. I think finding the right "trigger" is the key to those falling muddy water blues rather than finesse presentations.

We can be dangerous as a group for sure!
When all the CJ guys got together and started talking and sharing ideas and knowledge our individual fishing improved....the knowledge that everyone brought to the table was massive and pieces of the CJ puzzle all came together!
Same with this stuff...we all can learn from others....there are things that will cross-over from River to Res and vice versa!
I enjoy seeing all the stuff you guys are doing farther South....I like to see people fishing "out of the box", trying new stuff, and catching fish in non typical ways....that's a great chance for others to learn and expand their fishing. Of course, I like fishing "against the grain" anyway!

 

Basically rethinking about everything I though I knew about fishing

 

More....
Many waters have a greenish color and naturally, green light penetrates to the greatest depth. You can usually see 10 to 15 feet deep in these lakes. In stained water, where you can see down to 6 feet, the colors, which penetrate, are orange, green and red. Where you find muddy water, the only light to penetrate is the long wavelength (red color). All other light is reflected by the particles in the water. So it would seem logical to choose a lure with red in it when fishing in muddy water. When bass fishing in the back of muddy coves try a craw pattern which is black with red glitter and a fire claw. The other important aspect of fishing in muddy water is to use a lure, which reflects the small amount of light that is available. A good example would be a Spinnerbait with a silver and black blade. Combine the silver with the contrasting black and you have a lure, which is very easy for fish to see. To make this combo complete, add a black and red skirt and you have one of the best bass catching lures for muddy conditions. If you're chasing pike, make the skirt a hot pink or chartreuse and jump up to the ¾ oz. head. Spinner fishermen, whether working for largemouth bass, pike or rainbow trout can't go wrong with a hand painted red beetle on a silver background and adds black spots for contrast.

If you find yourself faced with a stained water situation, which occurs anytime you have mudline or throughout most of the Canadian shield lakes, you need to choose a lure that is orange, green or chartreuse. The classic example would be a firetiger color. It combines those three colors with a black back for contrast. Rather than choosing silver for flash in your baits, instead try copper, brass or gold. These color combinations of gold with black and silver make the right color of flash to draw fish to the lure. If you are fishing soft plastics, pick a base of smoke, brown, pumpkin or melon and add orange, green and copper flake to make a highly attractive lure.

Many fishing situations occur where you can see your lure up to 15 feet deep. In these waters green, smoke, pumpkin and white are very productive colors. (White is not a color, but rather all of the colors of the spectrum combined.) For the toughest fishing conditions, you should fish these colors without any glitter added for flash. One of these times would be when bass are spawning.

In super clear waters lure selection goes toward clear baits with a variety of glitter colors. When using craw patterns I usually like ones with some pepper combined with green and orange or red glitter. I also like a smoke base with blue, gold and pepper. My selection in hard baits goes toward the flashy side. Combinations of blue and silver or gold and black will always produce fish in almost any species and all of these are productive in clear water with bright skies.

All of the information that was previous discussed, applied to lure selection during high light conditions and various water conditions. So, what do you do when you're faced with low light conditions early in the morning? There are three different light levels, which occur each day. Low light occurs from first light until sunup. Medium light occurs from sunup until the sun reaches 20 degrees to the horizon. (You measure 20 degrees by holding your hand at eye level and pointing your middle finger at the horizon. Spread your index finger as far as you can and sight down your middle finger. If the sun falls inside that area, then it is call medium light. Finally, high light is most of the day, from either side of 20 degrees to the horizon. Here are a few general rules about light condition and lure selection. Keep in mind that these apply to clear water conditions. When you are fishing very early in the morning and the first light appears in the sky, blue, purple or black in combination with silver flash work best. As the sky takes on an orange glow, especially at sunset, red and orange are the most productive colors. Once the sun is up, switch to green lures that use red, yellow or orange for contrast. After the light becomes bright, the more neutral colors of brown or gray will be the best choice. Use lures that only have a splash of bright color, such as fluorescent pink or chartreuse. Too much color triggers a negative response from the fish. To relate light condition back to water clarity, when you are fishing muddy water you are basically fishing low light conditions all of the time. That's why black, silver and red work well under muddy conditions.

Lastly, if you are fishing at night you are fishing in the absence of light. Fish have much better night vision than we do and can easily feed under the darkest sky. In fact many of the largest fish feed at night and avoid most of the fishing pressure. When choosing a lure color for night fishing, the first thing to consider is the amount of available moonlight. If it is a full moon, choose a lure that is dark with a lot of flash. The emphasis here is on a lot of flash. In soft plastics, black with silver glitter, motor oil with gold glitter, smoke with silver glitter or blue with blue glitter can all be equally effective. Another good choice is merthiolate. This combination of black and red can be deadly. Of course fishing a spinnerbait is always a good option. The flash and vibration of the spinner attract fish to the lure and the black or white skirt is an easy target. If you are working a stickbait the foil covered ones produce the most flash and usually catch the most fish. If clouds partially cover the moon, then pearlized chartreuse will out fish any other color. On dark of the moon nights, the dark brown of black lures seems to be the best. Slow down you presentation and work very close to shore for most fish when it is very dark. They loose most of their inhibitions when it is dark and will feed in very shallow water.

With tackle boxes full of different sizes, shapes and colors of lures it is often hard to know where to start. Hopefully you can eliminate some of the guesswork when it comes to choosing which color to fish. If you're fishing with a partner, each of you choose a different color of lure in the same style and use the same presentation. You will quickly learn which color fish prefer at that point in time. If fish quit striking your lure, quickly change to another color. This is especially true when light conditions are changing. Once you have mastered color selection, you can advance to lure presentation and fish location at which point you will be a master angler.

Does Color Make A Difference To Fish?
Hidden amongst our carefully organized tackle trays and satchels are a never-ending collection of cranks, jigs, plastics, and flies—duplicates in a myriad of colors, and many in hues that often defy description. The old adage states that lures were designed to catch fishermen and not fish—and each of our tackle boxes certainly support this theory.

The fundamental inquiry remains: Does color really make a difference to fish? The answer to that may surprise you, because in the end, it isn’t so much what fish can see (although that does play a big part in it), but more so how colors appear in the underwater world, which is entirely dependent on a wider range of ever-changing criteria.

THE EYES HAVE IT
Most species of fish possess similar characteristics within their eyes to those of humans. The retina contains two types of cells—rods and cones. Cones allow a fish to see color, and are the cells used for daytime vision. Once darkness falls, a fish will rely on their rod cells, which cannot differentiate color, but can sense light intensity, and are responsible for black, white, and grey vision. Most freshwater fish contain both of these cells in their retina, however, day feeders—think bass and pike—often have more cones than rods, whereas nighttime feeders, such as walleye, will ultimately have more rods.

These rods are light sensitive, and the adjustment from day vision to night vision (and vice versa) requires at least 30 minutes to complete (called accommodation), or as long as two hours. Many of us experience this lull in action as darkness enshrouds the lake and fish readjust their senses.

Different fish species differ considerably in what colors they can see, and what colors they see best. Fish like bass, bluegill, crappie, walleye, and perch are mostly limited to the spectral range of red-orange and yellow-green. They have very little if any color vision in the range of blue and violet. Their best color vision (i.e. the area where they have the best discrimination between fine differences in color hue) typically peaks in the range of red-orange, with a secondary peak in the yellow-green range. Fish like trout and carp have a broader range of color vision.

“Certainly bass use color vision more than do walleye. While both species have color vision, and see roughly the same color spectrum, because bass have a higher concentration of cone cells, they would rely on color vision more than walleye.”

THE LIGHT/COLOR EQUATION
The color of a lure is the result of the color of light it reflects. As this light penetrates the water column in wavelengths, colors begin to be absorbed as the depth increases. Red produces the longest wavelengths, followed in order by orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Those colors with the longest wavelength are absorbed first, meaning the hue fades and gradually appears black much quicker than all other colors. Warm colors are first to go, while cool colors hold on to their hue longest.

Shiny lures such as silver and gold are less effective when cloud cover rolls in, and can become almost invisible without the sun shining, even in clear water. The reason for this is that they reflect the grayness that is surrounding them, instead of the bright rays of the sun. Tossing dark colors during periods such as this will often work best, giving your lure the greatest contrast and silhouette.

Keep in mind that as the sun sets, those colors possessing the longest wavelengths—starting with red—will disappear the quickest. Once the sun rises, blue and green are the first colors a fish will see, with red being last.

Largemouth bass see colors very well to a depth of approximately five feet when water clarity is good. Since the majority of their prey reside in shallow water, duplicating or “matching the hatch” of the predominant baitfish (generally shades of silver, white, or perch) can be advantageous. Once that same depth of water becomes stained, and vision is restricted, a switch to brighter hues—chartreuse, red, orange—will often put the odds in your favor. Although all colors are absorbed quickly in this circumstance, orange and red will still be most visible when underwater. Chartreuse is a close second. If the water turns the color of chocolate milk, stick to dark colors.

THE CRITERIA FOR CONTRAST
The ability for a fish to see a lure has a lot to do with background color. If fishing a green-colored lure in thick vegetation, or in algae-stained water, although it may appear natural, a fish may struggle to spot it. More often than not, we actually camouflage our baits without knowing it.

A key in these situations is to choose a lure that contrasts against the background you are fishing. Two-toned lures are an excellent choice when faced with this dilemma. Bass are functionally most sensitive to colors in the ranges of red-orange and yellow-green. However, that is not to say that “colors” like black and white, or colors like blue that are perceived as grey are ineffective, since sometimes these colors contrast better against the prevailing background than do colors to which the bass is more sensitive. For instance, in a reddish muddy river, although the dominant available color is red and bass are most sensitive to red-orange, a lure with a brownish red crawdad pattern would be difficult for the bass to see. Black lures, on the other hand, would contrast much better and be more easily detected.

PREDATOR/PREY CORRELATION
Walleye feeding on perch or smallmouth bass on crayfish are tuned in to the nuances of that specific prey, and rely on the recognition of body shape/profile and color to hunt each morsel down. “One way fish use color vision is in recognizing specific visual patterns. As a fish grows, it gradually accumulates distinct mental images of objects that are important to its survival. Color, or rather color patterns, play a big role in fashioning those mental images, helping to separate one image from another. That is huge when it comes to discerning one prey species from another or avoiding specific predators, since the appropriate behavioral response is highly dependent on what the prey or predator is. For example, in cases when fish are feeding with more reserve and are being more selective, the fish may be hunting for a particular favorite prey, meaning that it is searching for a particular visual pattern. In these cases, it is important to play the old game of “matching the hatch,” to essentially give the fish what it is looking for.

Brown is a color that routinely works well for smallmouth bass. Although it may not appear true to its color once far down below, it will still match the same colorations of a crayfish found at those depths. (Remember: any two items that look the same above water will resemble each other down below.) This is where shade comes in to play. The same can be said for largemouth bass feeding on smelt. Tossing a white/silver lure will replicate the sheen of this baitfish precisely, and activate the recognition switch first through the eyes of the bass, then ultimately in the brain. Spend some time in the shallows seeking out the resident baitfish, or check for regurgitated minnows or craws when bringing a fish to the surface. This will give you invaluable insight into a good starting color to toss.

Working clear water is also a time to experiment with natural colors, and as mentioned earlier, those that contrast the background surroundings. Clear water allows a fish to inspect a bait more closely, and as opposed to murky water and reactionary strikes, the more time a fish can give your lure the once over is the more reason to make it appear as lifelike as possible.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just adding some other info about Bass eyesight!

Bass Eyesight
Good Enough to See Prey, Lures, Lines, Bait and You!

Arguably, bass eyesight is its most important sense as a bass feeds primarily by sight, especially in clear water.
It can see in all directions because their eyes are set slightly forward and on the sides of its head giving each eye virtually a 180-degree visual field arc of vision on each side of its body.
There are, however, blind spots. It can not see directly behind or below itself. Items in this "dead zone" will go unnoticed. Bass are weary of attack from the rear so often back into cover as a precautionary posture.

Lateral Monocular Vision of Bass

The lens of a bass' eye extends beyond the plane of the pupil giving the bass an exceptionally wide lateral field of view. Vision to its sides is monocular (sees with one eye) and farsighted providing at most a viewing distance no more than 50 feet in clear water.
The visual acuity laterally of a bass' eyesight, the ability to distinguish fine details in images, is quite sharp, though depth perception is inferior to that in its frontal vision. The peripheral ability inherent in bass eyesight to focus on distant objects to its sides contributes to it being one of our top freshwater predators.

Frontal Binocular Vision of Bass

Bass have binocular (two-eyed, three dimensional) vision directly above and to the front of its head. This is where the two lateral fields of view overlap and where there is better depth perception. At rest it can focus forward at only roughly 5-12 inches. This binocular vision is what the bass uses to study its prey after locating it laterally then moving closer in a frontal assault before eating or attacking it. This decision is made in a matter of seconds!
Never doubt that they can see farther, 30 to 40 feet, by changing position or focus. They are also quite capable of seeing the angler above the waters surface. Have you ever had a bass grab a bait or lure you cast just as it hit the water? It saw it coming!
Maintain a low profile, muted colored clothing and stealth when approaching an area where you expect to find bass. You can easily spook them.

Motion Detection, The Basis of Bass Vision

A bass is a visual hunter. Bass eyesight, its vision, is motion based. Motion is an indication of life which could be food. Objects that do not move are ignored as they see them as non-living things. Motion, as with most all predators, grabs its attention and is interpreted by its brain as food.
When motion is detected a bass can determine "all at the same time", the location, size, color, shape, size, flash and action of the object and do so at a substantial distance.

Size. As for size, a feeding bass, especially with age, experience and learned behavior, will be quite selective. They will seek to get the biggest reward for the least exertion of energy but experience will deter them from prey, real or artificial, that poses a threat of injury or which may be beyond its ability to handle in a struggle.

Shape. What about shape? Bass eyesight is wired to see specific shapes as food, specifically objects that are long and slender like prey fish. They evaluate shapes relative to how they fit this instinctual wiring. That may explain why they so readily attack plastic worms, though worms are not aquatic creatures and a bass might never see one in its natural habitat.

Color plays a much smaller part in catching bass than most of us think. That's not to say bass can't see colors or that they don't, on any given day, have preferences. They see best medium green and red shades and to a much lesser extent blue and purple. When these colors fall in the darker end of their shades a bass sees merely a dark object.

Color fades to dark as the available light diminishes in deeper water so play little part in catching bass. The preceding link takes you to a good explanation of color and water depth. But color in topwater or shallow water lures, where there is a greater amount of light, is more important when fished in daylight.

Action relates to motion detection. Bass don't react to stationary objects as possible food. They are able to track rapidly moving objects without blurring. They tend to be excited by erratic movement rather than sustained motion as well as variations in speed. Starting and stopping, especially starts, draw strikes.

So, we'll accept this established premise and not go fan casting into the scientific concepts of visible spectrum, light scattering and absorption, wavelengths of light or the rod and cone cells of the retina of a bass' eyes. We'll limit this discussion to the basic truth that the amount of light present determines the shade and intensity of any color, in or out of water.

What matters to we bass anglers is simply this. Studies have established that bass color vision is strongest in medium to light reds, red-orange and yellow-greens. As for blues and purples it's quite weak.

When fishing, remember, the deeper the water or less clear the water, the less light and color there will be.

Let's just do a little fishing line color comparison and noodle over which fishing line color might be the least visible to bass and why. But first, let's briefly nail down what color is.


What Is Color?

When light hits objects, some of the wavelengths are absorbed and some are reflected (scattered), depending on the materials in the object. The reflected wavelengths, colors if you will, are what we receive through our eyes and process by our brain. No two people, or other creatures including fish, see colors the same way because of the different make up of the brains.

There are seven "wavelength" groups of color. They are those shown in the color chart Mr. SmallJaw is looking at above and correspond to those found in nature's rainbow. Each one, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, has a different wavelength (some short some long) which determines the rapidity with which they fade or transform as light diminishes and particulate in the medium through which the light is passing increases.

For We Bass Fishermen It's Really Quite Simple
Now there are those who will lay out in intricate detail how one determines the light at specific depths by using a Seechi disk and a mathematical computation. From this you determine the best fishing line color that is the most or least visible at any depth. While this does indeed work, it's time consuming and cumbersome. I'd rather spend that time casting.

Simply put, all we bass anglers need to know is..... lots of light, lots of color; little light, little color.

For example, the rate colors transform from bright to gray or black as water deepens and available light diminishes. Note which colors fade out the quickest when water is "clear", "stained" or "muddy", and use it as your rule of thumb yardstick, for determining the best fishing line color, or worst for that matter, to use.

Presentation:

In clear to lightly stained water a Crappie can SEE another fish from 10 feet away...it can also feed and survive on zooplankton the size of a speck of pepper. Large Crappie do not filter feed but will see and pick off the zooplankton with their visually acute and keen eyesite.
Walleye and Bass also have great visual acuity and will also feed on small prey to survive or if they are just being lazy and can fill up/gorge without exertion.

When dealing with fish that have great eyesight it helps to chose colors wisely to improve your chances when fishing for them...you need to help them to be able to "Find" your lure, then you have to be able to "temp them" into biting, which is another problem in itself!

We have noticed during hatches throughout the year that fish will "Key In" on certain colors. Mayfly larva have certain coloration, same with certain minnows that hatch in the Spring, same with shiners or logperch hatches, or when the Crawdads show up again, or locust, grasshoppers, etc.
Even in Stained water, profiles/silhouettes of what they are feeding on, and coloration of Natural prey in the water, come into play...along with surface noise, or swimming vibration, that attracts the fish to the whereabouts of the prey!
Once they find it, then you have to make your lure act the same as the prey they are feeding on during this time so they will strike and want to eat it!
If they are eating minnows, you must make your offering act like a injured minnow, same with craws, splashing or wiggling bugs/larva. The more realistic and easier you make it for them to eat, equals more successes for you.
Just burning a lure through the water throughout the year will not do....EXCEPT....During times, like spawns etc, when a reacting strike will come into play, especially in water that is not clear for them to see the lure as far away...they have a shorter time to make up their mind on what they are going to do!

Presentation is an ART-FORM, you are presenting a lure or bait to a fish in hope that it will react or feed. It is the technique, bait, and trigger that tricks the fish, it is also a blend of personal experiences and skill that are refined over many days of fishing!

Presentation varies from Rivers and Streams, Lakes and Reservoirs, and Bank or Boat...some methods of presentation will work on each!
Methods/Techniques include casting, flipping, pitching, vertical fishing, still fishing, trolling, etc...each has a distinct level of skill that needs to be mastered to present a bait or lure as natural as possible so the fish will either feed or to solicit a reaction to strike at it!

Presentation is controlled mainly by Speed and Depth...you must find the speed needed for the bait you are using to make it look or act like the pattern or species being imitated. Then you have to find the depth where the fish are and be able to sustain that depth in any condition or with any cover or structure where you are fishing!

Presentation is also affected by weather...Stable weather promotes agressiveness and frenzied feeding. Cold fronts and high pressure diminish feeding and agressiveness...BUT, NORMALLY, if you put easy food in front of a fishes face, it will eat!

Presentation incorporates mainly 2 type of fishing...Power fishing or Coverage Fishing, this is reaction fishing, trying to get a reaction out of a fish to quickly strike at a lure for many reasons.
There is also Finesse fishing, where you are trying to get the fish to feed.
Cranks, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, Alabama rigs, etc are lures and baits made for power fishing.
Jigs, plastic worms, craws, drop-shot, and other State rigs, etc are types of finesse baits or lures because they must be manipulated to provide natural action and attraction of natural forage species.
Each type of fishing lure or bait has it's own BAIT TRIGGERS (things that make a fish react)! Triggers are, scent, sound, taste, texture, shape, vibration, pheromones, color/luminesence, or phosphoresence.

Now, fishermen are agreeing that there is a third type of fishing...a hybrid....Baits like Swimmers are a hybrid and can be used BOTH WAYS!
PLUS the Newer baits are loaded with BAIT TRIGGERS.

In the end, your fishing success comes down to understanding the fish, knowing the lake, the patterns, and then developing a presentation of applying the right tools in the proper way!

BONUS TIP!...IN SUMMER, fish will NORMALLY FEED 3 times a day...in the early morning, late afternoon, and at night!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I know how people hate to keep hitting links so I put this all together so you can just read and maybe print for further use! This is research from 3 different sources, and all 3 hold Doctorates...I just combined the info so it was easier to understand and read!


Choosing lure colors...first the basics!
When light strikes an object some wavelengths are absorbed and others are reflected. It is those wavelengths that are reflected from the object that reach our eyes and are interpreted by our brain as color, SAME WITH MOST FISH!
Objects that appear white to us are effective at reflecting all of the visible wavelengths of light. Objects that absorb all wavelengths and don't reflect any appear to us to be black. Between the extremes, most objects absorb some wavelengths and reflect others and appear to our eyes to be colored. The color we see is the combination of all reflected wavelengths. For example, when white light strikes a leaf, most of the visible wavelengths of light are absorbed, but the green ones are reflected, making the leaf appear green.

When white light passes STRAIGHT through, PURE CLEAR, STILL water the various wavelengths are absorbed at different rates. The long wavelengths (reds) are readily absorbed by the water molecules while the shorter ones (violets) are absorbed at a slower rate and penetrate further into the water.
What this means to us is that some lure colors simply aren't visible to a fish that is deeper in the water column.
The longer wavelengths (reds and oranges) are absorbed nearest the surface, so at depth there aren't any of these wavelengths to reflect off the lure. All other wavelengths are absorbed, so that color on the lure appears to the fish to be black, or at best may appear weakly colored by other wavelengths. As the lure dives further down in the water column yellow wavelengths start to disappear, then green. Blue, indigo and violet penetrate the deepest, but even these disappear eventually.
In PERFECT dead calm water, 25% of all light is reflected or absorbed in the first 1/2 inch...at 3 foot deep only 45% of the total light reaches a lure...AT 3FEET DEEP, IN CRYSTAL CLEAR, CALM WATER, WITH THE SUN DIRECTLY OVERHEAD, PERFECT WEATHER, 55% of the light is gone/absorbed!
At 35 feet deep almost 90% of the light has been absorbed!

In the real world this doesn't really help because we mostly don't fish crystal clear ocean waters, we often don't fish at noon in summer (for many species that's the WORST time to fish), or water that is not perfectly still. That means the color of our lures dissappear even faster and appear to be even more different to the fish depending on the time of day we fish and the waters we fish in. AS COLORS DISAPPEAR IN THE WATER, THEY ARE REPLACED WITH SHADES OF GREY OR BLACK.

Water clarity and color
In deep ocean waters there are a couple of prime reasons why light penetrates so well, clarity and color.
Clarity refers to the lack of suspended or particulate material such as silt, algae, plankton, etc, in the water. These particles have the effect of causing light to scatter, being reflected off in all directions, reducing the penetration of all wavelengths, but especially the longer ones (like red). In open oceans the water is generally (but not always) very clear...meaning light penetrates to far greater depths than near shore or inland waters. In these waters things like pollution, erosion, algal growth, etc, cause a reduction in clarity and significant reductions in the penetration of light. These reductions in light penetration begin to happen even before the turbidity becomes visible to the naked eye.
Visible wavelengths are absorbed more rapidly and the perceived color of lures occurs at SHALLOWER depths if the water is not clear.

Color of water
Is the characteristic caused by dissolved materials, especially organic acids from decaying leaves, trees, etc, or aquatic vegetation (Tannins).
Think of a cup of tea, it has good clarity, but is strongly colored. Color reduces light penetration by absorbing some wavelengths more than others. Interestingly it's the blues and greens that are most affected. Some lakes and rivers are so highly colored by natural organic acids that the blue/green wavelengths won't penetrate more than a 1/2" to 1", but the water in these lakes can be as clear and pure and as pristine as you can get. Again...Water that is colored by organic material absorbs the blue wavelengths more readily, causing blues and purples to disappear from sight.

Seasonal cycles
To make things even more complicated, seasonal cycles in water color and turbidity also occur in many lakes and a number of different cycles are possible....The cycle in a lake that suffers nutrient pollution that results in significant algal blooms with this light penetration is reduced in summer by increasing concentrations of algae, with the red, orange and yellow most severely affected. Algal blooms peak in autumn, with significant reduction in the penetration of all wavelengths, but especially red, orange and yellow.
IN DIRTY WATER RED, ORANGE, AND SOME YELLOW CAN DISAPPEAR IN THE FIRST INCH OR TWO!
In winter the algae die off and the water clears. Light penetration is actually better in winter, despite the lower intensity and the reduced angle of the sun. In spring there is an influx of silt from floods, causing a reduction in the penetration of all wavelengths, but especially the blue ones.

Time of day/year
Your lure can appear to be a different colors depending on the time of day or the month of the year. Think about how we see color on a clear day in the afternoon compared with a cloudy day at dusk. On a clear day with the sun overhead there are fewer gas molecules and airborne particles to scatter the short (blue) wavelengths, so the sky appears blue. Towards dusk the light travels through a lot more gas and airborne particles, so lots of the blue wavelengths get scattered and don't reach our eyes. Red and orange wavelengths eventually give way to indigos and violets as the sun sets. The many changing hues of the sky also change the color of other objects we see in the colored light.
The aquatic environment not only emulates what happens above the waterline, but magnifies the effect. So the loss of blue wavelengths at each end of the day is much greater underwater and starts earlier in the day than it does above water. Remember that these are the ones that penetrate deepest, so the period over which colors are visible deep in the water are much shorter than they are at the surface. The angle at which light strikes the water surface alters the depth to which colors are visible and light penetration is affected by the angle of the sun above the water, all the wavelengths penetrate the water to the same extent, but as the light comes in at an angle it doesn't reach the same depth.

We see this every day outside...in the summer with the sun directly overhead...fewer of the short wavelengths get scattered and we tend to get brighter and more intense light (and the really short wavelengths get through, hence we get sunburnt!). In winter we get more subdued light, partly because the light travels a greater distance through the atmosphere and partly because clouds add water molecules to the atmosphere to further filter out light. This means that many wavelengths don't penetrate as deeply into the water during winter, so a lure travelling at a depth of about 15ft in winter could appear to be a different color than in summer, all other things being equal. This effect is much more pronounced the further you travel from the equator.

Other influences
Any ripple on the surface of a water body has the effect of increasing light scatter and reduces light penetration into the water. Pollution, both air and water, cloud cover, nearby trees, bridges, etc, can also influence light penetration and hence the color that lures appear underwater.

Tips for lure color selection
Choosing lure color for maximum benefit. When you start combining the effect of all of the above influences you can see that it is most unlikely that we'll be fishing under conditions that are perfect for light penetration into the water. More often than not, some or all of the above factors will come into play and will alter how the fish see lure color.

Well, here are a few tips to consider:
1. Use dark colors at night. THIS PROVIDES CONTRAST.
When you think about it, all colors appear to us at night to be black or shades of dark grey. Usually when we see something at night it's a shadow, and dark colors give the best shadow. Also, fish usually attack lures from below at night and during low light conditions. This is because it maximises the benefit of any limited light available. Under these conditions a dark lure throws the best silhouette and is therefore the most visible. Black, dark blue and purple are good choices at this time of day.

2. During winter or periods when there is lots of particulate material in the water (such as silt or algae), reds and oranges are the first colors to be filtered out. Under these conditions, lures with plenty of yellow, green or blue appear the most colorful below the surface. FLUORECENT COLORS DO NOT FADE if UV light is available (past Violet)! Also use darker contrasting colors oe White!

3. Red, orange, yellow, White, silver, metallic, flakes in colors, and FLUORESCENT colors, are most intense during bright summer days in clear, shallow water. Metallic finishes have some benefits at depth because they have a tendency to create flash, even under relatively low light conditions. Mind you, all colors are visible under these bright conditions and if the fish are actively feeding on baitfish that are blue in color, then that's the color to use. MATCH THE HATCH!

4. Color choice IS NOT A CONSIDERATION if you are fishing or trolling deep, particularly under low light conditions or if the water is colored or dirty. EVERYTHING will look shades of Gray or Black....The most important factors under these conditions are lure size, shape and action.

5. When fishing topwater lures, color is FAR LESS important than size, shape and action. A fish coming up below a surface or shallow running lure has the light behind it, making the lure appear grey or black. Try it for yourself - hold a fluorescent lure up to the sun and view it from below. Black and dark colors remain the best for surface lures because they throw a great silhouette.

6. Red and orange lures come into their own in tannin stained waters, as do FLUORESCENT hues...along with Black or White!

The reality is often that the size, shape, action or noise made by the lure play a much more important role in eliciting a strike. Don't underestimate angler confidence either - we will tend to persevere more and try harder with a lure we have had success with in the past.
Choose a lure based on the size of local baitfish, the depth at which your quarry is to be found, and the action most likely to produce results....then think about color.
The exception would be fishing in clear, shallow water, especially if the fish are feeding predominantly on baitfish or prey, of a particular color.

COLOR RESEARCH FOR "FEEDING" FISH!

Colors underwater never appear the same as they do in your hand...the sayings about "colors catching fishermen" are very true!

The three fish I mainly researched, Bass, Walleye, and Crappie, can see colors, it is thought that they actually see the yellow, orange, red, green, better than humans. They can tell the difference between smoke and smoke with red flakes or silver glitter, pumpkin and red pumpkin, watermelon and red or black flaked watermelon. They also have better visual acuity which helps at dawn or dusk. Research has also shown that sometimes they will scrutinize colors before committing to eat...they will pick a color that they are presently eating (match the hatch).

Since most of my fishing is in stained water I made it easy and used just the info FOR STAINED/FERTILE WATER LIKE CJ.

*If the STAINED water has a visibility of 5 feet anywhere in the lake, Fish can see FLAKES well, Natural colors are a must...Silver, Gold, subtle greens/browns.
*If the water has a visibility of 1-3 feet, use brighter colors like firetiger, Fluoresents, citrus shad.
*If the water has less than a foot of visibility use dark colors, dark patterns, brite craw patterns, Black/Blue.
*Contrast is key, you need to make it stand out, to get them to "See It"...contrast the rocks, bottom, water color, cover, etc!

BLUEBIRD SKYS offer another problem...in stained water, high "Bluebird sun" CAN MUTE NATURAL COLORS, so go brighter (Fluoresent, and add flash).

On cloudy days!
* shiney colors lose their effectivness under cloud cover...silver and gold turn gray, use white and pearl instead.
* Natural colors cannot be distinguished ON THE BOTTOM, use brown, black, blue/black, or other dark combos that contrast.
* Cloudy stained water filters out RED...it appears to turn into a grey!
* FIRETIGER stands out in all conditions, Black, and Fluoresent/pearl colors, also.

SHAD AT CJ WITH LIGHT PENETRATION TO ANY DEPTH will appear silvery, with subtle greens, blues, purple, and gold....on a cloudy day they will look light gray with a darker back!

Too often a lure will be selected on color, when the chosen color is often not visible to fish anyway. SAME WITH LINE COLOR, beads, hooks, etc, IN THE WATER!

AND FOR THOSE OF US THAT LIKE GATORS....THEY SEE IN "HIGH DEFINITION" black and white AT NIGHT! "All fish with the rods and cones like Bass, Crappie, and Walleye, see in BLACK and White at night....but unlike all the other fishes, Walleye have HD night vision and "see" better than their prey"...Walleye have the best night vision and can also pick up any UV given off!

I'll add to this as I find more info!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Shag
Here are a few that I did earlier....and they have not bled.
I did the Keitech tail and it is not moving further up and the blue is not bleeding onto it ftom the Kalin.
The other grub is partial Chartreuse and staying...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Ohub Campfire mobile app

Thanks Brent I really appreciate you doing that. Now I know what dye to buy without having to try them all.