anamealreadyinuse Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I'm new to making my own tack and had a few questions, hope ya'll can lend a hand: Is it true fish do not see color, only contrast? I find this hard to believe considering the amount of time spent on colors in luremaking.. I read somewhere awhile back that the color red is the first color to disappear the deeper the lure dives in the water. Does anyone know what depth this color is actually lost? is the contrast lost as well? Is there anything to be concerned about using Fluorescent color in this regards? I have some really slick Fluorescent green and purple I wanted to use but am concerned and want to use it where it will be most effective. Thanks for your help, really glad to have found this board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdL Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 IMHO color shades and detail are used by fish and fisherman. U didn't say if you are interested in freshwater or saltwater lures. To me it depends on water clarity and bait action. In clear water detail may make a difference especially if the bite is finicky. In stained water making a bait that is brighter in color can make the lure a bit more visible to the fish. SO - to me the answer is complicated. Also if there was only one answer we would have a fish population problem - they would all be caught. Depends to if your interested in the "art" aspect of lure making , just functional (catches fish) or both. Just be aware that tackle making can become addictive and cut into you fishing time not to mention budget. One thing though - always have fun. The rest is after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I've read several articles that say fish have rods and cones in their eyes just as we humans do and that if they couldn't see color there would be need in having them. I doubt they see color exactly as we do since they live in water and we live in air, but I do believe they see color. Another thought is that if they didn't see color then why are there so many brightly colored fish in such a vast array of colors? Red is supposedly the first color to disappear as you go deeper into the water column. At what depth this happens depends on such things as water clarity and available light. (cloudy day versus sunny day) It's my belief that as you approach the depths at which various colors start to "disappear" then they start to only see different shades or contrast. As far as using fluorescent paints. Why not? The fish will inevitably tell you whether they like it or not. And like EdL said, if we knew all the answers to why fish bite an artificial lure there would be a fish population problem. good luck and welcome to the dark side, Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bass Man Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I don't know the real answer to color shades on how fish see them. I have caught fish shallow using red baits and have also caught fish deep using red baits. So I don't know if they see them differently as the bait goes deep or not. Same goes for a shad colored shallow running crankbait, I have caught fish on shallow runners and deep divers both on the same day. They would't touch any other color crank that day!! Welcome to TU!! Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Yes, fish see colors. I've read that red dulls pretty quickly and goes to gray at less than 10 ft deep in freshwater. Shades of blue persist the deepest, maybe as deep as 20 ft. Contrast can only be calculated between 2 colors, so you have to specify which 2. But black-white, purple-yellow are classic high contrast pairs. I don't think there are any issues about using fluorescent shades. In shallow water, they'll fluoresce. In deep water, the fluorescence will disappear and the base color characteristics will still be there. If you want to brighten things up in deeper water, you can also go with glow-in-the-dark paints which are available in a wide variety of colors nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crankpaint Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 If you look on utube theres a great one about what colors fade out at what depth(in clear water) i think you punch in---How fish see color to get it and its a two part video blue is the last color to fade out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazburg Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I found an article here that explained it pretty clearly http://tacklemaking.com/default.php?pageID=12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 I found an article here that explained it pretty clearly http://tacklemaking....t.php?pageID=12 Nice find Kazburg. Thanks for sharing. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anamealreadyinuse Posted November 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Thanks guys, this is great information. I think I am going to stick with a black/white for our baits and try some of the other combos mentioned here. The main lure we are making to fish with run in less than 3ft of saltwater. It's interesting, when I look at our antique lures, alot of these guys must have understood contrast as they all have contrast as a trait. Thanks again, really glad to have found the TU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Bass are visual hunters, and I think they see color to help them differentiate between things in their environment. I figure bass see red, because their eyes fire up red during the spawn, and that must be to tell other bass they're horney. All their body colors intensify during the spawn, giving them more contrast, and making them more visible to each other. If they couldn't see color, why would they go to the trouble. I figure bass see color because they will hit a crank with a green back, but ignore the same crank in a different color, and it varies from day to day. I figure bass see purple deeper, because a jig with brown and purple, or black and purple, will get bit a lot more in 25' than a green one. I see flash, so I figure they do, too. Bass are predators, so they have to be able to hunt, and the flash a baitfish gives off is what they key on. A stunned baitfish turns differently than the rest of the school, and the different flash it gives off makes it stand out. I add clear nail polish with glitter in it to shallow running baits, and have gotten bitten when my partner, throwing the same bait without the glitter, has been skunked. When he switched to the glitter, wham. So the flash of the glitter makes a difference. That color link is great. It's on my favorites list now. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent R Posted November 22, 2011 Report Share Posted November 22, 2011 Bass are visual hunters, and I think they see color to help them differentiate between things in their environment. I figure bass see red, because their eyes fire up red during the spawn, and that must be to tell other bass they're horney. All their body colors intensify during the spawn, giving them more contrast, and making them more visible to each other. If they couldn't see color, why would they go to the trouble. I figure bass see color because they will hit a crank with a green back, but ignore the same crank in a different color, and it varies from day to day. I figure bass see purple deeper, because a jig with brown and purple, or black and purple, will get bit a lot more in 25' than a green one. I see flash, so I figure they do, too. Bass are predators, so they have to be able to hunt, and the flash a baitfish gives off is what they key on. A stunned baitfish turns differently than the rest of the school, and the different flash it gives off makes it stand out. I add clear nail polish with glitter in it to shallow running baits, and have gotten bitten when my partner, throwing the same bait without the glitter, has been skunked. When he switched to the glitter, wham. So the flash of the glitter makes a difference. That color link is great. It's on my favorites list now. Thanks. Mark i think color makes a big difference too...I fish a worm around here we call it crab apple....some company's call it red bug....any way....the one i fish has small green glitter.....most of the other ones have big glitter.....I promise the small glitter will out fish the big glitter every time.....A friend and i was fishing a few weeks ago..and i was in the back off his boat and i was kicking his butt with the small glitter worm....He finally ask for one of mine and he started catching fish...When we changed to the big glitter to see what would happen...NO FISH.....When we went back to the small glitter..BAM.....He couldn't believe it....So i know if the little difference of glitter works...Color of cranks makes a difference too.....take care Brent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltshaker Posted November 23, 2011 Report Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) I figure bass see red, because their eyes fire up red during the spawn, and that must be to tell other bass they're horney. So, they're really no different than us? Edited November 23, 2011 by saltshaker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
