G`Day all
I have been wanting to ask the question for some time now but just haven`t come across the right topic to ask the question.
I know the question is ( How many Lures ) but i see the topic is also about lure colours and size.
My question is are fish colour blind...?
This is one of the those old perennial that keep coming up. The short answer from me is I'm not sure BUT light is attenuated differently depending on the colour when passing through seawater. The red end of the spectrum fades out first the deeper you go. I seem to remember that red is just about gone at 30 feet
Now we see a particular colour because the light reflected off the surface is that colour. BUT if there is no light red light then red will not show up. (is this why a lot of deep water fish are red - there is no light down where they are
)
BUT if you live your life (as a fish
) with red fish round you your eyes just might just become more sensitive to low levels of red light through the eons of natural selection.....so at the surface they may well be more sensitive to the much stronger light........
Many years ago I was long lining for Yellowfin tuna off the NSW south coast. The water was very clear and I could see yellowfin circling baits very deep down and following baits as we retrieved the long line. The yellowfin would veer away from the clear nylon droppers (250kg mono) so they could see them, but would invariably brush against the long line itself which was coloured a reddish Brown colour.
I was pretty sure they could not see that mainline or at least did not see it as solid. There are often algae blooms of a similar colour at times in these waters.
For Marlin an "Evil" Colour works better than most (its sort of a slimy mackerel or striped tuna colour) but also another colour that works well is a lumo (flouro cream/pink colour) both of these same action, shape size and brand lures in different colours don't catch as well as well.
Finally, remember commercial lures are meant primarily to catch fisherman, the fisherman have the money, the fish do not....