matthew barter
Well-known member
Fish do see colours. This is known because as has been pointed out already they often become more colourful for sex, also they use colour to show other signals such whether they are toxic or not etc. They also have cone nerve receptors in their retinas which shows the ability to see different colours. As with mammals some fish don't have these due to the fact that the cone receptors don't pick up as much light as the rod receptors. These become more useful in low light for picking up contrast.
The reason why I don't yellow and blue lateral paterns on lures is because cleaner fish all over the world tend to have this colour arrangement. I have an irrational belief that this is such an old pattern that even fish that have evolved to live in freshwater will still have some sort of repression behaviour when confronted with these colours and not take the lure. I know, I'm bonkers and I still blank. Never mind at least I'm fishing.
The other thing to take into consideration with colour and water is how far different wavelengths of light travel through it. Short wavelengths don't travel as far as longer ones. However if the water is clear and you can still see colour on the bed then don't worry about it so can the fish.
The reason why I don't yellow and blue lateral paterns on lures is because cleaner fish all over the world tend to have this colour arrangement. I have an irrational belief that this is such an old pattern that even fish that have evolved to live in freshwater will still have some sort of repression behaviour when confronted with these colours and not take the lure. I know, I'm bonkers and I still blank. Never mind at least I'm fishing.
The other thing to take into consideration with colour and water is how far different wavelengths of light travel through it. Short wavelengths don't travel as far as longer ones. However if the water is clear and you can still see colour on the bed then don't worry about it so can the fish.
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