Fish seeing or not seeing red

paul80 · Nov 28, 2016

Hi all

Sorry for yet another can fish see red question, but something got me wondering.

Now we are told its ok to use red fishing line because not only can fish not see red but under water red is the first colour do be lost from the visible spectrum.

So if both the above is correct for red line why do we use red boilies, red corn and red maggots, if they can't see red why are red baits so successful.

Just wondered.

Paul

mikench · Nov 28, 2016

I would see red if I had a size 12 hook through my lip!

barbelboi · Nov 28, 2016

Colours absorb wavelengths of light to different degrees. The longest wavelengths, with the lowest energy, are absorbed first. Red is the first to be absorbed, followed by orange & yellow. The colours 'disappear' underwater in the same order as they appear in the colour spectrum. Even water at 5ft depth will have a noticeable loss of red. However, from my years scuba diving in the past red does not disappear, it becomes grey at approximately 15’ and at about 50’ becomes black/brown. This is how we see it - how the fish see it is anyone's guess.............

PS Flouro colours do not 'disappear' in the same way.

robtherake · Nov 28, 2016

Pretty sure I read somewhere that as the red disappears at depth, from the point of view of the fish, they then see any red items as black.

Keith M · Nov 28, 2016

robtherake said:
Pretty sure I read somewhere that as the red disappears at depth, from the point of view of the fish, they then see any red items as black.

I started to explain why red to a fish doesn't always look black as some people think Rob; but this link I found should explain it much clearer than I could have.

http://midcurrent.com/science/fish-eyesight-does-color-matter/

QUOTE from article in the above link (from the 4th para of the Attenuation of Light section):

At about three meters (about 10 feet), roughly 60 percent of the total light (sunlight or moonlight) and almost all the red light will be absorbed. At 10 meters (about 33 feet), about 85 percent of the total light and all the red, orange, and yellow light have been absorbed. This has a direct bearing on how a fish perceives a fly. At a depth of 10 feet, a red fly appears gray, and it eventually appears black as the depth increases. With the increasing depth, the now dimming light becomes bluish and eventually black when all the other colors are absorbed.

Keith

keora · Dec 2, 2016

When daylight passes through water, the colours in the spectrum are absorbed, depending on the distance travelled by the light rays through the water. The colour red is the first colour to be fully absorbed, whereas blue and violet, at the other end of the spectrum,are the last to be absorbed. That's why underwater scenes on TV and film generally have a blue violet tinge.

I once checked out the theory by looking at a small red object about an inch square on the bottom of a swimming pool. I stuck my head under the water and looked at the object from various distances. It still looked red when it was just a few yards from your eyes.

As the distance between my eyes and the object increased, the red colour became less distinct. At a distance of about eight yards, the object was still visible but it appeared dark grey or even black. The object didn't become invisible until it was about 10 yds away, when I couldn't distinguish it the swimming pool tiles.

You could interpret this another was. If a fish is some distance from a red boilie on the bed of a clear, shallow lake, the boilie can't be distinguised from the background. As the fish swims closer the boilie will look dark grey, then greyish red, and finally close up it will look red.

mikench · Dec 2, 2016

My eyes are like that; should have gone to ............ !

robtherake · Dec 2, 2016

mikench said:
My eyes are like that; should have gone to ............ !

You mean red, but grey or black in the right light?

ken more · Dec 2, 2016

I may have missed an opinion, but would also like to know why red maggot (or red in general) is apparently so successful as Paul asked. Or is that something that seems to be true but, on inspection, is not the case

I must admit that i seem to have more success with red maggot on my local Canal

Many Thanks

tigger · Dec 2, 2016

Since fish often colour up for breeding I would say they can see the full spectrum of colours, otherwise why would they be so colourfull.

Tee-Cee · Dec 2, 2016

So what happened today; I sat for 30 minutes with a single white on the hook and a similar amount of time given over to a single red, without a sign of a bite, yet as soon as I put one of each on the hook I had a sailaway and eventually landed a perch of 1,5lbs!!

I was fishing at 3/4' depth spraying both colours in minimal amounts with roach the target (I caught several in the same fashion, on one or the other of the colours) and only caught the one perch.

Just coincidence I imagine, but I thought I'd ask anyway..............................

ps I tried double of both colours, without success..

pps Nice post, Jerry..........

tigger · Dec 2, 2016

Tee-Cee said:
So what happened today; I sat for 30 minutes with a single white on the hook and a similar amount of time given over to a single red, without a sign of a bite, yet as soon as I put one of each on the hook I had a sailaway and eventually landed a perch of 1,5lbs!!

I was fishing at 3/4' depth spraying both colours in minimal amounts with roach the target (I caught several in the same fashion, on one or the other of the colours) and only caught the one perch.

Just coincidence I imagine, but I thought I'd ask anyway..............................

ps I tried double of both colours, without success..

pps Nice post, Jerry..........

Strange in'it, I always use a mix of red and white magg's.

I always stuff my hook full of maggots

maggot_dangler · Dec 2, 2016

tigger said:
Strange in'it, I always use a mix of red and white magg's.

I always stuff my hook full of maggots

I have found more times than not if i put 2 or maore maggots on the hook i sit there waiting if i put 1 on i get bites .

I think a lot of this has to do with the water involved , The main water i fish is quite shallow maybe that is why .

PG ...

trotter2 · Dec 3, 2016

All I can say on the subject is if I fish a double maggot it's nearly all ways a red and a white combination on the hook ,why because it works.
If the fish can't see red at depth it posses the question why not use black or grey maggots?
Never tried it but would be surprised if it worked as well as lighter colours Inc red.
It's like any scientific statement regarding animals it's an educated guess as to what a fish actually sees and feels. My views are fish like any living creature should have evolved to have near prefect vision under water unlike humans. Unless someone can acctually talk to fish and get a straight answer its only speculation. There is a lot of red coloured baits and flies are we all wrong I think not.

S-Kippy · Dec 3, 2016

There's a lot more in play here than just colour. Who knows why that fish picked up that red boilie....was it simply because it was red ? I doubt it. I don't think there is any doubt fish can distinguish colours.....not just maggot but too often when I'm trite fishing a certain colour will be picked to the exclusion of all others.

As for red line. Gimmick. I don't care whether the fish can see it or not I can and there is no way im getting caught with red line on my reels. If you have some I suggest you hand it in at the nearest Police Station and don't be so silly in future.

bullet · Dec 3, 2016

I know worms cant see red, because they are a lot easier to catch with a red headlamp.

sam vimes · Dec 3, 2016

You don't have to speculate about what fish can or can't see. It's a question that depends on the laws of physics and absorbtion of different wavelengths at different rates. Without at least some source of light, everything, of any colour, ends up looking black. That's just a plain old fact.

I also suspect that a good dollop of marketing BS has people convinced that red fishing lines become invisible at depth. They've been pushing this rubbish for so long now that it seems to have become ingrained and unshakeable in many angler's minds. The simple truth is that red will appear to be black because the red end of the visible light spectrum disappears first at lesser depths than other colours. Only with a complete absense of light will any colour become invisible, but that's only because it will be completely black, along with everything else.

Chances are that, at the depths that most average UK coarse anglers are fishing, red will still be visible as red. In deeper or more coloured water, it will appear as grey to black. The reason that red might be so attractive to fish is that it's likely to be highly visible, as vivid black in a greyed out world at greater depth/coloured water, or as red in shallower/clearer water. For exactly the same reaons, fish will use red for their own colouration. Again, this is down to physics, not speculation as to whether fish perceive colour as we do or if they see in greyscale. It's irrelevant anyway, if fish do see in black and white, red will always appear as black to them. If they see in colour, red will be red until the water gets deeper/murkier.

thecrow · Dec 3, 2016

I wonder what happens to fluorocarbon at deeper depths with less light as its always marketed as having the same refractive index as water, does it need the light to have that "invisibility "

peter crabtree · Dec 3, 2016

It makes no difference what colour line is or whether fish can see it or not...

They don't know what it is.

thecrow · Dec 3, 2016

peter crabtree said:
They don't know what it is.

A bit like my bait then

Fish seeing or not seeing red

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