[fishortho]

Apparently fish do not have an inate desire for any particulat colour. However some colours under various light conditions are apparently more easily seen......What do fish really see?....Can they actually see the presentation or just the shape? Why do fish react the way the do....Can they really see?..Ortho 8)

 

[newsman]

That is a big question I suggest you read the books "What Fish See" and "Master Angler" to get the full answer.

 

[stone]

All I can say is that many times, they certainly act in a way that convinces me that they discriminate between colours...I have been humbled many times on the water. Whether they see colours as we do, I don't know.

 

[kaitlyn]

my 11 year old is colour blind, and he picked his own jig the other day, and hit a 15# chum, second cast! ;D

 

[young gun]

i think they do, go through my whole colour selection and they seem to only want 1.

 

[professori]

If fish didn't see colours (and key on certain coloured prey sometimes) my catch rate would certainly be much higher. It is well established that they do see and, at times discriminate colours. This is much more apparent in stillwater, where trout typically have longer to examine a prey item, than in flowing water where they seem to be more opportunistic, due to the speed at which they need to decide to eat a likely item. All that said however, the perfect colour improperly presented will not catch nearly as much as a less than perfect colour with a perfect presentation. (I have many times proven this one, too. :wallbash

 

[swiftwater]

I believe that fish see colours very clearly .
They may not see the colours the same way we might but the can certainly react to different colours.
Springs for example will react very positively towards plugs of different colours and leave others completely untouched.Small changes to color patterns will then acount for harder or softer takes. Many times light and water conditions will then dictate the actual color patterns the fish will key in on during the day. Many days
they will key in on one color early only to switch to another later on. This seems to hold true as well when bar fishing and trolling spinners or spoons for them as well. Often times color will make a big difference when fish are heavily pressured as well.

 

[fishortho]

Ok....here is some info I dug up.........Fish do see in colour!...Both "rods" and "cones" are present in fish eyeballs. The three chemicals that allow humans to see our seven colour spectrum are also present, as well as a fourth, common to most predators, that permit them to see into the UV range. This is important because two flies that look identical to us can look very different to fish because they see colours we don't see.
Fish eyes are set in the side of their heads ( I know.....not all are, but most of the fish we fish for here do). That means they do not have "binocular vision" as humans do.
Their depth perception is very poor and most of them have a blind spot straight ahead.. This is alleviated by the shape of the retina (fish eye lens). They have poor distance vision, and excellent vision "up-close"....This may be why fish don't stray too far from their feeding lanes.......they simply have trouble seeing food at a distance....................Hmmmmmm More later........Ortho 8)

 

[Kuma]

There is also the issue of water depth and colour/light absorption. The further down you go, the narrower the spectrum becomes. See http://daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/scifocus/oceanColor/oceanblue.shtml and scroll down to a diagram under the heading "Why is this transparent water the bluest ocean water?" This doesn't apply in shallow rivers but it might be something to consider when trolling deeper water.

 

[STLHDR]

There was a post on the "old" forum before it was hacked and then "upgraded" about the way fish see lures. It showed pics of some lures normally then under different spectrums or something like that. Not sure if theres maybe archives from the "old" forum that can be gone through by rick or a mod?

 

[Barba]

Ok....here is some info I dug up.........Fish do see in colour!...Both "rods" and "cones" are present in fish eyeballs. The three chemicals that allow humans to see our seven colour spectrum are also present, as well as a fourth, common to most predators, that permit them to see into the UV range. This is important because two flies that look identical to us can look very different to fish because they see colours we don't see.
Fish eyes are set in the side of their heads ( I know.....not all are, but most of the fish we fish for here do). That means they do not have "binocular vision" as humans do.
Their depth perception is very poor and most of them have a blind spot straight ahead.. This is alleviated by the shape of the retina (fish eye lens). They have poor distance vision, and excellent vision "up-close"....This may be why fish don't stray too far from their feeding lanes.......they simply have trouble seeing food at a distance....................Hmmmmmm More later........Ortho 8)

You are right Ortho, :thumbup:

I cant remember that site but i remeber that detail:"Salmon can distinguish 24 hues from spectar". :beerchug:

B.

 

[IronNoggin]

... Whether they see colours as we do, I don't know.

First, yes, they do indeed see colours. See Ortho's post above.
However, as to seeing colours "as we do", most likely not. Their eyes and sensing systems evolved in a much different environment than ours, and are reflective of that. The example (besides the UV spectrum) I like to use is this: To the human eye, colours "dissapear" at certain depths, dependant on the spectrum involved. Red is supposedly one of those which dissapears first. Tell that to a spring or coho targetting on krill at 180 plus feet! The exact same sized/configuration of hootchie, one in red/orange and one in any other colour will produce dramatically different response rates. So it would appear that although colours "dissapear" for our eyes, evolved in air, they don't dissapear quite as effectively for theirs evolved in water. And although my science background struggles with that, my fishing background, commercial, guiding and sport readily accepts this as fact. Obviously they DO see in colour, and as one would suspect, obviously much better in their environ than we are capable of.

Cheers,
Nog

 

[fishortho]

Now we need more info as to what they really see in vaying light conditions and research the possibilities of different colours.....The day I caught that big Northern at the mouth of the Lakelse River on purple and blue wool (recommended by a friend) sure surprised me!......Ortho 8)

 

[King Fisher]

Fish see colours as the previous people have said. Here is an example. I (and others for sure) have experienced days where we catch no fish on a black chironamid for example, but as soon as we switch to a different coloured one (same size and shape) the fish immediately start biting.

 

[fishortho]

Hey King Fisher............What type of fish are holding in you avatar shot?? Bet that one can see in the dark!!
..................................Ortho 8)

 

[King Fisher]

Hey King Fisher............What type of fish are holding in you avatar shot?? Bet that one can see in the dark!!
..................................Ortho 8)

pink from the Vedder

 

[Rivahman]

I think the bible on this subject might be "What Fish See" by Colin Kageyama. Its a fascinating book. I believe I bought it way back when through Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine.