Fish do indeed perceive color. Every fly fisher knows that or ought to know that. Like humans, the retina of a fish have rods and cones. Cones are used in the day and rods at night. Color vision evolved to help fish identify potential food. In the environment of the fish, the background will either be the bottom, the water itself, or if looking up for food it could be the sky. The bottom is normally tannish olive to green. When looking across the water, the background appears pale silver blue. But if the water is off color due to algae or high water one must take that into consideration as well. Skylight becomes more important at dusk and dawn when it contains more reds.
Thus for opportunistically feeding game fish, flies with bright or contrasting colors and/or a lot of flash will make them stand out against the above mentioned backgrounds. The Mickey Finn, tied with yellow and red, and a silver body is one of the most effective attractor patterns. As for dry fly attractors , the Royal Wulff is still hard to beat, with its red and peacock body and white wings. Black flies, because of their strong silhouette also are easy for fish to spot. Let's not forget patterns that contain strands of flashabou or other tinsel that reflect light when stripped or while drifting through the current are easy for fish to spot.
The fly fisherman also must remember that color behaves differently in water that it does when seen in the air. Water is denser, and the colors are diffused quicker. Cloudy days where there is less overall light will offer less visibility, and colors will disappear quicker in the depths of the water. And the clarity of water obviously greatly effects this as well. This is important in fly selection because certain colors travel farther in low light than others. Red is the first color to disappear, usually at about 15 feet in clear water, followed by orange and then yellow. Blues and greens are visible to the fish as long as there is light. Yet silver and white will be brighter.
So while the Mickey Finn is obviously a great choice as an attractor fly, it would not be as good a choice in murky water or if fished deep. A better attractor might be a white Woolly Bugger or White Marabou Muddler.
Color is also important to remember when matching the hatch. Since fish use vision as the deciding factor to strike, one's offering must be the correct color. However, very small differences in hue seem to not be much of a factor as most insects will vary slightly in color as well. But if the intensity of color the artificial fly has can be a factor. If the artificial is more intense than the natural it is more likely to catch fish. Why this seems to work is somewhat a mystery. It is understood that fish see deeper into the ultraviolet range than humans, so perhaps they are just seeing something we don't. It could also be due to the effect water has on colors. Perhaps we'll never know, but like many things in fishing, why something works is not as important as just knowing that it does work.
While color is probably not the most important factor in a fish striking a fly. The above considerations are nevertheless a good thing to have in the back of your fly fishing mind.
About The Author
Cameron Larsen is a retired commericial fly tier and fly fishing guide. He now operates The Big Y Fly Co. at http://www.bigyflyco.com.
One of the most important steps in getting sponsored to fish tournaments (whether you fish for bass, walleye, crappie, musky, redfish, marlin, etc.) is to focus on what YOU CAN DO for your sponsor not... Read More
I was watching a TV Show with Bill Dance and he was talking about concentration. I thought well this is going to be a boring show but of course, it wasn't. Matter of fact it... Read More
Generally an oceanic species, the swordfish is primarily a midwater fish at depths of 650-1970 feet (200-600 m) and water temperatures of 64 to 71°F (18-22°C). Although mainly a warm-water species, the swordfish has the... Read More
One of the most versatile of all lures, the grub mimics baitfish better than almost any other soft plastic bait, and they can be fished many different ways and all year round.A grub's fat short... Read More
Take a kid fishing and they will learn to be successful in life. As an avid fisherman for over 30 years I have to look back on my life and consider it a success. I... Read More
I just recently returned from my first fishing trip to Alaska.If you have ever dreamed of heading to the last frontier, but have continuously put it off because of this reason or that---STOP PUTTING IT... Read More
Sometimes bass fishing in a big lake can be overwhelming. Do you fish deep? Fish the banks? Are they out in open water? What? This will depend on the lake, the time of year,... Read More
For the most part, I am an advocate for catch and release fishing.Sustaining the fish and habitat in the sport you love only makes sense.However, sometimes a freshly caught trout, bass, or crappie is just... Read More
When fly fishing for trout, it is of crucial importance to understand their senses. Trout are fish, after all, and make different use of their senses than we do. Understanding these senses can greatly increase... Read More
The Garmin Fishfinder 250 is Garmin's latest addition to their family of marine chartplotters, handheld GPS, fish finders and GPS sounders and its already gaining a great reputation amongst the angling community.We met up with... Read More
Fish Cooking Basics I must admit that I have met more than a few fishermen that know every trick in the book to catch fish, but after they have caught it, have no... Read More
When looking for information on how to fly fish, fly fishing tips or fly fishing techniques, many anglers, or anglers to be,who limit their search to books or material written ithin the last few years... Read More
Get Rid Of SharksSharks buggin' you? To get rid of them pour some fish blood on a paper towel or newspaper and roll it into a ball. Toss it overboard and the sharks will follow... Read More
My young stepson and I was fishing at Rush Creek in Ohio and using the same rod and reel, line and lure. Everything was exactly the same, the problem was I had caught about a... Read More
The Newfoundland cod stocks. What has happened to cod fishing off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland? Several centuries ago, John Cabot, sailing under the English flag, found the richest fishing area the world would come... Read More
Many people go to Florida to fish for that trophy bass but did you know that 4 other states have a bigger state record than Florida? Not only that but one of the states is... Read More
Jack Karpawack here.I've taken to the road...Life can be simple,and life can be hard on the road, but mainly it just makes your butt hurt having to drive so far to pursue the call of... Read More
Have you ever noticed some people have all the luck when it comes to catching huge bass? Maybe, it's not luck at all, it is most likely they know where to look for the lunkers... Read More
Try doing a web search on the words "fishing lodge" and you will come up with hundreds of thousands of matches. Visit any major sports show and you'll find dozens of outfitters, each offering promises... Read More
Originally published in Procats Online MagazineSummertime angling for trophy-sized blue cats on huge reservoirs can be tough. Peer across an expansive lake and the sheer vastness will seemingly swallow you whole. Where do you start?... Read More
Great fishing supplies are an essential when it comes to netting the big game out at the lake or the stream. You can't expect the fish to bite, though, if you don't bring your A... Read More
Many shore anglers avoid fishing rock marks because they are scared of losing tackle. However, very few marks are totally unfishable, and often the most effective rigs for fishing rough ground marks are also the... Read More
The ubiquitous Woolly Bugger, never quite spelled correctly to my eyes, appeals to the eyes of every gamefish imaginable. If I had one pattern to fish the rest of my life, no matter what the... Read More
One of the greatest thrills in Pacific Northwest fly fishing is bringing large anadramous fish to a surface fly. While surface fishing in the saltwater is not as popular as subsurface fly fishing, feeding saltwater... Read More
Method 2The second method that works really well for me is drift fishing. Lets start by explaining how drifting works. It's really pretty simple: you cast out bait and drag it behind or from the... Read More
An angler should therefore become familiar with the three main senses a trout uses. These are:Smell:Trout have amazing powers of smell. For humans, trying to understand smell underwater is rather difficult since we can't do... Read More
The true Angler Fish lives in both shallow and deep water and there is regularly confusion over their identity as either Angler Fish or Monkfish. It is more a case that there is more than... Read More
"FISH ON!!"I yelled, as my seven weight fly rod bent over and the line played it's magical tune of "zinging in the rain". It was hard to tell just how big the fish was or... Read More
There is a fairly new technique when it comes to bass fishing but it works great especially when bass are under a lot of pressure, it's called drop-shotting. When you see other fishermen using worms... Read More
It was one of those fishing trips. You know, everyone catches fish but you, you loose six or eight of your most expensive streamers, it rains buckets, and you sink the boat. That's right; I... Read More
When fishing for bass in deep water try a spinnerbait that you have confidence in and have used to catch fish before. If the fish are inactive try a slow study retrieve. Spinnerbaits as you... Read More
With the excitement of my first trip to Alaska still fresh and percolating in my mind, I can hardly keep from telling fishing friends and aquaintances of my ensuing trip.As you would well expect, it... Read More
Choosing a good rod is a major decision for the fly fishing angler. Shopping for that new rod can also be allot of fun. But how do we know what the right rod is? Here... Read More
The term stream trout is actually a term used to encompass any of the stream trout. Brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout are all called stream trout because they like the running waters. But,... Read More
Often lake fish will gather in schools and cruise around looking for food, but often it is the small fish that rise to take surface insects while the bigger ones feed in deeper water.Where the... Read More
Fishing Fishing |