Bloody Baits

[oldtoolsniper]

I have caught a few fish in my years on this planet and that is where this question comes from.

 

When a fish is bleeding in the water how does the blood somehow stay on the side of the fish as depicted on some lures?

 

I have shot fish with spear guns in the ocean while diving and the blood does not stay on the side of the fish, it dissipates into the water. There is way more blood than any normal survivable injury a fish could swim around with and yet it does not stick nor is it visible on the side of the fish.

 

For that matter when I cut my finger that blood will dissipate into the water when I clean the wound as well.  

 

 

I'm thinking this is like the ad for the blue pills that tell you to report to your doctor after fours hours if it's not gone away. This was nothing more than advertising in a slight of hand way that implies no claims but leads you to assume it is a fact when it is not. 

 

Red is one of the first colors to turn to brown or black underwater. If I recall correctly from under water photography it turns sometimes in less than 10 feet of water.  

 

 

Is this the blue pill of the fishing lure world? Wounded things bleed so it makes sense a predator would key in on that, in our minds that means blood. That blood would trigger a strike and a strike is what we are after. Lure makers want in our wallets so if they imply that possibly blood painted on the side triggers strikes then perhaps more people will buy them.

 

Back a few years ago lures were made to act like a wounded fish, they were not painted to look like one. In fact most wounded fish I have seen have nasty growths on them that have no resemblance of blood. 

 

How does the blood stay on the side of these fish? Is this the mythical four hours of the fishing world?

 

Do bait-fish have some characteristic that allows blood in the water to stick to their sides? 

 

Am I missing something?

 

 

 

 

 

[Travis]

No it doesn't stick to the sides and there were lures with bleeding tablets you could add but messy along with  other issues.  Red is fine in most shallow water situations but as you mentioned you can't think of true red in many situations. Add the  most anglers are about the most superstitious group and are willing to accept the craziest of ideas give them a one up on a fish and you have a large market to sell to.   Anglers are becoming more educated but wasn't too long ago if Bill Dance or equivalent said it worked the masses would flock to buy it.  

 

Now your comparison to the blue pill is a poor one as ischemic priapism does occur in some instances and we aren't talking hey this is cool advertising ploy.  I am not sure if the needle inserted to draw out blood and the injection of saline solution afterwards hurts as much as the initial condition but I will pass on both. Nonfactual claims made by a drug maker don't set well with the FDA.  Other companies are quick to point them out to the FDA if they don't get find them already.  A quick look at the Warning Letters sent this year and past show false advertising popping up frequently.    I think GSK got hit with 3 billion in fines last year for illegal promotion of drugs, Pfizer lost 90% of its income one year because of the fraud and misleading information.....

 

 http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/WarningLettersandNoticeofViolationLetterstoPharmaceuticalCompanies/ucm339597.htm

 

 

.    

Edited July 21, 2013 by Travis

[RayburnGuy]

I think your right about the "bleeding effect" Sniper. I seriously doubt prey fish see splotches of red down the side of a bait as blood. It is much more likely, at least to my way of thinking, that they just like that little splash of color. There is no way of knowing with 100% certainty what is going on in the mind of a fish so all we are left with is a best guess scenario.

 

As far as the "little blue pill" I'll leave that one up to someone else to answer. I have a hard enough time keeping my mind wrapped around what it takes to build a successful lure.

 

Ben

[solarfall]

i've used that blood trail on my lures and to be honest i don't think it really matters too drastically if you compare lures that are identical in every other way but the other one has that blood trail. on the other hand the predatory fish might not even see it as a blood trail but rather a flesh wound.

there probably is no scientific data on if its relevant or not to trigger a strike from a predator.

[mark poulson]

I've had fish stop eating a DT16 in shad, and then eat again when I switched to the same lure but in bleeding shad.

I don't know if it was the red, or just that it was a little different looking.

I think Keith Jones, from Berkley, did some testing with a red lazer light, and bass followed it round and tried to eat it, but I don't know whether the red light was a trigger, or whether the bass was just attacking something new and different in their environment.

I tend to think that the trick is to get the fish to see the lure in the first place.  If it's at all lifelike or triggering, they'll hit it.

Edited July 22, 2013 by mark poulson

[fatfingers]

Everyone says that red disappears at a certain depth, but one of the hottest colors for musky on our local waters right now is a bait color pattern everyone is referring to as strawberry. It is essentially red splotches over white.

On a hunch, I made one in all red and pink with no other colors on one my Flatshads. The guy that bought it emailed me to inform me that he caught three muskies the first day he used it and two more on the second day. Bear in mind, this is bait that is trolled at about 10 to 15 feet at what most fisherman would consider high speed.

I find they types of discussions interesting because I firmly believe there is still much to be learned about color when it comes to lures.

Take Firetiger for example. It catches fish big time. An amazing number of species respond to that particular color combination, yet, if you alter that pattern too much, the response rate drops off rather dramatically.

I believe there are still other patterns waiting to be "discovered" since many, if not most builders paint the same patterns as they see others painting. It reminds me of the days when I used to go walleye fishing...everyone would choose the same general area of the lake to fish because they'd look across the water and see a bunch of boats in one area and they' d join them...and no one would be catching fish.

I do believe, despite a lot of opinions to the contrary, that detail on a bait can make a difference, especially when one is painting the more natural patterns such as shad, perch, etc. Thus adding detail such a red near the gills, shadowing around the eye sockets, etc, make a bait that more properly matches the species being preyed upon.

[mark poulson]

Aaron Martens, who is color blind, chooses his baits for their contrast.

I think maybe it's the contrasting paint jobs that get noticed as different, and therefore more vulnerable, on faster moving baits.

[Nathan]

Mark,

I think you hit the nail on the head with contrast...Years ago I made a holestein colored bait ( Wht. With Blk splotches)as a joke for my wife.I took the bait up with a bunch of others I had built to tune them...I could keep the fish off that " cow" bait...it was funny...but if you think about it..it makes perfect sense...the contrast ...The fish can see it...In dark water or shadows the white is visible......and in the light the black really stands out.The guys who have bought this pattern say that it can be deadly at times...but to be honest it never really has caught on...I think guys perceive it as too weird!...Nathan

[BobP]

Anthropomorphizing is falsely attributing human qualities to animals.  We crankbait makers do it all the time.  Sometimes it works, but not for the reason that a bass may really decide to bite a lure.  The "bleeding shad" design is an example.  Red blood running down the side of a lure is supposed to trigger a bite because it suggests a wounded, easy to catch prey.  What it really triggers is the predatory instinct of bait makers and buyers.  That's OK as long as the fish behave by biting the bait for whatever reason their little pea brains dictate.

[A-Mac]

 

[RayburnGuy]

 

 

I'll take a dozen and make 'em medium rare.

[A-Mac]

I'll take a dozen and make 'em medium rare.

haha, it took 4 minutes to catch the first angler! ICAST 2014!

[RayburnGuy]

haha, it took 4 minutes to catch the first angler! ICAST 2014!

 

That's why if I was a bass I'd never live long enough to be a trophy.

[bluetickhound]

Thanks dude.... I just reaction bit my phone and flopped around on the floor.... Boss thinks I may have "issues".....

[Nathan]

Solarez or Devcon as your top coat on that A-Mac ?.. Lol...Nathan

[mark poulson]

Too funny!!!  It will get bit!

[A-Mac]

Solarez or Devcon as your top coat on that A-Mac ?.. Lol...Nathan

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ, makes the blood trail irresistible!

[Nathan]

Way to think outa the box!!!..Nathan

[oldtoolsniper]

Mark... Contrast.. I did not think along those lines. That is interesting and perhaps explains the bizarre colors that were used years ago on old wood baits. They look like nothing in nature yet were effective fish catchers.

 

Black and white as well as red and white daredevils come to mind. 

 

Color blind people interpret black and white drone photos because they see the contrast not the color and even a camouflaged gun emplacement stands out in stark contrast to them.  

 

Glad to see folks understood this was not about pills and the decision to use a rare side effect as a perceived benefit to market a product. That reference was an analogy with literary license and was in no way meant provoke a discussion on medical issues. It was used to demonstrate contemporary marketing and beneficial suggestions.  

 

In contemporary marketing beneficial suggestions and perceived benefits are not facts they are meant to imply that these things are possible if you wear, eat, drive, ride, buy, or fish with that particular marketed item. A polished, modern politically correct version of the "Snake Oil" salesman.  

[oldtoolsniper]

Why do I want steak now?

[mark poulson]

Why do I want steak now?

 

Because, somewhere deep down inside, you're normal.  In contrast to the rest of us....see, contrast again!  Hahaha