The Colour Blue

[gliders]

Thinking about colours in another thread got me thinking about the colour blue on lures again . Now I'm not talking about blue on an out and out imitative pattern imitating a fish or insect or whateve , that has blue on it, rather it's effectiveness on lures in waters where nothing is blue. On some of the waters i fish ,there are a couple of patterns of flies with blue in them that are consistently very effective on certain waters ,but completely useless and even repellent on others. Also on waters where it is effective ,it has to be in small amounts, an all blue lure being useless. I have found that in similar waters that i fish for pike with hardbaits that a lure with a blue back can be good at times. This has always bothered me!, i have come to the conclusion due to the fact that its always tannin or algae stained waters with dark bottoms or low light conditions ,that the fish see it as some shade of olive. It would be interesting to know if you guy's in u.s ,canada,and other parts of the world have any experiences with different species /waters regarding the colour blue.

[gliders]

I should add that the thing that bothers me, is that on the patterns and waters i fish them,these patterns can be exceptional at times,far more so than actual olive shades. It seems to trigger something more than olives or greens should....any theories or experiences?

[Travis]

How did you determine the fish perceive it as olive?   

[gliders]

Thanks reply travis, the reason for the olive theory was mainly because these patterns only work very well for me in peat stained water, and a few others that work in clear water ,only work in low light. On the very peat stained waters the blue starts to appear to take on shades of olive, i take it its because the stained water is filtering out certain parts of the spectrum, thus making it appear olive which is a key colour of much of the natural food in these waters. However what bothers me is why it should be so much more effective than olive patterns on those waters, and why those same patterns can be useless on waters which appear the same! Now about the low light patterns,on the waters i fish them they are hopeless until the light starts to go,then bingo!. Again, under certain sun setting or low light conditions ,the blue seems to appear less blue ,erring towards greenish. The best i can come up with is ,there must be something to do with red light which changes the colour blue as fish see them. A friend who fishes with me asked me to make him some blue backed trolling lures to try on a couple waters we fish for pike,which are very peat stained and similar to the trout waters where the blue tinged fly patterns work. I made them and expressed my severe doubt (ridicule ) . But unfortunately they worked very well ! Hope this not too long winded but i like logic in my fishing and this blue conundrum has always bothered me.

[gliders]

I clicked on that rate topic star thing at top of page to see what it was, and seems i gave myself some gold stars ! Didn't mean it and should have looked to see what is was first, man syndrome- if you see a button,press it and see what it does,then read instructions! Oops. (Might award myself some more,it felt good)

[SW Lures]

As you stated Glider about certain colors changing in the appearance, I agree. Being at best a layman I think as light is filtered this can changes the color. Now how this affectss a fish or specifically a species I don't know. I think Doc Vinall brought this up in his article.

I wonder what a fish truly see? You can throw a certain bait and present it in every way you can, no strikes. Then bring another out of the same type of bait but a different scheme and you can't keep the fish off of it.

This is like a bait that I have just finish with some help, it looks orange straight on. But if you look at a angle it's olive.

Dale

Edited November 17, 2016 by DaleSW

[gliders]

Yes dale, i am sure it has to be connected with how the colour blue appears when affected by water colour (peat stained ,like whiskey), and/or low light levels-(hi. U.v levels ?). The fact it seems to work on another species (pike as opposed to trout) in waters with similar stained water points to this being the reason. Do you bass and musky guys find patterns with blue in them more effective than other colours at any time? If so have you noticed any constants for when they work? Like water colour or light levels.

[BobP]

I can't really speak to northern waters since I fish them only about once a year but blue back lures are a staple color throughout the south, especially paired with chrome or chartreuse bodies. Blues and greens are the colors most visible at deeper depths as lures begin to lose color.

[aulrich]

Blue/Silver is one of my standard set of colors as a Other than the blue being the last color to get washed away. The other theory is that it represents forage like whitefish/cisco very well.

For myself when I am evaluating a new lure I always paint a Silver/Blue, combine that with perch and fire tiger and I can get a decent idea if the lure works for me.

For me Blue/Silver seems to always out perform Black/Silver.

[Super Ron]

Ditto on the blue/silver.   Not saying it out performs a black/silver as I use both but those are my number 1 and 2 in a rattle bait.   It's taken me probably 2 months of painting almost every day with different paints and techniques, but I think I finally got both a silver/blue and a silver black I like.   Hopefully I'll find out here shortly.   Waiting on boat repair so I can get a quick end of year trip to the Ozarks.

 

Ron

[SW Lures]

Ron I'll absolutely agree about the time it takes to get a scheme the way you like it... sometime. Lol I work on a gizzard shad that seemed to be forever. My problem was getting a very slight blue to come through the silver. I was asked to make some more, I hope I can.

Dale

[Super Ron]

Good luck Dale.  I have a routine that I follow.  It includes step by step pictures on most of the jobs I have painted and was able to recreate.  I also write myself instructions..  

 

Ron