Importance of color in poppers/stickbaits

[Seventenths]

More mumbo jumbo.. but interesting to note fish see colour better that we do!!!
 
Color vision table

Name of state	Number of cone cells	Approx. number of colors perceived	Porters
Monochromacy	1	100	marine mammals, owl monkey, Australian sea lion, achromat humans
Dichromacy	2	10,000	most terrestrial non-primate mammals, color blind primates
Trichromacy	3	1 million	most primates, especially great apes (such as humans), marsupials, some insects (such as honeybees)
Tetrachromacy	4	100 million	most reptiles, amphibians, birds and insects, rarely humans
Pentachromacy	5	10 billion	some insects (specific species of butterflies), some birds (pigeons for instance)

[Seventenths]

Note fish fall mostly in Category 4 Tetrachromacy and mantis shrimps (one of the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom fall in cat 5 and the are believed to have such complex eyes for spotting prey and predators... and can see over 10billion colours...
more wiki...
The mantis shrimp has one of the most elaborate visual systems ever discovered.^[11]
The midband region of its eye is made up of six rows of specialised ommatidia. Four rows carry up to 16 different photoreceptor pigments, 12 for colour sensitivity, others for colour filtering. The vision of the mantis shrimp is so precise that it can perceive both polarised light and multispectral images.^[12] Their eyes (both mounted on mobile stalks and capable of moving independently of each other) are similarly variably coloured and are considered to be the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom.^[13]
Each compound eye is made up of up to ten thousand ommatidia of the apposition type. Each eye consists of two flattened hemispheres separated by six parallel rows of specialised ommatidia, collectively called the midband, which divides the eye into three regions. This configuration enables mantis shrimp to see objects with three parts of the same eye. In other words, each eye possesses trinocular vision and depth perception.

[Seventenths]

so Marco... I think colour matters in the great puddle.... just my 2c...

[Toppie]

During a presentation and in conversation with one of the most successful Marlin and Sailfish Captains in the world, Brad Philips of Guatemala, on this very same subject he answered that a hungry fish hovering at 40/50 meters or deeper cannot possibly see the colour of a lure. It instinctively decides if the lure is catchable prey and sets off to devour it, and when it reaches the lure and having spent the energy to reach it, doesn't change its mind and decides its blue he feels like only pink fish today.

His only opinion was that the silhouette must under prevailing conditions distinguish the lure as potential food.

[Cam Mundy]

I get asked this all the time and I always say dark lure for dark days and bright lures for bright days if that doesn't work do the opposite. you will have days when the fish key in on certain colours by for the most part if they are hungry they will eat whats in front of them.
I like my stickbaits with a a lot of "flash" on the sides that catches and reflects the light when the lure dives and rolls as you work it.  But colour means nothing if you don't work the lure well its all in the action you achieve my favorite stick baits are the ones that float in a nose up attitude between 45 and 70 degrees, the secret with these lures is having slack in your line before you sweep your rod the slack causes extra drag on the line which in turn drags the lures nose under the water where it will roll from side to side before surfacing nose first again.
A mistake many people make is working stick baits to fast big and slow is the way to go and if a fish comes up and starts tracking your lure you need to keep your nerve and continue what you where doing if you speed up you will break the action or pull the lure out the fishes mouth, when you have mastered your lure then you can speed up to elicit a strike.

With poppers colour plays less of a role I generally fish pink, black and natural colours.

My favorite colour is pink if anyone was wondering lol

[John F]

Some tips from Dr Greg Vignal:

* Use dark colors at night. This may seem strange to the novice, but from experience it definitely works. When you think about it, all colors appear to us at night to be black or shades of dark grey. Usually when we see something at night it's a shadow, and dark colors give the best shadow. Also, fish usually attack lures from below at night and during low light conditions. This is because it maximises the benefit of any limited light available. Under these conditions a dark lure throws the best silhouette and is therefore the most visible. Black, dark blue and purple are good choices at this time of day.

* During winter or periods when there is lots of particulate material in the water (such as silt or algae), reds and oranges are the first colors to be filtered out. Under these conditions, lures with plenty of yellow, green or blue appear the most colorful below the surface. Fluorescent yellow and greens are also worth a shot.

* Red, orange, yellow, silver and metallic colors are most intense during bright summer days in clear, shallow water. Having said that, metallic finishes have some benefits at depth because they have a tendency to create flash, even under relatively low light conditions. Mind you, all colors are visible under these bright conditions and if the fish are actively feeding on baitfish that are blue in color, then that's the color to use.

* Color choice is a moot point if you are deep trolling using a downrigger or paravane, particularly under low light conditions or if the water is colored or dirty. The most important factors under these conditions are lure size, shape and action.

* When fishing topwater lures, color is far less important than size, shape and action. A fish coming up below a surface or shallow running lure has the light behind it, making the lure appear grey or black. Try it for yourself - hold a fluorescent lure up to the sun and view it from below. Black and dark colors remain the best for surface lures because they throw a great silhouette.

* Red and orange lures come into their own in tannin stained waters, as do fluorescent hues.

[John F]

Ok,

So for may own benefit and after all the science and expert adivice, this is what I kept:

* Action is key;
* Dark days -> dark lures ; bright days -> bright lures
* Color in poppers is less important than in stickbaits
* White, pink and black / dark colors seem to work best
* Stickbaits should have flashy sides

[Cam Mundy]

By the way I took my own advice and bought a Saragosa 8k and loaded it with PE6 on a stiff spinning rod I'll let you know how it goes!

[jball7204]

Aha, when I think of the lures we threw last summer that all makes sense, although we never think about it as its happening. Poppers dark and flash, Stickbaits mostly white, yellow or pink with flash on sides (colour depending on water cloudiness) and spoons in the clearer water.

Thanks for this thread, reminds us to think a bit when it's slow....

[Kent]

  ACTION...ACTION...ACTION......

[andrewpalang]

I must echo pretty much what Cam has said. Poppers wise, I believe purely in the action and noise created. If a fish has decided to go for it, it will go for it. Obviously everyone has their preference in colours, I prefer red and white and fish almost exclusively with this, sometimes changing to a blue or pink. Stickbaits however are slightly different, a great action is obviously needed to get the attention but also like to have a great colour. A bit of flash always helps to attract attention. I prefer fishing stickbaits in cleaner water as you are relying more on action and colour than noise. Colours for stickbaits, here I am with Cam, Pink has always been a winner but also caught on every other colour we have!

[Kent]

  ...Colour AND action....

[kp11]

Last year in Mozambique my brother and I would have sold our soul for more pink lures we only had four to start with. None of the other colours were working half as well as the pink not even red and white.

[chrisquinton]

It is not a terrible idea to buy a couple colours of the stick-on colored flash.
If you desperate, for a couple rands, you can convert almost any lure to a colour of your choice in a few seconds.
Its also not permanent..