Does anyone have any idea what, if anything, the color chartreuse represents? Is there anything in the natural world (other than your kid's socks) that actually is this color, or close to it?

who knows what the fishies see?

Dont Know but it sure is strange. Pink Worms are strange steelhead food too

Maybe a chartreuse colored worm may be a killer color too! who knows

Cowlitzfisherman

Or a white worm???

One factor is that chartreuse is a color that can be seen better than most all others underwater.

Because light travels slower in water than air, many of the other colors fade to brown or black.

I had a white worm once, luckly I got rid of it.


John, how do you know what light the fishies see?

It might have an appearance of phosphorescence. Many things in the salt give off a phosphorescence glow.

It is supposed to look green underwater.

The treatise on what fish see and how light/colors behave underwater was written by Colin Kageyama, an Oregon optometrist, and available thru Amato publications. I just had a patient drop it by my office the other day... he thought it would be right up my alley.

He talked about a lot of common misconceptions that are repeated by fishermen everywhere, this board included. Still not done reading the book, but I think it's time to pick it up again... got a few hours before the New Year countdown tonight.

Colin Kageyama's book is called "What fish see". It'[s a very interesting read. Once you read it you will understand that most lure manufactuers make lures to catch fishermen. If a lure actually catches fish it's a bonus.

Thumbs up on the Kageyama book! Ive been using his techniques for several yrs and bought his light filter. As far as I know this is the first and only definitive work on the topic.

Also Univ of Wisconsin has done research on what fish see.
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/textonly/lure.html

Does anyone else know of other research taking place on what fish see? thx -j

don,t really care what they see as long as they see my shyt!!!PEACE!!!

Great little article John. Thanks now I know what the fishies see. enlightening

Don't know if it's fact or not, I heard( saw chart too) on what colors fish see as sun comes up in morning and progresses through day. This chart says fish see green first thing in morning, and last before sun goes down. Now this does not mean they don't see green midday, just that some of the other colors become more distiguishable during concentrations of light intensities. It also suggested that fish may see green as green first thing, changing to red, then to black as light spectrum changes. I wouild be interested if this chart mentioned, was part of this study aforementioned.Thank you all for any more conrete evidence on this interesting topic.

Here are a few tips on colors. . . .Plus a whole lot more!


Color
Fish do not have an innate desire for any particular color. It is fact certain colors can be seen better under various water and light conditions which makes color a critical factor. Anadromous fish have eye receptors that are adapted to readily see the colors green in the ocean and red during spawning, but they will strike lures of any color if they can be seen. Color, then, is a prime mechanism for determining how a lure will contrast with its background so it can easily be seen. The second function of lure coloring is to provide lures with different brightness. As the fish’s metabolism changes with water temperature, a lure’s

Water As A Light Filter
When light travels through water, certain wavelengths are filtered out depending upon depth and water color. Sunlight contains all the colors of the rainbow, but as light travels through water, only certain colors in the spectrum penetrate depending upon the clarity of the water. So, the lure colors seen by the fisherman in the air are not the colors seen by the fish under water. Lure colors degrade substantially in the water, even clear water

Some colors change markedly under water. For example, fish see red as black under just a few feet of clear water, while fluorescent red becomes black to the fish at a distance in the same water.

The proper rule of thumb for choosing lure colors is "light lures for dark conditions and dark lures for bright conditions".

When fishing green water, like glacial runoff, stick to silver, fluorescent pink, red and orange, or fluorescent chartreuse color combinations. These are the only colors you'll need whether it’s sunny or overcast.

In turbid water, combinations of gold, black and fluorescent chartreuse work best. In clear water, low light conditions, combine silver with dark colors like black, metallic blue and green. during spawning runs, use combinations of fluorescent reds, oranges and pinks. When the water is cold and the sky is overcast, or in early morning or late afternoon, silver and fluorescent red combinations are very effective. But, if the water begins to warm, or it becomes sunny tone-down your lure selection by switching to lures with darker hues.

Knowledgeable fishermen always carry black lures. Black fills three particular needs:

1) In turbid (brown) water, on a sunny day, it provides the necessary contrast for the lure to be seen.

2) When the water is relatively warm and it’s sunny, a black, or even a toned-down tarnished brass spinner reduces the overall brightness of the spinner.

3) Black can be easily seen contrasted against the bright sky. If you fish at night, try a black lure.

And if you really, really want to know more about fish and colors you can go to:

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/Articles/freshwater38.htm

Enjoy,

Cowlitzfisherman

So what about the fly fishing saying of "bright day (sunny) bright fly, dark day (cloudy) dark fly?" That is the exact opposite of what you said but it has been working for hundreds of years (started in England for Atlantic Salmon and since steelhead are very much like Atlantic Salmon when it comes to flies, it has also worked for steelhead the past hundred years).

Another color that dose not represent anything really is purple. I know purple is not often used by gear fishermen but has been used in flies and is very effective.

Fishingjunky15

Did you get the chance to read what was posted at http://www.bigfishtackle.com/Articles/freshwater38.htm ?

Here are a just few quotes, if you didn't get to read it that may apply to "shallow water fly fishing" and flies. It should apply to most all "surface type fishing" techniques such as "fly fishing", because most fly's are fished on the surface or just shortly below.

"5. 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."

"Time of day/year
I know it seems unlikely that your lure could appear to be a different color depending on the time of day or the month of the year, but it's a reality. To put the idea into a terrestrial context, think about how we see color on a clear day in the afternoon compared with a cloudy day at dusk. On a clear day with the sun overhead there are fewer gas molecules and airborne particles to scatter the short (blue) wavelengths, so the sky appears blue. Towards dusk the light travels through a lot more gas and airborne particles, so lots of the blue wavelengths get scattered and don't reach our eyes. Red and orange wavelengths eventually give way to indigos and violets as the sun sets. The many changing hues of the sky also change the color of other objects we see in the colored light."

"Other influences
Any ripple on the surface of a water body has the effect of increasing light scatter and hence reduces light penetration into the water. Pollution, both air and water, can also influence light penetration and hence the color that lures appear underwater"

"The aquatic environment not only emulates what happens above the waterline, but magnifies the effect. So the loss of blue wavelengths at each end of the day is much greater underwater and starts earlier in the day than it does above water. Remember that these are the ones that penetrate deepest, so the period over which colors are visible deep in the water are much shorter than they are at the surface."

"In a similar way the sun is more directly overhead so fewer of the short wavelengths get scattered and on land we tend to get brighter and more intense light (and the really short wavelengths get through, hence we get sunburnt!). In winter we get more subdued light, partly because the light travels a greater distance through the atmosphere and partly because clouds add water molecules to the atmosphere to further filter out light. This means that many wavelengths don't penetrate as deeply into the water during winter, so a lure travelling at a depth of 5m in winter could appear to be a different color than in summer, all other things being equal. This effect is much more pronounced the further you travel from the equator."

Personally, I think that all of those "beautiful fly colors" are mainly used for selling "flies", and the material to make them! Like they say, think what a fish sees when he is looking up from down beneath. Most likely, it is the shape, silhouette, and pattern and not "the color" that gets it's attention!

Anyways, that's how I look at it, and my wife thinks that I am only half fish!

Others may look at it from "above" if they choose to, but most fish look at it (flies) from beneath!

Think like a fish!


Cowlitzfisherman

CFM: When flyfishing for salmon/steelhead the fly is usually fished as deep as possible to get the fly to pass infront on the fish. When practicing the wet fly swing, the fly is pulled sideways infront of the fish most of the time when the fish is along the bottom. I do realise that when dry fly fishing the color dose not matter as much but many trout flyfishermen could tell you that when trying to "match the hatch" color, and well size, is everything.

But kinda like you said, when flyfishing for steelhead the fly patter/color 70% of the time has more to do with pleasing the fisherman and not the fish.