Largemouth Bass Lures - How Bass See Them

There are a variety of thoughts regarding why certain colors are effective when used on artificial baits. Some of this information is based on fact while other is strictly conjectured. I will try in this post to separate fact from folklore. While it is widely known that lures of different colors will vary as to there effectiveness at given time, anglers often do not take the time to understand why different colors work better than others in differing conditions. This article will present a basis for choosing a lure color rather depending upon trial and error or what the guys in the bait shop say is working.

The depth you are fishing, water clarity, the amount of sunshine and the physical structure of the eye of a bass all impact how the color of a lure is perceived. The structure of the bass’s eye is the only one of these factors that remains constant.

The eye of a bass is similar to the human eye in some respects. Like humans the eye of the bass contains cones which provide color vision and rods which are responsible for black, white and gray vision. So if a bass can see color which color is the best? This is where things can get a bit confusing and where conditions begin to impact your success.

An objects color is the result of the color of light it reflects. As light penetrates water different colors are absorbed as the depth increases. As a result the colors which are visible at the surface of the water will appear quite different as the water gets deeper. By a depth of 17 feet all light in the red spectrum will be absorbed and with no red spectrum light to be reflected an object which may appear bright red on the surface will begin to appear as darkening shades of gray and ultimately appear as dark blue or black.  As the depth progresses the order of color absorption is a follows. The red spectrum is lost first followed by oranges, yellows, greens then blues. Just before reaching the point where all light is absorbed and only darkness remains everything exists as varying shades of dark blue or black. A white lure will move from white in appearance through shades of green then blue and finally black as it moves deeper. As you can see if you plan to fish at a depth greater than 17 feet a red colored lure will lose the attraction it has above that depth.

Water clarity can also have a big effect upon how colors are visualized by bass. Bass see colors very well at depths of less than five feet when the water is clear. In this type of condition bass are attracted to lures that have the same coloration as the bait fish of the area. This is usually some variation of silver or gold. As the water becomes cloudy (again in depths less than five feet) and visibility is reduced (to a range of 1 to 3 feet) brighter colors become more effective than silver or gold. Colors such as chartreuse and the shades of red or orange that display “neon” qualities become more effective in these reduced visibility conditions. Finally, when the water condition becomes muddy the best colors to use are dark colors such as dark browns, blues, grays or black.

As the amount of light varies from fully bright sunny days to dark gray skies the effectiveness of colors combines the qualities which have already been discussed. As the intensity of sunlight decreases the depth to which it is able to penetrate is reduced. This causes all colors to become viewed as gradations of gray at a more shallow depth than when viewed in brighter sunlight conditions. The reflective effect of the metallic colors is also reduced in low light intensity conditions. On days without bright levels of sunshine one would expect lures with bolder colors or pearl white to be more effective than the silver or gold colors that are “flashy” or reflective in strong sunlight. In extreme cloudy conditions or near dusk the darker colors recommended for muddy conditions may be most effective.

How many variations of color are needed to fish effectively? As presented above, at depths below approximately 20 feet all colors of lures will begin to have the same appearance with only variations in shade being apparent. This means that a light red lure will appear the same as any other light color and the same within the dark shades. While some variation in lure colors will be helpful, by considering the guidelines outlined in this article, it should be clear to the reader that it certainly is not necessary to try to accumulate a large collection of various colored lures. Rather than depending upon a large variety of lures that look the same, the reader should concentrate upon how the lure is presented to improve his catch.

This post has only touched the surface of the vast amount of information available to improve your bass fishing. The Complete Bass Fishing Course shares the bassfishing knowledge of the legendary Bill Dance on 12 DVDs along with 12 CDs. Click below to learn how to receive a free lesson DVD.