Goose, the breakthrough is the fact that we now have an understanding of how the striper's eye functions, not just a “generic” fish eye. The fact that they have measured its sensitivity to light and color perception gives us a better understanding of how a striper’s eye functions. Sure red headed lures or a blue headed Atom have been proven striper killers for years, however, I think it’s interesting to now know that stripers can see those colors very clearly, and while I always used chartreuse in dirty water I find it rewarding to know that it’s dfinately one of the easiest to see colors for stripers. Chartreuse is one of the easiest to see colors for humans as well, and that’s why they’ve gone to chartreuse as the color of choice on safety jackets for road workers.
Nightprowler, when I posted the question “How important is the color and detail on the top of a surface plug? I was looking for the “conventional” wisdom that comes from anglers that have made up their own minds based on countless fishing trips and their own observations. What I found interesting was the fact that the stripers could see a mirror image from down below and therefore they could ascertain the color, shape and even make out the eyes from under the lure. The fact that stripers have taste buds on the outside of their lips and on their snout is captivating scientific information, but any fisherman that’s ever worked a chum line will tell you stripers can home in on a bunker slick in no time flat – they didn’t need to know that stripers can taste the water with their mouth shut. We all learn from first hand experience, from sharpies willing to pass down their secrets, from books, videos and yes, even from the laboratories.
When it comes to understanding fish behavior there is no definitive rule book, no absolutes…I know the more I learn about fish, the more questions I have. If fishing wasn’t an enigma shrouded in a mystery it would have lost its appeal a long time ago.
Just yesterday I was reading an article on how fish see in Sport Fishing magazine. It was a very interesting article and it suggested that if you want a game fish to see a lure from below, you should consider painting the bottom dark and the top light, just the opposite of how bait fish have evolved with counter shading that is light on the bottom and dark on the top. But then the writer hedged his bet and suggested that the predator might see the lure from greater distance, but when it gets up close and sees the unnatural color pattern it might be reluctant to eat it.
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