How important is the color and detail on the top of a surface plug?

[Fish_Eye]

I’ve always been a big fan of pearl, bright white, black, and yellow with a red head at dawn and dusk.

Several years ago I was filming Lefty Kreh working his deceiver fly off Sakonnet Point in particularly clear water. After getting the slides back both Lefty and I were amazed at how none of the color (white and yellow with a touch of chartreuse and a tad of red near the throat) was to be seen when I shot the fly from directly below. All you saw was a silhouette of the fly and it appeared black. We both agreed that ACTION, first and foremost draws attention and strikes followed by size and shape, then finally color. Oh yah, sound is probably even more important than color…and EVERY lure makes sound…sound and vibration that most deffinately stimulates the lateral line of any predators in the area. Even a slow moving Danny makes noise – you would be amazed at how loud a clanking sound is generated by the simple swinging back and forth of treble hooks.

However, there a days when color does make a huge difference -- how do you explain that? Especially when you’re dealing with a topwater offering that seldom if ever leaves the surface. I have a theory…let me hear yours before I post a few revealing pictures.

[TSPS]

Mike ,
What have you seen/think about the Eyes ? As I stated above I think the eyes are very important.

[Fish_Eye]

TSPS,

I've recently been filming a new Tattoo offering for freshwater. It's a surface swimming, metal lipped offering similar to a classic Danny style plug. It has a slow roll from side to side that we wanted to capture on video as well as photos. The pictures revealed something I had observed last year while filming Jim White working a Slug-Go near the surface.

It's true that if you look up directly below a lure, all you see is a silhouette and no matter what color it might be, it looks black. However, if you look up at almost any other angle, you get a mirror reflection off the surface…the calmer the water the more you get a cloned image of the top of the lure. Even in rough seas you still get a reflected image of what’s on the top of the lure…eyes and all. I’m a big fan of eyes and a splash of red on all lures and flies. I’m convinced that it’s the action, noise and shape of the lure that first rings the dinner bell, but when game fish show a preference for one particular prey item they may be looking for that reflected color, or the position of a big eye to determine whether or not they should commit the energy for a strike.

What do you think? Have I been down too long? Am I all wet? Does this theory hold water?

Here are a few pictures that give you the fish-eye view looking up at surface offerings:

[Fish_Eye]

Another couple of Fish_Eye observations:

[capesams]

my .02 say's color does matter...seen it make a world of differents at different time's....even tested it when offshore and the beach...threw the same shape bait in 6 different color's...what works today/night is often dead the next time out.We had a can't miss [night]spot till the seals moved in..every nite was a different color[bomber]..one nite pearl..next clear redhead...black....green...yellow...green with orange belly..you took everything you owned or lost out.

[Treble Crusher]

First off, I'm new to the site, fish and live on Long Island but love fishing for stripers so I decided to join this site to talk more about 'em. Anyway enough about me, colors. I too have most every color of everything and use black and white the majority of the time. Color may be important at certain times which may be LOW light times of day such as sunset, sunrise, and overcast days and during these times yellow and chartreuse seem to do very well. my reasoning is:

Bright Days/nights whatever bait you seem to see in the water appears to be white or pearl colored based on the bright light and the angle you are looking at them, so suspeneded bass my have the same angle and see the same colors. If they are on the bottom and looking up into the bright light I would assume they see the same I may see looking up into bright light which is a black silloutte which is why black may produce during the day but white would give the same silloute with the added advantage of the looking at its sides where color may matter.

Dark nights everything looks black,shadowy, sillouttes, so throw black plugs as there is not enough light to create the reflections of color and light.

Cloudy days/sunset/sunrise you don't have the bright sunlight to create the strong reflections you get on bright sunny days which washes colors out, if I remember correctly from art and science classes while in school white is every color, black is absence of color, so less or softer light of overcast days may not be so harsh to wash out every color into a pearl and allow more "color" or one particular color to be visable and that colors seems to be a chartruese or yellow.

Thats my idea. Excellent site by the way.

[Redsoxticket]

The noise that is created in the water is unique for all that moves in the water as identified by a sonar signature. This could be anything from shrimp snapping their tails to submarines. This being said, a bunker will admit a unique sound that the bass can identfy. Therefore if a plug is designed (size, shape, movement) to generate the same sound signature of the bait, the greater chances the bass will investigate the forage that the plug is simulating.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Fish_Eye

I’ve always been a big fan of pearl, bright white, black, and yellow with a red head at dawn and dusk.

Oh yah, sound is probably even more important than color…and EVERY lure makes sound…sound and vibration that most deffinately stimulates the lateral line of any predators in the area. Even a slow moving Danny makes noise – you would be amazed at how loud a clanking sound is generated by the simple swinging back and forth of treble hooks.

However, there a days when color does make a huge difference -- how do you explain that? Especially when you’re dealing with a topwater offering that seldom if ever leaves the surface. I have a theory…let me hear yours before I post a few revealing pictures.

I think Lateral line is huge ..When I get on a blue/white kick I may carry a bunch identical blue/white needles, only one may be favored by the fish.. Now I have confidence in that one so I put more time in with that one than the others.. all the same color ? Now I wondering if its the color or the attitude/slant versus feel in the water .. Tried wading up on a pod of bait last night to get a better look .. I move ,, it moves,,I move ,,it moves..You ever watch bait off a pier (sorry,no boat) ,, one turns ,,they all turn ..one jumps ,,the whole pile jumps,, This happens in a micro second ,.. That line must be super sensitive. To feel vibration and have the message sent to the brain and react that quickly is amazing .. I wonder how far can they feel vibration in the water,, How far can they see.. What about stationary objects in the water ? Do they know they are there from the current pushing against them vs acutally seeing them .. If you fish the same spot what makes them make a b-line for that same boulder to wrap around 25 yds away . I think there's more than meets the eye going on here...We don't have lateral lines so we can't relate to that only imagine . Maybe they like the feel of something and it just happens to be that color ? Many things over the years have happened to make me think this .. fishing a 3 hook rebel ,, fish on every cast .. I can't even hardly work the plug,they're on it soon as it hits the water. The hook ups are messy though. Three trebles on a little plug ,,yuk .. So I remove one belly hook .. You guessed it ,, not another fish ,, not one ,, bouncing off there heads .. what happened ? color didn't change.. I'll shut up now . geeez

[libassboy]

Im a believer that it does matter. When your using a spook for example, it doesnt always ride perfectly strait, it flashes and tips and turns, exposing the color on the back of the plug. Ive seen one color outperform others too many times for it to not be a fact. Altho rare one color can also be the ticket while all others fail, theres gotta be something to it.
yellow is huge for surface plugs, and i think it has something to do with the contrast, but god only knows.

[Tagger]

,,, I think different things matter at different times and sometimes nothing matters .. I think color does matter,, What about Stan Gibbs and friends slaying fish on purple and pink plugs they painted themselfves before there was such a thing during squid run . Soon nothing will matter,, when the feeding is competitive you can throw anything in the water an catch ,,, see it every year . .

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Tagger

,,, I think different things matter at different times and sometimes nothing matters .. I think color does matter,, What about Stan Gibbs and friends slaying fish on purple and pink plugs they painted themselfves before there was such a thing during squid run . Soon nothing will matter,, when the feeding is competitive you can throw anything in the water an catch ,,, see it every year . .

Yup, i remember one year i hit upon eureka, by chance, with green and white dannies. They caught for me all year long, couldn't miss till October than 0. Never caught on them again but silver/black mega bait and everything else worked that fall.
Another time the difference was between a 5in yellow stillwater and 5in shool bus red fin with nothin on the red fin and nonstop on the stillwater.
Three years ago it was chartruse storms out fishin the pogie storms 10 to 1. Next year it was the pearl storms with a worm rattle.
A blue/black stillwater, black mombo or bomber almost always brings a hit at last light. Color seems to matter at different times of the day and year.

All i know for Sure is, Fish_ Eye always has awesome threads, and uze guys keep me learnin.

[NIB]

I will go thru a few plugs in my bag an not be overfished.I mean sure guys might do me by one or 2 fish that happens.I'm talkin where some guy has "THE" hot plug or color an smokes me 7-1 Never happens.How do u explain that.I go thru this all the time with guys an the hot color.I don't buy it.I am stubborn that way.I think if u think something is hot u thro it with confidence.It means everything.

[tattoobob]

Fish are impulse eaters, they see something that looks like food and they put it in there mouths if they don't like it they spit it out, I think it only has to look like food for them to put it in there mouth, thats why storm shads are so hot.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by NIB

I'm talkin where some guy has "THE" hot plug or color

I've seen it happen .. Years ago one fall morning on a Sandwich beach berfore day break guys were lining up and casting plugs. Word was out fish had been hitting at daybreak . There had to be 40 guys there arms length apart .. One guy in the middle keeps hooking up.. He got 7 fish .. Everyone eles got skunked except for one OTW writer got 1 fish . Stan Kuzia was there,, also Ron Arra and Carl Johanson ,,so its wasn't a matter of guys not reaching the fish . A bunch of other heavies I didn't know . After all the dust settled got a look at the guys plug . It was a Polaris popper Pogy color ,, That light gray with the black false eye .. Only thing that color was not available in stores and he got it from Gibbs himself .. Must have been the plug .. Either that them other guys don't know how to fish .

[Mr. Sandman]

IMO color is for selling more lures. If a fishermen thinks it works, then he is convinced. Like most of you I have lots of colors. If I had to rank the properties of importance 1) Action 2) profile 3) contrast 4) color
Fact is at night bass can't see color. So it does not matter. During the day they can see color but their eyesight is so bad that they have to be really close to it to see it. (THis is one theory why they tend to be more active at night) Also, the direction a fish is looking has something to do with it too...looking up agaist the black night or bright daylight puts completely changes the way it looks.

Also there are two good books on what fish see and how sea water absorbs color and it changes at different depths.

For more info check out:

1) What fish See: Understanding optics and color shifts for designing lures and flys by Colin J. Kageyama, OD., F.C.O.V.D.

and

2) Through the fish's Eye: An anglers guide to gamefish behavior by Mark Sosin and John Clark.

Kind of geekish but if you read these it will change the way you think about color and lures.

[Flaptail]

Color is important. But we get sidetracked with creating lures that look like the real thing or multi hued beauties that make collectors drool. Trouble with that is that all one needs is solid white, solid yellow or solid black and one can catch most anything with a plug painted in those tones and I don't really by the eyes thing. My various beachmaster plugs have caught tons of bass with nary an eye on 'em.

Silhouette and motion, especially in the dark means more to me then the overall paint job.

Opinions?

[Skitterpop]

Day or night....white...and you`re right.... black and yellow are fine fellows


many old plugs had no eyes..... feeding bass and the right motion


Though as a person with addictive qualities I have many baits of all colors

[bobber]

you weren't kiddin' about the new Tatoo plug havin some "roll" in it were ya- that thing is flat on its side in the second pics!!

[Rockfish9]

IMHO, color is waaaaay over rated, yes there are times when a certain color will outfish others, it is my belief that it has more to do with light penetration and what "shade" of color the fish are more able to see, that said, again IMHO, the movement and size of the bait or lure is far more important than the color..

Do bait fish and juvy fish not have colors to hide them from predators?....Eels are black when they are on a mud bottom.. what color do they turn in a white bucket?

Even Mackerel in a white tank loose some of their darker hues.

Ever see a trout on a stream bed... they blend in pretty well with their surroundings.....

My point is ,those pretty colors may hide the bait fish by breaking up the outline of the bait.. does this happeen to a fancy paint job on a plug?

I paint my plugs lots of pretty colors, just because black, white and shades of blue or green are boring... but when I seriously go to war, black, white and shades of blue are my weapons of choice... because IMHO, those are the colors most visiable to fish under most conditions....

Tight lines
Roc