do fish see color!

[snowcone]

do fish see color has a lot of debate. fish have rods and cones like ours and even some that seem to see u v . light is made of a lot of wave lengths  , we see the    visible spectrum,  so when light penetrates water it gets absorbed and reflected, and red is the first color to be absorbed, depending on water clarity decides how deep that color wave length penetrates. so deeper you go the least amount of color will be reflected and objects begin to look black and gray with varieng shades. so then it seems contrast is the thing. and shiny.. so that pretty pink lure will just look dark once it reaches the depth that that color is absorbed......it gets really complicated. and then there is fluorescent ....any way just food for thought my friends...

[slabslayer]

I do agree, and I know colors disappear at different depths, however I think they see color when shallow very well. The reason I say that is there's been more than one time that I've not had a bite on one color, switched color and started getting bit.  Or the bite tails off and I change colors and it fires back up again. Everything about my presentation stayed the same but the color. Last year it was purple that was my hot color, followed by chartreuce. For shallow water panfish color definitely make a difference. So does how your jig hangs, vertically or horizontal.

[fishintechnician]

I believe you nailed it when you mentioned contrast and also uv. I believe to a certain depth uv is a huge factor. But I believe contrast at almost any depth is key! I have had more success in open water and ice with lures that have bold sharp contrasts as opposed to one solid color. I believe that proper proportion also plays a huge role in triggering strikes as well.

[slabslayer]

Yes I forgot to include that. The contrast or silhouette a lure makes is key.  It's critical for presentation.  And in low light situations (dawn/dusk, night, or snow covered ice) the contrast is in my opinion more important than color. However in those situations I like to add glow to my contrasting lure. Adds another wrinkle to help fish bite.

[snowcone]

don't forget to give it a squirt of wd 40 and spit on it....