We know the working models of spinning lures, the type, type, specialization and other features of their huge variety. But what do we know about color? How do we choose it? Is it worth focusing on it at all? The choice of bait begins at the store counter, where we end up choosing the most natural colors. This common mistake for beginners only leads to a vicious circle. On the one hand, this position of the fisherman is easy to understand; he strives to choose the one that has striking similarities. But, alas, this approach is doomed to failure. After all, there are fish in this reservoir, it’s just that this coloring does not work there at all or works weakly. Fishing experience and experimentation are useful, as well as the advice of a skilled friend or useful underlining information from the media.
Then the question arises during the fishing itself, as soon as we open the box and peer at the variety of baits of different colors. I also encountered such abundance. What scared me was not the quantity, but the choice itself, which you always begin to doubt. You change the bait every ten casts, and more than once, then you get the result. But it’s better to immediately set up the only one and immediately achieve success. But what should we be guided by? I would like to share some information with you.
How much more important?
All predator analyzers have a unique degree of gradation. So one has a better developed sense of smell, another has a better sense of taste, a third has better vision, etc. The practice of spinning fishing proves the fact that for most predators the color of the bait does not play a primary role, not the role of the most appetizing prey, but simply the object that is well identified.
The most important thing is the movement of the bait, its size and, of course, noticeable brightness and contrast. The latter is realized through the selected color of the bait under certain conditions. And believe me, it doesn’t matter at all what this bait means to a predator. A predator may perceive our spinning baits as a food object, as an irritant, or even attack it out of curiosity.
After all, there are vivid examples of spawning fish that attack in order to defend the territory (for example, chinook salmon, pike perch, trout, chub). The immediate activity of a predator also erases clear priorities. A friend of mine told me a recent incident: he was throwing bait into the water, and a pike was attacking these falling balls! So much for activity! But there are also cases that are out of the ordinary, when there are clear tendencies in the behavior of a predator to perceive only a certain color. And then try to guess them and pick them up. At such moments, the color quirk begins.
How do fish see?
So, let's start with the basics, namely from the point of view of the fish. The main role of this analyzer is played by the retina, which contains receptors that respond to light. These are, first of all, rods and cones. Cones are responsible for the difference in colors, and rods are responsible for the intensity of illumination. Cones, unlike rods, operate in strong light.
The ratio of rods to cones directly depends on environmental conditions. Diurnal fish have more cones, which is why they distinguish colors much better than nocturnal fish. In addition, some individuals living in reservoirs with shallow depth and good lighting have four to five types of cones. As an example, such fastidious predators as chub and trout, which can recognize more colors than humans. By the way, humans have only 3 types of cones, which are responsible for recognizing the three primary colors - red, green and blue. Our retina can recognize up to 350 thousand shades of colors.
So what can we say about chub and trout? My vast experience in trout fishing has hundreds of examples where a slightly changed color radically changed the success of fishing. In addition to the fact that trout can perceive and distinguish colors and the smallest details of prey, they are also able to see clearly both at close and far distances. Therefore, these two fish are extremely cautious and there is a lot of material about the delicacy of approaching them.
The existing set of spinning baits for trout and chub is constantly growing. There are 4-6 primary colors that work almost always, and there are the same number that “pop” on the most mysterious days. For clarity, let’s take the color range of Ima Sukari - 18 colors! Don't skimp on the blooms of such trout wobblers as the DUO Spearhead Ryuki and TOTO! And how many more rotating spinners, miniature spinners and rubber... And in my opinion, the reason is not in the changed conditions, but in her mood. The dots, stripes, and ovals applied to the bait, as it turns out, play a very significant role.
It’s even more difficult with a chub. Either he likes natural, or better, dark, and even of a certain tone. On southern rivers, for example the rivers of the Caucasus, one of the most working colors for those waters is white. And no matter how loudly the bait flops, no matter how beautifully it plays, it’s not easy to seduce this comrade. In my opinion, this is the most demanding fish, which is always influenced by the surrounding features. The structure of a fish's eyes is somewhat different from that of a human. Their lens is hard and cannot change shape. It can only move away from the cornea with the help of ligaments, which gives some predators a visual image at a distance of 5–15 m. In my opinion, the most vigilant fish are pike, trout and asp.
However, in our reservoirs there is practically no good transparency, so this distance is significantly reduced. As for predators living in low light conditions, they have one or two types of cones, or even none at all. A striking example is catfish. He is very sensitive to light, but does not perceive details well. Pike perch have 2 types of cones. Large cones are responsible for yellow and orange, while small cones see green.
The effectiveness of these flowers is familiar to many. Another improvement in pike perch's vision is the guanine layer lining the inner surface of the eyeball, which reflects light. Due to this, it passes through the cones twice and thereby enhances the passing signal to the brain. Thanks to this, pike perch have very sensitive vision. And therefore, when catching pike perch, you need to pay attention to the smallest details of the bait. Another thing is the presentation of the bait, its wiring, which can level out the degree of significance of the smallest details. Plus our conditions, where the degree of turbidity changes the sensitivity in detailed recognition.
I once had to catch pike perch in a lake where the water transparency was about 2 m. And I realized for myself what the detail of the bait means, how much the color of the back and the drawn eye matter! In the retina of a pike there is one cone for every 3-4 rods, which gives it weak sensitivity to light and excellent recognition of all sorts of little things. Therefore, its low threshold of sensitivity to light intensity does not prevent it from hunting from dusk to dawn. A predator's ability to perceive moving objects is one of the functions of their visual organs.
The main characteristic of the eye in this regard is the critical flicker frequency - an indicator of the fish’s ability to visually distinguish objects sequentially moving in its field of vision per unit of time. The reciprocal of the critical flicker frequency is called the optical moment.
Optical moments in fish are different and are usually 2–3 times less than in humans (1/18–1/24 s). Therefore, moving objects and images (for example, film frames), which merge in humans, are perceived by fish as separate pictures. So, for pike the optical moment is 1/24 of a second, for perch - 1/55, for pike perch - 1/61. Those whose optical moment is in the range of 1/50–1/70 perceive the same movement in twice as much detail as a person. In other words, they can perceive movements twice as fast. This may explain the degree of adherence of these predators to moving bait.
What color of spinner to choose for pike fishing?
It all directly depends on what weather you are fishing in. If the weather is changeable, then you should choose bright lures and baits, but if the sun prevails, it is recommended to use larger and darker ones - they will be much more noticeable.
When choosing the color of the bait, it is best to purchase silver, but with a matte finish.
Indeed, when choosing the color of the bait, it is best to purchase a silver one, but with a matte finish; it is recommended to pay attention to the fact that pikes “don’t like” reflections and so on. The best option is a variety of silver spoons, which are covered with a special matte coating. And they are much more noticeable - especially on sunny days. In principle, they can be considered universal, as they are suitable for spring and autumn fishing.
From the second half of April, pike are found at shallow depths. It is during this period that copper-red spoons are best suited for good fishing.
Taking into account the fact that this type of fish mainly feeds on various types of large fish, their size should be from three to ten centimeters. It is especially important to consider that copper-red spoons are better suited for good fishing. They are simply excellent in terms of successful fishing in a given period of time.
From September until winter, pike do not show any particular preference for the color of the bait.
From the very beginning of September until the onset of cold weather and winter, the color of the bait itself does not give away. With all this, pike consistently bite not only on red ones, but also on silver, gold, yellow, white and so on. But the most optimal solution is combined gear. It is also recommended to combine them with all kinds of multi-colored petals, in which one side is white, but the other is yellow.
In autumn, dark-colored lures practically do not produce results.
In general, as practice shows, in the autumn the spinners themselves, which are dark in color, actually do not give any result at all.
The influence of lighting on the color of bait - light
When light passes through water, it loses its energy. Some are simply reflected, and some are absorbed. Therefore, some colors are absorbed in proportion to the increase in depth. This is how warm colors fade and change to dark gray and black. At depths of 2 to 4 m, red, orange and yellow fade. At a depth of 10–15 m, yellow looks like green-blue. Only blue, indigo and violet do not change! In this regard, the illumination of the reservoir is of great importance.
On a cloudy day, colors fade faster than on a sunny day. And at dusk, when the light intensity decreases, the eyes switch to working only with rods. To attract attention, you need to use a color that will better contrast with the surface of the water. The second approach is to use fluorescent baits, which will give a kind of glow at the bottom. This will be realized due to UV rays penetrating to the depth. So from my arsenal of Awaruna rubber the following colors glow... I won’t tell you - check the authenticity of the banknotes yourself with a detector.
General background color and colors of spinners
Speaking about the color and pattern of the spinner spoon, it is meant that there is a main background color of the spoon (including two-color), and an auxiliary local tint or surface patterns. It is clear that the main background color of the spoon is of decisive importance, but individual color elements can also play a very important role. The fact is that the spoon has the largest and smoothest reflective surface, which (especially polished metal) can give unnatural light reflections and scare away fish. To dull the excess “shine”, partial painting, gluing or “scratching” of the smooth surface of the spoon is used.
The influence of depth on the color and catchability of bait
Today, a significant proportion of baits are supplied to us from the USA and Japan. Color palettes are created for specific fish and conditions. Consultants and testers of reputable brands have a clear understanding of the relationship of fish to the color of the bait. They have a reasoned position and tactics that are applied in each specific situation. Naturally, all this is not widely distributed - the reason for this is commercial nuances. Everything is done with only conditional explanations.
Our usual predators have a slightly different feature, and the conditions are on an even broader level. Therefore, you have to independently select and choose “the best”! So in our reservoirs, fishing with silicone baits is somewhat different. Roughly speaking, either our Russian jig, or a retractable leash, well, you can also mention Texas and Vecky.
Practice shows that at depths of up to 1.5–2 m, color preferences are more pronounced and vary significantly depending on the type of fish. Fishing conditions directly influence the choice of one or another bait. So, on one of the reservoirs where many competitions have been held lately, I was engaged in targeted perch fishing. At the end of September - beginning of October, the perch was at depths from 0.5 to 2 m and was actively eating fry. You could use any bait against such an active perch - you would definitely catch it, but I still discovered its special preferences - white and pearlescent colors! Moreover, the larger it was, the more noticeable it was and the faster it got deep into the mouth. There were many times more bites on the 3-inch size than on the 2-inch twister.
A year later - the same reservoir - the same perch, but in completely different places. Depth 3–4 m and accordingly other colors. Having penetrated all the areas known to me with white and pearl, I did not earn a single bite from a perch. But there were plenty of perch bites on dark-colored baits. And now a recent trip there and again a different depth and a different color (white and pearlescent)! There are also cardinal conclusions regarding pike, which, while hunting in shallow water, also has preferences. When fishing for pike with rubber (exclusively in shallow water), I prefer Gary Yamamoto lures. I have a wide palette in my arsenal and know when and what to use. So in the summer months on most reservoirs, the working colors are acidic: 015 (color code), as well as 001. With high light and water transparency, 196, 213 and 307 are most often noticed - such baits are simply the most visible. In case of heavy clouds, 038 and 015 help out. In muddy water - 015, 038 and 196 and 213. At the beginning and end of summer, you should definitely try 031 and 036. Naturally, all this cannot be canonized for all reservoirs, since the variations in conditions are countless. There are basic colors that are successfully used for catching perch, and there are others that are used for catching pike. But this does not mean that the same color will work on all reservoirs in a row, for a certain fish.
As for deep areas, any experienced jig fisher will be two-handed against experimenting with colors. However, I have a slightly different opinion on this matter. Since we know that many colors at a depth of more than 3–4 m (in most reservoirs in central Russia) lose color and turn gray. Variations in colors will directly reflect the gradation of gray bait. It may be lighter, it may be darker, but the fact that this is taking place is quite real and justified.
Light, shadow and predator's bite
Perhaps on sunny days the pike goes to deeper places where less light penetrates.
Photo by the author The sun came out - the pecking stopped. Common situation? Or vice versa: the sun came out - and the fish one after another, one after another... Obviously, the sun is somehow capable of influencing the bite. And we, fishermen, need to take into account “solar activity” and learn some lessons from such episodes.
Once I caught two pike within a minute of each other, and these were the only bites on a fine day when there was no sun due to a cloud that had appeared out of nowhere. It also happened the other way around: the fish became more active when the sun came out for short periods on a cloudy day. Some fish love light, some not so much. Some fish love the sun and sunlight and are most active under bright sun. Others prefer to sit in the shadows and not show their nose to the illuminated places. The mood and activity of such fish depends on the degree of illumination.
The influence of the sun extends to fish if they stand in fairly shallow places. At a depth of, say, over 8-9 meters, and in some reservoirs with opaque water even less, the solar influence is not as strong as at shallow depths. Now let’s look at the effect of the sun on the bite of different predators.
ASPS LOVES THE SUN, BUT IS CATCHED IN CLOUDY WEATHER
The most prominent representative of sun lovers is the asp. It spends most of its life in the upper layers of water. However, how much does sunlight help us? In fact, in most cases, the sun makes attempts to catch an asp going out to hunt futile. Asp uses the sun very cleverly. He drives a school of fish closer to the surface and always attacks them from the “dead” zone - from the side that the fry has the worst control, that is, from the sunny side. An asp cauldron forms spontaneously, but on bright sunny days, catching an asp cauldron happens in the Middle Volga more often than on cloudy days. Days with partly cloudy skies are especially interesting in this regard. Roll over the “navel” in the middle of the Volga, bleak, saber fish, seagulls. Everything suggests that the asp is somewhere nearby, but he does not betray his presence. This happens most often when it is cloudy. As soon as the sun comes out for a certain period of time, everything immediately comes to life. We can hear the sounds of the water, the seagulls are restless and diligently tell us where to throw the bait. But a paradoxical situation is that it is easier to catch an asp when there are no splashes or activity of seagulls, that is, in “cloudy” times. This kind of blind fishing with casts at random gives the best results. Although the sun stimulates the asp to be active, it also plays against us. Obviously, in the open sun, the asp notices the boat better, sees the fishing line and does not trust overly shiny baits.
Fishing on partly cloudy days is similar to hunting. Let's say it's still cloudy. Based on some signs, we identify a potential place for the asp to gather (riffles, small riding fish, seagulls, even sitting on the water), anchor at a sufficient distance so as not to scare the flock, and try to understand where the asp might be located now. Usually he stays (it is quite likely that he also hunts!) somewhat deeper than usual. The question is - how to determine? The asp is a predator, although pelagic, but still a predator, and ambush sites - edges, pits, a wall of algae - are not alien to it. First you need to identify these places. A jig works best for this. The first bites often occur on it. However, it would be better, after identifying potential places, to place a compact castmaster-type spinner or some similar “cut”. These spoons are quite suitable for fishing both in the water column and at the very bottom. The asp can be both here and there. Next is fishing, as I call it, “brute force.” We blindly check all possible places like edges and seaweed until we catch it. Usually the asp does not keep himself waiting long. It’s good if you manage to catch a fish before the sun comes out of the clouds. As soon as it comes out, we will immediately know from the splashes of the asp exactly where to throw it. You can, of course, try to catch an asp in the sun, but, as my experience shows, it is better to swim to the shore or at least a couple of hundred meters from the battle and observe from afar. This is done in order not to frighten the flock, which now, after the sun came out, has risen closer to the surface and now, thanks to the same sun, sees us perfectly. We just have to wait for the next cloud.
Another interesting point: in the life of an asp there are periods when he is perfectly caught with jig baits at the very bottom. So, such a “jig-oriented” asp takes best on sunny days, but on cloudy days it takes very little. Moreover, the rising sun does not invite the asp to the upper layers of the water.
SUN LOVER IDE WITH NIGHT ODDITIES
Ide is an amazing fish. During the daytime, it is best caught at noon, when the sun is at its zenith. But such a sunny predilection does not prevent him from pecking beautifully even at night, when there is not so much sun - there is no moon! On the Volga reservoirs, ides form dense flocks. Usually by “weight categories”. On cloudy days or very early in the morning, when the sun is not yet shining, the flock is passive and does not react at all to spinning baits. But as soon as the sun comes out, the race begins. The ides go after the bait in groups and are clearly visible. With the help of polarized glasses, ides can be seen even in cloudy weather, but they do not chase the bait - they practically do not notice it.
A typical case happened to me in September last year. It rained for a week and the weather was cloudy. I fished in a shallow backwater and mostly looked for pike. At some point, the clouds parted and the sun came out, immediately illuminating the fishing area to the very bottom. The sun shone for no more than half an hour, and during this time I had five bites, the result of which were four kilogram ide. After the clouds covered the sun again, there were exclusively pike bites - not a single ide until the evening...
| SUN, SHADOW AND PIKE. Somewhere before 14:00, pike are caught from the edge of the left bank, and in the evening - from the right. The logic is simple: the left bank is on the eastern side, that is, from the side of the rising sun, and there is shadow under the edge here until about two o’clock in the afternoon, while on the right bank everything is illuminated by the sun. In the evening, when the sun sets, a shadow appears under the right bank and disappears under the edge of the left bank. |
This is not to say that in cloudy weather ide is not caught at all. I keep a fishing diary: over the past year I caught 42 ides on a spinning rod, of which only 13 (31%) were on days with cloudy weather, while the majority, almost 70%, were on sunny days. The predilection of bronze-sided fish for the sun does not at all interfere with catching ides in the same places at night using a wobbler. The influence of the sun on the ide bite is also noted by floaters on the Kuibyshev Reservoir: ides become more active in sunny weather, while in cloudy weather roaches predominate, and in most cases ides are not visible.
SHADOW LOVER - PIKE
Everyone knows that pike weather is cloudy, gray, rainy. On some cloudy days, I got the impression that no matter where you throw it, there will be a pike bite. Fishing in sunny weather is different: you have to look for a pike for a long time, and when you find it, you have to give it bait precisely. Recently I have come to the conclusion that pike activity is in no way related to the sun. In cloudy and sunny weather, pike are caught equally; the lunar phases have a greater influence on its bite. During a favorable phase, pike are caught equally well in any weather; during an unfavorable phase, they are caught equally poorly. Only the behavior model depends on the sun: if in cloudy weather the pike disperses throughout the entire water area, then in sunny weather it stands in the shade and rarely comes out. The shadow can be created by anything: a bridge pile, trees, snags, bottom relief. There is good shade under the “caps” of algae and reeds, duckweed on the surface, under a carpet of fallen leaves. If in cloudy weather pike bites are not tied to specific places, then in sunny weather, on the contrary, pike bite exclusively in shaded areas of the reservoir, which you also need to look for.
A shallow river flows not far from my house. There is an open field all around: no trees, no houses - in a word, nothing that would create a shadow on the surface of the water. So, on sunny days, pike concentrate under the coastal edge. There is such an edge on both the right and left banks. On sunny summer days, pike in Volga reservoirs hide under algae. We have areas of algae that stretch for many kilometers, and the water here resembles thick cabbage soup. And pike like to concentrate in such places, especially in sunny weather. Perhaps for the same reason, pike on sunny days go to deeper places where less light penetrates.
Pike-perch: IN THE SHADOW DAY, TOWARDS THE LIGHT AT NIGHT
In summer, when the water is well warmed up, pike perch standing in shallow places also looks for shady areas on sunny days. At night, on the contrary, a hunting pike perch uses all kinds of light to its advantage. This was especially noticeable during port construction on the Kuibyshev Reservoir. The lanterns burning at night clearly attracted the pike perch, which, in the light of the spotlights, obviously found it easier to navigate and catch small saberfish. I’ve been fishing in these places for a long time, but before the port construction there were never pike perch here. There may have been other factors at play, but I believe that it was the light that attracted the pike perch here at night.
| In cloudy weather, the pike disperses throughout the entire water area; in sunny weather, it stands in the shade and rarely comes out. |
When fishing from a boat on a sunny day, I fish small bottom “navels” with a jig from different sides, changing the position of the boat. Bites usually occur only in one narrow sector. In nine cases out of ten, the shadow part of the “navel” turned out to be such an effective zone. By the way, the asp also adheres to the same “shadow” mood on such “navels”. This fish often becomes a bycatch for pike perch, especially if caught with a wobbler. But if the pike perch stands in the very shadow, then the asp can find itself on the border of the shadow and the illuminated water. Bersh also likes to stand in the shadows. So bottom attractions should be fished from different sides, especially focusing on the shadow side. At the same time, we must not forget that the sun is in constant motion, and it may turn out that the main school of pike perch, albeit slightly, will move to the side.
CHUB: BOTH SHADOW AND SUN
Chub from small rivers do not really like to advertise their presence. One day I found myself on the bank of the Ugra River, which flows very close to a village. The river seemed completely lifeless. Yes, minnows and bleaks scurried back and forth, but no “adult” fish were visible. Small fish could be seen even without polarized glasses - the depth was very small. Imagine my amazement when I picked up a spinning rod and, after several retrieves, caught a half-kilogram chub, and then a couple more. It turned out that all the chub of this river stood in the shade of bushes hanging down to the water and did not show up at all in sunlit places. This is a typical attitude of small river chub to the sun. On large rivers and reservoirs, especially on rifts, chub are quite tolerant of the sun and are excellently caught from open shallow areas.
On small rivers, chub are especially attracted to areas where bushes hang low to the water. Perhaps this is explained not only by his love for the shade, but also by the fact that all sorts of goodies are constantly falling from the bushes - from bugs and caterpillars to berries, so loved by chubs.
The shadow from the bushes is rarely continuous: in some places the sun finds a gap and ends up on the surface of the water. And if you notice such a sunny gap in the shade, then be sure to pass the bait through it. Very often the chub bite occurs at the moment when the bait passes such a gap. It is momentarily illuminated by the sun, becomes more noticeable against the background of the shadow and immediately attracts the attention of chubs standing nearby.
In places where there are many sun gaps, more bites occur. In deep water, the behavior of the chub is different. The sun and sunlight practically do not bother him. I noticed only one change. On bright sunny days, chubs go somewhat lower, closer to the bottom, and on such days it is more common to catch chubs using jigs and bottom baits.
INDIFFERENT PERCH
The only predator in which I was unable to identify obvious preferences for light and shadow is perch. I can remember a couple of cases when the perch clearly avoided the shade or walked into the sun. The only important note: perches respond better to a bait held along the border of light and shadow than if the bait was simply walked along the shadow or just along the sunny side.
ABOUT CASKING
One of the disadvantages of the sun is that in bright light the fish see the fisherman and his tackle better. Even the most shade-loving fish do not accept one shadow - the shadow of the fisherman himself. So, it’s still better not to advertise your presence on the pond and try to catch from behind covers, squatting or kneeling. The worst thing is when the angler’s shadow falls on the water right at the place of fishing - in such cases the fish is extremely cautious and distrustful, and if the pike and perch may not yet leave their habitats, then the asp and ide will definitely leave. It is better if the sun shines in our eyes or is on the side.
On sunny days we have an ally - the wind. The wind creates waves on the surface of the water that do not allow the fish to clearly see objects on the shore. I still remember a long-ago fishing trip, when on a sunny day and in a strong wind, literally two or three meters from the shore, I caught several dozen large asps. The wind was really very strong then (10-15 meters per second), even a 30-gram spoon flew no further than 30 meters from the shore. I am sure that if there had not been a strong wind that day, I would not have caught even a tenth of that memorable catch. The asp always struck there in one place under the shore, but on windless days almost no one came across it.
In addition, the wind directly affects the activity of fish. More than once I had the opportunity to observe the hunting of various predators in the Volga coastal region. Strong, almost hurricane-force winds drove schools of fry to the shore, and a high wave disoriented them in space. This helplessness of the fry was taken advantage of by asps, chubs, ides, perches, pike perches and pikes - almost all predators! On such days, even ardent antagonists, pike and pike perch, were caught together, and at the most insignificant depth. However, in strong winds it is very difficult to find such “boilers”. But the find will be remembered for a long time - schools of predators mix, and this “assorted predatory fish” will be caught without any complexes right at the shore - because of the waves they will not be noticed and will make even the most inexperienced spinner happy.
Sergey Semenov June 28, 2012 at 00:00
The influence of water transparency on the color and catchability of bait
Suspended particles in water scatter penetrating light and reduce its penetration into depth. Having reached the bottom, the intensity of the light increases and at a depth the bait with luminescent colors begins to glow in the ultraviolet spectrum of sunlight, plus light silt (sand, clay, shell rock) adds contrast. This occurs due to the fact that UV rays have a longer wavelength. From physics we know that all colors have the properties of reflecting their own kind, as well as the amount of ultraviolet, in percentage terms, found in this color.
The strongest ultraviolet reflectors are all shades of blue and violet, followed by green tones and yellow. For greater depths, the luminescent glow plays a role, and for shallow depths, it is the color of the bait itself. Also, dissolved organic matter, phytoplankton and suspended solids affect light absorption. They absorb more other wavelengths of the spectrum than yellow and green, since they have a similar color to these colors.
From this we can conclude that yellow and green colors during the period when these suspended forms are in abundance will be the brightest and most noticeable. And the fact that there is a relationship between the spectral characteristics of the visual pigments of fish and the spectral composition of the light in their habitats has been absolutely proven. Freshwater predators are more sensitive to yellow rays of the spectrum, and sea predators are more sensitive to green ones, which corresponds to the spectral composition of light in fresh and marine waters. In deep-sea marine fish, the perceived spectrum is generally significantly cut off in the long-wavelength part.
About the clarity of recognition
As you understand from the above, the identification of the object itself plays an important role. The range of recognition of objects by a predator is determined by the properties of the object itself (its size, color, brightness, shape), the optical properties of the aquatic environment and the work of the fish’s eye itself (its ability to adjust to different distances and visual acuity). A larger object will be visible from a greater distance, which sometimes works to our advantage. There is even such a tactic in spinning - to attract with a large bait, and to catch with a small bait.
I think you have noticed more than once the emergence of perch and pike behind an impressive bait. A recent example was on a small river in the south of the Moscow region. The pike is present, flies out, attacks beautifully - in general, it bites! The excitement subsides, and then experiments begin to see who wins. I work with two catchy lures: Megabass FX9‑STROBE and DUO Tide Minnow 75F, and my friend replaces them with Megabass X‑140, bright color (GP Tonegawa Reaction), and for him, every retrieve ends with a mandatory exit and a bite! The medium-sized pike noticed this bright, contrasting bait better and rushed after it from a decent distance!
Types of hooks and types of their fastening
The catchability of the spinner is largely influenced by the characteristics of the hook:
- Single hooks are suitable for small and medium-sized baits. Firstly, they will not disturb the weight distribution, so the play of the spinners looks more natural. Secondly, a single is easier and quicker to retrieve, which means you're less likely to miss a school while you're fumbling with one bass you've caught.
- For large spinners, doubles and tees are used.
Pick up a treble hook
Installation of hooks depends on the type and model of bait. Hooks can be soldered into the body of the spoon, attached to a chain or ring. The advantage of the latter methods is that they create an additional game, which can be made even more noticeable by wrapping the hook with colored thread. However, this does not always work - often the perch takes it on a simple bare hook. Therefore, have in your arsenal different types of spinners with different types of hook fastening:
- During the period of activity, the striped predator also works well on rigidly fixed hooks.
- If the bite is sluggish, you can try a spoon with a hook attached through a ring.
- If the behavior of the perch is completely passive, hooks on pendants can save the situation.
All winter lures for perch in stock
When using spinners with soldered hooks, keep in mind that there must be a distance of at least 4 mm between the plane of the bait and the sting. Otherwise, the bites will be empty.
It would not be amiss to tie a 3-5 cm leash with an additional hook onto which the bloodworm is attached to the main fishing line, not far from the place where the spinner is attached. The game of the spinner in this case will be similar to the attempt of a fry to grab prey. And the perch may try to get ahead of the “fry” and sit on an additional hook.
Lure color for perch
The situation with pike and perch fishing is similar. For him, the play of the spinner, its shape, is more important, and the color must be selected taking into account weather conditions, the color of the “food” small fish in the pond, etc.
The color of the spoon plays a more significant role when catching asp or chub, which are much more often caught on bait with a matte surface.
