Colour vision
How well does it see — and respond to — this colour or visual cue?
Weak · Moderate · Strong
| Largemouth Bass | Smallmouth Bass | Walleye | Northern Pike | Muskellunge (Muskie) | Trout (Rainbow · Brook · Lake) | Yellow Perch | Crappie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | ||||||||
| Red | Strong — Sits on its red–green cone axis: red craw, and red in stained water it can actually separate | Moderate — Red-tuned cones like all black bass; red wavelengths carry best in tannic, tea-stained water | Moderate — A sensitivity peak sits in the orange-red; counts most in stained water and dim light | Moderate — Red-and-white spoon is a century-old classic — as contrast; stain strips red light within a couple of metres | Weak — Eye barely studied; stain strips red within a couple of metres — it survives only as an accent | Weak — Laker: reds are long gone in deep water — depth strips red and orange first | Moderate — Red bead, hook or eye spot: classic trigger in clear shallows; grey below 3–5 m (10–16 ft) | Weak — Water swallows red first — below roughly 3–5 m (10–16 ft) red reads as gray |
| Orange | Moderate — Toward the red end of its cone axis; craw-belly orange is a cold-water, pre-spawn standard | Moderate — A crayfish accent — claw tips, tube flecks, jig strands; not a solid colour in clear water | Strong — Sits on the orange-red sensitivity peak — a colour it truly separates in stain and dim light | Moderate — Stained-water pick: high-visibility orange survives as a bright blotch longer than natural patterns | Moderate — Eye untested; black-and-orange bucktail is the dark-water classic — orange stays a bright blotch in stain | Moderate — Stocked rainbows hit bright orange far more than wild fish · Laker: stripped early at depth | Moderate — Standing perch colour with gold and chartreuse; likely near a walleye-like sensitivity peak — untested | Moderate — Stained water or low light: high-visibility orange draws more rises |
| Yellow / gold hue | Moderate — Lights up both cone types, so it reads bright; used as bluegill and perch patterns, skirt accents | Moderate — Perch-pattern gold where perch are forage, accents in tannic water — solid loud yellow draws follows | Strong — Gold sits almost exactly on its sensitivity peaks, with orange and chartreuse | Moderate — Yellow five-of-diamonds spoon is a northern classic: stays bright in tea-stained water after red and blue fade | Moderate — Eye untested; yellow and gold hold a bright silhouette in stain — perch and walleye patterns | Moderate — Gold blade or yellow-bodied spinner in stained or low-light streams · Laker: painted hue fades at depth | Strong — Gold is the signature perch colour — gold spoons and jigs: flash plus a hue it likely sees well | Moderate — A visibility colour in stain, usually paired with white or chartreuse; the eye itself is rarely tested |
| Chartreuse / fluorescent yellow-green | Strong — A colour it can genuinely separate from the background — the stained-water pick | Moderate — Only as accents, in tannic water; in clear water loud contrast loses to natural | Strong — Sits almost exactly on a sensitivity peak; best in stained water and dim light | Moderate — Stained water: high-contrast chartreuse and firetiger stay visible as bright blotches | Moderate — Stained or tannic water: chartreuse and fire-tiger hold a visible silhouette | Moderate — Freshly stocked rainbows hit bright chartreuse, orange, pink; for wild stream fish match the prey | Strong — Standing perch colour with gold and orange; holds visibility deeper than red or orange | Moderate — Stained water and low light; bold contrast for white crappie in turbid reservoirs |
| Green | Strong — Red–green cone axis: green pumpkin, watermelon; natural greens in clear to lightly stained water | Strong — Green-tuned cones, and clear water lets it use them — green pumpkin is a staple | Strong — One of its two sensitivity peaks sits in the green — olive-and-orange is a classic look | Weak — In weedy, green-tinted water green blends into the background — only the back of perch or firetiger patterns | Weak — Eye untested; green melts into a weedy background — works only inside natural perch or pike patterns | Moderate — Has a green cone; olive matches most nymphs and sculpins · Laker: green-silver carries deep in clear lakes | Moderate — Likely shares the walleye's green sensitivity (untested); shows up in perch-pattern and firetiger jigs | Weak — Seldom a stand-alone crappie colour; eye rarely tested — shows up mainly in lime-chartreuse two-tones |
| Blue | Weak — Blues and purples mostly register as dark shapes — black/blue in mud is a silhouette play | Weak — Black-bass two-cone eye: blues and purples mostly collapse into shades of dark | Weak — Blues and violets mostly collapse into dark shades | Weak — In stained water blue light is stripped within a couple of metres — contrast outlasts hue | Weak — Eye untested; stain strips blue within a couple of metres — in clear lakes it rides as cisco blue-silver | Strong — Three cone types including blue — unlike bass or walleye; blue-silver spoons carry deepest in clear lakes | Weak — If its eye matches the walleye's, blue reads dark; blue-silver spoons work by flash — untested | Weak — Probably reads dark, as for its bass relatives; works as the dark half of blue-and-white jigs |
| Violet / UV finishes | Weak — Purples mostly register as dark shapes | Weak — Black-bass two-cone eye: purples collapse into shades of dark | Moderate — Violets read as dark shades — yet a UV/glow finish often beats the "right" hue deep or dark | — | — | Weak — Juveniles have UV-sensitive cones but largely lose them as adults — UV marketing outruns the biology | Moderate — Deep or stained water and dim under-ice light: UV finishes extend how far a jig is seen | Weak — Junebug works as a solid dark for contrast in stain, not as a hue |
| Non-colour cues | ||||||||
| White | Moderate — Stained water: with chartreuse and red, a colour it can separate; also a bold bed-fishing bait | Moderate — Whites and silvers when it suspends on smelt, alewife, or shiners in open water | Moderate — Reflects whatever light is left: pearl paddletails and white jigs read as bright minnows in dim water | Strong — On both lists — clear water with silver/gold flash, stained water as a bright blotch | Moderate — White bucktails and rubber: bright against dark water by day, cisco-pale in clear lakes, visible late | Strong — Laker: white tubes are the deep standard — white, glow, silver outfish natural colour down deep | Moderate — White or pearl minnow profiles match shiners; stays visible at depth after painted hues fade | Strong — Backbone colour: white and pearl match the minnow it rises to and stay bright in dim water |
| Black / silhouette | Strong — Muddy water: forget colour, fish a black/blue silhouette; at night, dark bulky profiles | Moderate — Tannic water and cloud: darker, solid opaque profiles; black spinnerbaits and dark jigs at night | Strong — Deep or dark water: a dark silhouette often beats the "right" hue; at night it resolves silhouettes overhead | Moderate — Dirtiest water: a solid black silhouette can out-fish everything — a hard edge against downwelling light | Strong — Low light and night: solid black against the surface is the classic answer — maximum edge contrast | Strong — Laker hunts by silhouette in dim deep water · Rainbow judges size and silhouette before colour | Weak — Feeds in good light at close range — rarely needs pure silhouette; small dark jigs a clear-water niche | Strong — Hunts silhouettes against the light overhead; solid black or junebug in stain and low light |
| Metallic flash (silver / gold) | Weak — Clear water wants only subtle flake; blades are saved for wind and low light | Moderate — A little flash beats loud contrast: smelt and shiner silvers; flash plus translucence on bright days | Strong — Gold sits on its sensitivity peaks — perch patterns and gold are a century-old palette | Strong — A primary trigger: flash fakes a wounded baitfish rolling; silver/gold hardware rules clear water | Moderate — A big bait is found by bulk, flash, and displacement — but a bucktail blade is mainly thump | Moderate — Laker: silver and flash dominate once depth strips colour · Rainbow: colour a distant third | Moderate — Deep or stained water: a little flash extends how far a jig is seen | Weak — Only as subtle silver flake inside natural clear-water finishes |
| Glow / phosphorescent | Weak — Night bass find baits by silhouette and thump — proven night baits are black; glow is not mainstream | Weak — Even its narrow night niche runs on black baits and heavy thump; glow has no real place | Strong — Deep, dark, or muddy water: glow finishes often beat the "right" hue | Weak — Daylight sight hunter: glow is a niche for deep water or snow-covered ice — flash comes first | Weak — Night programme is a black silhouette with thump; glow is not mainstream practice, no sign it helps | Moderate — Laker: white, glow, silver, and contrast outfish natural colour down deep | Moderate — Deep or stained water and dim under-ice light: glow extends how far a jig is seen | Moderate — Night, under ice, deep or stained: a glow head gives a bright point to rise to — recharge often |
| Contrast patterns (bars, two-tone) | Moderate — Stained water: contrast and silhouette matter more than exact hue — visibility first, realism second | Weak — Clear water: subtle natural finishes beat loud contrast; contrast matters only in tannic water | Moderate — Perch patterns and olive-and-orange; deep or dark, contrast matters more than colour | Strong — Flash and contrast are its two triggers — red-and-white spoon, firetiger; exact hue matters far less | Strong — Contrast and silhouette first, hue second; perch bars in clear water, fire-tiger in stain | Moderate — Contrast against the background matters more than exact hue | Moderate — A small, tight-actioned bait with one bright spot beats a loud one | Strong — Stain, low light, or depth: it sees contrast before hue — think brightness, not exact colour |
| Natural / translucent finishes | Moderate — Clear to lightly stained: natural greens and browns, subtle flake — but it does not study a bait | Strong — Clear water: subtle, translucent finishes pass its close inspection — green pumpkin, goby brown, smelt silver | Moderate — Perch patterns earn their keep because they are, most places, what dinner looks like | Weak — Reacts to contrast, flash, and profile — not paint-job realism | Strong — Clear water: cisco silver, sucker brown, perch bars survive the long visual inspection | Moderate — Wild stream fish: match the prey · Laker: natural colour loses to white and glow down deep | Moderate — Clear shallow water under bright sun: natural, muted finishes draw fewer refusals | Strong — Clear water, bright light: smoke, pearl, silver flake imitate the minnow silhouette — black crappie especially |
Hue only counts where the fish has the cones and the water still has the light — in stain, depth, or darkness, contrast, silhouette, flash, and glow take over.
Los niveles son juicios basados en las notas de especies de este sitio: tendencias, no garantías. La nota de cada celda indica en qué se apoya el nivel.
Tablas rápidas de especies
Capítulos relacionados
- Lobina · Vision — Which colours each fish can actually see — all species in one grid