Post by sam on Dec 27, 2008 17:51:14 GMT -5
Trout and the color red
Research and anectdotal evidence suggests trout see red and strike
By Bernie Taylor
Special to ESPNOutdoors.com
A hot, red Ferrari, bright-red lipstick, a silky red dress and road signs that stop and warn us all have a common element that speaks to our basic instinct.
Clever Madison Avenue ad people have known about this trigger for years and incorporate the same concept into billboards, product labels and other visual images.
One cannot drive any main street or walk through a grocery store without being subconsciously alerted by the color red.
Just as the consumer marketers play with our heads we can do the same to incite fish to strike.
The Dutch zoologist and Noble laureate Niko Tinbergen was one of the first to study this issue. He noted that whenever a red delivery truck passed a window of his lab, the outward viewing sticklebacks went into a defensive posture.
This response led him and others to more carefully study the effect of color on the behavior of animals.
Research suggests trout generally prefer red and pale over dark colors, fast over slow movement, straight and rectangular over globular shape, and large over smaller size.
Further research included predator prey relationships with trout. One study found that rainbow trout were more likely to attack male sticklebacks with red throats than those without this feature, although there were an equal number of males and females present and only 14 percent of the population of male sticklebacks had red throats.
In the lab, researchers painted red onto the sticklebacks that did not have natural red throats and found that attacks increased. The researchers also observed that when they dimmed the lights to a level of illumination where red was not visible (but the sticklebacks could still be seen) the attacks stopped.
British Columbia salmon fisherman and videographer Charlie White monitored the reaction of rainbow trout to color while icefishing and recorded similar behavior.
When White introduced a spoon with red in the center and bait on the hooks, he found that the trout would repeatedly strike at the red pattern and not the dangling bait.
I have trolled bucktails with and without red in them and at equal lengths behind a craft and observed that the ones with red were almost always the first taken by trout.
When you go into a fishing camp that is only stocked with a limited supply of lures or flies, take a look at the color combinations. You will probably find that each has some red or orange.
Guides have told me that these colors are emulating the flanks of male brook trout (orange) or rainbows (red), and the colors of salmon, trout and other fish eggs.
My suggestion is that the fish's attraction to the colors in them is instinctual and not because they resemble any particular food item.
Red and white was a fairly common combination in the old days, when luremakers lacked the modern graphic imaging that makes their products more lifelike. Remember the Dare Devil spoon?
In contrast, some of today's lures look more real than live bait and certainly more eye-catching to the angler.
Fly designers have followed suit. New products sell, but the latest rage isn't always better. The more innovative a tackle manufacturer or fly designer becomes, the basic triggers from the tried and proven patterns can be lost..
I do not mean to imply that fish will not strike at patterns without red in them. This color only increases your odds of a strike. There are also other triggers.
Controlled laboratory experiments have demonstrated that the order of preference for fish is color (if red), movement, shape and size. When red was replaced with a pale color, the order of preference became movement, shape and then size.
The researchers also found that the fish generally prefer red and pale over dark colors, fast over slow movement, straight and rectangular over globular shape, and large over smaller size. These triggers should all be considerations in lure and fly designs.
Incorporate touches of red at strategic points where there is a hook, but don't make the mistake of giving them too much of a good thing. A red can have a negative effect when the fish are not in an aggressive mode.
Red is introduced into flies, to stimulate trout strikes. In contrast, when steelhead are aggressive on a spawning run, the redder the better.
There are many shades of red to keep your creative juices flowing. Consider the range from the fluorescents to pink.
Red has its limits, but not as much as you might expect. This color is the first to go at dusk and the last to arrive in the morning.
The visibility of red in murky brown waters is less than 8 feet and around 20 feet in both green and blue waters. You can expand your penetration greatly with fluorescents.
There is a lesson to be learned for the non-angler, as well.
Sport a bright-red shirt if you want everyone to know you are looking for attention. However, a red tie or bow might be a more subtle way to let your presence be known.
Research and anectdotal evidence suggests trout see red and strike
By Bernie Taylor
Special to ESPNOutdoors.com
A hot, red Ferrari, bright-red lipstick, a silky red dress and road signs that stop and warn us all have a common element that speaks to our basic instinct.
Clever Madison Avenue ad people have known about this trigger for years and incorporate the same concept into billboards, product labels and other visual images.
One cannot drive any main street or walk through a grocery store without being subconsciously alerted by the color red.
Just as the consumer marketers play with our heads we can do the same to incite fish to strike.
The Dutch zoologist and Noble laureate Niko Tinbergen was one of the first to study this issue. He noted that whenever a red delivery truck passed a window of his lab, the outward viewing sticklebacks went into a defensive posture.
This response led him and others to more carefully study the effect of color on the behavior of animals.
Research suggests trout generally prefer red and pale over dark colors, fast over slow movement, straight and rectangular over globular shape, and large over smaller size.
Further research included predator prey relationships with trout. One study found that rainbow trout were more likely to attack male sticklebacks with red throats than those without this feature, although there were an equal number of males and females present and only 14 percent of the population of male sticklebacks had red throats.
In the lab, researchers painted red onto the sticklebacks that did not have natural red throats and found that attacks increased. The researchers also observed that when they dimmed the lights to a level of illumination where red was not visible (but the sticklebacks could still be seen) the attacks stopped.
British Columbia salmon fisherman and videographer Charlie White monitored the reaction of rainbow trout to color while icefishing and recorded similar behavior.
When White introduced a spoon with red in the center and bait on the hooks, he found that the trout would repeatedly strike at the red pattern and not the dangling bait.
I have trolled bucktails with and without red in them and at equal lengths behind a craft and observed that the ones with red were almost always the first taken by trout.
When you go into a fishing camp that is only stocked with a limited supply of lures or flies, take a look at the color combinations. You will probably find that each has some red or orange.
Guides have told me that these colors are emulating the flanks of male brook trout (orange) or rainbows (red), and the colors of salmon, trout and other fish eggs.
My suggestion is that the fish's attraction to the colors in them is instinctual and not because they resemble any particular food item.
Red and white was a fairly common combination in the old days, when luremakers lacked the modern graphic imaging that makes their products more lifelike. Remember the Dare Devil spoon?
In contrast, some of today's lures look more real than live bait and certainly more eye-catching to the angler.
Fly designers have followed suit. New products sell, but the latest rage isn't always better. The more innovative a tackle manufacturer or fly designer becomes, the basic triggers from the tried and proven patterns can be lost..
I do not mean to imply that fish will not strike at patterns without red in them. This color only increases your odds of a strike. There are also other triggers.
Controlled laboratory experiments have demonstrated that the order of preference for fish is color (if red), movement, shape and size. When red was replaced with a pale color, the order of preference became movement, shape and then size.
The researchers also found that the fish generally prefer red and pale over dark colors, fast over slow movement, straight and rectangular over globular shape, and large over smaller size. These triggers should all be considerations in lure and fly designs.
Incorporate touches of red at strategic points where there is a hook, but don't make the mistake of giving them too much of a good thing. A red can have a negative effect when the fish are not in an aggressive mode.
Red is introduced into flies, to stimulate trout strikes. In contrast, when steelhead are aggressive on a spawning run, the redder the better.
There are many shades of red to keep your creative juices flowing. Consider the range from the fluorescents to pink.
Red has its limits, but not as much as you might expect. This color is the first to go at dusk and the last to arrive in the morning.
The visibility of red in murky brown waters is less than 8 feet and around 20 feet in both green and blue waters. You can expand your penetration greatly with fluorescents.
There is a lesson to be learned for the non-angler, as well.
Sport a bright-red shirt if you want everyone to know you are looking for attention. However, a red tie or bow might be a more subtle way to let your presence be known.