What's with all this "red" stuff????

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Scott Shenton

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I am a PADI MSDT, so I pride myself on knowing quite a bit about the physics of water, so what's with all this red gear? 95% of the red wavelength is absorbed in the first 5 or so feet of water. Red then apears green or brown, as those are the only pigments in the "red" dye that still have light to reflect. Any one who has stuck themselves on something at 30 feet know this. *blood is green down there" Brown is the color of normal hooks, so how is it that red hooks increase strikes? It's not like a fish's different way of seeing color and shading changes this physical property of light. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think we are being played as fools by advertising......?????



PS: I can buy the "see it up top but not below" argument however.......
 
But wouldn't you agree that if "red" equals "blood" in the eyes of the fish, it is "blood" at any depth, regaurdless of how we percieve it?



I don't buy into the red hook thing as much as others, but I have seen red in a lure make a huge difference on the catch...In particular, red flakes in an otherwise green bait.



REmember...



Allways think like a fish, no matter how wierd it gets!
 
Except if you look at red at depth it is the same as green as far as reflected light is concerned. There is little or no diffence between the two colors when the red spectrum is lost. On black and white film they apear the same. So why don't they make "green blood" books. Why don't plants or algae snagged on our hooks increase strikes as well???? The color is the same down there. I think we are giving the fish too much credit. If we as humans (fisherman), don't find some way to change things we get bored. Didn't they catch a lot of fish when fly leaders were made of pigs?
 
First of all Scott, what is a PADI MSDT? Just curious.



My opinion; if red looks like blood at a 6" depth will it not still look like blood at a 6' depth? Would a black hook look the same at 6'? I have always wondered at the logic behind fishing black baits at night. If shad are silver during the day are they not still silver at night? I know that black has more contrast at night but wouldn't a more natural color be just as natural in low light?(Assuming clear water)



Harpo
 
By he way, I only bring this up for some heathy debate. Nothing negitive....
 
MSDT is a Master Scuba Diver Trainer...



If you look at a rainbow, the colors are aranged in order of their wavelength (penetrating power). Red is the first to go when water starts to absorb it. Black reflects basicly no light, so it is the same deal all the way down, silver reflects whatever light is availible (it look green under a green light, blue under a blue, ect ect..... But red looks red to us because it is reflecting basicly only the red portion of white (whole/sun) light. However, when you take a way the red light, it starts to look green, then brown, then black as you go down. Do you remember that "Lucy" from "I love Lucy" was a "redhead" They bleached her hair blonde for the filming because the "red" looked black on the old B&W film. Bass on the bottom are no diffent then the cameras on the set of I love Lucy. (well from a certian point of view)
 
Scott, not to intrude or insult. BUT if you had eyes of a bass you would see things completely differently than you do having the eyes of a human. I am not a bass, I only know what catches them for me. While we can claim as humans that we know what bass can and cannot see......we also tout dog food as new and improved tasting every year. I am not buying dog food to find out, but if there were no food, or if I thought I could catch more and bigger bass after eating it, I would consider it....lol



The VERY first bass lure I owned had red and white colors. MY first favorite rubber worms have a red stripe in them, my current favorite tube bait has red flake, my favorite jerkbait is a clown (red head chart back white/silver belly).



I have been using red treble hooks for two years, Mustad sent me a couple hundred in 2001 and wanted to know what I thought. I replied "I cant tell you what I think, but I will tell you what I know....I know I WONT be sending these back, they work!" I will be trying the new red UltraPoint jig hooks extensively this year....



Great topic though!



Mini
 
Bass most likely don't even react to the color red since they have never seen it. Kind of like discrbing a cloud to a blind person, or a song to a def person. Unless bass carry flashlights????????????



I think I have found my million dollar invention!!!!

I can sell it to the company that makes red tackle.....
 
Your right Mini, I can't think or see like a bass. (I guess thats a good thing) We as humams figure that our instruments and scientifc methods have it all in check, but still we can't explain homing pigeons or salmon spawns. So perhaps I should try some red hooks to catch more fish. I need the help! (truth is that I already plan on buying a few ;-)
 
:) Give the new Mustads UltraPoints a try, I am sure you wont be disappointed.



Mini
 
I know, the same as Mini, what I know... And, ALL of my trolling crankbaits (for Walleyes) have red trebbles on the front... If I knew why it worked I would tell you... I can't, but I can tell you that in trolling passes through active fish... the same lures with red hooks outfished the other lures... Why, ask the walleyes... What, ask me... the red hooks...
 
For me, it certainly appears to be 'catching fishermen'. Whether it increases your catch ratio, not sure about it.



If it increases your confidence level, then it will help you fishing.



Tex
 
Wookie, great post. You are right, red does diffuse most quickly from the color spectrum. In addition, in tests done by Berkely scientists, and available in a book called Knowing Bass (excellent biology book), cones in the bass eye are LEAST sensitive to the color red -



There are several contradictions to the red craze, most notably Cajun Line... I'm starting to write an article on this subject that I think will be interesting if I can get it published.



David
 
Went to BPS Katy,TX last week. Browsed through the hook section just to see what the red hook craze was all about and the red hook area was damn near empty. Only a few packs remaining on the shelf and those were the really small ones that not many people use.



I was trying to convince myself to try it but I will wait and see if the fad wears off.



Wolf
 
I have a Mann's Minus 1 that I put some red Diachi (sp?) hooks on. It went from the outhouse to the penthouse in my opinion. I catch bass nearly everytime it put it in the right place. I really believe that the red hooks made the differance in that particular bait. I have installed red hooks on all my Rattletraps and haven't noticed a bit of diff. I say if you gotta use hooks anyway and the red ones don't cost any more $'s then why not use them?



Harpo
 
Another thing I need to mention is that I fish clearer waters than most. Red will appear as red deeper here due to that fact....



Keep up the good topics!



Mini
 
Most lure are made far fisherman not fish.I have never seen a fish buy one.Most are far our eyes.Why are they 50 colors of eack lure,50 sells. Be honest have u ever seen any of the crap we fish with swiming in the water.U put food in front of them they eat.Just like when it time far u to eat if your wife puts a steak or a hamburger on the table u eat. Why because its time to eat. It may be more timing then any thing. All u know what they say about a hunger dog.It goes far all thing that eat.
 
On the surface it may seem that simple but believe me it is not. There are days where I can throw 2 lures, say a crankbait, one being a natural craw color and the other being a multi colored clown looking one. The bass smash the "clown" and won't touch the "natural" one. Now I'm not gonna give ol' Mr. Bass to high of marks in the intellegence catagory (with a brain the size of a pea) but if it were as simple to catch them as you say, everybody would be a pro. Explain why they hit a bubblegum colored senko....or tubes with sparkles and flecks. While true, Bass hit for 3 reasons in my book...they either see your offering as food....strike out of reflex or a "reaction" strike, or you p.o. them...bedding fish etc., so while simple in theory it is much more complicated in application. Most lures have some basis in the natural world of a bass.



mini is right, since we are not bass, we can only guess (a very educated guess nonetheless) as to what they see and why they strike.



I personally want one of every lure ever made...why...I dunno...but I do. LOL!!



TOXIC
 
I agree Tox. But i go back to the steak and hamburger.I eat a steak any time hunger or not.I just do not think fish are as smart as we think.They are hard to catch i know been there do that.Just do not think color has a lot to do with it.A live bait fish is the same color as the next no mater how deep it is.Sure as the light changes and as it gets deeper it get harder far the fish to see it but all bait fish are the same color. So why in the world do we have 50 colors of the same lure? Just far sell i think.Do not get me wrong i have at lest 4-5 colors of dif lures.Its just as we all been taught.Dose not mean it is true.Time and place i think plays more in to it.But how can u sell that? But i will say i sure beleive that noise is a bigger key then color.I be the frist to say i may not know what i am talking about but that just as i see it.I never post on here much guys been watching far years.But this is fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Not sure why a fish will hit a bubblegum Senko, but it's fun to watch it disappear when a bass inhales it. I like them in stained water just for that reason. It's not always the color of the day, but it works enough for me to keep one or two bags on board.



Bob G.
 
I bought a pack of those pink Zoom worms but I'm just not secure enough in my manhood to fish with them.

;>))



Harpo
 
Come on Harpo...come to the pink side....you'll like it the first time a big ol' bass inhales that funny looking pink worm!! LOL!!



Bob G.
 
My point being that if it were only "steak and hamburger", then that's all they would hit and that was all that we would have to throw. You don't "bite" on instinct and you don't protect your "fry" from predators...not like a fish does anyway, so the food analogy isn't all there is to the story. That's where the grey area is in my thinking.



TOXIC
 
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