The invisible red theory.... 2025
dman reply :
they started making line red and a lot of hooks are now red because "Scientific fact shows Red is almost invisible in water".
Then why are some lures Red? Bass are pretty darn visual creatures that hit Red plasitc baits. I mean they crush my red crawdad Rat L Trap, I know it makes a lot of noise but its gotta still see it! And why would they make "Bleeding Baits" with the red blood drips? Anyone convinced on this theory? Maybe its just difficult for Humans to see red objects underwater (small thin objects anyway) We dont know what colors a fish can see!
airborne_angler reply :
This has been covered over and over. I agree ,We REALLY dont know what fish can and cant see,What they see a bait as and such. I think the studies have shown that the Invisible Red line theory is due to the line being TRANSLUCENT(partially see though). The light can pass through. The Red Bait thing is because the baits and hooks are solid. The light reflects(bounces off) and attracts the fish in studies.
BassFishingMachine reply :
In my opinion the only "colors" that the bass has trouble seeing beneath the water is clear, and light green. (light green I believe they see either as weeds, or it blends in to the greenish water at times)
Maxximus Redneckus reply :
I think red has a lot to do with a base color i use white zeros with red hooks it stands out very good and i get way more strikes then when i use blued hooks,but if im using a dark color zero or lizard or w-e hook color dont mattter at all in my real life experiance red on white is great
Branuss04 reply :
I've been convinced on this theory for the past couple years. It's excatly what everyone else said with the line, it's because it's TRANSLUCENT. As far as hooks, I always have had red hooks on my favorite lures, cranks, spinnerbaits, etc. Not too long ago, a buddy told me a story that his friend's were fishing the same bait, using the same presentation and everything, but one had a red treble. The red treble was getting all the fish over the other bait. So the other guy switched over to a red treble and then the bites started coming for him. So it was just another story to convince me. It's not like it's a hard thing to get red hooks, give it a try.
dman reply :
QuoteIt's not like it's a hard thing to get red hooks, give it a try.
I will give it a try. Though ive never changed my own hooks and I fear im going to hurt myself. What do you guys use to open up those little "O" rings?
dodgeguy reply :
Quotethey started making line red and a lot of hooks are now red because "Scientific fact shows Red is almost invisible in water".Then why are some lures Red? Bass are pretty darn visual creatures that hit Red plasitc baits. I mean they crush my red crawdad Rat L Trap, I know it makes a lot of noise but its gotta still see it! And why would they make "Bleeding Baits" with the red blood drips? Anyone convinced on this theory? Maybe its just difficult for Humans to see red objects underwater (small thin objects anyway) We dont know what colors a fish can see!
THE BAITS YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE FISHED IN the upper water column.red does not fully disaapear depending on water clarity sometims until 15 feet.it actually turns grey.the translucent line disapears quicker than a solid red lure.in other words red lures below 15 feet appear black/grey as do red hooks.so if the water is slightly discolored the grey becomes hard to see.when red is shallow it is visible and can attract bass.
islandbass reply :
If you really want to get a better idea of how fish see, as opposed to subscribing to speculation and conjecture, read the book titled, "What Fish See," by Dr. Colin Kageyama.
While the book focusus mainly on salmon and steelhead, there is a section on bass. I cannot believe how much $$ I've by staying away from lures more designed to catch me vs. catching fish. I stick mostly to colors I know work and a couple odd ones for the times the main stays aren't working.
Think of the rainbow colors, ROY G BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). As a rule of thumb, starting with red, the deeper you go into the water, the darker each color will become until it starts looking gray/black to us. There are other factors that influence this such as water clarity, content in the water (eg, silt, tanin, vegetation).
Last year, I don't think I caught more than 10 bass (didn't fish much either!) This year (from late May to now), not going out any more times than last, I have caught over 30 smallies and 40 lmbs. I attribute it much to what I learned from the book. In addition, all fish were caught without a boat, from the shore. Not bad for someone shorebound!
With winter approaching, I would highly recommend everyone read this book.
-ib
dman reply :
QuoteIf you really want to get a better idea of how fish see, as opposed to subscribing to speculation and conjecture, read the book titled, "What Fish See," by Dr. Colin Kageyama.While the book focusus mainly on salmon and steelhead, there is a section on bass. I cannot believe how much $$ I've by staying away from lures more designed to catch me vs. catching fish. I stick mostly to colors I know work and a couple odd ones for the times the main stays aren't working.
Think of the rainbow colors, ROY G BIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). As a rule of thumb, starting with red, the deeper you go into the water, the darker each color will become until it starts looking gray/black to us. There are other factors that influence this such as water clarity, content in the water (eg, silt, tanin, vegetation).
Last year, I don't think I caught more than 10 bass (didn't fish much either!) This year (from late May to now), not going out any more times than last, I have caught over 30 smallies and 40 lmbs. I attribute it much to what I learned from the book. In addition, all fish were caught without a boat, from the shore. Not bad for someone shorebound!
With winter approaching, I would highly recommend everyone read this book.
-ib
Great info, thanks. If anyone else thinks it looks interesting, here ya go:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Fish-See-Understanding-Designing/dp/1571881409
BASS fisherman reply :
QuoteQuoteIt's not like it's a hard thing to get red hooks, give it a try.What do you guys use to open up those little "O" rings?
They are called split ring pliers. Rapala makes some quality split ring pliers for $15.00 bucks.
S I G M A reply :
I think its because red stimulates aggressive behavior from fish because it resembles blood... i think i read that on the back of a lure box...
.ghoti. reply :
I have a magazine that I saved specifically for a pair of ads. I think it's an old issue of Bassin; not sure.
On one page is an add for red hooks, touting their ability to produce more strikes.
On the facing page is an add for red line touting it's invisibilty.
Gave me a nice little chuckle; I had to save it.
The hype never stops, and we're all suckers for it.
ABC123 reply :
I can't say for Bass, but I know Walleye see yellow and pumpkin orange (true pumpkin insides color, not lure pumpkin) the best, then green/yellow and standard orange. Then standard green and standard red. Darker colors like blues, browns and blacks they don't pick up as well. This is why they eat at night more than other fish, and hide from direct sun during the day. They are more sensitive to sunlight and sunlight type colors. I need to read into LMB more. I just know they don't see well at night, and don't have the best of smell sense. They do see well in light, have good lateral line (sense vibration), and good hearing.
dodgeguy reply :
bass see extremely well at night.they just take a while for their eyes to adjust.the bite at night gets good approx 1.5 hours after it gets dark because their eyes have adjusted.
S I G M A reply :
if they can't see red.... thats good because they can't see my hook... if they can... it'll stimulate them to bite it because they think its blood(hopefully)... win win situation
dodgeguy reply :
like i said,in shallow water they can see red.
Cephkiller reply :
Dodgeguy speaks the truth. There is no speculation. End of story.
AJ reply :
I think the red theory is just a bunch of crap. Fish are not suppose to see red line, but they say that red hooks make a difference? Ive used red hooks, catch just as many fish with regular hooks.
guest reply :
The invisible red theroy DOES NOT WORK ON LAND. I was speeding in a Red Company Jeep last week; the cops saw me anyway
dodgeguy reply :
QuoteI think the red theory is just a bunch of crap. Fish are not suppose to see red line, but they say that red hooks make a difference? Ive used red hooks, catch just as many fish with regular hooks.
the red theory is not a theory it is a fact.there are underwater photgraphy studies that prove it.google it and find out.red line becomes much less visible as it sinks.weather or not it makes a difference if your line is invisible to a fish is a theory.
George Welcome reply :
One thing to keep in mind: photographic studies or otherwise - that's the response from human eyes, is not a response from a bass's eyes. So remove the word fact, because in fact, it is conjecture. A bass's pupil is fixed and dilated, which we assume is for maximum light absorbtion. If in fact their eye functions as ours that would make them myopic. However, until one talks to us we are guessing.
Another consideration would be just how selective bass are when it comes to eating anything. The more selective they are the more likely they are to starve to death. Based on what they are caught with, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to suggest that they bite it first and decide later, color or otherwise.
links_man2 reply :
The following is from the Professors Corner in which Doug Hannon gives his insight on red line:
Quote:
"is red line like Cajun red cast really less visible to fish than regular low vis green mono? "
Many gamefish have a heightened sensitivity to the color red. It is the only color known to increase the strike reflex in fish, and, as such, has a place in lure presentation. I don't buy that it would be good in a line color, because typically we do not want the line to be noticed. The fact that it disappears at depth does not mean it is rendered invisible. The red is simply replaced with black. I would favor pale green as the least visible line. Doug Hannon
guest reply :
Scotty - Captain...........a Romulan death star ship appeared out of nowhere!!!
Kirk - Why that's right Scotty. It must have used the Romulan cloaking device.
Scotty - Aye captain - I kin see it now.
Kirk - Yes, so can I scotty. - An entire case of Krylon red spray paint.
Scotty - Them Romulans are dastardly evil.
(tune in again for the continuing saga of 'It must be drivel, cause it ain't invisible")
sal669 reply :
WHAT DODGEGUY SAID !!!
It's all about physics, specificaly about the light waives. Every object reflects light, specificaly the frequencies of it's own color. All other frequencies are absorbed. White objects reflect the whole spectrum, black ones absorb the whole spectrum.
Water acts as a filter, stopping the penetration of different frequencies as light travels deeper. The RED color/frequency is filtered out somewhere between 12-15 ft, depending on water clarity, suspentions, etc.Muddy warter is a different issue.
Below this depth, the red frequency of light spectrum is nonexistent, so a red object will have nothing to reflect and they will absorb all other colors. As a result , any red object becomes BLACK.
To be invisible an object has to be 100% translucent, and even in this situations there is the distortion of light passing through a translucet object (like glass, for example).
That's all in a nut shell.
Stick with clear or light green lines...Add some red to your lures...
SimonSays reply :
what sal said, it's all about light wave filtering through water, red has a wavelength of 625 to 750nm, this wavelength is filtered out by the water depending on the clarity, clear water allows more sunlight penetration so that the red light that is reflected off the line is allowed to reach it. Red line will absorb all other colors besides red, you see red because the object REFLECTS red, if there's no red to be reflected what you have left is BLACK. so in shallow or clear water line that is red appears red, once you get past the point where water starts filtering out that wavelength all you have is BLACK line. However this is for SOLID red line, i've never seen the cajun line off the spool, but if it is in fact a TRANSLUCENT type of red then once water filters red, the rest of the light spectrum is passed through the line.
dodgeguy reply :
exactly,which causes it to be extremely hard to see.so unless a bass has a red filter on his eyeball like a photographer would on a camerea then the chances are it can't see it either.even if they can see it i have never had a problem catching fish on it in shallow water.i think the red attracts them or at the very least they aren't scared of it.
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