Red fishing line

[bingo]

I saw Matt Hayes and Mick Brown on tv using red line for barbel and they explained that red is the first colour of the spectrum to disapear underwater so therefore the line would be harder to see. I know that they're not the first to think of this and that sea anglers use it a lot too (Red Ice) but it got me thinking.....................................

 

Why do red maggots work? Why are red lures so effective?

 

Surely this is just a mumbo jumbo marketing ploy?

[Andy_1984]

I saw Matt Hayes and Mick Brown on tv using red line for barbel and they explained that red is the first colour of the spectrum to disapear underwater so therefore the line would be harder to see. I know that they're not the first to think of this and that sea anglers use it a lot too (Red Ice) but it got me thinking.....................................

 

Why do red maggots work? Why are red lures so effective?

 

Surely this is just a mumbo jumbo marketing ploy?

 

 

excellent comment, it is weird i have always heard that red is alot easier for fish to see. i guess we dont know as much as we thought..

 

if it is at all true that they cant see red well enough they may be relying on other instincts and sensors.

 

seems alot of nonsense, years of thinking one thing to be contradicted by another.

[Chris Plumb]

excellent comment, it is weird i have always heard that red is alot easier for fish to see. i guess we dont know as much as we thought..

 

if it is at all true that they cant see red well enough they may be relying on other instincts and sensors.

 

seems alot of nonsense, years of thinking one thing to be contradicted by another.

 

I agree, counters everything I've ever read about colour vision in fish - namely that many species have a bias TOWARD the red end of the spectrum. Perch in particular have taken this red bias further as they have the visual pigment porphyropsin (and only this) in the their rods in the back of the retina - and of a kind that actually absorbs further into the infra-red than any other known pigment. (It helps them see in murky conditions.)

 

I believe that red line loses its colour at around 15 feet depth of water - but wouldn't this mean it would appear black?

 

 

C.

[chesters1]

most tackle is designed to catch anglers not fish ,over the years every colour no doupt has been used and multi coloured mono was used way back to see how much line you had used (different colours every x yards) what fashionable this week will be poo poo'd next! most probably by makers not having the idea (and income from) first and losing out.

they will ofcourse bring out something or other backed up with seudo science themselves and bring forth "facts" making the compeditors line useless etc etc etc.

i just buy the cheap brown stuff its good enough for me and cheap because the colour isnt hyped up with expensive advertiseing and packaging.

Edited February 8, 2007 by chesters1

[Vagabond]

I believe that red line loses its colour at around 15 feet depth of water - but wouldn't this mean it would appear black?

 

Certainly that would be true for human vision, and having taken a few pictures whilst snorkelling, I soon found that the red end of the spectrum is not recorded on standard transparency film below about 3 m.

 

However, if perch can see into the infra-red, then they may be able to detect red at much greater depths than can humans or film cameras.

[Tim Kelly]

I think the implied bad science is that red line would disappear, as red is the first colour to be filtered out by the water. Obviously, rather than disappearing it would actually turn black as it was reflecting no light!

[chelmerpaul]

I was watching too and thought exactly the same. In fact, me and my 10 year old son looked at eachother in amazement and he said "How do fish see red maggots then, Dad?".

 

It was clearly a very dubious statement from Matt. Recently, he being saying how he uses red bait flags on his deadbaits when piking. Seems like a contradiction. I was always under the impression that red was the MOST visible colour to fish, now they're saying the opposite! I wonder if anyone on this forum knows Matt, so they can ask him exactly what he was on about. Do you think he's got a few to many endorsements / sponsorships?

[corydoras]

I was watching too and thought exactly the same. In fact, me and my 10 year old son looked at eachother in amazement and he said "How do fish see red maggots then, Dad?".

 

It was clearly a very dubious statement from Matt. Recently, he being saying how he uses red bait flags on his deadbaits when piking. Seems like a contradiction. I was always under the impression that red was the MOST visible colour to fish, now they're saying the opposite! I wonder if anyone on this forum knows Matt, so they can ask him exactly what he was on about. Do you think he's got a few to many endorsements / sponsorships?

Objects that are red do not turn invisible under water they appear black. Why do you assume that your fish can see your maggot anyway? The study of fish vision is a science in its infancy. If a fish could see in the infra red it would not be able to see red any better than any other colour. Infra red is not a colour, it is heat.

 

This has been discussed on AN a few times before. Here is one link.

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.p...=66139&st=0

and here is another

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.p...=35110&st=0

 

I'm with chesters on this one. Designed to catch anglers, not fish.

Edited February 12, 2007 by corydoras

[Dick Dastardly]

Once again we fall into the same age old trap of assuming that a fishs senses are the same as ours!

 

Yes red is the first colour to disapear underwater and as Dave says this is around 3m or in old money 15'.Not quite right about it looking black though as most colours over 15' apear blue to the human eye anyway. So to us it would apear as darkish blue! But to a fish,or a dog or an elephant or a whale? well who really knows!If you check out some of the links to scientific papers in the threads that Cory links to they will tell you lots about the "mechanics" of fish eyesight but once again can only sugest what a fish can actually see based on these mechanics!

 

It doesnt really matter how they see it though red has been shown time and time again to be a very good colour for lures/baits/flies etc regardless of the reason why. I dont think line colour really makes much difference.My preference is for one that is inconspicuos to "my eyes" as I can find,nice and supple probabley being more important and go by my results.

[ColinW]

Infra red is not a colour, it is heat.

 

Colour is defined as "a visual attribute of things that results from the light they emit or transmit or reflect" No mention of human perception, which is the only thing that defines infra red as different from red, so I think infra red IS therefore a colour.

 

I also think red line is designed to catch idiots, not fish and many TV stars would recommend anything they got paid to!