Lure colour is without doubt one of the most important characteristics of a lure when deciding on which one to pitch in a specific situation. The variety of colours is huge but they centre around themes such as highly imitative natural colours, broadly natural colours, bright attractive colours and semi- translucent and translucent colours that are more cryptic and appear more real.
A good way to look at lure colours is to look at them a bit more scientifically in terms of their spectral reflectance.
All colours are composed of a mixture of different wavelengths of light reflected by an object. White reflects all light and for practical purpose black absorbs all light. The visual spectrum of light that we as humans can see consists of all light between 400 – 700 nanometres wavelength. Between 300 and 400 nm of light is UV reflection that we can’t see but some animals, insects and birds definitely can!
A very important consideration in lure colour is the degree to which it stands out from the background. This is an extremely important way to look at lures, particularly when you are fishing realistic imitations. One of the principle mechanisms of escape in prey species is camouflage, which functions to blend the animal into its natural surrounds. In cryptic lures we mix colours such as green, covered with small brown, black or olive spots, whereas none of these colours contrast particularly strongly with one another, thus it appears mottled and, importantly, does not stand out from the background. In such cases, bass are often picking up your lure mainly by movement and secondarily by scent.
Example of the differences in the amount of colour reflected between a light and dark brown colour. These are two common colours used in naturally camouflaged lures.
Looking at lure colours through reflection spectra can be done by measuring colours on a spectrophotometer. This is done through directing a very intense light composed of wavelengths in the UV and visual spectrum and then measuring what percentage of that light is reflected back. A typical trace of a green background is included later in the article. If you look at colours in this way you really get some idea of what is important, namely how many colours contrast against other colours on the same lure, and importantly how much the brighter colours on the lure are contrasting with the background you’re fishing in. Looking at colours through reflection spectra also helps to gauge their brightness.
Bright, attractive colour combinations such as chartreuse, orange and green all contrast very distinctly from the naturally subdued greens and browns of rocks, substrate and water plants. Why bass love them so much remains a mystery, but it could only be because they firstly hit lures out of curiosity and aggression, and secondly many of the colours we use are highly magnified versions of what is present in nature. In this case these colours are acting as a kind of supernatural releaser.
Many of the brighter coloured lures also move and have actions similar to natural prey, thus at least that part of the imitation is very convincing. Chartreuse yellow for instance is very common in the lateral line colours of some fish, particularly saltwater, but freshwater baitfish also often have yellow stripes that bass may use as a cue to detect them. Mackerel stripes again are very common and highly effective and are a classic camouflage pattern.
One colour feature that is very common in natural prey items is the Mother of Pearl sheen. It is the common colour of shellfish and insect chitin, while fish display this colour particularly on the eye, belly and gills. This colour is a deadly attraction for just about any predatory fish and is seldom found in non-living things, so it acts as a definite stimulus to attract the attention of predatory fish. It is however a curious colour from a reflection point of view as it consists of a pink/red underlayer covered by a translucent but reflective layer. Thus it reflects various colours against this underlying pink background instead of actually reflecting a pure colour.
This is why Mother of Pearl seemingly changes colour when you change the lure’s orientation and look at it from different angles. Mother of Pearl in particular is what is known as a structural colour, and not pigment colour. Structural colours are colours that don’t always reflect the same wavelengths of light as would a pigment. In a pigment, the small pigment particles are constant in what light they absorb and reflect, however a structural colour is formed entirely of the arrangement of reflective materials and particles that reflect different light wavelengths when viewed from different angles.
An important feature of lures is to what degree they contrast with the background. Viewing this contrast with the use of reflection spectra is a particularly useful and objective way to look at how subdued or bright colours stand out from the green and brown colours underwater. Figure..which I included shows how the reflection of a green and dark background when compared to the golden colour of the floating crank. Looking at lures in this way you can see areas where colours can be distinguished both by the angler and the fish, and how you can improve your angling tactics when basing your lure choice on a desirable visual profile.
