Can Bass See Color?

Fish4FunInFl said:

Wasnt there some studies that determained that bass do see colors ? And the same person developed the ' color c lector ' or something like that ??

I know if you watch the info commercial errrr I mean Roland Martin's show he always uses that thing.

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Yes there has been several studies. The you are tinking of is Dr. Loren Hill, bass fisherman and prof at OK U. Hill invented the Color-Clector, now updated to be digital. Hill's studies were independent of the university, performed at home to determine what colors bass preferred under different lighting conditions. Hills findings are generally excepted by bass fisherman but have not been accepted scientifically. The Bill fishing ( marlin, sailfish and swordfish) community has spent millions studying game fish color preference and came up with conclusive evidence that bill fish and tuna are color blind as we know color vision.
There is no doubt with bill fish and tuna fisherman that these predators have very specific lure color preference and argue that the science community is wrong. Bass fisherman feel just as strongly about basses color preference. I both agree and disagree, believing the science that predator fish may not see color as we know it and that they can see color more acutely in a different spectrum. There is no question in my mind that contrast is more important than a natural color that blends into the background in the underwater world of fish. The black/purple/brown hair jig is a perfect example if contrast. The black back/silver/white original Rapala is a great example of opposite color spectrum lure that triggers strikes from all game fish world wide. Can bass see color? only the bass know for sure!
Tom

Some folks say a bass has a pea-sized brain and is incapable of doing more than mating and swallowing food. That's a basis for their belief that even if their eyes can process color, their brain can't. If that's true, then why are we struggling so much every year to find sneakier ways to fool them? Some obviously learn not to bite artificial lures. We have a brain equal to maybe 1/2 gallon of peas in volume, and use no more than 10% of it. We're letting one pea cause so much trouble? :-\

In Fisheries I read a study that used different color lines with identical hooks that were baited selectively. Anybody could do this experiment, but it isn't necessary now. I think the first color that was always baited was yellow, a color many anglers believe is invisible to bass. Gradually the hooks are stopped being baited. When they stopped baiting the yellow line bass chose and followed that line only anyway until a new color was favored. I doubt contrast could be a significant factor since if line had high contrast you would think that would prevent bites.

Bass eyes have rods and cones. Cones are for color, rods for black and shades of gray. I doubt bass have cones for no reason. Nature doesn't waste on body parts very often. Their lens shape is unique too, allowing enhanced low-light viewing far greater than a human. My belief about color with animals is they would have to live many years to learn the meaning of particular colors, feeding mostly on forage like shad which often are black on top, white belly, very little mid range color. Take Bubblegum for a color. What bass sees that in nature? I think they see it but the color doesn't always relate to something they eat, so sometimes you can't buy a bite on that color. Sometimes it's the best color in stained or clear water.

Crawfish tend to take on bottom or cover colors, requiring movement or pincher clicking to be detected. Since so much of their forage is camouflaged it seems to me they would go very hungry if not for some color differentiation.

Jim

The color questions boils down to how bass see color verses if they color. To see color you must have light and water defuses light rays quickly. A good example is deep water ocean fish that are very colorful, have rods/cones in their eyes and live where no light penetrates. Same thing for bass at night. We use black or white for night fishing, however color can make a difference at night. Tequila sunrise and purple for example can be very good at night out producing black worms. Bass definitely have color and contrast preferences.
My favorite story concerning color is the color red. The Eppinger company that makes Daredevil spoons best selling color forever is the red chrome spoon with a white stripe. Eppinger changed paint suppliers and the follow few years their sales of red/white stripe spoons fell off dramatically, world wide. The original red/white spoons were still catching bass and walleyes but not the newly painted spoons. The problem under ultra violet spectrum analysis was the red dye was different. Eppinger corrected the color spectrum and sales came back. Story be Jason Lucas in his book Lucas on Bass Fishing. Yes we have rods/cones and so does a bass, however I believe bass and other game fish have developed color vision for under water very low light conditions and color contrast is a factor locating prey.
Tom

Western bass fisherman are anal about plastic worms and specific color combinations including flakes. If you read my post on "what is you favorite worm", my first choice was a custom hand poured smoke with translucent purple blood line with silver/gold/black micro flake, thats is a typical western answer. The question is, is it really color that the bass are keying on or a specific light reflected hue they see as the targeted prey that day on that lake? Does it matter, you bet it does if you want to catch the bass that are keying on a specific "color". The other factor to consider is different types of bass rely on sight more than northern LMB, however in clear water all bass can be selective sight feeders. Live bait fisherman can tell you that a molting crawdad that has "soft shell" color is preferred over the hardened shell color or too visable of line will turn off a bass eating a live shad. Bass can be selective at times and not at other times, bass are bass at the end of the day.
Tom