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I read a study on walleyes stating walleyes do not see the color blue. A rep from a line manufacturer stated the color red is invisible at depth. If true it might explain the success of blue jigs & red hooks. Fact or fiction?
I can’t remember offhand where I have seen it, but the whole red disappearing at a certain depth is a myth (I think, don’t rip me if I am wrong). What does happen is at a certain depth it no longer looks red, but you can still see it, it just looks black. I think it was an In-Fisherman show that went into it? It seems to me if red disappeared, you would think most bait fish would be red. I know they wouldn’t disappear, but it the color had any effect on hiding the fish or making them harder to see, I think you’d see a lot of prey fish with red coloration.
I think what really happens is at a certain depth where the red spectrum cannot reach, red looks black.
Been trying to figure that one out too , because if I could buy every red hook in the world I would. The blue is a great color as well for the shad raps.
From Jeff 
Fiction, this is quoted from the book Successful Walleye Fishing.
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“Walleyes can see color, but they cannot see as many hues as fish like largemouth bass and northern pike. Any animal with good color vision has two types of color discriminating cells: red-green cells and blue-yellow cells. But a walleye lacks the blue-yellow cells, so its color vision is similar to that of the rare human beings with blue-yellow color blindness. In other words, walleyes most likely see all colors as some shade of red or green.”
I always thought it was interesting that you had manufacturers selling red line because the fish aren’t supposed to be able to see it; and you have other manufacturers selling red hooks because they are supposed to make the fish bite.
Somebody is wrong 
Rootski
Im not sure about Walleyes, but humans loose corresponding color with depth, red being the first to go. From the past days of scuba diving…
roy g biv
red
orange
yellow
green
blue
indigopo
violet
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I always thought it was interesting that you had manufacturer selling red line because the fish aren’t supposed to be able to see it; and you have other manufacturers selling red hooks because they are supposed to make the fish bite.
Somebody is wrong
Rootski
This is how it was explain to me at one time……
Red line is a translucent material..light can go penetrate through it to a certain degree..thus making it less visible.
Hooks,Jigs are a solid material..light enhances the objects.
Thus making them more visible .
so why buy red line if its the transparency that makes it less visible?
i personally think the red line invisibility bit is a cajun line marketing gimmick.
I dont know wether they see color or not but I would like to welcome you to IDO 
Was a good article in In-Fisherman, which as been rerun a couple times. Basically, you have to realize different water colors will put out a different background color. This would allow one water type, such as murky, to be like you painted a wall red and were looking at it, or clear water, which would appear blue. Now, hold up a color to that wall-red would blend in with red, but might stand out like a sore thumb when placed against a wall painted white.
Like John Jordan said, if walleyes were line shy, they’d quit swimming into gill nets.
The one thing people have a hard time grasping with is a walleyes eye does not “look” like a humans eye—cranks, jigs and line color are geared to catching humans as walleyes do not have dollar bills! Fish with what you have confidence with and you will catch more fish. 
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Fish with what you have confidence with and you will catch more fish.
There are two parts to this discussion. 1. What colors can the eyes see. and 2. What colors can be seen at depth. No matter if you can see every color in the spectrum if you go deep enough everything will look dull green or grey because the water filters out colors of the spectrum, some sooner than others. Things don’t become invisible, they just lose color and blend in more with everything else. The only way you can see the colors at great depth is to provide your own light source like a flash lite or flash bulb.
It is in part a matter of what walleyes are able to see, water clarity/turbidity as well as physics.
ROYGBIV…
Colors at the “R” end of the spectrum absorb into water first. Blue/Indigo/Violet are the last to go, and penetrate the water column deeper. More scattering/less absorption (Red light absorbs in water 100 times more in blue light and blue light scatters 5 times more than red light) of the blue wavelengths is why water is blue.
Does this mean that you can’t see a red line or lure in deep water??? Absolutely not… But you probably won’t be able to see the color red, more increasingly grey or black as you get deeper.
So your red fishing lines will still be visible based on their translucence. If you want a line that is as invisible as possible, get 100% fluorocarbon. Something like a red-colored power pro will most definitely be visible, but it will appear less red and more black as you get deeper. Translucence is the key.
Line color/translucence probably matters much more on gin-clear water like Lake Michigan, and less on waters like P4 at crest.
L. Michigan anglers often use reds and oranges for targeting steelehead in the upper 10-20 feet and blues/greens/purples 50-100+ feet for kings. Does this mean that red lures don’t catch fish at depth?? No, but red WILL appear greyed/black at 100 feet simply due to physics, regardless of how keen the target specie’s eyes are.
2 cents.
Last 2 posts explained it very well.
good job guys. 
I gotta pipe in on this one… Until I started fishing P-4 I ALWAYS fished clear line…then I fish with the IDA Guides and its all Hi Vis 
So I go back to crystal clear home waters with Solar XT Green, Stren Gold, Pink Fluoro…and now Endurance hot Tangerine. I see an actual INCREASE in catch rate across all species…
But try finding Hi Vis line in mid western tackle shops…they’ll tell you that it will “spook” the fish…. 
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The length of each color bar represents the relative level of response generated by each color.
This is the last sentance under the picture.
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I gotta pipe in on this one… Until I started fishing P-4 I ALWAYS fished clear line…then I fish with the IDA Guides and its all Hi Vis
So I go back to crystal clear home waters with Solar XT Green, Stren Gold, Pink Fluoro…and now Endurance hot Tangerine. I see an actual INCREASE in catch rate across all species…
But try finding Hi Vis line in mid western tackle shops…they’ll tell you that it will “spook” the fish….
Good point, Tom…
The guys using high vis use it for a reason. Generally this allows them to watch line better/control lure/jig action, depth/detect strikes/etc. These guys usually fish pretty hard and concentrate on what others consider minor details. This is what separates great fishermen from so-so fishermen like myself…
I would tend to think that this high level of knowledge/skill/attention would usually negate any negative “fish spooking” effects (if any) due to the hi-vis line.
Once you get use to the hi viz stuff you can’t jig fish without it. We were out yesterday and I wanted to throw a certain color and the boy handed me one of his rods. I tossed it out and then realized it didn’t have hi viz line. I felt lost and helpless. One cast was all I made with that rod because I felt it hampered my presentation too much. I think river walleye are use to a lot of “stuff” blowing by them and line doesn’t spook them. Keeping your bait in front of their face is what makes them bite and it is hard to do if you can’t tell where your bait is at.
Amen to the last two posts… I keep a couple spools filled with clear just because I occasionally get a client that becomes unglued at th thought of using Hi Vis line. I explain why I use it and most of them become converts. 
Besides in low light or overcast my old eyes have a hard time tracking clear line as my jig rolls down the current seam… 
I use HI-Vis line on some rods cause i can’t see crap anymore so it’s faster for me to tie a knot once instead of 2 or 3 times plus what you mentioned,also i guess i’ll have to change from my favorite color bait (big fish blue) which is what i always start with to a better color that i don’t even have a clue to what it is yet
One other thing about color we look at color from above into the water most fish are looking up for there meal. Most cranks have a white bottom which goes against logic as far as visibility of color ( light coming from above…..shadows ). So to me in most presentations outline and action are big versus color.
Great point TomP,
Color is actually the LAST thing I consider. Profile and action are more important.
As the wise sage of the baitshop once told someone of lesser knowledge (me), the wrong color or bait fished correctly will outfish the correct color or bait fished incorrectly.
As a post eluded to earlier, as the depth of water increases, the preception of color changes-this coupled with water color and things can be drastically different from one body of water to another.
As Gursky stated earlier, keep a couple spools of clear around if you want to fall back on it for a given situation-all comes down to your confidence level.
Tom–
The Midwest had hi-vis. stren gold back in the ’70’s and ’80’s. Everybody I knew tried it. There must be a reason they don’t sell it now. They still sell clear line.
Right on, guys…
Keep in mind also that when we are talking trolling patterns (instead of jigging/bottom oriented fish which is what is on everyone’s minds right now – P4), that DEPTH is really the most important key. Even now on P4, depth = bottom, which sounds simple enough…. But its still a MAJOR consideration while jigging, pitching etc. You need to get and keep your bait at the right depth in the right location in the right current seam – which isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Sweeping the jig/blade with the current at the right depth on a tight line is still something I’m not very good at.
At his last seminar, Brad said something along the same lines as Doc’s Dean quote above….. You can fish the wrong bait, the wrong color, the wrong speed at the right depth and still catch fish. But if you aren’t at the right depth you are basically screwed no matter what your speed/lure color.
A little off topic, but the point is that when you are talking about lures/jigs, color is probably one of the least important factors overall. Start broad and then work your way into the specifics…
1) Get your lure to the right depth
2) Use the right sized jig, the right wobble on cranks, The right plastic/meat, etc…
3) Get tuned into the right speed (or lack thereof) for your presentation…
4) Then start worrying about if color is really making a difference and adjust accordingly.
Good post guys. 
just an opinion here. I got into using the blood red hooks when they first came out. I believe if you fish em shallow enough, they do have the effect–however, i think the flash off of them is what does the trick more, just as a gold hook will do. My thoughts are the nickel plating or shine is what is the triggering mechanism if it is at all the hook doing the trick.
i also think confidence in anything you do has a big impact on the outcome. if you dont believe in it it will show and you wont give 100% effort in trying to make the lure do what you want it to do. therefore, the lure wont wobble, drop, dive or anything if you dont give it the action.
just my 2 cents
whitssend Doc and hot tamale…
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