Went fishing Sunday, no bites in the morning or afternoon. It wasn't till almost dark I switched to a black curly tail and caught 7 in a row in about 4 feet of water. How do fish see a black jig in the dark?
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Went fishing Sunday, no bites in the morning or afternoon. It wasn't till almost dark I switched to a black curly tail and caught 7 in a row in about 4 feet of water. How do fish see a black jig in the dark?
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I'm no expert and have wondered the same.
I think that its common for crappie to move up close at dusk(mainly to feed?), plus the low light they rely less on sight and more on profile. Also the curly tail will send off vibrations the fish will sense.
I think you just got all the right combinations at the right time! Good job,,,that is how you fish....
There is some residual light above the water, so the black bait creates a more visible silhouette against the sky/water's surface. Fish looking upwards can see that silhouette. Even fish looking forward or downward can distinguish the black profile of the bait against the "not so black" bottom of the lake ... that same residual light will illuminate the lake bottom to a slight degree, but the black bait will not reflect any of that light, so it appears "darker" than the background (lake bottom).
"Slowboat" is also correct in that the curly tail will throw off vibrations (pressure waves) that can be detected by the lateral line of the fish.
It's also known that Crappie do tend to feed during the twilight times (first light & post sundown) and often do so in the shallows ... which is also where many of the baitfish minnows are at those times !!
Hit the nail on the head! That's why bass fishermen who fish at night use big black worms, black poppers, black buzzbaits, and black spinnerbaits with big black blades. See a pattern?Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
I have a "special" bag of black curly tails that I go to if the bite gets tough, even in full daylight.
More luck with them during the day on bluegill
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Black works as some said as it just silhouettes against the light from above . Sometimes fish feed late better at dusk and dawn , even more so in clear water . White works too even in the dark .
Another thing is fish do not see "in-color" like we do anyway they see various shades of gray, all of the colors that we see and have in our box are all shades of gray to them. There has been a lot of research done on this that you can google up.
Hey just go with it....you try enough stuff over the years you will see fish do the exact opposite of what you think they should do.You just file that in the ol memory banks and know it works sometimes.
Nobody really knows exactly how fish visually see things.Much less the other senses. It's hypothesis and speculation for the most part. Yes the science community has basis for their findings ....but I have also seen them make a new discovery that discounted everything they thought they knew previously. And every time they do extensive studies they find things that astound and amaze us and them. Things are generally operating on a higher and more complex level than we imagine. Never underestimate God's creations. God is operating on a level we won't understand fully as long as we are on this earth.
Then why don't they just make monochrome jigs, every shade black to white?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lonnie84
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Actually, panfish DO see colors very well, and even a lot better underwater (in less than ideal/clear conditions) than we can. There was a study done many decades ago, showing that Bass could distinguish 11 shades of grey ... and we already know that their rods/cones setup in their eyes are quite capable of seeing colors, various shades & hues of colors, and being able to distinguish one from another.
But, that doesn't necessarily mean that they are always particularly picky about the colors of our baits. Many times they are not able to see the actual color, but just the silhouette of the bait against a lighter or darker background. That's one reason many people use 2 color baits that have a light/dark color contrast ... thereby showing a silhouette against either light or dark backgrounds.
You just have to remember that color isn't necessarily the prime factor in whether a fish hits your bait or not.
Because fishermen see color!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty Lee
We used to fish spinnerbaits for Bass at night and favorite colors were black and purple . We have even used white on moonlight nights . It is like crappiePappy stated they are looking up at a profile against light from above . But sound and vibration helps them find your baits also because of their lateral lines .Quote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
For many years I have used black and fishing for crappie also and Bass fishing also with crank baits and plastics I think the most deadly color that there is for by us is black especially at night. is far is using black jigs during the daytime we have done quite well especially in the evening just before dark also after dark has done extremely well like it has been mentioned above they mainly go by vibration sends a shockwave through the water which triggers the fish to strike if you noticed in muddy water that you cannot see down more than a foot the fish are more apt to go by vibration then they are to see a shade or colors in Clearwater I believe it has a big factor on what you are presenting to them this is why most of us guys carry a wide variety of colors not to mention a different variety of plastics and jigs each one of these will affect different input operate different vibration along with what they can see in Clearwater. we were using a stonefly plastic early this spring the color was black it was about a foot underneath the water when a giant crappie stroke it was over 16 inches he was going by the fact that it looked like a bug to him just underneath the surface which the stonefly has no action at all they were gone by the appearance of it looking like an insect. I find the best time to fish is early mornings or late in the afternoon when the sun has gone down completely and just before it turns pitch black or dark they usually will go on a feeding frenzy and come into the shallow water to feed on small prey we have caught plenty of crappie into 2 foot of water in the late evening hours . just a few comments about the combination of rods that I use are use a graphite custom-built topped off with either a forbearing real we only use 4 pound test try to use clear line this is a deadly combination this is just my two cents worth after 55 years of fishing America's number one game fish the crappie.
Biologically, you're probably right. But, hey, why do 'they' sell cat food with veggies in it. Marketing to help you feel good about buying it. No fun selling jigs in light grey, dark grey, not quite white, and super black. :) - That said, I think you're on to a new business idea...based on fish science!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty Lee
I would be a believer that the curly tail had more to getting bit than the color . I actually use a lot of black . Black gnats for flyrod , Sliders for bream and Jokers for crappie .
Monochrome would not catch the fisherman
marketing lures is about catching fisherman, not fish.
Always works on me......Quote:
Originally Posted by hdhntr
So now you tell me :bashI bought all the colors of the rainbow in grubs, tubes, and crankbaits for nothing:yikes. Went I could have just bought one pack of gray baits because fish only see gray:juggle. Now I know why I keep going back to minnows when crappie fishing:fish . Minnows just come in one color.:Rofl:Rofl
Uhhh, no ... actually they come in several colors & hues/shades. :biggrinQuote:
Originally Posted by scrat
good information on black lures. on t hill they will be biting and then right before dark when you think they should be moving into feed they shut down. will try black jigs more at that time. tho my go to jig is black and chartreuse anyway, tho i have been using lot of blue and white there. the local crappie guru's use that quite a bit.
Academy has had quite a few of Mr crappie lures marked down quite a bit FYI, even to .48 yesterday but many were .98, which i loaded up on plus rattling jig heads. picked up 12 foot mr crappie rod for less than half off, plus a 7 foot fuji graphite rod for dock shooting. plus bobby garland baby shad.
i know some say they don't see colors but we all have had situations where you change colors and suddenly they turn on or your boat partner is killing them and you arn't till you change to that jig, so have to believe they do see color IMO.
So now you tell me :bashI bought all the colors of the rainbow in grubs, tubes, and crankbaits for nothing:yikes. Went I could have just bought one pack of gray baits because fish only see gray:juggle. Now I know why I keep going back to minnows when crappie fishing:fish . Minnows just come in one color.:Rofl:Rofl
You are right CrappiePappy I was just using a little sarcasm:rolleyes: as I too have a addition to buying artificial baits and in all colors in fact I bought a few more earlier this morning that I just could not live without. I will say that fish know enough about what looks like bait(food) or they would be full of everything that is in and that falls in the water. Just saying I have never cleaned a crappie full of black sticks,leaves,or rocks.:donoQuote:
Originally Posted by CrappiePappy
Scrat .... I figured as much. I wasn't "correcting you" as much as I was "playing along".
IF you'd have asked me back when I was a young boy, Crappie fishing with my Grandparents, I'd have told you that a white jig was the only color you needed to catch Crappie with :Rofl ... and now I carry almost 8lbs of tackle, and ain't used a solid white jig in decades !!
Crappie sometimes feed at night . Like it was said just silhouettes against the light above . I am really not buying into all these colors . Light and dark . I even tried fishing unpainted jig heads with no plastic on it . Still caught Crappie , but just an experiment . I would not advise using it on a regular basis . Presentation more important than color IMO .
I've had a lot of success with black/dark colored jigs fishing heavily shaded areas such as large boat houses that block out a lot of sunlight.
very interesting discussion guys, made me rethink a few things. will say as I did earlier at my lake they usually shut down hour or so before dark when i am on a dock in 10 foot of water. but heard from barry at Crappie U that full and new moon do stimulate crappie stayed later at my dock while full moon rising and danged if they didn't turn on right before dark and caught a load of nice fish two nights in a row. bought some black maribu jigs to try more experiments and will move to the shore in shallower water before dark or at dawn. used black/pink jigs that seemed effective as light faded
becausethefishermanisalsobeingfished.colorsarepret ty:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty Lee
I am hdhntr and I have a problem. I can't help but buy every color imagineable of crappie jigs when I see them on sale, whether I need anymore or not. just so satisfying! I NEEDS my crappie jigs.
I'm with you there. My tackle box weighs in at a slim 25 lbs. that being said we all know the propensity for crappie to hit one color better than another. Back in the day they made a Color-Se-lector to help pick what color to use at what depth. Didn't really produce a lot of fish for me but it did explain why certain colors worked better at night. I used to fish white bass at night in clear water. We found that at dark you changed white and chartreuse out for grey, black, red and orange. All colors that are hard to detect in deep water yet contrasts well at night. That was in the mid-eighties. Would love to wish that same water with some of the new paddletail baits I use now.Quote:
Originally Posted by hdhntr
All that being said I still never go fishing without a handful of electric chicken.
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I'm hoping when I get to heaven somebody will be able to explain a lot to me. Why crappie don't or do bite is one thing I'm gonna ask!