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What Can Crappie See? by Brad Wiegmann
What can crappie see? Seems like an easy question to answer. We all have favorite colors of lures when crappie fishing that have caught fish over the years.
Before blasting you with the science behind colors is there any companies producing lures based on colors. The answer is yes. Some companies have made thousands of dollars selling these lures to crappie anglers.
The good news for lure companies is crappie can see colors well. That means anglers will stock up on several different color patterns in the same style of soft plastic lures from retail stores like Grizzly Jig Company or Outlet Bait & Tackle.
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One company that has been producing “coloring” specific lures is TTI-Blakemore with its Road Runner jighead. Their line of Glow Heads is based on a color to attract a fish to strike a lure. Let’s expand the list to another lure company that bases their products of Nan-Infused Polymerization Technology when producing the lures.
In a nutshell the human eye can roughly see colors in wave lengths from 400 nanometers which is violet to 700 nanometers that is red. Humans can see visible light from 400-700 nanometers. There is light that the human can’t perceive, but visible to other organisms.
So what colors do crappie see? The answer to that is influenced by a several factors. Water depth, water clarity, water temperature and light levels will change how crappie see a lure.
Crappie see white, red, orange and deep blue better in clear water with bright light conditions. Yellow, lighter blue, pink or black colors when it’s low light conditions or in muddy water. Lures that contrast with the color of the water or the surrounding area are better for active crappie.
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Crappie Pro and Road Runner Pro Dan Dannemueller is a believer in using lures that have been painted with glow paint in certain situations to catch more crappie. “They do make a difference especially in muddy water or low light situations. It’s amazing to see how many more bites you get with a Road Runner with a glow head compared to a regular powder coated Road Runner,” said Dannemueller.
“Crappie are sight feeders and so many bites are reactionary strikes. That’s why you get so many bites where crappie have been eye-balling a lure before striking it,” Dannemueller continued, “If they can see a lure the better your chances are of catching them.”
Dannenmueller uses the Road Runner Glow Heads whenever he is fishing in muddy water or in low light situations. “Low light late in the day or evening is a great time to fish the Road Runner Glow Heads,” Dannemueller went on, “I never throw them in situations like super clear water reservoirs where it actually seems to scare them off.”
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How an angler selects what color patterns of lures and jighead can also be based not on science, but years of experience on the water. Owner of PICO Lures, Mitch Glenn, has crappie fished all his life on rivers, ponds and lakes believes selecting colors is based on water clarity and light conditions.
“I like to keep it simple. I use white color patterns in muddy or dirty water,” Glenn continued, “That’s because everything turns white in muddy water like shad and minnows crappie are feeding on.”
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In water that has good water clarity, Glenn will use several different color patterns from chartreuse/black to pink/chartreuse to orange/yellow. “I believe that in water conditions with good visibility it has more to do with matching the size and action before color,” Glenn went on, “In conditions where the visibility is good I will change lure colors often to see what a crappie is going to bite and switch it often especially if I’m fishing a brush pile before moving on.”
In the end, color does make a difference; however, it’s just one of the components of lure selections when it comes to catching crappie.
