Fish eye!

Blackbacks · Fish eye!

At the risk of being called heretic and burned at the stake-
Or worse still being banned from all local waters- I will ask these questions!

Do trout see colours-

ie does a dry fly sitting on the surface not appear in Silhouette from below
and is it just outline and movement that induce a take?

It's just that as I delve more into the world of flytying I sometime wonder what the fish think of all the different patterns!

Any thoughts

Paul

fossil-fish

Wow Paul, you can pick them. Not an easy question.

Although I am fairly new to fly fishing I have seen this subject discussed many times over the years. There is no doubt that a fishes eye has the capability to see colours, but whether it has the brain power to process them is another matter. In other words it probably has the hardware but the software is needed for far more important things. Also there is the issue of silhouette as you say, although that is not simple either, some colours appear bolder, to our eyes in different water conditions.

It would be simple to say no, but anyone who has spent the day fishing for roach with a pint of mixed maggots will soon know that the colour, or combination of colours on the hook can make a difference. Artificial lures and spinners come in a range of colours, some of which are better suited to some species and conditions than others. (Just what pike think a fire tiger shad is, I have no idea). And of course we all know that a change of colour when fly fishing can work wonders. So, something is going on here, but what? we will probably never know until we find a talking fish.

One thing we can be sure of is that no other living creatures respond to the colour spectrum the way we do. To humans most of the spectrum is invisible, most animals see more towards the blue end. This is how bees find flowers even though they probably do not see the pretty colours. I have great confidence in small amounts of flourescent materials in flys, these reflect more in ultra violet which we find at low light levels. (That is why your flies always look so good early in the morning and in the evening). I remember once seeing a photograph of a bue tit taken in ultra violet light and the effect was amazing, there was just so much pattern and high light that we do not see. The blue tit probably does not see colour but most be aware of these patterns. Evolution has after all put them there for the blue tit not for bird watchers.

So the simple answer is probably no, but fish as if they do. Perfect sense really.

FIREY BROWN · Fish eye

Blackbacks

You been at the bottle again Laughing

you certainly know how to ask them mate,,,

do trout see colours ?? id say yes they do but how well they see them is another matter so i couldnt answer that with certainty mate,,, for some reason fish will take different colours of flies on different days or a combination of colours all day long,,,,black might be the colour of the day to take lots of fish but the next day it could be green that they`re interested in so who really knows,,,, for obvious reasons i`d say movement in general plays a big part in whether a fish will take or not,,that is to say,,you could be using FO8 with a fly then give it a long pull and the pull its self may just be enough for the fish to take however on other days it may just be the opposite,,i`d say you can certainly INDUCE a take from a fish,,i`ve seen anglers do this as i have done myself especially when the fly is static,,,wouldn`t be the first time i`ve cast a fly on to the water and let it sit static only to watch fish feed inches from it with no notion of taking my fly then a quick pull on the fly line to make the fly move and BANG you`re in the fish has turned and taken the fly,,,,,

a good post mate you should get some interesting views on this,,,
what would YOUR view be on it ?

Regards
FIREY BROWN

Watty's Rock

Blackbacks

I would be inclined to think that when a trout views a surface fly from below in may make a "first judgement" based on shape.
It may refine this judgement based on how the fly reacts to its surroundings i.e does it drift faster than other items/flys
on the surface. Does it move against the flow?

Add to this that no two insects (of the same family) are Necessarily
identical- then how does a fish judge an insect that lands upside down
or at a different angle?

Still was allways told Big fish dont become Big fish by being careless!

fossil-fish

I'll have a stab at what I think happens. Imagine you are about to eat an apple. You pick up the apple, have a good look at it, then take a bite. Now imagine you are eating a bag of peanuts. You are simply putting them in your mouth without thinking. The more of them you eat the less attention you are paying to them.

I think this is what happens in a fly hatch, the trout simply moves from one item to the next almost in a rhythm. Coarse anglers try and simulate this condition by careful loose feeding of bait. In the case of the coarse angler he is trying to reach a point where the fish will feed with more confidence, and therefore less care and even have them competing for food. I would not be sure that trout would compete with each other, but I am sure the more confidence, less care scenario would apply.

Vastly over simplified I know, but I am sure something like this must happen now and again. Added to this of course is the fact that trout, like all wild creatures, must take any oppertunity to feed when it arises, and a hungery fish will pounce on something that appears like food.