DanielG

I guess, from the research they did, that all colors, even the ones they see, get grayer the deeper you to. 30 ft is considered deep as far as light penetration goes. So most colors will would seem sort of grey at that depth.

Actually.... when it comes to eyes no, grey isn't a color. In our eyes red, blue, and green are picked up by structures called cones in the retina of the eye. We mix those colors to see other colors, like on a color wheel. Rods in the retina on the other hand pick up light which is perceived as white, or the lack of it would be greyer and greyer until the complete lack of light would show black. The cones in the eye of a fish only register green and red. They attack those colors most of the time. Blue is attacked much less, and about the same rate as black. Blue is just another shade of black (grey) to them. So, in the case of how the eye detects color, grey really isn't a color, just neurons detecting a lack of a lot of light being reflected by an object. That's why most animals can't detect color, they have no cones in the eye. They just have rods and see everything in black/white, or shades of grey. Like with a black and white tv set, there is no color as there is no mechanism to make the RGB dots on the screen. Just black where there is no light, white were there is a lot of light, or grey where there is some light. We might not know how their brains function or how they perceive the colors but we do know this. Bass hit Green and red 75%-80% of the time under test conditions. Bass hit blue, but also black about 40% of the time under test conditions Bass hit chartreuse but also white about 30% of the time under test conditions.

Right, or marling baits on youtube. He made a lure from a square piece of brown wood. He just took a piece of wood, about 4" x 1" x1" put hooks and an eyeloop on it with a weight in the belly and cast it out and caught a few fish with it... go figure huh?

Actually the article says that bass can see a lure of any color or black or white. And Some colors are more visible at depths where the light doesn't reach much, but no matter what depth, Green and also red are noticed more by the fish because they are the only ones they see as color. Everything else is just shades of grey.

Ha.. I think I have to, in a way I am him!

Ya police would have a higher chance of having to use a gun for sure. But according to statistics, the need for one by the general public rivals being hit by lightning or winning the lottery. A lot less than 1%. Then again it can happen I guess.

That's right. As I said they can see them they're just more apt to notice the colors they can see more.

They're still getting eaten but have evolved those colors to be as inconspicuous to bass as possible.

Ditto on the Walmart or comparable place. Doesn't cost that much and they'll help if you want. Have it printed to larger sizes too. I gave up on my color printer with the drying out $28 ink cartridges and such when I discovered I could print out while I wait my photos at walmart for about 20 cents each on kodak paper. No contest in my opinion.

I love witty stuff like this. Great tongue-in-cheek delivered with an air of seriousness. Bravo.

Ha! sure. Bass only see green and red. They'll strike at other colors but not much as they don't often notice them and see only grays. So.... Why do we bother with all the colors? Maybe it's just for us. The fish don't really care, in fact using colors other than red and green probably cause fewer bits.

This became longer than I expected risking no one reading it....! I've been reading a lot about color and fishing lures. Color, depth, water clarity. Accordingly it seems that fish only hone in on two colors, Green and red. Studies have been done to train bass to attack colors. It seems that they attack green and red 80% and 75% of the time respectively. They don't attack other colors much because they don't see them well. Studies of the rods and cones find that fish are dichromatic. They only see green and red colors. If they attack other colors, they are probably attacking them as various shades of grey depending on depth, water quality, and light available. They are much less noticeable to bass so fewer hits. This is an article that explains that. Pretty interesting. So, the perch bait I made that has the dark green to light green back and sides, red accents on the belly might be good coloring as it is easily seen. The shad I made that has a black back going down to silver then white belly might be shiny in the sunlight but just look black, grey, and white at any depth, even if I had made it blue and yellow, and is less easily seen or noticed. It might explain why a yellow perch might be colors that bass can see. They hang out mostly in weeds so the bass look into the weeds and see a bunch of green, thus the perch would be camouflaged? The open water fish are often other colors or shades of black/white to make them less visible to the green/red sighted bass. Pickerel, a greenish colored fish is lurking for prey in weeds; again camouflaged is good here. I read an article about when the sexy shad of the colors bass see came out. It caught a lot of fish and became all the rage. Tackle makers started producing several versions of the same bait with the same color pattern but with a variety of colors. Fishermen picked the stores clean thinking they were the new miracle lure while only one color scheme probably was. So, I'm thinking, ya, still bright in sunlight at shallow or clear water depths, and color for deeper water, but is it that sticking with greens and reds is the best way to go no matter what the depth? Red isn't that good at depth but it is the color that bass see. Yellow is visible at moderate depth but if bass can't see yellow, does it matter the lure is yellow? Maybe green would have been better. Let me summarize with this example: Yellow can be visible at shallow or pretty deep but bass see only light grey to dark grey depending on depth so it's often missed by the fish. Green can be seen as color, shallow or pretty deep and bass see lighter to darker green depending on depth and are more often seen by the fish. So, why not use green (and red even though it needs a lot of light to be seen, like near the surface)? According to this, a green (perch like) bait should be better seen at any depth. A reddish bait should be better seen at shallow depths than other colors. All other colors will be grays and less visible no matter what depth. Not less 'strikable' if seen but just less visible to be noticed for a strike. This would sure limit the number of colors I'd need to buy to paint my baits. Then again, even though the bass wouldn't give a care, they do look much better to me. Thus, are bait colors made mostly for people, and are we buying them for us and not realizing that our love of a pretty lure is causing fewer bites? I dunno....

Question: I've been making my baits out of pine, just a few to this point as you know. It's available, easy to shape and no too heavy. Cedar looks to be similar. I know they use balsa wood and a few others, shying away from hardwoods. Would there be any advantage to make a cedar one over the pine I've got?

I've got that rod but the spinning one. Good rod. I've also got their glass champion rod. Now that one is super nice. I don't want to use anything else (I've got that is).

nicely carved. I've never fished with a rodent lure. I guess they work as people use them. Cool....

Boy, that's a lot of stuff. I have no idea what would work. I hope you find a solution that lets you do what you want.

I had carpel tunnel operations on both hands. Not a bad ordeal at all. Local shot in the nerve in the arm then the operation. It was sealed with superglue only and all was fine after that. I had them done a short time apart. No issues since then.

Newbie bait maker here.... Okay, I should be able to figure this out but I want to save having to return an order through the mail, or keeping it and reordering because I couldn't. I've been making some lures, I've posted them here. The first one I made I ordered some #2 trebles and some 5mm split rings. This was with an educated guess and it seems to be the right matchup. I've made a smaller lure as of late. I've ordered some #4 trebles but split rings seem to start at about 5mm and go up. There are some 3.5mm though. Sometimes they're by size in mm, sometimes they sell them by size number like hooks. So, the question: For #4 hooks what size split ring should I order? Thnx.

Portrait painting is so time intensive. It's a lot of work. A half hour of spray painting baits is quick results by comparison. quick gratification I guess.

Thanks. I've done a lot of 'making things' over my life. Guitars, portrait painting, lots of odd and unusual things. I researched a lot online. About a years worth. I think I've looked at all the youtube stuff. I just had to try it.

In 65 years I've never come close to needing one. I've never come close to needing a fist. Come to think about it, I've never had a heated argument with anyone I didn't know. I think I'll take my chances. Most people who carry, I ask, "how many times have you needed it". The answer has always been "never". I ask, "how many time have you come close to needing it". The answer so far has always been "never". I ask, "why do you have it?" The answer is always, "you never know". Maybe it's where I live. Maybe it's luck. I just don't get it. And on the water, it seems like the least place around here.

Things ended a short while back here in Maine. While the season was coming to a close and I started going out less and less. I spent downtime researching baitmaking, making lists, and acquiring materials to make some. I figured I can enjoy this during the blizzards, and when ice is out, actually (hopefully) catch a few on baits I've made. I've already made a couple and have plans for more. Winters can be long and slow here, but I love 'em.

my second attempt at making one. Can't wait to start another. It's made of pine.

I also saw it when it came out. Almost didn't because half the reviews were iffy. But, it is a good movie. It's more of a war action movie rather than a docudrama. So, if you're looking for lots of flying and sailing action in war, this is it. Definitely edge of the seat stuff most of the way through. The action effects are off the charts. Maybe you saw the previews on TV. The whole movie is like that. Lotsafun and an appreciation of some of the stuff these guys endured for love of country.

Well, I made my second crankbait. I posted the first and it came out pretty good but I messed up on the epoxy mix and it never dried and probably never will. So, I decided to remake it. this time measuring the epoxy correctly. Yes it hardened and yes I took a couple of casts and it wobbles and tracks really nicely in the water. It's cold here now though. I will have to wait till spring to fish with it. Now that I have all the stuff needed to make them, I'm ready to make more. This second one took about two 3 hr sessions to make from pine board to finish, not counting the epoxy drying time. The airbrush is tricky but this was my second time using one and it felt a lot more comfortable this time around. For anyone wanting to gear up to making one of these for the first time, I spent a ton of time researching this and have links in the video below to my first build that is six parts with way to much detail and with a web site of materials. I was a teacher all my life. Teacher mode never leaves you unfortunately. Someone asked what the silver specs are in the finish. It's glitter added to the epoxy top coat. It would make a great Christmas tree ornament ?. Here's a link to my youtube channel that shows this and other builds.