A review of recent popular literature on the sport of bass fishing sent my mind wandering. For years, I’ve done all I can to learn more about the various species of bass as a whole. Combining a biological and physiological understanding, with a naturalist’s view of their placement in the environment is the ultimate goal.

I’ve always been fascinated with fish, most notably bass, but at times I think I’m just as fascinated with our pursuit of them. The “why-factor” behind each catch has always presented a bit of mysticism to me, perhaps because so many catches are unexplainable in terms of reason.

While my recent readings centered around the subject of bass vision, I couldn’t help but dig through a few old volumes relating to the way bass see. From there, I allowed my mind to offer its own opinion, though I likely shouldn’t have. Perhaps you can help me hash a few things out.

The first article that really peaked my interest in the subject was one by Dr. Rob Nuemann, managing editor at In-Fisherman. Throughout his “Inside Angles” section recently, Neumann investigates the hot topic of color vision, and more specifically UV vision, in bass. I’ve often wondered about this, as we are led to believe by science that such things mean little to bass, yet some manufacturers of fishing lures profess this trait to be of great importance.

In his piece, Nuemannn quotes Dr. Ellis Loew of Cornell University as saying flat-out “bass …don’t see UV as adults. They don’t have UV receptors.”

The article goes further to explain that UV colors, as we likely recognize them, are really an increase in the overall brightness of a color, adding contrast that might possibly be recognized by fish. For such an increase in contrast to occur, however, UV light must be available, according to Loew, and, in the case of common turbid-water bass fishing conditions, it’s simply not.

Hmmm.

My quest to learn more deepened as another article grabbed my attention. This piece, with contributions by industry-recognized biologists Dr. Hal Schramm and Dr. Keith Jones, talked of bass color vision and how it essentially becomes non-existent at night. Schramm is quick to point out that, although a bass essentially loses its color vision in the dark, it’s still a very efficient predator, and far more capable of object detection than humans, sensitive to 1/10th the illumination that we are.

Experienced night fishermen are often very discerning in their color choice despite what science says, often favoring red lures. Furthermore, nighttime underwater has to be drastically different than the same conditions in our world above the surface, right? So what gives?

I looked further, grabbing a few volumes off the shelf, for a more detailed presentation of scientific fact.

Like humans, bass have both rod and cone cells present in their eyes. As many of us have learned, this allows for both light and dark sensitivity, as well as color vision. Within our cone cells, humans have three color pigments, allowing us to see a very detailed color spectrum from red to blue. Some fish have as few as one of these pigments, while others have as many as four. Although it has not been scientifically proven to my knowledge, bass are believed to have two. This would give them good views of reds and greens, science theorizes, and limited vision in the blue spectrum.

I decided to conduct a few very basic experiments of my own, as well as do some more investigating online. What I found was science applied to real-world findings.

While red is, indeed, the first color to be lost in low-light conditions, because of this it’s the most visible in many instances. When contrasted against a light background in the dark, red (now black) is much more discernible than blue or green. Perhaps it’s this contrast that explains the night-fisherman’s preference.

I also found that science indicates red and orange colors disappear first at depth in clear water, but blues and greens are the first to go in turbid conditions. I then thought of the difference between the crystalline smallmouth waters of Lake Ontario, for example, versus the murky backwaters of Louisiana. And just how do tannic waters – dark, yet clear – come into play? All of this can be quite overwhelming.

A piece from a diving site clouded things even more. There, in photographic proof, were several examples of living organisms that were bright red in color to the naked eye, despite living in depths approaching 100 feet of water, where all discernible color was absent. According to science, this made no sense whatsoever. Credit was given to a little known trait of simulated fluorescence.

So where are we at in our understanding of color vision in bass? Much less further along than we pretend to be, I think.

Let me give you a real-life example. Many times, while fishing the algae-rich waters of Lake Erie in the summer, where visibility is only a foot or so, I have seen small variations in color make a drastic difference when targeting smallmouth 30 feet down. According to science, this shouldn’t matter. And maybe, really, it didn’t.

I can vividly remember catching fish on a lure exhibiting a specific shade of green, given the same circumstance. And I’ve heard pros describe their favorite jig skirts by exactly how many strands of a contrasting color are contained within, or how much fleck a particular worm has. Think about it this way: the Zoom Bait Company lists 163 choices of active stock colors on its website.

Can bass really determine intricate color differences, or are we just creating this illusion in our minds? If I catch three fish in a row on one color, then run out, can I truly fish a substitute with the same vigor? Does confidence trump cotton candy?

Here’s another example, right from the scientists themselves. At the Pure Fishing Lab, where much of the research on bass has been done by Dr. Jones and others, a series of tests were done to determine the preferred color range of bass to fishing lures. The lure of choice was the tried-and-true Rapala original floater. Test fish were offered a myriad of lure colors, from green to yellow, red to solid white. All in all, the strike response was fairly similar for all colors tested, though natural greens and blues slightly beat out reds and oranges. But there was one major exception: one test lure received a far greater strike occurrence, around 50 percent greater than all the rest.

That color pattern: Rapala’s original black and silver, straight out of the box.

So what have we learned? That we still have a great deal to learn.

My old buddy Rich Tauber, one of the all-time best communicators and promoters in fishing, includes a unique perspective on such subject matter in seminars: “The rules of fishing are all theories,” he says. “Until a bass can talk, these are all just theories."

I couldn’t agree more.

(Joe Balog is the often outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)