How a Atlantic mackerel sees your lure
Which lure colour a Atlantic mackerel can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 2 cone types, peak 515 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Scomber scombrus
Measured in the same family
No spectral measurement exists for this species. The cone peaks are a family-level substitution from other scombrids, adjusted toward coastal water optics. This is a coarser assumption than a same-genus one; the broad "which end of the spectrum" answer is reliable, the fine ranking between adjacent colours is not.
Spectral sensitivity
| Cone peaks | λmax | Chromophore |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 445 nm | A1 |
| Medium | 515 nm | A1 |
| Rod | 495 nm | A1 |
Rods do the work at dawn, dusk and night — which is when most people fish.
Lure table
Ranked by how much each colour stands out to a Atlantic mackerel in these conditions. — Oceanic II, 21 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 97 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Sexy shad | 94 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 94 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 94 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Bone | 92 | 13 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 90 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Chrome Metallic finish | 90 | 13 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Blue / white | 88 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 86 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Blueback herring | 86 | 14 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Brown | 28 | 4.4 m | |||
| Brown / orange | 24 | 4.4 m | |||
| Orange craw | 20 | 2.8 m | |||
| Fluorescent orange | 17 | 1.9 m | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 480 nm
Affiliate links: we earn a commission from Amazon, at no extra cost to you. The ranking above is not for sale.
Get these colours
The three that came out on top, searched on your own Amazon. The ranking above is worked out from the water and the fish, before any of these links exist.
Affiliate links: we earn a commission from Amazon, at no extra cost to you. The ranking above is not for sale.
Gear this page implies
- A lure kit with a spread of colours See on Amazon
The point of knowing which colour wins is having it in the box.
Affiliate links: we earn a commission from Amazon, at no extra cost to you.
What this water lets through
Blue-green offshore water. The transmission window is starting to move.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Atlantic mackerel see colour?
Yes, but only just. It has 2 cone types, peaking at 445 nm, 515 nm, so it has a single dimension of hue where a human has 2.
Where does this data come from?
No measurement exists for this species. The cone peaks are a family-level substitution — reliable for which end of the spectrum, not for fine ranking.
Sources
- Scombrid coastal pattern — Loew, E.R. et al. (1993); Bowmaker, J.K. (1990).