How a Bonefish sees your lure
Which lure colour a Bonefish can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 2 cone types, peak 530 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Albula vulpes
No spectral data exists — estimated
NO direct spectral data could be located for this species. The cone peaks below are an estimate from its habitat optics and its phylogenetic position, not a measurement. Use the water and depth results — which do not depend on the species — with much more confidence than the colour ranking. Bonefish are fished in the clearest, brightest water in the catalogue, which is the regime where the water model is most reliable and the species model least — so trust the depth and clarity results here far more than the colour ranking.
Spectral sensitivity
| Cone peaks | λmax | Chromophore |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 455 nm | A1 |
| Medium | 530 nm | A1 |
| Rod | 500 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 Bonefish in these conditions. — Oceanic I, 1 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 98 | 55 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 96 | 54 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Sexy shad | 95 | 54 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 95 | 53 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 94 | 55 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Bone | 94 | 53 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Chrome Metallic finish | 92 | 51 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Blue / white | 90 | 55 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 89 | 55 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Blueback herring | 89 | 54 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Red | 40 | 23 m | |||
| Black | 38 | 21 m | |||
| Red craw | 37 | 22 m | |||
| Junebug | 37 | 21 m | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 470 nm
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Estimated, not measured — No spectral study of this species could be found. Its cone peaks are an estimate.
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.
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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.
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What this water lets through
The clearest ocean there is. Deep blue, and blue penetrates furthest by far.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Bonefish see colour?
Yes, but only just. It has 2 cone types, peaking at 455 nm, 530 nm, so it has a single dimension of hue where a human has 2.
Where does this data come from?
No direct spectral data could be located. The cone peaks are an estimate from habitat and phylogeny, not a measurement. Trust the water and depth results far more than the colour ranking.
Sources
- NO species-level MSP located. Estimate from bright, shallow, gin-clear flats optics and elopomorph phylogeny.
- Habitat optics: Jerlov type I/IA (Jerlov 1976).