How a Northern pike sees your lure
Which lure colour a Northern pike can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 2 cone types, peak 615 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Esox lucius · pike · jack
Measured for this species
Cone peaks are direct measurements for this species. The rest of the model — water optics, contrast, detection distance — is still an estimate, and none of it predicts whether a fish will strike. Its retina uses the A2 (porphyropsin) chromophore, which pushes its long-wavelength sensitivity well to the red of what an A1 retina would give. Many freshwater fish shift the A1/A2 ratio with season and temperature, so real sensitivity drifts through the year. Pike are ambush hunters with unusually good acuity for a freshwater fish, so the detection distances here are on the optimistic end of the catalogue.
Spectral sensitivity
| Cone peaks | λmax | Chromophore |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | 535 nm | A2 |
| Long | 615 nm | A2 |
| Rod | 535 nm | A2 |
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 Northern pike in these conditions. — Clear, 4 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 98 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 97 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 97 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Chartreuse Fluorescent finish | 96 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Bone | 96 | 5.2 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 94 | 5.2 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 92 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Clown | 92 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Sexy shad | 92 | 5.3 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Yellow | 92 | 5.1 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Black / blue | 36 | 2.8 m | |||
| Junebug | 33 | 2.3 m | |||
| Black | 31 | 2.2 m | |||
| Purple / black | 28 | 2.2 m | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 580 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
A healthy reservoir on a settled week. A white plate disappears around 4.5 m.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Northern pike see colour?
Yes, but only just. It has 2 cone types, peaking at 535 nm, 615 nm, so it has a single dimension of hue where a human has 2.
Where does this data come from?
Direct microspectrophotometry, ERG or behavioural spectral sensitivity for this species.
Sources
- Loew, E.R. & Lythgoe, J.N. (1978). Vision Research 18, 715–722 — MSP of freshwater teleosts.
- Bowmaker, J.K. (1990). In Douglas & Djamgoz (eds), The Visual System of Fish — review.