How a Roach sees your lure
Which lure colour a Roach can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 4 cone types, peak 620 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Rutilus rutilus
Measured in the same family UV cannot be shown
No spectral measurement exists for this species. The cone peaks are a family-level substitution from other cyprinids, principally the common carp. 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. This species has a UV cone: about 89% of that cone’s sensitivity lies below 400 nm, where a phone screen cannot show you anything. The UV channel is drawn in a declared false colour. 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.
Spectral sensitivity
| Cone peaks | λmax | Chromophore |
|---|---|---|
| UV | 365 nm | A2 |
| Short | 455 nm | A2 |
| Medium | 530 nm | A2 |
| Long | 620 nm | A2 |
| Rod | 527 nm | A2 |
Rods do the work at dawn, dusk and night — which is when most people fish.
89% of this species’ UV cone sensitivity lies below 400 nm, outside anything a screen can show.
Lure table
Ranked by how much each colour stands out to a Roach in these conditions. — Slight stain, 3 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 97 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 95 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 94 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Bone | 93 | 2.7 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Chartreuse Fluorescent finish | 92 | 2.6 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 91 | 2.7 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Sexy shad | 89 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 87 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Chrome Metallic finish | 87 | 2.7 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Clown | 86 | 2.8 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Purple | 24 | 1.7 m | |||
| Purple / black | 0 | 1.5 m | |||
| Junebug | 0 | 81 cm | |||
| Black | 0 | 79 cm | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 580 nm
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UV cannot be shown — This species has a UV cone, and a phone screen cannot emit ultraviolet. The UV channel is drawn in a declared false colour. Note also that UV is absorbed fast underwater and vanishes within centimetres in tannic water.
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
A touch of colour in the water. The most common lake condition there is.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Roach see colour?
Yes. It has 4 cone types, peaking at 365 nm, 455 nm, 530 nm, 620 nm. That gives it 3 colour dimensions, against a human’s 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
- Downing, J.E.G., Djamgoz, M.B.A. & Bowmaker, J.K. (1986). J. Comp. Physiol. A 159, 859–868 — cyprinid photoreceptors.
- Hárosi, F.I. & Hashimoto, Y. (1983). Science 222, 1021–1023.