How a Smallmouth bass sees your lure
Which lure colour a Smallmouth bass can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 2 cone types, peak 620 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Micropterus dolomieu
Measured in a close relative
No spectral measurement exists for this species. The cone peaks are taken from Micropterus salmoides, its close relative with the same feeding ecology. Treat the hue rankings as indicative rather than exact. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Medium | 535 nm | A2 |
| Long | 620 nm | A2 |
| Rod | 530 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 Smallmouth bass in these conditions. — Gin-clear, 7 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 98 | 8.9 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | White | 98 | 8.9 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 97 | 8.9 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Chartreuse Fluorescent finish | 97 | 8.8 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Bone | 95 | 8.7 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 94 | 8.6 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Sexy shad | 93 | 8.8 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Clown | 91 | 8.9 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Chrome Metallic finish | 91 | 8.4 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Yellow | 91 | 8.4 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Purple | 36 | 3.9 m | |||
| Junebug | 29 | 3.1 m | |||
| Black | 25 | 2.7 m | |||
| Purple / black | 23 | 2.7 m | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 570 nm
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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
Alpine lake or spring-fed quarry. You can see the bottom in 8 m.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Smallmouth bass see colour?
Yes, but only just. It has 2 cone types, peaking at 535 nm, 620 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 come from a congener with the same feeding ecology.
Sources
- Substituted from Micropterus salmoides — Kawamura, G. et al. (1981).
- Loew, E.R. & Wahl, C.M. (1991). Vision Research 31, 353–360 — centrarchid pattern.