How a Snakehead sees your lure
Which lure colour a Snakehead can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 3 cone types, peak 610 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Channa spp.
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. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 455 nm | A2 |
| Medium | 535 nm | A2 |
| Long | 610 nm | A2 |
| Rod | 525 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 Snakehead in these conditions. — Stained, 2 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 96 | 1.5 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 94 | 1.5 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 93 | 1.4 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Chartreuse Fluorescent finish | 92 | 1.4 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Bone | 92 | 1.4 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 89 | 1.4 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Yellow | 87 | 1.3 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 86 | 1.5 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Clown | 86 | 1.5 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Sexy shad | 86 | 1.4 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Purple | 0 | 60 cm | |||
| Junebug | 0 | 54 cm | |||
| Black | 0 | 51 cm | |||
| Purple / black | 0 | 51 cm | |||
Contrast quoted at 66 cm viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 640 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
Noticeably coloured. A white plate is gone by about 1.3 m.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Snakehead see colour?
Yes. It has 3 cone types, peaking at 455 nm, 535 nm, 610 nm. That gives it 2 colour dimensions, against a human’s 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 or ERG study located. Estimate from turbid-water percomorph ecology and the A2 dominance typical of tropical freshwater fish (Toyama, M. et al. 2008. Photochem. Photobiol. 84, 996–1002).