How a Spotted seatrout sees your lure
Which lure colour a Spotted seatrout can actually see, at your depth and in your water. 2 cone types, peak 540 nm. Ranked contrast for 54 colours.
Cynoscion nebulosus
Measured in a close relative
No spectral measurement exists for this species. The cone peaks are taken from other Cynoscion and sciaenid species measured in the same series, its close relative with the same feeding ecology. Treat the hue rankings as indicative rather than exact.
Spectral sensitivity
| Cone peaks | λmax | Chromophore |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 445 nm | A1 |
| Medium | 540 nm | A1 |
| Rod | 495 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 Spotted seatrout in these conditions. — Coastal 3C, 3 m.
| Colour | Contrast | Seen from | Fish view | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | White | 97 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| 2 | Glow Glow finish — not modelled | 94 | 3.2 m | Buy now | |
| 3 | Silver holographic Metallic finish | 93 | 3.2 m | Buy now | |
| 4 | Sexy shad | 92 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| 5 | Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish | 91 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| 6 | Bone | 91 | 3.1 m | Buy now | |
| 7 | Chrome Metallic finish | 88 | 3.1 m | Buy now | |
| 8 | Blue / white | 85 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| 9 | Pink / white Fluorescent finish | 84 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| 10 | Clown | 84 | 3.3 m | Buy now | |
| Stands out least | |||||
| Watermelon red flake | 32 | 1.8 m | |||
| Watermelon | 26 | 1.4 m | |||
| Green pumpkin | 25 | 1.4 m | |||
| Olive | 24 | 1.4 m | |||
Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 530 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
Typical coastal green. Where most shore and boat fishing actually happens.
Water types
Target species
Questions people actually ask
Can a Spotted seatrout see colour?
Yes, but only just. It has 2 cone types, peaking at 445 nm, 540 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
- Horodysky, A.Z. et al. (2008, 2010) — sciaenid series including Cynoscion.