Clear: what light survives

Clear: the light that survives here peaks at 580 nm, Secchi depth about 4.5 m. Which lure colour stands out, computed rather than charted.

Light that survives best here: 580 nm

Secchi ≈ 4.5 m

What this water lets through

K_d is the diffuse attenuation of the light coming down; c is the beam attenuation along the line of sight. Confusing the two is the classic error in this field.

λ	K_d	c	1 m	5 m
400 nm	3.081	4.024	4.6%	0.00%
430 nm	1.983	2.993	13.8%	0.00%
460 nm	1.290	2.320	27.5%	0.16%
490 nm	0.827	1.853	43.7%	1.60%
520 nm	0.562	1.564	57.0%	6.02%
550 nm	0.413	1.380	66.2%	12.69%
580 nm	0.357	1.280	70.0%	16.80%
610 nm	0.519	1.366	59.5%	7.47%
640 nm	0.547	1.345	57.9%	6.50%
670 nm	0.682	1.419	50.6%	3.31%
700 nm	0.841	1.517	43.1%	1.49%

K_d is the diffuse attenuation of the light coming down; c is the beam attenuation along the line of sight. Confusing the two is the classic error in this field. Method and sources

Lure table

Ranked by how much each colour stands out to a Largemouth bass in these conditions.

	Colour	Contrast	Seen from
1	White	98	4.8 m	Buy now
2	Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish	97	4.8 m	Buy now
3	Glow Glow finish — not modelled	96	4.7 m	Buy now
4	Chartreuse Fluorescent finish	96	4.7 m	Buy now
5	Bone	95	4.7 m	Buy now
6	Silver holographic Metallic finish	93	4.6 m	Buy now
7	Clown	91	4.8 m	Buy now
8	Sexy shad	91	4.7 m	Buy now
Stands out least
	Black / blue	29	2.3 m
	Junebug	26	1.8 m
	Black	24	1.7 m
	Purple / black	21	1.7 m

Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 580 nm

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Target species

Largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu Bluegill Lepomis macrochirus Brown trout Salmo trutta Rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Northern pike Esox lucius Muskellunge Esox masquinongy European perch Perca fluviatilis Yellow perch Perca flavescens Barbel Barbus barbus Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus Peacock bass Cichla spp.

Open the calculator

Gear this page implies

A Secchi disc See on Amazon
Lower it until it disappears and read the depth. That single number tells you which water type above is yours — it is the one optical measurement anybody can take.

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