Oceanic IA: what light survives

Oceanic IA: the light that survives here peaks at 450 nm, Secchi depth about 29 m. Which lure colour stands out, computed rather than charted.

Light that survives best here: 450 nm

Secchi ≈ 29 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	0.041	0.118	96.0%	81.46%
430 nm	0.035	0.106	96.5%	83.86%
460 nm	0.033	0.098	96.8%	84.79%
490 nm	0.034	0.094	96.6%	84.28%
520 nm	0.054	0.107	94.7%	76.20%
550 nm	0.072	0.118	93.0%	69.61%
580 nm	0.116	0.152	89.1%	56.05%
610 nm	0.317	0.320	72.9%	20.54%
640 nm	0.371	0.363	69.0%	15.65%
670 nm	0.521	0.489	59.4%	7.37%
700 nm	0.739	0.672	47.8%	2.49%

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 European hake in these conditions.

	Colour	Contrast	Seen from
1	White	98	35 m	Buy now
2	Silver holographic Metallic finish	96	34 m	Buy now
3	Sexy shad	95	35 m	Buy now
4	Glow Glow finish — not modelled	95	34 m	Buy now
5	Bone	94	33 m	Buy now
6	Chrome Metallic finish	93	33 m	Buy now
7	Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish	92	35 m	Buy now
8	Blue / white	91	35 m	Buy now
Stands out least
	Brown	35	12 m
	Brown / orange	34	12 m
	Orange craw	33	11 m
	Fluorescent orange	23	8.9 m

Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 450 nm

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Target species

European hake Merluccius merluccius Bonefish Albula vulpes Great barracuda Sphyraena barracuda Atlantic bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus Yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares Skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis Mahi-mahi Coryphaena hippurus Atlantic sailfish Istiophorus albicans Blue marlin Makaira nigricans Swordfish Xiphias gladius Blue shark Prionace glauca

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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