Oceanic II: what light survives

Oceanic II: the light that survives here peaks at 480 nm, Secchi depth about 16 m. Which lure colour stands out, computed rather than charted.

Light that survives best here: 480 nm

Secchi ≈ 16 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	0.084	0.399	91.9%	65.70%
430 nm	0.076	0.368	92.7%	68.45%
460 nm	0.071	0.343	93.2%	70.16%
490 nm	0.071	0.324	93.2%	70.19%
520 nm	0.083	0.318	92.0%	65.90%
550 nm	0.106	0.323	89.9%	58.86%
580 nm	0.152	0.349	85.9%	46.88%
610 nm	0.333	0.491	71.7%	18.91%
640 nm	0.389	0.528	67.8%	14.33%
670 nm	0.537	0.645	58.5%	6.83%
700 nm	0.754	0.821	47.1%	2.31%

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 Atlantic cod in these conditions.

	Colour	Contrast	Seen from
1	White	98	14 m	Buy now
2	Sexy shad	95	14 m	Buy now
3	Glow Glow finish — not modelled	95	14 m	Buy now
4	Silver holographic Metallic finish	95	14 m	Buy now
5	Bone	93	13 m	Buy now
6	Chartreuse / white Fluorescent finish	92	14 m	Buy now
7	Chrome Metallic finish	92	13 m	Buy now
8	Blue / white	90	14 m	Buy now
Stands out least
	Fluorescent orange	39	7.1 m
	Orange craw	36	6.8 m
	Brown / orange	35	6.8 m
	Brown	33	6.5 m

Contrast quoted at 1.0 m viewing distance. · Light that survives best here: 480 nm

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Target species

Atlantic cod Gadus morhua Pollock Pollachius pollachius European hake Merluccius merluccius Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus Common dentex Dentex dentex Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus Greater amberjack Seriola dumerili Yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi 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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