color

[KOKOEK9 0]

When tying a many thing can be substituted My question is how important is color. I seen many that are the same except the color and am wondering does it make a difference to the fish. I know it toes to the tyer and to fisherman

[flytire 0]

I once heard from norm albiston there are 4 BASIC colors: black, brown, olive & tan

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

I sometimes swear it is not colour alone but perhaps contrast of a few colours that makes the difference, in nature there seem to be some subtle shades and blends. Then we have a look at the fishes eyesight, some can see far into the uv spectrum, some fish even modulate what wavelengths they pick up during their lives. Study your quarry and be aware what depths you are fishing. For example pink salmon would have modulated or changed their eye sight by the time they enter he fresh, or say fishing red below 40 ft will appear grey. In tannin stained water, orange pops nicely, etc etc.

[Piker20 0]

I think the changes in shades is a trigger. Match a rough size, shape and then avoid a solid block of colour. Except when you present a lovely black dry fly

[tidewaterfly 0]

This is one of those topics that gets a lot of mileage. Many opinions & thoughts on the subject, and probably none are 100% correct nor incorrect. IMO, color alone is important sometimes, not so at other times. Also depends on the type of fly being tied. I agree with Jam about contrasting colors, but at the same time have had great results with a single color. Frankly, I've had the most success, with both lures & flies of all types, with black, white, and chartreuse as base colors. This means some flies or lures I've had success with are mostly these colors, or a combination of these. Although sometimes, I've used a color scheme with much success, such as "Fire Tiger" for example, that has at least one of these colors, combined with some other colors, that produced better than my 3 base colors alone or even in combination. Nothing works all the time, that's just the way it is.

 

I don't believe that color alone is of the greatest importance for a fly to be productive, and in most cases, presentation of the fly is usually of greater importance. However, sometimes a particular color or shade of color seems to out produce anything else with all other variables, such as profile, and size, being the same. Take an Adams dry fly as an example. Great fly, highly popular & it works in many situations & imitates many things. It's a good general purpose fly. It can be tied with different shades of color, and it still seems to work well. Exact color shades don't appear to be as important with an Adams, as it might with say a Pale Evening Dun, which doesn't imitate as large a variety of insects. IMO, those flies that are more generic in nature are less prone to have color of great importance as those flies that imitate a specific prey species, at least with insect imitations such as mayflies.

 

Baitfish on the other hand, IMO are even less dependent on color, as movement is probably a more important trigger. I've caught plenty of fish on chartreuse streamers, and I've yet to see a chartreuse baitfish. Profile, and size can be an important factor with this type of fly.

 

Now, flies like hoppers, IMO, profile & movement are more important than the colors used. They can be generally similar to the real deal, but don't have to be too exact.

 

Nymphs too are another type of fly that really don't need exact shades of color, although close is not a negative. For the nymphs I've tied & used, light or dark, profile & movement has been of greater importance than colors, particularly since some species can vary greatly in color, even within the same waters. I've always done great with shades of olive & with black. Some nymphs I tie I like to blend black & olive dubbings in different amounts to get various shades.

 

My 2 cents!

[utyer 0]

My favorite Caddis pattern (The Opal X Caddis,) ignores color altogether. The body is opal mylar tinsel (flashabou,) the wings are natural deer hair. I match size, and it works no matter what color the naturals are.

 

When fishing mayflies, I match size first, and shoot for a close color approximation of my local hatches, or the hatches I am fishing. I have found through the years, that one single species can vary considerably in color from stream to stream. The Pale Morning Dun, Ephemerella dorothea (or formerly infrequens,) can be anything from light olive, with hints of yellow, orange, pink in the east, and a more tan color in the west. They won't be the same exact color (but close,) even within the same stream. Just like people vary in shades, so do insects.

 

I think color in nymphs is more important than in the adults, and color is a secondary trigger after size. A one hook size change is a 20 % difference in a small bug. The fish can tell this difference, and are some times selective to the right size. I have found that they are more willing to accept a slightly off color bug than one that's too big or too small.

 

Just my thoughts.

[SilverCreek 0]

The answer is fairly obvious to me. When someone asks me how important color is, I ask them how selective is the feeding behavior of the fish.

 

Some times one color is no better than another. At other times, it is important so there is no definitive answer that applies universally. Some answers are situational and color is one of them.