why do bright colours work with steelhead

[redpearl99]

If trout are supposed to be easily spooked then I'm wondering why bright colours like the go to pink worm work so well. There is nothing natural about such coloured baits. So would it be better to stick to natural colours like olive green flies or plain roe bags?

[porkpie]

As to the why of it, I couldn't say. Anything I came up with would be pure speculation. I do know that bright colors often work. Over many years of fishing, my most consistent producer has been chartreuse roe bags. I can't imagine why, but it works so I use em! I frequently use natural colors, both in roe bags, fly patterns and of course worms, but my most consistent producers are chartreuse based flies and bags. Off times even in clearer water, go figure! By all means, carry a selection of bright baits and naturals. I always do, even though I am most consistent with certain patterns. You never know when the blue bags are going to produce, lol!

Edited October 6, 2013 by porkpie

[MJL]

Take into consideration a few things

 

1. Steelhead spend the vast majority of their time in the ocean (or in this case, the great lakes). They aren’t pressured to the extent that they are in the rivers. When they first enter the stream, they’ll hit just about anything. My friend who guides in Alaska says you can do donuts in a jet boat over a school of fresh steelhead and within 5 minutes you can catch them - They are so new to the environment that they really don't know what's going on. A resident brown trout on the other hand probably might’ve seen 100 different flies over the course of a 5 month period and have been caught several times. As the steelhead spend longer amounts of time in the river, they’ll be more wary of lures/baits/flies that they’ve seen on the way up. They will also revert to their juvenile feeding habits where more natural flies or egg patterns work much better – often you can see them sipping on dry flies when there is a hatch going on.

 

 

2. For some river conditions, bright colours can provide better contrast. For swinging flies down and across, you’re hoping to trigger the hunting instinct. When steelhead swim upstream, they are not there to eat (they have a way better food source out in the lake). For a split second, you flash your fly in front of its face causing it to hit or chase out of a reflex. In most cases when you are swinging flies, you want to use a fly that contrasts the surrounding river as well as the sky. The same thing can probably apply to float fishing too.

 

3. Steelhead are probably naturally curious fish (just like any other fish). They don't have hands to feel or touch things.

Edited October 6, 2013 by MJL

[bare foot wader]

aggression, instinct and visibility....sometimes it just pays to show them something different

[BillM]

Steelhead aren't very bright, especially in the fall.

[porkpie]

Steelhead aren't very bright, especially in the fall.

There's that too, but I might say at any time of year. There is certainly no mystery to it, and it doesn't take very long to become relatively skilled at it!

[Old Ironmaker]

MJL, great response. I was told years ago by a biologist that fish do not see the colour spectrum as we do. More of a contrast image as MJL notes. They use the lateral line to feel with, their hands so to speak. That crazy lure that no self respecting fish would eat is something in their environment that shouldn't be there. They can't swat it away with their pectoral fins, so they use the mouth. I believe many a fish are hooked this way. Think spawning bass on a bed, I have seen smallies head butt lures as well as other fish, they aren't feeding they are protecting. Years ago I saw my father in law tie an empty can onto a line and a male bass on a bed hit it and hit it hard time after time. It may have been a beer can, and the bass was Canadian so that's instincts. (I had to say that before someone else did).

 

So in my opinion it isn't the colour as much as flash, contrast and instincts.