Make no mistake, kokanee can see up, down, and all around. They see close up and farther out (depending on water clarity) at the same time, but not as clearly as we can. They can see effectively behind them as they swim, because their undulating swimming motion turns the head just far enough to see very near the plane of the tail.
Color Shift At Depth
Since sight is part of the effective formula, you must make sight important in your presentation. The very last thing you want is for your lure to be camouflaged. You want it to be noticed. You work against yourself if your target winds up being camouflaged because you have not accounted for the three things that change your lure’s appearance at depth:
- Lack of light at target depth;
- Color shift (attenuation), making your lure dull gray; and
- Lack of contrast (conveys information about shape and form)
Consider what it is that you are trying to do. You want your setup color-wise to be different than the water surrounding it. If your setup contrasts with the water it is in, it has a far greater chance to be noticed and targeted. Remember, we are seeking a striking response. Your setup must appear different than the predominant color of the surrounding water at that depth.
As we descend the water column, certain light wave frequencies are absorbed (because water absorbs light). Here is the other prong of that absorption concept. As we go deeper in the water column, some of the colors we see at the surface will no longer be the same color at depth. At this point in the discussion, I am speaking of ordinary colors – the color spectrum we can see. Fluorescent colors will be discussed in a moment.
The longest visible color wavelengths are the reds. Shorter in descending order are orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. As you descend the water column, the longer wavelengths are absorbed, leaving the shorter wavelengths to continue down the water column. Those shorter wavelengths will ultimately be absorbed, even in the clearest of water, provided you go deep enough. The kokanee fisherman is dealing with depths generally down to 100 feet, give or take. The typical kokanee body of water will have no light in the later season beyond 75 feet. In the very early season, there may be no light at 30 feet.
As you recall from last month’s article, the proper target depth for kokanee fishing is 54 degrees. And since that temperature descends the water column as the season wears on, the resulting less light at your target depth also means that certain ordinary colors are no longer what they appeared to be on the surface because their wavelengths have been absorbed. If you use such a color at depth, your presentation will be gray and not have much contrast to the water it is in.
A lure of ordinary red will virtually disappear in but a few feet of water. Soon to follow would be the ordinary orange, ordinary yellow, and then ordinary green. Also, about that time would be ordinary indigo and ordinary violet due to the structure of water and the use by phytoplankton of these frequencies. If you take an ordinary red object into a dark closet and shine orange light on it, the red object will appear gray. If you take an ordinary green object, and test it the same way with blue light, the green object will appear gray.
For the object to be seen in its correct color, it has to be struck by a light frequency of equal or higher wavelength. In these examples, if you take a green object and strike it with red light, it will appear green. If you take the green object and strike it with orange light, it will still be green. For ordinary colors, the deeper you go, the very light necessary for that color to be that color, has likely been absorbed in the water before you reach your target depth. Without the right light wavelength hitting it, it will be dull gray and not at all distinctive to the water that surrounds it. The little remaining visible light at depth makes the dullness even duller
Our lures are rarely of a pure color wavelength. But even the mixing of colors (hues) will still be subject to the same color deterioration at depth. Pink is a good example. Pink is not a color of the visible spectrum, but is a mixing of red and white. White is not a color of the spectrum, but is all colors of the visible spectrum. Thus in pink, a little of the color will respond to green and blue wavelength at depth. But the color intensity will be mostly dull. From what you now know, ordinary pink is not the ideal choice for getting noticed at depth.
While this might seem confusing to us above water, it is still the reality of the color situation in the water and at depth. Perhaps some encouragement is in order. To be “expert” of color at depth you need not memorize anything. Because most of our kokanee fishing occurs in green or blue light wave frequencies, we want all of our presentations to show up in green and blue light.
Fluorescent Colors
Enter the amazing world of fluorescent colors. No intense scientific discussion is needed here. What you need to know is this. A true fluorescent color will remain its color when struck by a lower light wave frequency. If a true fluorescent orange is struck by a green light (lower frequency than orange light), it will remain orange. The same is true for all of the fluorescent colors. And that means that if you use true fluorescent colors in your setup, your setup will be seen at depth. True fluorescent colors tend to be brighter as well, making for higher visibility.
Not all materials on the tackle market are of true fluorescent colors. You can easily test whether a color is a true fluorescent by taking your lures and dodgers into a dark closet and then shining a black or UV light on them. If the color seen is the color you saw in full light, you have a fluorescent color. Again, there is a difference in intensity of the color. Just because a material is fluorescent does not automatically mean it is intense.
U.V. light is below the visible spectrum (of lower wave frequency), which means it cannot be seen directly. All U.V. light is dissipated in very shallow fresh water holding kokanee, because the water, plankton and other particulates in the water absorb all of it. It is well documented that there will be no U.V. light in the freshwater column below just a few feet.
I have tested lures labeled “U.V.” Most work very well in waters holding kokanee, and in particular, the UV squids should be a part of your tackle box. However, lures labeled “U.V.” would be more accurately labeled as “fluorescent.” These “U.V.” lures come in visible colors. Since UV is not visible, the color you see is fluorescent. As with all fluorescent colors, stimulation by a black light will make the color jump out at you. But these lures are in fact, only fluorescent. But that is why they are good. They still need some visible light at depth to be most effective. They do not glow. Match one of these “UV” (fluorescent) squids with a Fish With Gary™ POWER Dodger, and you have a great setup.
Using true fluorescent materials in your setup will resolve issues of color shift in your favor. While some fluorescent colors will fade somewhat the deeper you are in the water column, they still are not gray if there is some light available to act on them. When using true fluorescent materials, the colors you are delivering at depth are those NOT ordinarily seen at depth. And that is exactly the effect you want. Your setup will be out of the ordinary, and kokanee will focus on it in the near field.
Vital Contrast
Using fluorescent materials is not the only way to get your setup noticed. Remember that you are after contrast, or what I call vital contrast. Vital contrast can be obtained by using different fluorescent colors next to each other or spaced in such a way as to create the illusion of not being connected. Components that contrast with themselves will stand out even more in dull watery depth.
Contrast is the enemy of camouflage. Contrast is the better-developed part of kokanee vision and encompasses about 10 times larger visual window area than does color. The color window is directly in front of the kokanee, but contrast is not only seen in front, it is seen up, down, sideways, and backwards. Contrast vision overlaps color vision. Effectively presented, color is a great contrast. When color and contrast are effectively presented, color and contrast are in front of the kokanee to see and react to them. This allows the kokanee to put its mouth where the color is, which is pretty much what you want!!
Glows
There is another fantastic way to achieve this vital contrast at depth, and that is the use of glows. Glows are termed phosphorescent (or luminescent) as they carry their own light to depth. No intense scientific discussion is needed here either. Glows emit light when the light source that charges them is removed. On the other hand, fluorescent materials appear brighter in light, but do not glow when that light is removed.
Most glows on the market and peddled to fisherman are of very poor quality. Their glow simply does not last even long enough to make it to depth, let alone work for you at depth.
All Fish With Gary™ glows are of the highest quality and are termed extended glows for good reason. The natural glow beads in particular will glow for hours on a simple charge of sunlight for a few minutes. Stimulation of glows by using a black light is not very efficient, and the resulting glow does not last as long as sunlight stimulation.
Glows clearly take on more importance when the level of light is less in the water column. As you descend below light in the water column in later season, glows make visible what would otherwise be invisible. And if the surrounding water is pitch black, the glow of light most certainly is the kind of dramatic contrast that will get your setup noticed.
The Ideal Presentation
The ideal presentation in achieving vital contrast is one that makes generous use of fluorescent materials and glows, arranged in such a way to be in contrast with each other and in contrast with the surrounding water. And this is exactly what is incorporated into the entire Fish With Gary™ Tackle line.
While the dodger blade attracts far field (long distance), the beads, and the spinner(s) on the leading wire are near field (short distance) attractors.
Here is what is going on with the beads and spinner in front of the dodger. Because the beads and spinner(s) are being moved about by the dodger, they are creating short field sound. The spinner(s) do not consistently spin as you would expect. Instead, their movement in the water makes the spinner(s) come in contact with the glass beads. Metal versus glass produces a sound. In this case the two produce an irregular sound that alternates with some spinning, and some “tap-tap” of the metal on the glass.
There is nothing in nature that this imitates, and this sequence of short field sound is itself a contrast to the natural water environment. Add to this is the natural movement of the glass beads working against themselves as this setup is whipped through the water. And all of this is going on while your dodger is still producing far field sound, attracting other kokanee to your setup. A gathering of kokanee is more likely to result in a strike than a single kokanee.
While your sound generating machine is working, your kokanee has been drawn close enough so that the colors and contrasts are within its sight window. A curious thing happens at this point. Having been drawn to the sound, the kokanee will see a particular color and contrast sequence. Once seen, this color and contrast sequence effectively imprints the kokanee with that combination, even if briefly. If your dodger and the upfront beads and spinner are of the same color and contrast, you increase that imprinting. And if your lure is of the same color and contrast, then you give the kokanee a target that it does not fear. That is why it is absolutely critical that your dodger setup and the lure be matched.
The lure is making short field vibrations and adding color and contrast, and adding scent.
So now you have the complete picture. Far field vibrations attract, short field vibrations and colors in consistent vital contrast imprint the kokanee and provoke the strike.
