Reading water color for more crankbait walleyes

[Fishing Tiger]

Like Coho we watch our Fish Hawk for temp changes. Surface temp is good most of the time in the Spring. We also have found the wind pushing warm waters, bait, and fish shallow. But the Fish Hawk helps when the opposite occurs also (even more so). That is a cold wind can chill the surface temps but there is a band of warm water between the top and the colder bottom.

Like has been said many times, trust your electronics, this includes temp gauges. It is amazing what the newer stuff does. I sometimes feel like I am on a floating computer. It takes study and experience but the new electronics really work. They can't catch fish but they can give you an edge!

BTW if you follow the warmer water shallow, don't be surprised if you pick up some Brown Leapers. Some still consider them trash, but times sure have changed in that regard. We look at them as bonuses. We always catch several Fish Ohio smallies every March when we chase the warm water and Walleye shallow.

[C_fish]

Great topic/discussion thank you!
My question may be related to color and temp.
In the central basin, open water, warm season fishing, I have noticed that the walleye seem to scatter after big storms roll though.
Seems to me, although I don’t fish enough consecutive days, that it takes a few days before the schools regroup and sometimes they have moved some distance.
I was curious what others thought or observed was happening in this period?

[Fishing Tiger]

We definitely have seen the same thing.
I always thought it was because the storm scattered the baitfish and the Walleye had no bait balls to school under. So they spread out chasing the smaller pods of bait.

I too am curios what others think.

[itsbob]

Yeah,after a big wind event the bite does slow down or shut off completely.Where we fish mostly in western basin where water is shallower I believe the biggest reason is water clarity.The direction and length of the blow definitely have an effect on how dirty and how long till the fishing gets good again.After a prolonged NE blow of 3 days,the fishing could be poor for a week at times.
We don't really fish much in the central basin and those winds/storms don't affect the water clarity as much,but the bite slows down there too.Could be the low barometric pressure.But sure other factors affect fishing in that deeper water.Would be interested on opinions of guys that fish in the central or eastern part of our lake.

[West Basin]

A little more input to this topic. This info comes from both research and what the pro walleye fisherfolks are now saying. I got some of this info from the seminars at last weekend's Columbus Fishing Expo.

Color is not as important as people think. It was, on one pros and a fish behavior researcher's list, the last one of five factors involved in both how to catch walleye and how predator fish find prey. Fish don't see color like we do. Color pattern, or light and dark contrasts, are often more important than the colors themselves. Such as a striped or blotched pattern. So on a day where you have say an orange and chrome or white crank bait / stick bait catching more walleye, it may not be the colors but the pattern of the colors that is attracting the fish. If the bait is painted with stripes, then try other baits with stripes, not just the came colors.

We are finding out so much more about the science of fish, and here walleye on Lake Erie, every year. There is a huge amount of data being collected from all kinds of sources. I plan to start putting some of this data, and how to make sense of it, on my Lake Erie web site starting this spring. Right now there is no place to get this information all in one place.

As far as where the fish go after a big wind event ("big blow"), I'll be looking into that this season with my underwater camera project. I hope to have some real answers starting mid-summer and certainly by the end of the 2022 season.

West

[slimshady]

A little more input to this topic. This info comes from both research and what the pro walleye fisherfolks are now saying. I got some of this info from the seminars at last weekend's Columbus Fishing Expo.

Color is not as important as people think. It was, on one pros and a fish behavior researcher's list, the last one of five factors involved in both how to catch walleye and how predator fish find prey. Fish don't see color like we do. Color pattern, or light and dark contrasts, are often more important than the colors themselves. Such as a striped or blotched pattern. So on a day where you have say an orange and chrome or white crank bait / stick bait catching more walleye, it may not be the colors but the pattern of the colors that is attracting the fish. If the bait is painted with stripes, then try other baits with stripes, not just the came colors.

We are finding out so much more about the science of fish, and here walleye on Lake Erie, every year. There is a huge amount of data being collected from all kinds of sources. I plan to start putting some of this data, and how to make sense of it, on my Lake Erie web site starting this spring. Right now there is no place to get this information all in one place.

As far as where the fish go after a big wind event ("big blow"), I'll be looking into that this season with my underwater camera project. I hope to have some real answers starting mid-summer and certainly by the end of the 2022 season.

West

I think you missed the point of the article. It was not about the color of the crankbaits. It was about the color of the water. I mentioned which types of patterns tend to work better in each type of water color, but those are broad categories, with many different colors of baits that work well in each situation. Just wanted to clarify that point.

[West Basin]

I wondered when someone would point that out.

Yes, I did focus on how color changes with depth. I forgot to add how water clairy effects color. It does. I don't have the info at hand, but there is a "chart" that tells what colors are better in different clarities / colors of water. I do remember that fish don't see greens and blues very well in algae filled water, so when there is an algae bloom in Lake Erie, lures wtth a lot of green and blue don't show up well. Or, fish don't see them very well, at least the colors on the lure. Assuming the lure is at a depth where the algae is present in significant enough concentrations.

If I remember I'll find that "chart" and put the info here.

[itsbob]

I remember seeing a post that had a chart on what colors fish see based on water clarity.I think I remember that red and purple work best in dirty water.But would be great if you could find and post it.

[Fishing Tiger]

You need light for color to show up. For those who dive you will see that some colors fade faster the deeper you dive (deeper means less light). Red seems the first to go for people, it quickly looks brown.

That said fish and people have different eyes and see colors differently, so I too would like to see a chart of what colors Walleye see best and worse.

Also, the dirtier/muddy the water the less light so it also effects colors as mentioned earlier in this thread.

[Max]

I remember seeing a post that had a chart on what colors fish see based on water clarity.I think I remember that red and purple work best in dirty water.But would be great if you could find and post it.

Not sure how to attach files, but recall In-Fisherman magazine article quite awhile back on color spectrum and which colors walleye see best. Orange Red Green in that order were best. Google In-Fisherman article for colors walleye see best & think you'll find some reference. Come springtime jigging, I catch most of my fish on dark purple and black jigs though.