05_2025_REELLIFE_digital - Flipbook - Page 28
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Kokana Eyesight Colors and Presentations By
Gary Gordon
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.
your lure's appearance at
depth:
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
You want your setup colorwise 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
•
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.
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
