by Kirk Deeter / Field & Stream
[dropcap]P[/dropcap]eople often ask me how important I think color is when selecting a fly pattern. The answer is usually mixed: I think fly color is really important when you are trying to match natural insects, and not as important (or, better said, still important but in a different way) when you are trying to earn a bite with an attractor pattern.
Bead Head Montana Blue Prince Nymph in action. Travis Johnson photo, Deschutes River, Oregon / flyfishusa.
I remember talking about this specifically with the late, great Dr. Robert Behnke (“Dr. Trout”) who explained that fish see colors, but differently than the human eye does. The cones in the retina of a trout, for example, are more dialed in on the blue side of the spectrum (especially in the underwater environment), which is why things like purple prince nymphs work really well, even though you can turn over a million river rocks and never find anything that even closely resembles a purple prince nymph. Use blues and purples, etc. on attractor flies (especially patterns for underwater) because they are literally eye-catchers.
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Read complete story here . . .
Read about what ocean fish see . . .
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