Q If fish can’t see the same colours as we do, does pop-up colour really matter?

A Carp actually have very good colour vision – in fact, better than ours – and can see into the ultraviolet end of the spectrum. Carp can also see at much lower luminosities than we can, so even at night they can see well even if, like us, their low-light vision is primarily black and white. The way that water absorbs light can also affect what carp can see. Red light is absorbed by the suspended particles within the first few feet in a murky gravel pit, so red baits appear dark brown below about 10ft.

Does all this shed any light on whether bait colour makes any difference? It is a fact of life that we use baits that look (and smell) good to us, so orange and red baits sell very well, and brown baits do too because they look natural, but when was the last time you saw, let alone bought, a blue or green boilie? Bait companies don’t make them because anglers don’t buy them, no matter how effective they might be.

White baits really do stand out on the bottom, but remember that all baits lose colour over time and dark baits ‘wash out’ to a light grey within a few hours.

So, rather than think about what colors the carp can see, think about what the other anglers are using and what the fish are used to seeing. I have been in the situation too many times where a change of colour has brought me extra bites for it not to be important. Try to use it to your advantage if you can!

Paul Garner, Nash Tackle