The color the fish sees. Do fish think? Can fish smell? What happens to light after it enters the aquatic environment

Probably, there is no angler who would not ask himself such a question. Indeed, what do we know about it? Is it worth it to put so much effort into depicting scales, fins and various spots on the bait with maximum accuracy, characteristic of the species that it is designed to imitate? If so, how and with what efficiency does its color affect the predator's interest in it? In other words, are the huge amount of colorful artificial lures on the shelves of our fishing stores just a trap for our wallet or are they really necessary?

Each of you, dear colleagues, must have heard such stories: on this lake, the pike takes only on a yellow "wobbler", on the other - it reacts only to a silver one, and, for example, on this stretch of the river, a wobbler must have a blue back - on a black-backed you will never catch a decent chub here.

As a lure manufacturer, I am often asked questions about this and expect professional feedback. Let me comment on these stories, but from the standpoint of not a manufacturer, but an ichthyologist who tested such assumptions in practice and believes that from a scientific point of view they are quite justified.

Scientists have been studying fish vision for over 100 years, and anglers often nudge them into research by providing interesting practical information. But, nevertheless, this process is still only partially understood, and it is not known whether the time will come when our knowledge will allow us to accurately imagine what image appears in the brain of a pike when we see our bait.

And yet we know quite a lot about it, for example-

What happens to the light after
penetration into the aquatic environment

Everyone knows that white light consists of a spectrum in which specific colors correspond to waves of a certain length. The human eye captures the following components white light, in order from longest to shortest wavelengths: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, indigo and violet.

Light behaves differently in water and in air. Water is said to "filter light". First, you should know that light loses energy when it penetrates deep into the water. This is due both to the reflection and scattering of part of the waves from the surface, and to their late absorption. Individual colors are absorbed as the depth increases. In the process of penetrating into the depths of the water, warm colors fade and change to gray-black. At a depth of about 3 m, the red color first disappears, then orange, and the yellow begins to fade quickly. At a depth of about 20 m yellow looks like green-blue, and only blue, blue and violet remain unchanged for the eye. Purple disappears at a depth of 40 m.

However, it should be remembered that these data are approximate and refer to the waters of a crystal clear lake. Any turbidity of the water caused by organic matter, which is often found even in clean water bodies, as well as the swaying of the water surface, drastically change these numbers.

Light energy disappears with increasing depth, so yellow at a depth of 10 m is still perceived as yellow, but its intensity will be much less than at a depth of 3 m. In a clear lake at a depth of 3 m, red color will still be noticeable, but here in a muddy river, it will “turn” into black already half a meter from the surface.

The discussion on whether (and to what extent) the color of artificial lures affects the results of fishing should begin with a brief analysis of our knowledge about the vision of fish. I have heard many times that anglers doubt that the effectiveness of lures depends on their color. Therefore, we are interested, first,

Do fish see the world in different colors?

Since we already know that even dogs have great "problems" in distinguishing between most colors (yellow and blue are best), then fish that are at a lower stage of development, most likely, should not distinguish any colors. . Well, it's not like that at all! Ichthyological studies have irrefutably proven that most fish species distinguish all the colors that a person sees, and some even more! Of course, different types fish have completely different possibilities for distinguishing colors, this depends, among other things, on the natural conditions of the habitat (water transparency and light intensity). The eye of a fish is similar to the eye of other vertebrates. The main role in the process of vision is played by the retina, it is in it that the receptors that react to light are located. These are two types of photoreceptor cells, which consist of so-called rods and cones. The rods receive messages of low intensity, and the cones act in strong light. Cones are responsible for distinguishing colors, just like in vertebrates. In humans, for example, there are three types of cones that are responsible for recognizing the three primary colors - red, green and blue. The retina arranged in this way allows us to distinguish more than 300 thousand shades of colors.

The structure of the fish eye retina depends on the environmental conditions.

Diurnal fish have many more cones in their retinas, so they are much better at seeing colors than nocturnal species. Fish that live in shallow and well-lit areas have four or even five types of cones (eg trout) and can therefore capture more colors than humans (eg ultraviolet). In fish whose eyes are arranged with two types of cones, the ability to distinguish colors, respectively, is more limited (for example, in zander).

Fish living in low light conditions have only one type of cone, and their retinas are characterized by a large number of rods and a small cone. For example, in burbot their ratio is 200:1. Deep sea fish, as well as some known to our anglers river views(e.g. catfish) do not have cones at all. The eyes of these fish are very sensitive to light. They hardly distinguish the details.

The maximum sensitivity of the eye of a fish to light depends not only on its species. This parameter can vary greatly within the same species when adapted to specific conditions (for example, life in the dark).

So, we found out that fish, for the most part, distinguish colors better than people. How important is this for us anglers? In other words -

Will the use of baits increase
different colors chances of a good catch?

Based on studies of the biochemical processes that take place in the retina, as well as experiments in fish training, one can try to imagine how different fish see our baits (see Fig.).

In order for a predator to “buy in” on our baits, he must first capture this bait with his own eye. To do this, it is necessary that it stands out against the background of the environment. This is especially important in low light conditions.

At great depths, where only the remnants of light penetrate, white and silver will be more contrasting against a green-blue background. A good effect is also obtained when using textured foil, which reflects the rest of the light in different directions.

Surely, some special color or color combination that is perfectly visible, for example, against the background of a sandy bottom, will not be just as well visible against a dark bottom or at depth. And, probably, this should be followed when choosing a bait, because most predators detect the presence of a potential prey near them precisely because they see a contrasting object that stands out against the background of the environment. It depends on several factors: the time of day, the type of bottom, the transparency of the water, the amount of light entering this place, etc.

As we have already defined, the color is an important factor, affecting the detection of the bait. Is it the most important? We must remember what is based on catching fish with artificial bait.

The bait imitates the food familiar to the fish; at the sight of it, the predator mobilizes a feeling of hunger. Is this the only motivation to attack? One of the famous Polish writers (passionate fisherman!) once wrote that some baits are so beautiful that fish, grabbing them, express their admiration for the skill of human hands. After all, fish do not have hands - therefore, they “applaud” with their mouths!

Whether the predator attacks the bait or ignores it is based on a number of factors. The fish evaluates the size, shape and method of movement of the object. The sound coming from the object and its smell are also important, and it is quite possible that some other factors that we have no idea about. The more of these factors a predator evaluates as attractive, the more often he decides to attack the bait - this is what matters to the angler.

However, we must remember what senses, in addition to vision, are used by the predators of interest to us. Most of them - pike, perch, asp, trout - have a good visual memory. Others - such as catfish - are used for hunting large quantity feelings. However, the sideline is very important for everyone. It is known that even a pike, which for various reasons (mainly due to the human factor) is completely devoid of vision, hunts excellently, detecting its prey only with the help of this supersensitive organ.

So, without a doubt, the use of colored lures can help to deceive the predator if the fishing is

In clear water

Clear and well lit water is a serious challenge for anglers who want to fool predators with artificial lures. In this case, the color and model of the lure become even more important.

However, will success always be guaranteed to us if we choose colors according to our own preferences? One of the American anglers describes an interesting case of the inexplicable effectiveness of the color of oxidized lead in clean water mountain stream. The fact discovered by him was later investigated. It turned out that, for unknown reasons, the trout living in the stream saw and attacked the baits of gray and lead colors, which are hardly noticeable to us, much better than, for example, shiny nickel or the colors of polished silver.

It is possible that fish see these colors in a completely different way than humans. This poses great challenges for bait manufacturers. It is necessary to copy the color of oxidized lead, although in principle it is not known how it should actually look ...

Both scientific research and fishing practice show that white and transparent lures work well in clear water. Gentle shiny drawings based on the use of sparkles or holographic foil work well. Perhaps this is how shiny scales are imitated. The blue color is also clearly visible to the fish. Nothing surprising - for example, in the waters of the Baltic for many years the most effective combination for hunting predators is azure, silver and white.

Thus, it turns out that it is quite enough to use only the appropriate colors and their shades in order to successfully catch predators with artificial baits in clear water?

This question often arises in conversations between anglers. Many of them believe that a hungry pike (and usually it is hungry) attacks everything that moves. Does it make sense when making a bait to pay close attention to the image of scale patterns, fins and spots that are characteristic of imitation of the species?

It turns out that fish, which have a more complex retina than humans, have no problem identifying even the smallest objects, and therefore our baits too. In the pike retina, for example, there is only one cone for 3-4 large rods. This structure leads to the fact that the eye of this predator has low sensitivity to light and at the same time is able to perfectly recognize and distinguish various little things.

The low threshold of sensitivity to light intensity does not interfere with the pike, since, as we already know, it usually hunts from dawn to dusk.

But the trout is not only able to better distinguish colors and the smallest details of potential victims - unlike humans, it can also simultaneously see near and far objects, as well as distinguish colors from different distances. These data once again confirm the well-known fact to anglers that trout is a very serious opponent. While fishing, they should carefully disguise themselves, every careless movement on the shore usually threatens to leave them without a catch in this place.

Experiments conducted by one of the German ichthyologists, who fed small pikes with male guppies, proved that predators after short workout could distinguish victims that differed slightly in color.

A simple experiment based on the training of fish shows that they quickly learn to distinguish basic geometric shapes. In addition, predators were interested in some graphic patterns. These were two concentric elements with contrasting colors.

The greatest activity and even aggression was caused by a figure consisting of two concentric circles, and the inner one had to be darker than the outer one. But this is a typical graphic symbol of the eye!

It turned out that at the last moment before the attack, predators aim precisely at the eye of a potential victim.

Usually this is due to a slight "correction" of the direction when attacking - towards the eye. In other words, the predator anticipates that at the last moment the prey will turn to the side on which the eye is located.

Nature made sure that some fish could deceive their pursuers, and created a dark spot, like an "extra eye", on the sides of the body or on the tail. So the application of large eyes on artificial baits has its own rationale. But, of course, for fish active at night, such as catfish, this does not matter.

Now let's try to understand whether it makes sense to devote a lot of time and attention to the colors and patterns of our lures,

When everything turns to gray

Of great importance, of course, is the maximum intensity of lighting at the time of fishing. On an overcast day, the colors fade much faster than on a sunny day. At dusk, when the lighting falls, the eyes of the fish are rearranged and begin to see with sticks. Colors are perceived at this time as faint shades between white and black. To attract the attention of a predator at this time of the day, you need to use a color that will contrast with the surface of the water, so if you fish in clear water, red will be the best choice.

Six years ago, my friend and I were fishing for pike in the Swedish skerries of the Baltic. The day was wonderful, sunny. The fish were biting perfectly, in the crystal clear water the attack was perfectly visible. Predators attacked our Jerkbaits from afar. A friend then learned to fish with a slider and often changed lures. As a result, at the end of the day, I had much more fish in my account.

Before evening, we decided to drop into a small bay between three small islands overgrown with tall pines. Pikes were here too. Behind a short time I fished out three pike weighing 2-3 kg. I used the SALMO slider in Real Perch. When the sun went below the horizon, the bites stopped. My friend decided to try fishing with a red slider (Red Tiger). In the conditions of dusk, only this color was visible from afar and made it possible to observe the work of the bait.

I probably would never have believed what happened then if I had not seen it with my own eyes. Over the next fifteen minutes, my friend pulled out 7 beautiful pikes weighing about 5 kg! In the meantime, I, trying to fish with the same natural color bait, did not even see a hint of an attack!

Fish that hunt in low light conditions - at night, in murky water, at great depths - adapt to this in many ways.

The pikeperch eye has two types of cones. Large ones are responsible for yellow and orange, and small ones see green. The effectiveness of these colors can be confirmed by anyone who caught zander. In addition, the cones of this predator are exceptionally large, due to which they are the object of research by physiologists who study the process of vision not only in fish.

An additional improvement in the vision of zander is the layer of guanine lining the inside of the eyeball, which reflects light. Due to this, it passes through the cones twice, amplifying the signal passing to the brain. That is why the eyes of pike perch gleam silvery even in very weak light. A similar effect is given by the eyes of some mammals that hunt at night.

Thanks to this structure of the eye, pike perch has incredibly sensitive vision, it sees perfectly even in cases where other fish, not to mention people, see absolutely nothing! Anglers should remember that when catching this predator it is worth paying attention to the smallest details of the lure, and the best combination of colors is yellow-green.

A pioneer in fish vision research is Professor Dwight Burkhardt of the University of Minnesota. The professor started researching the pikeperch retina more than 30 years ago. The current created in the cones under the influence of light stimuli was investigated. Zander cones, although very large, are five times smaller in diameter than a human hair. In order not to disturb their normal functions, electrodes with a diameter of 0.0001 mm were used!

The catfish retina is arranged quite differently. It has no cones at all. They use only sticks, and this leads to the fact that bright light is seen by the catfish as white, and the catfish fixes the rest of the illumination in the eyes as all shades of gray.

Compared to human vision, catfish vision is much more sensitive at low light levels. On a dark, overcast night, the catfish perfectly sees what a person can hardly see with a full moon!

Of course, all anglers know that vision is not the most important quality of these predators. They often live in very muddy and dark waters and mostly feed at night. During the hunt, this predator, in addition to the lateral line, also uses hearing and smell. He is attracted to all kinds of aromatic attractants, sounds. Using a noisy bait - a rattling wobbler or a popper splashing on the surface, the sound of a quok - all these are quite reasonable actions.

However, this does not mean that the color of catfish lures does not matter. An excellent choice in this case is luminescent coloring. The most distinguishable in the dark is the lure that glows green. Under normal lighting, it becomes gray-pink and looks very unattractive, so often anglers neglect it.

There are many fluorescent dyes on the market today. It is enough to shine a flashlight on a bait painted with such a paint for a few seconds so that it gives off the accumulated energy for at least an hour. In addition to green, dyes of other colors appeared - blue, red, pink and yellow. It is recommended to use several colors so that the most contrasting composition can be obtained - for example, a green and red pattern.

Among special dyes, the most famous and most popular are fluorescent. It has long been known that the use of these colors greatly increases the effectiveness of artificial lures, and one of the best selling lure colors is the so-called Green Tiger, also known as Fire Tiger.

However, do we know where this

Fluorescence mystery?

Under normal lighting, fluorescent paints differ from ordinary ones in a lighter shade. They acquire their characteristics when exposed to short light waves, especially ultraviolet. To us, they seem very bright, as if glowing by themselves.

Under water, their range of action is much greater than that of other colors. We already know that only the shortest wavelengths, that is, ultraviolet, are active at depth. The conclusion suggests itself: lures intended for fishing at great depths should be painted in “fluo”. When studying in lakes with clear water, some fluorescent colors, such as yellow and pink, were clearly visible at a depth of more than 40 m!

Low light conditions are not limited to depth alone. Morning and evening dawns, heavy cloudiness, rain and waves, muddy water - all these factors significantly reduce the amount of light due to which the predator sees our bait. Therefore, it is recommended to experiment with these colors just when other colors "turn gray".

We started fishing with the bait that was the most effective that day - SALMO Skinner 15 cm long, RGS color.

Nothing happened for the first hour. The sky was covered with clouds, dusk fell very quickly. I decided to use Green Tiger lure. Over the next hour I had four bites and managed to pull out two fish, including my record-breaking 131 cm muskfish. At the same time, colleagues who fished for the RGS color did not bite even once! Color GT in the twilight and in the dark water of the lake, as they say, hit the bull's-eye.

Muskinong 131 cm long, almost the same color,
like water (the back of the fish is blue-green),
but the lure of fluorescent colors is very clearly visible

On clear, sunny days and at night, the use of fluorescent colors does not make any sense.

In addition, studies have shown that the colors that are best seen from a long distance underwater are yellow and green fluo. This happens because usually the water in a river or lake is green-yellow, and the wave of fluo flowers is slightly longer than ordinary ones. And anglers have noticed that in conditions of intensive feeding of predators, fluo lures are inferior to lures of natural colors.

As a result, we can draw the following practical conclusion. To lure a predator from a long distance, fluo-colored lures should be used. What, however, must be done so that a predator lured from afar, say, with the color fluo yellow and seeing the bait up close, does not hesitate to attack? The easiest way out is to use a natural pattern on the body of fluorescent baits. Therefore, the Hot Perch color is a record holder, regardless of the reservoir in which it is applied. However, do we know the reasons why fluorescent colors have such an effect on predators? After all, it is very difficult to find forage fish with a similar coloring in nature. The explanation for this phenomenon may be the imperfection of human vision.

As I mentioned earlier, humans see far fewer colors than predators. The fluorescent dye is found in the blood of vertebrates. This fact is used, for example, in forensic science to detect removed blood stains using a UV emitter. It has long been known that predators are very sensitive to traces of blood in their environment. Perhaps they mark it not only with the help of smell. There is a theory according to which this is precisely the magnetic effect of fluorescence.

conclusions

In conclusion, we can confidently state that the color of the baits we use undoubtedly matters. This is also important in those cases when we catch even fish that are not very picky in this respect or those that do not distinguish colors. There are several conclusions that I hope will help you choose the right bait and thus improve your catches.

The key to success is the ability of the bait to attract the attention of a predator. In order for a predator to notice a bait from a distance, more important than its color is its contrast, that is, the difference from the background of the environment.

Most predators watch the surface of the water when hunting, so it is often important how the color of the bait contrasts against its background.

To increase the contrast, a combination of contrasting colors helps - black and white, yellow and black, red and white.

Increase the contrast of your bait in murky water and decrease it by using natural colored lures in clear water.

Don't forget about black, which is probably the most contrasting of all colors regardless of the conditions.

When fishing at night, it is worth using lures painted with luminescent paints, i.e. accumulating light (for example, using a hand torch) and visible at any depth.

And finally, the last and most important conclusion. Remember that the most important factor influencing the effectiveness of the bait is not its color, but the correct feeding and wiring, but in general - your theoretical knowledge and practical skills!

Piotr Piskorski: “This pike burped a couple of fresh herrings into the boat.
Now I understand why she grabbed the silver holographic imitation.”

going on fishing, every angler asks himself a series of questions: where to go? what tackle to take? which nozzle to use? Additional questions arise on the pond: where to fish - at depth or near the shore? in calm or current? from the bottom, on top or in half water? All of these questions are significant. After all, the success of fishing depends on their correct decision. But finding such a solution is not always easy. The decisive moment is direct study of the reservoir and the fish living in it. In this case, conversations with local fishermen can be used, but the main thing, of course, personal observations.

BODY STRUCTURE OF FISH AND THEIR MOVEMENT

Fish need to move in order to find food and escape from enemies. However, water provides significant resistance to their movement. Therefore, in the process of evolution, most fish acquired a streamlined body shape, which makes it easier to overcome the resistance of the aquatic environment. The most perfect streamlined shape of the body are anadromous fish that make long migrations, such as salmon. Almost the same valky or spindle-shaped body, powerful tail and medium-sized scales in fish that constantly live in the rapids (trout, minnow, osman, barbel, etc.). Sometimes some fish (roach, ide), living in the upper reaches of the river in a fast current, have a more valky body than fish of the same species that inhabit the mouth, where the current is slower. Wide, high-bodied fish live in calm waters, since here they do not have to fight the current; in addition, this body shape helps them better avoid predators that are less willing to grab wide fish.

The forms of the body are also different in fish that live at the bottom and in the upper layers of the water. For example, in bottom fish (flounder, catfish, burbot, goby) the body is flattened, allowing them to rest on the ground with a large surface.

In cases where the fish almost do not move, part of their body, together with the tail, turns into an attachment organ (seahorse).

The nature of nutrition also has a certain influence on the shape of the body; for example, at predatory fish catching prey, the body is usually more agile than that of fish feeding on sedentary food.

The mechanism of fish movement remained unclear for a long time. It was assumed that the fins play the main role here. The latest studies of physicists and ichthyologists have proved that the forward movement of the fish is carried out mainly by wave-like bends of the body. The caudal fin provides some assistance in moving forward. The role of other fins is reduced mainly to coordinating and guiding functions - the dorsal and anal fins serve as a keel, the pectoral and ventral fins make it easier for the fish to move vertically and help turn in a horizontal plane.

BREATH

Most fish breathe oxygen dissolved in water. The main respiratory organ is the gills. The shape and size of the surface of the gills, the structure of the gill slits, and the mechanism of respiratory movements depend on the way of life of the fish. In fish swimming at half-water, the gill slits are large, and the gill filaments are constantly washed by fresh, oxygen-rich water. In bottom fish - eel, flounder - gill slits are small (otherwise they can become clogged with silt) with devices for forced circulation of water.

Fish that live in oxygen-poor water have additional respiratory organs. Carp and some other fish, when there is a lack of oxygen in the water, swallow atmospheric air and use it to enrich the water with oxygen.

Tench, catfish and eel have additional cutaneous respiration. Participates in the respiratory functions of the perch swim bladder, and loach has intestines. Some warm-water fish are endowed with organs that allow them to breathe directly from atmospheric air. In some fish, this is a special labyrinth apparatus, in others it is a swim bladder that has turned into a respiratory organ.

In accordance with the structure of the respiratory organs, fish have different attitudes to the amount of oxygen dissolved in water. Some fish need a very high content of it in the water - salmon, whitefish, trout, pike perch; others are less demanding - roach, perch, pike; still others are satisfied with a completely negligible amount of oxygen - crucian carp, tench. There is, as it were, a threshold of oxygen content in the water determined for each species of fish, below which individuals of a given species become lethargic, hardly move, feed poorly, and eventually die.

Oxygen enters the water from the atmosphere and is released by aquatic plants, and the latter, on the one hand, release it under the action of light, and on the other, they absorb it in the dark and spend it during decay. Therefore, "the positive role of plants in the oxygen regime is noticeable only during their growth, i.e., in summer, and, moreover, during the day.

Oxygen slowly penetrates from one water layer to another, and it surface layers always more than near the bottom. This is one of the reasons for the poor development of life and the absence of accumulation of fish in the summer at depths, especially in stagnant water bodies.

In lakes there are areas with higher and lower oxygen concentrations. For example, the wind blowing from the shore drives away the oxygen-rich upper layers of water, and in their place comes low-oxygenated deep water. Thus, a zone that is poorer in oxygen content is created near the calm coast, and the fish, all other things being equal, prefer to stay near the surf coast. A typical example is the behavior of the oxygen-loving grayling in Lake Ladoga, which approaches the shore mainly when there is a steady wind blowing from the lake.

The oxygen regime deteriorates sharply in stagnant water bodies in winter, when the ice cover prevents air from reaching the water. This is especially noticeable in shallow, heavily overgrown water bodies with a muddy or peaty bottom, where the oxygen supply is spent on the oxidation of various organic residues. In winter, zones with unequal oxygen content are found in lakes even more often than in summer.

Areas with a rocky or sandy bottom, at the exit of spring waters, at the confluence of streams and rivers are richer in oxygen. These places are usually chosen by fish for winter parking. In some lakes, especially in harsh winters, the oxygen content in the water drops so much that a mass death of fish occurs - the so-called kills.

In rivers, especially fast-flowing ones, there is no sharp natural lack of oxygen either in summer or in winter. However, in rivers clogged with timber floating waste and polluted with industrial wastewater, this deficiency is so great that oxygen-demanding fish completely disappear.

SENSORS

VISION

The organ of vision - the eye - in its structure resembles a photographic apparatus, and the lens of the eye is like a lens, and the retina is like a film on which an image is obtained. In land animals, the lens has a lenticular shape and is able to change its curvature, so animals can adjust their vision to distance. The lens of fish is spherical and cannot change shape. Their vision is rebuilt at different distances when the lens approaches or moves away from the retina.

The optical properties of the aquatic environment do not allow the fish to see far. Practically, the limit of visibility for fish in clear water is considered to be a distance of 10-12 m, and fish see clearly no further than 1.5 m. Better see daytime predatory fish living in clear water (trout, grayling, asp, pike). Some fish see in the dark (perch, bream, catfish, eel, burbot). They have special light-sensitive elements in the retina of the eye that can perceive weak light rays.

The angle of view of the fish is very large. Without turning the body, most fish are able to see objects with each eye in a zone of about 150° vertically and up to 170° horizontally.

Otherwise, the fish sees objects above the water. In this case, the laws of refraction of light rays come into force, and the fish can see without distortion only objects that are directly above their heads - at the zenith. Obliquely incident light rays are refracted and compressed into an angle of 97°.6 (Fig. 2). The sharper the angle of entry of the light beam into the water and the lower the object, the more distorted the fish sees it. When the light beam falls at an angle of 5-10°, especially if the water surface is restless, the fish ceases to see the object.

The rays coming from the eye of the fish outside the cone are completely reflected from the water surface, so it appears to the fish as a mirror.

On the other hand, the refraction of the rays allows the fish to see, as it were, hidden objects. Imagine a body of water with a steep, steep bank. A person can be seen outside the refraction of rays by the water surface.

Fish distinguish colors and even shades.

Color vision in fish is confirmed by their ability to change color depending on the color of the ground (mimicry). It is known that perch, roach, pike, which keep on a light sandy bottom, have a light color, and on a black peat bottom they are darker. Mimicry is especially pronounced in various flounders, capable of adapting their coloration to the color of the ground with amazing accuracy. If a flounder is put into a glass aquarium, under the bottom of which a chessboard is placed, then cells similar to chess ones will appear on its back. Under natural conditions, a flounder lying on a pebble bottom merges with it so much that it becomes completely invisible to the human eye. At the same time, blinded fish, including flounder, do not change their color and remain dark-colored. From this it is clear that the change in color by fish is connected with their visual perception.

Experiments on feeding fish from multi-colored cups have confirmed that fish clearly perceive all spectral colors and can distinguish close shades. The latest experiments based on spectrophotometric methods have shown that many species of fish perceive individual shades as well as humans.

It has been established by food training methods that fish also perceive the shape of objects - they distinguish a triangle from a square, a cube from a pyramid.

Of known interest is the relation of fish to artificial light. Even in pre-revolutionary literature, they wrote that a fire lit on the river bank attracts roach, burbot, catfish and improves the results of fishing. Recent studies have shown that many fish - sprat, mullet, syrt, saury - are sent to sources of underwater lighting, therefore, at present, electric light is used in commercial fishing. In particular, sprats are successfully caught in this way in the Caspian Sea, and saury near the Kuril Islands.

Attempts to use electric light in sports fishing have not yet yielded positive results. Such experiments were carried out in winter in places of accumulation of perch and roach. A hole was cut in the ice and an electric lamp with a reflector was lowered to the bottom of the reservoir. Then they were fishing with a mormyshka with replanting a bloodworm in an adjacent hole and in a hole cut down away from the light source. It turned out that the number of bites near the lamp is less than away from it. Similar experiments were made when catching zander and burbot at night; they also did not give a positive effect.

For sport fishing, it is tempting to use baits coated with luminous compounds. It has been established that fish seize luminous baits. However, the experience of Leningrad fishermen did not show their advantages; ordinary fish baits in all cases are taken more readily. The literature on this issue is also not convincing. It describes only cases of catching fish with luminous baits, and does not provide comparative data on fishing under the same conditions with ordinary baits.

Features of fish vision allow us to draw some conclusions that are useful for the angler. It can be said with certainty that a fish located near the surface of the water is not able to see a fisherman standing on the shore further than 8-10 m and sitting or wading - further 5-6 m; the transparency of the water also matters. In practice, it can be assumed that if the angler does not see the fish in the water when he looks at the well-lit water surface at an angle close to 90 °, then the fish does not see the angler either. Therefore, masking makes sense only when fishing in shallow places or on top in clear water and when casting a short distance. On the contrary, the items of the angler's equipment that are close to the fish (leash, sinker, net, float, boat) should merge with the surrounding background.

HEARING

The presence of hearing in fish has long been denied. Facts such as the approach of fish to the feeding place on a call, the attraction of catfish by hitting the water with a special wooden mallet (“squirting” of catfish), the reaction to the whistle of the steamer, proved little. The occurrence of the reaction could be explained by irritation of other sense organs. The latest experiments have shown that fish react to sound stimuli, and these stimuli are perceived both by the auditory labyrinths in the head of the fish, and by the surface of the skin, and by the swim bladder, which plays the role of a resonator.

What is the sensitivity of sound perception in fish has not been precisely established, but it has been proven that they pick up sounds worse than humans, and fish hear high tones better than low ones. The sounds that occur in the aquatic environment are heard by fish at a considerable distance, and the sounds that occur in the air are poorly heard, since sound waves are reflected from the surface and do not penetrate well into the water. Given these features, the angler should be careful not to make noise in the water, but may not be afraid to scare the fish by talking loudly. It is interesting to use sounds in sports fishing. However, the question of which sounds attract fish and which scare them away has not been studied. So far, the sound is used only when catching catfish, "squirting".

Lateral line organ

The lateral line organ is found only in fish and amphibians that live permanently in the water. The lateral line is most often a canal that runs along the body from head to tail. Nerve endings branch out in the canal, perceiving with great sensitivity even the most insignificant water vibrations. With the help of this organ, fish determine the direction and strength of the current, feel the currents of water formed when washing underwater objects, feel the movement of a neighbor in a flock, enemies or prey, and excitement on the surface of the water. In addition, the fish also perceives vibrations that are transmitted to the water from the outside - shaking the soil, hitting the boat, a blast wave, the vibration of the ship's hull, etc.

The role of the lateral line in the capture of fish prey has been studied in detail. Repeated experiments have shown that a blinded pike is well oriented and unmistakably grasps a moving fish, not paying attention to a stationary one. A blind pike with a destroyed lateral line loses the ability to orient itself, bumps into the walls of the pool, etc. being hungry, does not pay attention to the swimming fish.

Given this, the angler must be careful both on the shore and in the boat. The shaking of the soil under your feet, the wave from inaccurate movement in the boat can alert and scare away the fish for a long time. The nature of the movement of artificial lures in the water is not indifferent to the success of catching, since predators, when chasing and seizing prey, feel the water vibrations created by it. Catch, of course, will be those baits that most fully reproduce the signs of the usual prey of predators.

Organs of smell and taste

The organs of smell and taste in fish are separated. The olfactory organ in bony fish is paired nostrils located on both sides of the head and leading to the nasal cavity lined with olfactory epithelium. Water enters one hole and exits the other. Such a device of the olfactory organs allows the fish to smell the substances dissolved or suspended in the water, and in the current the fish can smell only along the stream carrying the odorous substance, and in calm water - only in the presence of water currents.

The olfactory organ is least developed in diurnal predatory fish (pike, asp, perch), stronger in nocturnal and twilight fish (eel, catfish, carp, tench).

Taste organs are located mainly in the mouth and pharyngeal cavity; in some fish, taste buds are located in the area of ​​​​the lips and whiskers (catfish, burbot), and sometimes they are located throughout the body (carp). As experiments show, fish are able to distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Just like the sense of smell, the sense of taste is more developed in nocturnal fish.

EFFECTS ON FISH WATER TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE

Fish belong to animals that have a variable body temperature. It changes along with changes in ambient temperature and is only a few tenths of a degree higher than it. Only in tuna can the body temperature exceed the temperature of their surrounding aquatic environment by 8-9 ° C. Therefore, a sharp change in temperature (for example, transplanting fish from one pool to another with a temperature difference of 4-5 °) causes their illness and often death. The gradual rise or fall in temperature of the fish is able to endure without any special consequences.

On the Chukchi Peninsula, in streams and shallow lakes, there is a dahlia fish, which freezes when water bodies freeze and comes to life when they thaw. But this, of course, is a single example, usually fish cannot tolerate such a wide temperature fluctuation.

Temperature has a great influence on the vital functions of fish. Each type of them shows the greatest vital activity in a certain temperature range. For example, the optimal nutrition for trout is observed at 10-12°, for pike at 15-16°, for carp at 23-28°. Above and below a certain temperature, the fish stop feeding altogether. Trout do not feed if the water temperature is below 3° and above 18°. Burbot does not feed at water temperatures above 12°C. Carp begins to feed no earlier than the water temperature reaches 10 °, etc. The figures given cannot be considered unchanged: there are deviations associated with the adaptation of fish to local climatic conditions.

Fish reproduction is closely related to water temperature. With an increase in temperature in the water, algae, higher aquatic plants, various animal organisms develop and are created Better conditions for fish nutrition and growth. Sometimes an increase in water temperature can also have an adverse effect (for example, worsen the oxygen regime of a reservoir).

The autumn temperature drop causes most fish to change their lifestyle and move to deeper places where the water temperature is more constant. In winter, the life processes of heat-loving fish freeze. Fish migrate to the depths, almost stop moving, stop feeding and, as it were, fall into hibernation. Only burbot, trout, salmon remain almost completely active and in winter time. Partially, perch, roach, ruff, pike continue to feed, less often - pike perch, bream.

Water temperature has a decisive influence on the resettlement of fish; for each species there are northern and southern boundaries of distribution. For example, the carp lives mainly only in the lower reaches of the southern rivers; barbel rarely rises along the Dnieper above Dorogobuzh; zander, which is widespread within the Leningrad region, is completely absent in the White Sea basin. In marine and oceanic reservoirs, isotherms are often the boundaries of the distribution of one or another type of fish.

It is not entirely clear how changes in atmospheric pressure affect the behavior of fish. Some anglers believe that fish are best caught with a decrease in atmospheric pressure, others say that with an increase. Most believe that a gradual change in pressure does not affect the biting of fish, only sharp jumps in the barometer are harmful.

There is a point of view that changes in atmospheric pressure do not affect fish at all. This is motivated by the fact that the fish, even with a slight vertical movement in the water column, experiences much greater pressure changes than with the sharpest barometric jumps. Indeed, when the atmospheric pressure changes by 50 millibars (a very sharp jump in the barometer), it is enough for the fish to rise or fall by 0.5 m, respectively, in order not to feel such a “jump” at all.

It is difficult to say which opinion is right, for this there is no reliable data yet.

NUTRITION

Some fish bluefish, some whitefish, sabrefish, bleak, as well as juveniles of most fish feed on plankton - small organisms that live in the water column. Others - bream, carp, silver bream, ruff, gudgeon - are looking for food at the bottom of reservoirs; in the mud they find insect larvae, worms, mollusks, organic remains and are said to feed on benthos. Some fish - roach, rudd, podust - feed mainly on plant foods. A number of fish - catfish, salmon, pike, pike perch, perch - eat other fish, so they are called predatory. In the diet of fish such as trout, grayling, dace, the leading role is played by insects falling into the water.

The composition of food changes with the age of the fish, which is associated with a change in its organs. The diet of the Caspian roach, the vobla, changes especially sharply: at the earliest stages of development, the eye feeds on plant plankton, later on animals, then it switches to feeding on insect larvae, and at an older age it eats almost exclusively mollusks.

The whole body of the fish is adapted to feeding on this or that food, starting from the sense organs and ending with the digestive tract.

Of the sense organs in fish that feed on benthos, the sense of smell and taste are most well developed, in insectivores - vision, and in predators, in addition, a lateral line that helps to capture the movement of prey.

The structure of the mouth of fish is also not the same. Fish that feed on plankton tend to have large mouths and elongated gill rakers to help strain out small organisms. In benthos-eating fish, the mouth is movable, sucking; in bream, for example, it extends into a tube. Predators usually have teeth in their mouths to help them grab and hold their prey. In carp fish, teeth are placed in the pharynx and serve to grind food.

The shape of the teeth in fish is diverse and is one of the signs in determining the species.

Some predators, in particular pike, periodically change their teeth. Their change occurs gradually, as they wear out, and for each individual in different times. Therefore, the widespread opinion among anglers that all pikes are not taken because of the change of teeth in a certain period is unreasonable.

Different in fish and digestive organs. Predators have a stomach, while peaceful ones do not have a stomach and food is digested in the intestines, which are the longer, the more vegetable matter is contained in the usual food composition.

The duration of digestion of food in fish is not the same. Its predatory fish, swallowing the prey whole, digest it for the longest time. Digestion of food in pike, perch, pike perch, with normal filling of the stomach and normal external conditions, lasts about three days.

Therefore, they eat with long breaks. Peaceful fish digest food in a few hours and can eat almost continuously.

The intensity of fish nutrition depends on the state of their body and environmental conditions.

In most fish species, spawning changes have a significant impact on food intake. Before spawning, the so-called pre-spawning zhor is observed, for the time of spawning it stops, and after spawning it resumes with particular intensity. From this general rule there are exceptions. For example, salmon entering the river for breeding sometimes do not feed for about a year, that is, during the entire spawning period. Chub, ide, grayling, perch feed even during spawning, and burbot, pike perch - only after its completion. In pike, bream, carp, there is a long interval (about two weeks) between the end of spawning and the beginning of zhor.

The behavior of fish can vary in different water bodies. So, the asp living in Vuoksa has a pre-spawning zhor, while in Volkhov, Met, and the Dnieper such zhor of the asp is not known. Anadromous bream has zhor in most rivers, but local bream does not. In some rivers, pike perch, roach, carp are not taken before spawning, and in the Neva - pike.

Environmental conditions such as water temperature and oxygen content in it, as mentioned above, affect the nutrition of fish even more. The intensity of feeding and, consequently, the biting of fish depend to a large extent on these conditions.

IMPACT ON FISH WIND AND OTHER FACTORS

The wind has a great influence on the nutrition of fish and their biting. North and east winds are unfavorable for fishing and that the fish takes better with a west or south wind.

When the wind changes, the air temperature usually changes as well. North and northeast winds in our hemisphere tend to cause cooling. A decrease in air temperature leads to cooling of water in reservoirs, and this can affect the behavior and biting of fish in different ways.

It is known that Each species of fish feeds most intensively in a certain temperature range. Suppose the water temperature in the pond was 15°. The north wind blew, it got colder, and the water temperature dropped to 10 °. Then the bite of trout will improve, and perch and pike will worsen. The cold snap will have a particularly unfavorable effect on heat-loving fish - crucian carp, carp, tench, carp. On the contrary, cold-loving burbots, burbots, which did not feed at all until the cold snap, can go from the depths to shallower places and take a bait.

With southerly winds, warm weather usually sets in, and warming will most likely lead to a weakening of the biting of cold-loving fish and a revival of the biting of heat-loving ones.

Westerly and easterly winds in different geographic locations can cause different temperature changes and therefore affect the behavior of fish in different ways.

Winds not only change the air temperature, but also affect precipitation. In early spring And late autumn the best catches are usually observed on sunny days. In the midst of summer, when the weather is clear, on the contrary, a revival in the bite can be expected on rainy, cloudy days. Therefore, the angler must take into account what kind of weather in a given area is promised by winds blowing from the west or east, from the north or south.

Sometimes changes in the bite occur before any changes occur in the environment of the fish, as if the fish anticipate them. It is explainable. The fish could develop a reflex to a change in the direction of wave movement, surface currents, wind direction, which entails changes in the distribution of food objects.

However, there may also be a simple coincidence with the feeding rhythms of fish.

Often the wind can affect the behavior and bite of the fish, regardless of whether it is blowing from the north, from the south, etc.

In summer, in some reservoirs there is not enough oxygen in the water. The wind, as mentioned above, promotes the mixing of different layers of water, and the oxygen content in the water increases. It is obvious that in the hot season in water bodies suffering from a lack of oxygen, after winds of any direction, the biting improves.

In some parts of the reservoir, the wind can also create an unfavorable oxygen regime. Suppose that during the "bloom" of the water, the wind will drive a lot of algae into some backwater. At first, this will not affect the oxygen content, but as soon as the algae begin to die off and consume oxygen for decay, its amount in the backwater will decrease sharply. The fish will leave the backwater, and where there was a magnificent bite recently, you can not wait for a single bite.

If the bottom of the surf coast is muddy, then the wave washes out the larvae of various insects from the mud, which attract bream, carp and many other fish here. If the bottom near the coast is rocky or sandy, and besides, it is devoid of aquatic vegetation, then it is difficult for small fish to stay here; she goes to quiet places, and therefore predators will not accumulate near the surf.

In lakes, the wind creates different currents. They change with the change of its strength and direction. It is especially important to study the direction of emerging currents when fishing on rocky or sandy shallows remote from the shore. Fish here accumulate on the border of shallow and deep, standing against the current with their heads to the shallows.

When searching for such places, one must keep in mind that the current in the bottom layer can be directed at any angle to the upper one. It depends on the topography of the bottom, the location of the coasts and islands. Bottom currents are preserved even in complete calm due to the return of water masses, previously driven by the wind. Especially strong currents arise in channels between lakes and between islands; here the best biting is observed at the moments of the strongest water movement.

The movement of fish in lakes from depth to shore and back is often associated with the direction of the current. As you know, fish are more likely to move against the current, and the approach to the shore of demersal fish is more likely to be expected with a wind blowing from the lake, and the approach of those living in the upper layers of water - with the coast.

Interesting migrations of zander and catfish are observed in the vents of the Sea of ​​Azov. With the wind blowing from the sea, salt water enters the girl, and with it the pike perch rises and begins to be well caught on fishing rods. Catfish avoids sea water and, when the water in the channels becomes brackish, it goes into the estuary. If the wind blows from the estuary, then the water in the channel becomes fresh, the pike perch returns to the sea, and the catfish enters the channel.

The currents arising from the winds can change the water temperature in certain parts of the reservoir and cause a concentration of fish where it would seem that it cannot be expected.

On the rivers, the wind blowing with the current does not favor fishing, while the wind blowing against the current provides a good bite. Such an indication is hardly correct: rivers usually have many bends, and in different parts the wind will blow either from the coast, or downstream, or upstream.

In what areas it is better to catch - depends on the type of fish, the type of its food and the way of life in this reservoir. For example, it is more expedient to look for chub, trout, and grayling near the lee shore in the summer: the wind blows away many insects from the trees and bushes growing on the shore, and fish readily gather in such places.

At the calm coast, fish fry find shelter, and where there are a lot of little things, predators can also be expected.

It happens that the breaking wave erodes the base of the clay pits, washing out the mayfly larvae that huddle here, so fish come here on windy days.

In the mouths of large rivers, the wind blowing against the current causes the water to rise and weaken the current. This contributes to the entry of perch, pike perch, and bream into the river. Winds and rains can cause a significant gain or loss of water. This affects the biting and behavior of fish in different ways.

If the water gain causes significant turbidity, then the bite usually worsens, as solid particles suspended in the water clog the gills and make it difficult for the fish to breathe. In addition, in muddy water it is more difficult for fish to find the bait. On the contrary, the rise and turbidity of the water in a river flowing into a large river with clean water attracts fish (ide, bream and others) to the mouth of this river, which intensifies the bite.

If the profit of water is not associated with its turbidity, then the results of fishing depend on the nature of the banks and the magnitude of the spill. A large flood is not conducive to fishing: the fish is widely dispersed over newly flooded areas and it is much more difficult to detect its accumulation. And the amount of food in the spill increases, so the fish are less interested in the nozzle. The rise of water in a river flowing in steep banks does little to change the feeding conditions and the biting of the fish.

The decrease in water negatively affects fishing only in the first period; but as soon as its level is established, the fish gather in new places, and the normal biting resumes. The reduction in food and places suitable for living leads to the concentration of fish, and this increases the results of fishing. Some anglers believe that the behavior of fish is greatly influenced by the change in the lunar phases, and in one locality they believe that fish are best caught on the new moon, in another - on the full moon, and in the third - in those phases in which the fish spawned.

Abroad, it is believed that the mutual position of the moon and the sun has a great influence on the biting of fish. The American fisherman I. Knight compiled tables according to which it is supposedly possible to determine on which day the fish will be caught well, and on which it will be bad.

Similar tables are common in the Scandinavian countries, in particular in Finland. According to Finnish data, fish will be best caught during the hours of the highest moon.

It is known that the attraction of the moon causes ebbs and flows in the oceans and seas, so there the phases of the moon can undoubtedly have a great influence on the behavior of fish. There are special tidal currents, while the tidal wave washes out the animals that fish feed on from the coastal soil.

In inland waters, the change in lunar phases does not cause such significant changes in the environment surrounding fish, and therefore it is difficult to assume that the phases of the moon affect their behavior, including biting.

The tables compiled abroad do not take into account the main thing - the type of fish, and every angler knows that the time of active zhor for different fish is not the same. For example, two or three weeks after spawning, the pike does not feed at all, and the ide at this time can very actively grasp the bait offered by the angler; comes in the middle of summer best time catching asp, but burbot, when the water is warm, you will not catch, etc.

Thunderstorms apparently do not have a special effect on fish. The exception is close lightning strikes, which can scare the fish away for a short time.

In conclusion, it should be said that there is still a lot of unexplained in the question of the influence of changes in the atmosphere on the behavior and biting of fish. Here, further observations of sports anglers should play a big role.

INSTINCT AND EXPERIENCE

Some anglers attribute exceptional intelligence to fish, telling "hunting" stories about pikes and ides opening the covers of cages, about breams rising through the forest to the surface of the water in order to disappear into the depths, making sure in the presence of a fisherman, about "smart" carp, knocking down with their tail a nozzle from a hook and only after that feasting on it; about "cunning" perch, driving away their less smart comrades from a hook with a nozzle, etc.

Of course, most of these stories are the product of the imagination of those who tell them, but there are examples that seem to confirm the presence of “wit” in fish. Don't long journeys of salmon, white fish, eel in search of favorable places for spawning seem smart? Or the protection of offspring observed in stickleback, catfish and some other fish? Or a method of obtaining food, used by a tropical fish-spearfish, which, releasing a stream of water from its mouth, knocks insects from the trees surrounding the reservoir and grabs them when they fall? The behavior of the fish, which is clearly wary of thick and rough forests, also seems clever.

Academician I. P. Pavlov believes that fish, like terrestrial animals, have two types of activity, as if replacing the mind: based on individual experience and instinctive, passed down from generation to generation. These two activities explain the actions of fish that seem smart to us.

Spawning migrations, protection of offspring, this or that way of obtaining food are instinctive actions that have developed in fish in the process of adapting to changing living conditions. The suspicious attitude of fish to unfamiliar objects or to familiar, but behaving unusually, is explained by the instinctive caution of fish, developed due to the need to constantly be afraid of enemies, as well as personal experience acquired by this individual.

The role of skills in the actions of fish is clearly illustrated by the following example. The aquarium with the pike in it was blocked off with glass and allowed into the fenced off part live fish. The pike immediately rushed to the fish, but, hitting the glass several times, stopped unsuccessful attempts. When the glass was taken out, the pike, taught by "bitter" experience, no longer renewed its attempts to grab the fish. In the same way, a fish that has been on a hook or grabbed an inedible lure takes the bait much more carefully. Therefore, in remote waters, where the fish is unfamiliar with a person and a fishing rod, it is less careful than in waters often visited by anglers.

In order for the fish to become wary of rough tackle, it does not have to be on the hook itself. Sharp throws of one frightened, hooked fish can frighten and alert the whole flock for a long time, causing a suspicious attitude towards the proposed bait.

Sometimes fish use the experience gained by a neighbor. In this regard, the behavior of a shoal of bream surrounded by a seine is typical. At first, finding themselves in the tone, the bream rush about in all directions; but as soon as one of them, taking advantage of the roughness of the bottom, slips under the bowstring, the whole flock immediately rushes after him.

Since the caution of a fish is directly related to the experience it has acquired, what older fish, the more suspicious she is of any unfamiliar objects. At various kinds fish caution is developed unequally. The most cautious should include carp, bream, trout, ide, the least cautious - perch, burbot, pike.

The herd lifestyle plays a big role. It is easier for a flock to escape from enemies, to find food and places convenient for breeding.

Thus, the "wit", "mind", "cunning" of fish are explained by the existence of an innate instinct and acquired experience. Instinctively, the fish is afraid of swinging the rod, shaking the soil, splashing in the water, it avoids thick and rough lines, a hook that is not masked by the nozzle, etc. This means that the angler must be able to mask his tackle, be careful and observant.

based on real events

Assumptions, conjectures, conjectures, rumors, observations, myths, irrefutable facts and fantasies - EVERYTHING was mixed up in the anglers' dialogues on the topic of choosing the color of the bait! Many argue that the color of the bait does not matter, since the fish sees everything in black and white, while others believe in the magical properties of colors. As a fisherman, I was no exception and, of course, I also thought about this topic, how is it really? I was not going to argue endlessly with anyone and therefore calmly observed and analyzed on fishing trips. Since, first of all, I am a spinner and my fishing mainly takes place on the Ob River, so I thought about the Ob predators. Perhaps this is a question and would not have tormented me if I had not had to return to it every fishing trip, sorting through a huge stock various baits, I asked myself the same question - what kind of bait to put? And I began to reason, trying to understand what is really, weighing the facts - pros and cons! Let's start with the most elementary, the fish has eyes, nature has decreed this, and of course this is not easy. With 99.9% confidence, we can say that the fish sees and I think everyone agrees with this))!
The most important question, how does she see? We all know perfectly well that in addition to vision, fish have a sense of smell and hearing, which, by the way, does not arise in the fishing environment, at least I have not heard of it. It is clear that being in their natural habitat i.e. in the water, the fish uses all its senses to navigate! But we are primarily interested in vision: how far does it see and does it distinguish colors? Consider the most bad option - the fish sees at a minimum distance that we do not know and does not distinguish colors. In such a situation, in search of food for itself, it is foolish to believe that it will rely more on sight, and first of all it will navigate and use other senses: hearing and smell. In such a situation, having found food by hearing and smell, she looks at it (sight is poor) and decides whether to eat (attack) or not. But more than one experienced spinning player will not agree that this is the case, many of us have encountered a situation where a predator attacked a stationary bait: a wobbler, a popper, jig baits, a predator attacks them in static and I don’t mean a pause on the wiring, but just a big pause. There are a lot of cases when the bait being in the water for a long time (distracted by a telephone conversation) was attacked. Of course, on the river, the current continues to move the bait and thus it plays along, but I had cases when such attacks also occurred on pits and lakes, where there is no current, the bait is in full static and does not have any smells and, moreover, does not make any sounds attacked by a predator! It became clear to me that the fish sees at a sufficient distance and vision is not a secondary organ for it, it trusts it. The most important question remains, does the fish recognize colors, does it see shades? Or is everything sad and the world is presented in black and white? The controversy around this topic continued to be present. First of all, I asked myself the question of how to prove this to myself, because it is not possible to look through the eyes of a fish, and everything else is just guesswork, how to understand that nature endowed the fish with seeing the colors of the underwater world, which is very rich in various shades. All the time while fishing, this question was spinning in my head and I refuted this or that side as much as possible, I wanted to find out the truth for myself first of all. Life gave me the first clue when I was vacationing on the Red Sea. Since I have a degree in scuba diving, I went diving into the depths of this most beautiful sea. I have never seen such a combination of colors anywhere in my life, being under water, the understanding that this is water comes only from sensations, since the visibility is 100%, no particles float in the water - the view is simply unreal - perfect cleanliness, the aquarium was not nearby )). Under water there are many corals of all colors and shades that can only exist in this world. There are hundreds of fish of all kinds of different colors around, and fish similar to the colors of the same corals were in close proximity to them, and of course it was their disguise, and I don’t think it was from me)) I also met an octopus under water, which, when touched, changed colors: you touch your finger - one color, you touch it again - another, still music and like at a disco))) it is clear that by doing so he either tried to be intimidating, or disguised himself from me. This whole picture of the underwater world seen with my own eyes proved to me that fish perfectly see colors and their shades, use it as a disguise and orient themselves perfectly in this color world, because then what is the point of all this !!!
Further, already on fishing trips in the native Ob, the confidence that the fish perfectly distinguishes colors was only confirmed. You can continue to find an excuse: the size of the bait or the game, this is what influenced it, right now the fish was swimming and therefore grabbed this particular color, it was not the color that worked, but the fish began to exit, etc. But it’s hard to argue with the facts when many fishing trips take place in a boat with a partner and there is something to compare, when one doesn’t bite and the other already has a dozen fish caught, when the same bait and differences are only in color and the difference is obvious, even standing in a boat on At anchor, there were cases that they even changed places in the boat, when the baits spawn the same stall AND THE RESULT IS DIFFERENT, it's hard to believe that the color does not matter !!! The difference is very noticeable when fishing takes place on familiar points studied along and across, from year to year. Many are confused by the question, but how does black foam rubber catch at night? Here, too, everything is simple, the mass of water itself also has its own color, or rather the background. It is night outside, but the water does not turn black, let it be a gray background and a black foam rubber appears on this gray uniform background, it will be very visible to the predator as a target.The topic is very multifaceted, I specifically did not rely on any specific colors of lures, did not affect the vision of fish at various depths.

The fish distinguishes colors and reacts to them, that's what I tried to speculate about, but it turned out or not, whether I was able to convince someone or not, this is of course everyone's business! I think that everything is important, if we talk about baits, then this is the size and shape and material from which it is made, and of course the feed and wiring, and like these listed factors, the color is also very important! Everything is important and to ignore even one factor, I think it’s stupid, since this factor can be decisive, which will make the predator react to the attack! Sometimes it is very difficult to provoke a passive and cautious fish to attack! Experiment, choose the key to bites, do not underestimate the fish, it is a living creature and we, as anglers, must understand this first of all, take into account all factors, catch it successfully and a lot and, if possible, release it. All NHNCH!!!

Do fish think?
There is no reason to talk about any ingenuity of fish. The fish cannot think. Her brain only coordinates activity at the level of unconditioned reflexes, i.e. hereditarily fixed programs, characteristic of fish from the day of their birth, but, unlike higher vertebrates, does not make decisions and is not able to generalize. With age, fish can accumulate and adopt a certain life experience, which helps some to escape from enemies (fishermen, predators), others - predators - hunt more successfully.
How well do fish see?
Pisces are naturally myopic. Most fish clearly distinguish between objects within one to two meters, and the maximum range of vision does not exceed 15 m. Some fish have very sharp vision at a distance of up to 5 cm from the eyes. Predatory fish (taimen, pike), orienting themselves to their prey with the help of their organs of vision, have relatively good eyesight. They distinguish objects at a distance of 10-15 m. In bream, crucian carp and tench, living in troubled waters, leading a schooling lifestyle and looking for food objects using the organs of smell and touch, their eyesight is rather weak.
What is the field of view of the fish?
Each eye in fish has its own field of view, and both eyes cover a large field of view - about 270, i.e. the fish sees objects not only in front and on the sides, but also somewhat behind. A similar view of the fish is provided by the structure of the eyes and their location. The eyes of the fish do not have eyelids and never close.
Can fish taste food?
Numerous experiments prove that fish are able to distinguish between sweet, sour, salty and bitter in much the same way as a person. The organs of taste - taste buds - in most fish are located in the oral cavity, sometimes at the ends of the antennae and lips (burbot, cod), less often on the surface of the body (carp). These fish can taste food that has not yet entered the mouth.
Can fish smell?
Many fish have an extremely sensitive sense of smell. They perceive bloodworm extract in a dilution of 1:1,000,000,000. Biologically active substances (pheromones) released by fish into the water differ in negligible concentrations - 10-6-10-9 mg / l. Sexual pheromones and alarm pheromones have been found in fish. Odorous secretions (sex pheromone) of males and females specifically affect their behavior and physiological state, contribute to their occurrence at spawning grounds. The presence of an alarm pheromone released from the skin of injured fish at a concentration of 10-7 mg/l causes alarm in peaceful fish and their departure from a dangerous place. Extracts from swimming beetles, water striders scare away roach and crucian carp, extracts from bear skin cause anxiety in salmon. Carp, carps even react to water in which predatory fish were kept.
What scents attract or repel fish?
It is known that the fish does not take a nozzle, from which the smell of sweat, tobacco, cologne, fuel oil, diesel fuel comes. Anglerfish widely use the smells of certain oils that attract fish when preparing baits or baits (hemp, mint, camphor, anise, sunflower). Predatory fish are attracted by the smell of wounded and dead victims.
Can fish see color?
Fish of many species distinguish about the same colors as humans. And they react even more subtly to shades of blue, blue and purple. The ability to distinguish colors can be confirmed by the ability of many fish to change color depending on the color of the soil and water. The minnow, accustomed to receive food from a red bowl, always easily finds it from many of the same bowls of other colors.
Do fish have memory?
A perch, hooked once, avoids a hooked worm given to him again, but grabs the offered worm on a string. Many aquarium fish take food from the hands of their owner and never from the hands of other people. Fish that once fell into a trawl or net, but which escaped by squeezing through the mesh, are more cautious and fearful, which allows them to more successfully avoid the fishing gear in the future.
Do the sound of music scare the fish?
ABOUT The fearfulness and caution of fish has long been known. But sometimes in water bodies, in places intensively visited by amateur fishermen, fish can develop an attraction reflex to noise, usually associated with the appearance of complementary foods at this time at the bottom. Note that this rarely happens, in most cases the fish is in a hurry to move away from the source of the sound. If the sound source is on the ground, stone, ice or in a boat, the fish hears it even at a great distance. Acoustic vibrations are directly transmitted through water or through solid objects in contact with water - ice, soil, boat hull. The fish hears these sounds well. To avoid this, the radio should be hung on the shoulder (when fishing from a boat) or on a tree, bush, if fishing is carried out from the shore. In this case, acoustic vibrations pass through the air and enter the water already weakened and do not frighten the fish.
Fish feeding time.
Feeding time during the day for fish is different. Some feed during the day, others at night, others a little around the clock. Depending on this, they are divided into day, twilight and night. The daytime ones include: pike, perch, asp, dace, crucian carp, rudd, gudgeon, bleak and all small fish. To twilight: roach, tench, pike perch, ruff, bream, carp, sterlet, sabrefish. By night - catfish, burbot, eel, silver carp. Almost around the clock they eat: chub, silver bream, ide. The consumption of food by fish occurs intermittently, at more or less definite times. In predatory fish, such breaks last more than a day; in herbivorous fish, they are not large. During the year, fish also feed unevenly. Some feed all year round(ruff, dace), others - almost the whole year (perch, pike, pike perch), others stop feeding during spawning (roach, carp, tench), catfish, carp, crucian do not feed in winter.
How do fish "play"?
Not all fish swim and rest calmly in the water, many "play" and even "beat". So, carp are thrown high out of the water and fall back with a loud splash. Pike and zander are also thrown out, but not as high as carp, and their splash is quieter. But the asp just rises above the water, as if taking off, falling with such a noise that you can hear it in any part of the reservoir. Saying that the asp beats the water with its tail to stun small fish and then eat it. The perch, chasing fry on the surface of the water, gasps for air and "slurps", and the chub in the upper layer of water gurgles, as if someone is throwing stones into the water. The bream does not jump on the water, but on warm summer evenings, usually after rain, it sticks its head out into the air, fanning its dorsal fin and, showing its tail, goes into the depths.
Lateral line in fish. What it is?
This is a completely unique device that can capture the slightest fluctuations in water. A channel runs along the sides of the fish body, opening on the surface through holes in the scales. Nerve cells in the channels inform the fish about the surrounding space. Waves run from a swimming fish, are reflected from underwater objects and, returning to the fish, are perceived by the lateral line organ. The lateral line, and this is exactly what this tactile organ is called, allows the fish to feel the vibrations of the water, the movement of other fish in the neighborhood, to navigate in muddy water, not to bump into obstacles even in the absence of light or blindness, while performing the function of a kind of radar.

For a long time it was believed that fish do not have color vision, but for 60-70 years it has been proven that, with the exception of a few bottom and deep-sea species, all other fish can distinguish colors, and in some respects even better than us. For example, they see ultraviolet rays and distinguish between polarized light, but we cannot. But fish have weak sides. If we distinguish well the colors of the entire visible solar spectrum, then the fish - only its middle part. The edges of the spectrum for them are represented in one color. What does it mean? This means that, for example, cod, haddock and catfish are not able to distinguish between the colors on the left side of the spectrum - violet, blue, light blue and green. For them, they are all the same color. The same goes for the colors on the right side, orange and red. Actually color vision these species have only a narrow average range of colors - they distinguish between green, yellow and orange. All this does not mean, of course, that in the region of the spectrum where the fish are color blind, they do not see the difference between colors at all. They distinguish them by brightness, as we, for example, see the difference between light gray and gray. So, when thinking about the colors of baits, you need to understand that the fish will see them differently than we ourselves.

Water reflects part of the light falling on its surface, and filters what passes through. This means, firstly, that there is always less light under water than in air, and, secondly, that it is different in its composition. As a result, at a certain depth, there is no light left at all, complete darkness sets in. But at the same time, the rays different lengths waves are absorbed in different ways, some disappear at a shallower depth, others at a greater depth. In clear sea water, the long-wavelength colors red and orange are absorbed the fastest. They are not visible already at a depth of 5-8 meters. Then yellow disappears and much later green and blue. This selective takeover has very interesting consequences. What will red bait look like at a depth of 10 meters? On land, it reflects red waves (which is why we see it as red), and absorbs all the rest. At a depth of 10 meters, as we just found out, there are no more red rays. This means that our bait simply has nothing to reflect there. How will she look? That's right, it will be black. The most unexpected transformations can occur with baits that are white in color. White, as mentioned, looks like objects that reflect all seven colors of the spectrum at once. If some colors are cut off as a result of absorption by water, then, naturally, they do not fall on the bait and, therefore, are not reflected from it. As a result, part of the rays is excluded from the white “bouquet”, and white becomes colored.

But this is all for the case of clean and transparent sea water. In fresh waters, the situation is more complicated. Our baits can change their "war paint" in the most decisive way, depending on which reservoir we are going to fish on them. But that's not all. The nature of light absorption can be different in different parts of the same reservoir and even in the same area at different hours of the day.

Conclusions: For many fishing conditions, the colors of the lures do not play any role at all. But in fact, this is not entirely true. There are several points that soften this sentence to color. The eyes of fish are most sensitive to light of a certain wavelength, that is, a certain color. For freshwater fish it is red-orange in daylight, and green at dusk (shown for tench, bream, crucian carp, perch, burbot and bass). In other words, in twilight lighting, green objects of fish see better and from a greater distance than objects of other colors. The same is true for red-orange objects in daylight.

Summarizing all that has been said, we can formulate the main and, at first glance, paradoxical conclusion. The color of a fishing lure is not something fixed and unchanging. In fact, how the fish perceives it depends on the properties of the water of the reservoir into which this bait is thrown, and on the illumination into which it falls.

• We found torn animals: in the Primorsky Oceanarium they told about vandalism

  Three years ago, the Primorsky Oceanarium began its work on Russky Island. In the very first month, visitors began to destroy the exposition and break the fangs of the exhibits. However, the situation managed to change, according to RIA "Vostok-Media"....