From the April/May Infisherman Magazine...various Doctors are combining science with empirical evidence to try and come up with what they believe that walleyes see...I wish I had a scanner so I could put the whole article out here but I will type a little background and then what they think walleyes see in Colorado type (clear) water...I suggest that all the hardcore walleye hounds pick up the magazine and read the article...if nothing else go to King Soopers and read it...
The Walleye Eye - they see color vision...walleyes contain tow sets of cone cells in their retinas; twin and single cones. Cone cells are used in daylight and are respoonsible for color and high-acuity vision. Walleye cones are some of the largest discovered in animals. Twin cones are the most dominant type in walleye and contain a visual pigment most sensitive to light at a wavelength of 605 nanometers (we see it as orange red). The less abundant single cones contain a visual pigment most sensitive to 530 nanometers (we see this as green). Walleyes, like many other freshwater fishes, lack a visual pigment with peak sensitivity to blue. Because Burkhardt isolated visual pigments sensitive to tow different wavelengths, he concluded that walleyes have the capacity for color vision. He alsos discovered an intermedialte cell that discripminates red from green, by signals sent from either thered sensitive or green sensitive cones cells. Humans have similar red and green discriminating cells and also those for blue and yellow. A blue and yellow discriminating cell hasnt been found in the walleye. According to Burkhardt, walleyes should have the best discrimination between red and green. Enough with the background.
Clear Waters - they say you probably wont come across clear walleye waters very often like the Great Lakes but Colorado's waters are pretty clear, so here goes. Light penetrates deepest in these waters. Blue and some green dominate the available light in the deepest water light reaches, and make up the color of the background. According to Loew, this background is dark to a walleye since it has lower sensitivity to short wavelengths. Sounds strange that clear water appears dark, but we have to remember what wavelengths the visual pigmentsof walleyes are most sensitive to. So, as long as there's enough light available, red, orange, and green reflecting lures would appear colored and brighter. This is contrary to our longtime belieg that red disappears with depth. It does to our eyes, but not to a walleye's. To experiment, start with colors and patterns that get the walleye's attention--colors walleyes see best, like bright red, orange, and green (chartreuse), combined with flash. If walleyes are neutral, tone down the experiment. Thr reddish hue of of the gold and blck Rapala and the subtle colors on a Rapala perch pattern still play against the darker background, but they're not as visible as bright orange or green. Pumpkinseed softbaits should be moderately visible. Meanwhile, blue, purple and smoke would match well against this dark background, a surprise for many no doubt, given the semming popularity of these general colors on the Great Lakes. Perhaps, though, its the subtleness of these colorsand resulting subtle flash that keys some of this success, especially once the sun rises higher in the sky.Experiment with jig colors, too. Bright orange, red or green jigs should be highly visiable. Pairing these colors with bright softbaits or a lively minnow makes for a highly visible presentation. If walleyes are turned off by brightly colored jigs, try blue and purple, which wont be as visible. Instead of the jighead being an attractor, it becomes more a part of the package. Think motion and flash for the waters we consider here. We can make use of flash at greater depths in clear waters because more light is available. Flash remains a primary factor that triggers recognition in walleyes. Moving flashy baits combined with the right colors take advantage of both recognition signals. Ok that was my good deed for the day...there is a lot more to the article...it also talks about green and tainted or reddish waters and more on the subject overall...
The Walleye Eye - they see color vision...walleyes contain tow sets of cone cells in their retinas; twin and single cones. Cone cells are used in daylight and are respoonsible for color and high-acuity vision. Walleye cones are some of the largest discovered in animals. Twin cones are the most dominant type in walleye and contain a visual pigment most sensitive to light at a wavelength of 605 nanometers (we see it as orange red). The less abundant single cones contain a visual pigment most sensitive to 530 nanometers (we see this as green). Walleyes, like many other freshwater fishes, lack a visual pigment with peak sensitivity to blue. Because Burkhardt isolated visual pigments sensitive to tow different wavelengths, he concluded that walleyes have the capacity for color vision. He alsos discovered an intermedialte cell that discripminates red from green, by signals sent from either thered sensitive or green sensitive cones cells. Humans have similar red and green discriminating cells and also those for blue and yellow. A blue and yellow discriminating cell hasnt been found in the walleye. According to Burkhardt, walleyes should have the best discrimination between red and green. Enough with the background.
Clear Waters - they say you probably wont come across clear walleye waters very often like the Great Lakes but Colorado's waters are pretty clear, so here goes. Light penetrates deepest in these waters. Blue and some green dominate the available light in the deepest water light reaches, and make up the color of the background. According to Loew, this background is dark to a walleye since it has lower sensitivity to short wavelengths. Sounds strange that clear water appears dark, but we have to remember what wavelengths the visual pigmentsof walleyes are most sensitive to. So, as long as there's enough light available, red, orange, and green reflecting lures would appear colored and brighter. This is contrary to our longtime belieg that red disappears with depth. It does to our eyes, but not to a walleye's. To experiment, start with colors and patterns that get the walleye's attention--colors walleyes see best, like bright red, orange, and green (chartreuse), combined with flash. If walleyes are neutral, tone down the experiment. Thr reddish hue of of the gold and blck Rapala and the subtle colors on a Rapala perch pattern still play against the darker background, but they're not as visible as bright orange or green. Pumpkinseed softbaits should be moderately visible. Meanwhile, blue, purple and smoke would match well against this dark background, a surprise for many no doubt, given the semming popularity of these general colors on the Great Lakes. Perhaps, though, its the subtleness of these colorsand resulting subtle flash that keys some of this success, especially once the sun rises higher in the sky.Experiment with jig colors, too. Bright orange, red or green jigs should be highly visiable. Pairing these colors with bright softbaits or a lively minnow makes for a highly visible presentation. If walleyes are turned off by brightly colored jigs, try blue and purple, which wont be as visible. Instead of the jighead being an attractor, it becomes more a part of the package. Think motion and flash for the waters we consider here. We can make use of flash at greater depths in clear waters because more light is available. Flash remains a primary factor that triggers recognition in walleyes. Moving flashy baits combined with the right colors take advantage of both recognition signals. Ok that was my good deed for the day...there is a lot more to the article...it also talks about green and tainted or reddish waters and more on the subject overall...
