Do Fish See in Color Fish do indeed perceive color. Every fly fisher knows that or ought to know that. Like humans, the retina of a fish have rods and cones. Cones are used in the day and rods at night. Color vision evolved to help fish identify potential food. In the environment of the fish, the background will either be the bottom, the water itself, or if looking up for food it could be the sky. The bottom is normally tannish olive to green. When looking across the water, the background appears pale silver blue. But if the water is off color due to algae or high water one must take that into consideration as well. Skylight becomes more important at dusk and dawn when it contains more reds. Thus for opportunistically feeding game fish, flies with bright or contrasting colors and/or a lot of flash will make them stand out against the above mentioned backgrounds. The Mickey Finn, tied with yellow and red, and a silver body is one of the most effective attractor patterns. As for dry fly attractors , the Royal Wulff is still hard to beat, with its red and peacock body and white wings. Black flies, because of their strong silhouette also are easy for fish to spot. Let's not forget patterns that contain strands of flashabou or other tinsel that reflect light when stripped or while drifting through the current are easy for fish to spot.

How To Choose the Right Fly Line Weight But with a longer leader, the more difficult it is to cast and there is a reduction in accuracy. Thus, a 9-foot leader is more accurate and easier to turn over than a 15-footer. Considering this, plus the fact that the splashdown of the line is what is frightening the trout, there is a simple solution. Use a fly line one size lighter than the rod manufacturer recommends. Jim Green, who has designed fly rods for years and is a superb angler, mentioned to me more than three decades ago that he almost always used a line one size lighter when fishing dry flies where the trout were spooky or the water was calm. I tried it and have routinely followed his advice. So, for example, if you are using a six weight rod, you can drop down to a five weight line with no problem. In fact, in very delicate fishing conditions, I often drop down two sizes in line weights. There is a reason.

Bluegills, Trout, Walleyes, and Catfish Typically they like water from 50 degrees up to 90, and can even be taken through ice! But, the best time to get them is when the water is around 70 degrees. It is then that they become aggressive because they are ready to spawn. You can find nests from about 2 – 12 feet deep. When it is warmer, fish early and/or late in the day, especially if you are in shallow water. Bigger bluegills can be found in deeper water, and can be up to 20 feet below the surface. When fishing lily pads, approach it as if you were going for bass. Work the points, pockets and indentations where there is open water.

Fishing forecast (Orlando Sentinel)
FRESHWATER: You can catch your limits of bluegills and shellcrackers if you fish near North Steer Beach in East Lake Toho. There have been plenty of quality fish in the area for most of the past two months. Use crickets and redworms at first light. Bass fishing has been decent throughout the Kissimme.


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Eldon angler second in BFL tourney
Steve Evanoff of Collinsvlle, Ill., led the two-day, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division Super Tournament wire to wire and claimed the boater title Sunday.
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