Best colour for a fishing rod

Blue Fisher

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Recently I completed the build of a twin tip rod I hope to use for chub. On the butt section I used different colour corks and on the rings I added some copper highlights to the black thread used for the wraps. I know some people don’t like rod decoration but since I build for myself I want some personalisation. But this is a river rod and I only fish small rivers often close in, so I want both tip sections to be as inconspicuous as possible. So I just kept plain black thread on the tips.

This all got me thinking though, what would be the best colours for the tip section? I have a graphite blank, black rings and black thread. Dull and boring to me, but it’s probably really worrying as far as the fish are concerned, see a black pole get hooked! So what about camouflage colours, that would probably work. But I think dappled dull blues and greys is probably best. A lot of light reflects off of the water so the underside of the rod will be illuminated rather than silhouetted, dull blues and grey will then be similar to the sky.

Herons have to blend in or go hungry and their fronts have evolved to muted cloud colours so perhaps rod top sections should be those colours.

What do you think? Has anyone done this? Are any commercially made stalking rods this colour?

Have I got the courage to colour my rod tips, still tempted but sadly no, I’ll sit even further back instead.
 

nottskev

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There's a bit of a vogue for grey/white pole top kits, and you sometimes hear the heron's colour invoked. But then, herons stand in the water and try to spear fish more or less at their feet. If they had evolved using 13m poles, who knows what colour would have proved most advantageous. Perhaps they'd have evolved Sensas, Guru or Drennan team colours?

You can buy every conceivable tackle item in camo these days. Much of it looks plain daft and it's hard to see what part it plays in catching fish.

Just my opinion, but I find rods finished in black, brown or dark green most pleasing.

It's certainly true that small river chubbing needs stealth and watercraft, but I'd think footfall vibrations and silhouettes against the sky are more the issue than the relatively thin, small profile of a rod, especially if kept low and not waved around too much. There are a couple of swims on a local stream where you can throw maggots the distance, but I feed with a catty to save waving my arms about.
 

mikench

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I wouldn’t know but consider a dark blank would be preferable so as to resemble a tree branch. A tip in orange or yellow would be a flower or leaf to a fish. I am reminded that last time out Gordon had 2 swallows land on his Cadence 15’ rod and were quite content until he chose to cast. He hadn’t seen them. I have had robins , wrens and a kingfisher land on my rod a few times and, whilst I will never really know, I believe they thought it was a branch. Poles are similar and are mainly bland colours. I like a bit of bling on whippings and reel seat.

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Alan Whitty

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I always threatened to buy a pink rod and fish in the margins in clear water, I believe they don't give a jot, until someone in a pink top starts break dancing on the bank...stealth and slow movement is more important than colour imho.
 

@Clive

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We had this discussion in shooting circles. Camo' only works where it matches the background and when the wearer remains still. And the colours that animals see is different to our view. French hunters now wear orange camo' to reduce the chance of them being shot by their colleagues. But, from a photography point of view; anything opaque placed against a bright sky will be sillhouetted no matter what colour it is.

Over the years I've done some experiments including sitting out in a field in plain sight wearing bright coloured clothing. Pigeons landed nearby oblivious to my presence until I moved. Then they scarpered PDQ. With police dogs we set up several scenarios with people wearing camo' and others wearing bright colours. If these people remained still and quiet and were downwind of the dog they would remain undetected. Yet any slight movement, even 200 yards away was spotted.

When I used to stalk chub on the tiny River Dearne it was imperative to keep out of sight of the fish and the casting movement had to be timed just right otherwise it was like dominos going down with each fish spooking the next. It is better to rely on field craft than any camo' imo.
 
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Philip

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Didnt someone come out with a transparent pole at one point ? ...idea being it didnt spook the fish...

Anything dull coloured does it for me. Although perhaps a lightish blue might make sense.

....afterall thats what the fish will see agaisnt the sky. ...I purchased myself a light blue long sleeved tee shirt for wading in the sea for some sunny holiday spinning...whether it actually made any difference I have no idea...
 

John Aston

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The late Geoffrey Bucknall, a delightful man, introduced a range of fly rods in the Seventies finished in matt Heron Grey , The reason given was that it was less visible , but I'm sure that was just marketing fluff.

My choices are entirely aesthetic - I don't like rods with lots of writing on them (I'm talking about you Mr Drennan) and my two favourites are a deep chestnut Hardy fly rod with red accented black whipping and my Harrison GTi 12ft I use for grayling - dark green with maroon whipping.

I do laugh at camo coloured accessories -mugs , bait boxes **- often used by carp chaps whose baits are cast so far they are in a different post code...

** probably called 'ambient temperature boilie storage systems'
 

no-one in particular

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I have always liked the fact that cane rods generally just have a very small writing on them and/or a small transfer. I doubt many fish get spooked by a flashy rod but why take the risk, it could have been that lone fish that was the fish of a lifetime, I have sprayed painted reels before now, just didn't like the flashy silver red logo splashed on one side and sprayed the bail arm as well although that will come off in time. When I am fishing a small river with no or little cover I prefer something dull and non flashy.
I have never actually tried to camouflage a rod but wood colour or dark green would be my first choices. I would have to think about sky blue though, makes sense but I would still go for wood or green I think, these must be colours fish see all the time and the angle of a fishes vision must often mean it is looking at your rod against a green/brown backdrop when your fishing against bushes or trees in the background when sky blue wouldnt be very well camouflaged.
 

steve2

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I have often wondered why tackle companies don"t make winter clothing and bivies in white to blend in with snowy conditions.Or range of bare tree pattern camo clothing for winter. I am sure carp anglers would buy them. you can convince to buy most things they don"t need.
 

Ray Roberts

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The late Geoffrey Bucknall, a delightful man, introduced a range of fly rods in the Seventies finished in matt Heron Grey , The reason given was that it was less visible , but I'm sure that was just marketing fluff.

My choices are entirely aesthetic - I don't like rods with lots of writing on them (I'm talking about you Mr Drennan) and my two favourites are a deep chestnut Hardy fly rod with red accented black whipping and my Harrison GTi 12ft I use for grayling - dark green with maroon whipping.

I do laugh at camo coloured accessories -mugs , bait boxes **- often used by carp chaps whose baits are cast so far they are in a different post code...

** probably called 'ambient temperature boilie storage systems'
I bought a grey rod from the great man himself. I bought it as a blank from his shop Rod & Line in Lewisham. It was a prototype for a range of rods he was building at the time. The heron grey rod was a great casting tool but didn’t offer any advantage in hiding the rod as it was a beach-caster. The downside was that staring at a grey tip against a grey sky was hard on the eyes. I painted the tip orange in the end.

As some others have said; movement is really the key in not being spotted. After all, if being camouflaged is such a huge evolutionary advantage, why would kingfishers be coloured iridescent blue and bright orange? Cormorants aren’t exactly hard to spot either.

I find it a quite interesting subject. From a fishes perspective, they must see a variety of objects constantly moving around in their field of vision. There are plenty of slow moving objects they can see; clouds, surface debris, reeds, branches etc. On a windy day some of these objects can speed up considerably. Reeds wave about wildly as do shrubs and branches etc and these movements are largely ignored by the fish, but let a wary chub get a glimpse of your head poking out and as often as not it’s gone.
 

@Clive

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I have often wondered why tackle companies don"t make winter clothing and bivies in white to blend in with snowy conditions.Or range of bare tree pattern camo clothing for winter. I am sure carp anglers would buy them. you can convince to buy most things they don"t need.
You won't find carp anglers venturing out between November and May out here so no need for Nordic Mountain Camo'. But, as John says; no need for Realtree pyjamas and matching slippers either as their baits have to be towed out several miles before being allowed to sink.
 

nottskev

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It's sensible to use basic watercraft, and not only to avoid spooking fish. Some common angling behaviours also spook me: parking cars and vans right behind swims, disfiguring the bank, standing over the water as if about to dive in, building a home from home, canvas or aluminium, at the water's edge ..... They don't stop me feeding but they do deter me from fishing. I like the old etiquette where you do your fishing without spoiling other people's, and a casual passer by might not particularly notice you.

It can be funny, given we can debate the colour of a top kit or the impact of a bit of bling in the finish, what does or doesn't spook fish in reality. A lot depends on what they get used to and what they identify as danger. Tons of fish are caught in commercial pools flanked by every disturbance known to man. I often put my box in the shallow edge of a clear gravel pit, and sometimes tench and bream swim around my feet or even between me and the bank. Drop a baited rig in, though, and they bolt. Just down the road is an old railway ballast pit with around 20 grizzled old carp, many around 20lbs. They'll cruise around on warm days so close sometimes you could touch them. But put a line in the water and they won't even swim past. In some waters you can hook the next fish while the water is still rocking from the one you just netted or lost. In another, one fished bumped on the strike and it's game over.
 

Blue Fisher

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The late Geoffrey Bucknall, a delightful man, introduced a range of fly rods in the Seventies finished in matt Heron Grey , The reason given was that it was less visible , but I'm sure that was just marketing fluff.

My choices are entirely aesthetic - I don't like rods with lots of writing on them (I'm talking about you Mr Drennan) and my two favourites are a deep chestnut Hardy fly rod with red accented black whipping and my Harrison GTi 12ft I use for grayling - dark green with maroon whipping.

I do laugh at camo coloured accessories -mugs , bait boxes **- often used by carp chaps whose baits are cast so far they are in a different post code...

** probably called 'ambient temperature boilie storage systems'
I’ve got one somewhere! My first fly rod was a Geoffrey Bucknall two lakes kit rod. It was a cheap way to get into fly fishing. I’m sure that rod was grey/blue. I never considered that it was coloured that way intentionally. I’ll have to find it and see if it can be repurposed Into something I would like to use.

I never thought about the polefishers I suppose it’s obvious that they would consider it, the scaring effect of rod over water would be most pronounced with that style of fishing.
The problem is it is difficult to prove if a grey rod is better than any other. It would also lack the traditional or ruthless efficiency looks of other rods so would be difficult to sell commercially, so we won’t ever see racks of them in the shops.

For my fishing applications, no-one in particular makes a very good point that the fishes angle of view would generally put trees and bushes in the background. So even if there is an advantage to grey rods when open to the sky, as often as not the background won’t be sky.
 

Ray Roberts

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I’ve got one somewhere! My first fly rod was a Geoffrey Bucknall two lakes kit rod. It was a cheap way to get into fly fishing. I’m sure that rod was grey/blue. I never considered that it was coloured that way intentionally. I’ll have to find it and see if it can be repurposed Into something I would like to use.

I never thought about the polefishers I suppose it’s obvious that they would consider it, the scaring effect of rod over water would be most pronounced with that style of fishing.
The problem is it is difficult to prove if a grey rod is better than any other. It would also lack the traditional or ruthless efficiency looks of other rods so would be difficult to sell commercially, so we won’t ever see racks of them in the shops.

For my fishing applications, no-one in particular makes a very good point that the fishes angle of view would generally put trees and bushes in the background. So even if there is an advantage to grey rods when open to the sky, as often as not the background won’t be sky.
The fishes view isn’t always what we believe it to be. Somewhere hidden in my loft I have an oldish angling book that was written by a couple of fly anglers, mainly the book concerned what fish actually saw. I will have a go at finding it again next time I’m up there. We usually wrongly believe that if we can’t see the fish, by that I mean they’re not in direct line of sight, then they can’t see us. But according to this book; the angle caused by refraction lets the fish see further back from the waters edge than you may believe.
 

The Sogster

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I think you're right to an extent Ray, I remember reading a similar thing as a youngster in the seventies regarding lake fish. For the life of me I can't remember the source though.
I also believe there was some reference to the structure of the actual lense and how this affected line of sight.
It will also vary by fish species due to the location of the eye, i.e are they side mounted or forward facing think sight feeder or grubber.
Might be time to get the old physics book out and look into incidences of refraction/ reflection and changes in the medium i.e water to air.
 
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Ray Roberts

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I think you're right to an extent Ray, I remember reading a similar thing as a youngster in the seventies regarding lake fish. For the life of me I can't remember the source though.
I also believe there was some reference to the structure of the actual lense and how this affected line of sight.
It will also vary by fish species due to the location of the eye, i.e are they side mounted or forward facing think sight feeder or grubber.
Might be time to get the old physics book out and look into incidences of refraction/ reflection and changes in the medium i.e water to air.
Or just sit a bit further back, lol. The light bends when it passes through a different medium and the effect for the fish is a little like a periscope.
 

nottskev

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It's interesting, what fish can see, what they pay attention to (not the same thing) and what can spook them. Usually, we just habitually do things that minimise disturbance and spooking without creeping around like the SAS. For instance: on stills or canals where you can catch a rod length out, fishing a couple of rod lengths down the bank so as not to be looming over fish or playing and landing them where you're feeding them. Or on moving water, feeding so as not to lead them right up in front of you. Or pole fishing, using an elastic soft enough not to pull hooked fish to splash on the top, then pulling them to the side and out of the feeding area. This kind of thing often makes the difference between catching a few and catching a lot.
 

@Clive

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What spooks fish is a mystery to me. I've seen big chub high tail it when I introduced some sweetcorn from a good distance upstream.Carp fled from bread the first time I tried it in France yet took cheese pellets confidently. When wading I've had fish swimming around me and grayling taking a dangling fly while I was unhooking another. The biggest tench I have caught came after I had wound in after two fishless hours and left the bait in a foot of water at the rod end while having a cuppa, and had 6lb of silvers from 18" of water at the rod end during a match. **** Clegg in the next peg was not impressed. .
 

nottskev

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Do fish species, like bird species, vary in their capacity to spot dangers and learn? A few years back we had a plague of magpies (who says predator/prey numbers always balance out; for a while there were more magpies than songbirds round here) and they started terrorising the old cat, dive-bombing it in numbers. I had a shot at one with a stone in a catty and missed it by a fraction. After that, I only had to walk past a window and any magpie in the vicinity immediately took off and made the alarm call. There was no second chance to line up a shot at one. At the same time, fat wood pigeons walked around the garden and didn't take off til you were two or three steps away. I'd put chub in the magpie class. Barbel, for all their prince of the river glory, would go with the pigeons, I'm afraid. As you Yorkshire blokes say, strong in't arm ......
 
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