coloured dead baits

[fishypaul]

been sorting out my frozen dead-bait stocks and come across a couple of coloured baits,they were blue whiting i had dyed myself.
i went through a phase of trying different colours out,the only great success was a very good day on the river using red herrings,now i might have had just as good a day using uncoloured baits,i will never know.i'm curious,has anyone else tried this,what next,a green sprat ?

what thoughts do you lads have

[Norfolkboy]

Seen smelt being sold in tackle shops died red and blue. I bought a red packet when i first started and didn't catch anything, but diedn't catch anything during the whole trip, so can't say if they worked or not.

Originally Posted by fishypaul

the only great success was a very good day on the river using red herrings

atleast it didn't put them off

[fishypaul]

i think that red is the colour that seems to be most popular as its the blood colour,i didn't go for red for that reason,it just seemed on the waters i was fishing at the time that the pike were becoming tackle shy,
i just wanted to give them something different,
i didn't really give it a fair crack of the whip,perhaps i will try again this winter

[Norfolkboy]

Well i thought red would be the best colour because of blood, but then i didn't know if pike are actually attracted to blood like sharks are?

[fishypaul]

good point dan,sharks are attracted by the scent of blood,they can detect small amounts of blood in the sea,2 or 3 parts per million or something like that,
i don't think it is quite so important for the pike,a fishy smell seems to be more interesting i think

[Norfolkboy]

Got to be worth a try though. 1 rod on coloured deadbait, the other rod on fresh untouched deadbait

[Stickyboy]

Try claret and blue. I was hooked years ago!

[fishypaul]

could possibly make the poor old pike feel unwell,

we must at all times avoid cruelty to the pike

[Englishman.in.Sweden]

I was told by a good piker that coloured dead baits are for dark or murky waters,
and that in clear waters they make no difference. dunno if it is true cause i aint ever tried it but it makes sense.

[aks19]

I've enver tried coloured baits but im guessing that it would work along the same lines as flies, I was once told dark flies for dark days light for light but this never seems the case for me, chopping and changing seems best but as norfolkboy said try one on each rod, see what the results are like.