Alluring Colors

From May, 1996 (Update #27)

Zebra mussel-influenced improvements in water clarity have prompted some anglers to change the colors of their lures. Before zebra mussels arrived, Lake Ontario's color was blue-green. The lake's current deep-blue color is more typical of lakes that contain fewer suspended particles, such as Crater Lake and Lake Superior. "Years ago, the brighter lure colors seemed to work well, because the water had a murkiness to it," said Lake Ontario charter boat captain Tim Walsh, who noted that even with the change in water clarity, orange and chartreuse lures still work well. With 10 fishing poles on his boat, Reel Time, Walsh tests the effectiveness of multiple lure colors until he finds the combination that works best. New York Sea Grant Extension Specialist David MacNeill recommends anglers use fluorescent orange lures in turbid waters close to shore, and fluorescent green and orange lures for clearer offshore waters. For clear, open waters, fluorescent greens and whites are best, he said.

Julie Zeidner, New York Sea Grant.

ID: 199605-2.

The Zebra Mussel Update was a 4- to 8-page quarterly national newsletter published by the University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute from May 1990 through May 1997. The ZMU documented the spread of the zebra mussel -- an exotic nuisance mussel -- through North America's freshwater environments, especially the Great Lakes, and on efforts to control it.