CASTING LURES 97 



same shape and color when deep-fishing that I em- 

 ploy when "splattering" on the surface, all of which 

 will be more or less thoroughly gone into when we 

 discuss the various types later on surface, surface- 

 underwater, and weedless. 



I have been carrying on a series of experiments 

 which I am willing to admit are of questionable 

 value though suggestive: of questionable value be- 

 cause we do not know that colors appear and appeal 

 to a fish as they do to us even when seen through the 

 same medium, suggestive because throwing some 

 light upon color values in water. I made a con- 

 trivance with which I could study the lure under 

 water. Unless of very bright color, looking up 

 through the water, at a distance of four feet the 

 lure became a black spot simply. Getting a white 

 lure against a dark back-ground, such as an over- 

 hanging bank or fringe of trees, or a red lure, say, 

 against the blue sky, caused the plug to stand out 

 conspicuously. I found a vast difference between 

 looking up at a lure against the light, and looking 

 down upon a lure as from a boat, the light above. I 

 was greatly surprised to find that the less conspicu- 

 ous shades and colors were indistinguishable when 

 seen through the water from any great distance. In 

 under-water lures I found it extremely difficult to 

 differentiate between a yellow perch, colored to life, 

 and the green minnow type so common upon the 

 market. Lengthy experiments have forced me to the 





