Why Lure Colors Change Underwater: How Depth and Light Affect Soft Plastics

Part 3

Water doesn’t treat all colors equally. Some colors fade quickly, while others remain visible at depth.

This is why a bait that looks bright above water can look completely different to a fish.

Understanding why lure colors change underwater starts with how light behaves as it passes through water and how different wavelengths are absorbed with depth.

What Happens to Color Underwater

As depth increases:

• Red disappears first

• Orange and yellow fade next

• Green, blue, and purple last the longest

A red bait doesn’t vanish—it turns dark.

That’s why red soft plastics often function like black at depth.

Why This Matters for Color Selection

Colors that retain visibility underwater:

• Blue

• Purple

• Green

This explains why green pumpkin and purple-based colors work in so many situations.

As depth increases, water absorbs different wavelengths of light, causing some lure colors to fade or darken while others remain visible longer.

What’s Next

In Part 4, we’ll break down how fish actually see, using plain language—not biology textbooks.

Previous: Part 2: Fishing Lure Color Contrast

Next: Part 4 How Fish sees lures