Are LED fishing lights worth your time? According to Steve Moore, the resourceful host of Kayak Hacks Fishing, they can have a positive impact as a fish attractor. And in real-world experiments he found that one color combo is more alluring than the rest. Watch as Moore dives into the science behind light and lure color.
Do LED Fishing Lights Really Work?
Moore begins by explaining that “different colors of light, which is the color reflected off your lure, travel different distances underwater.” He argues that black lures are visible to fish from the farthest distance, followed by cooler colors. Warmer colors, Moore says, penetrate the least distance underwater—especially red.
“You’re not going to get an LED that flashes black,” Moore jokes, so a flashing blue or green light is likely your best bet. To test his assumption, the angler and a friend experimented over the course of a year by fishing with live and dead bait augmented by red, green and blue LEDs. They also tested a multi-colored fishing light that flashes all three colors plus white.
Results of the Experiment
Fast flashing, a feature of the multi-colored light, turned out to be key. “These flashing LEDs penetrate a little bit farther” in blue and green, Moore says, which “brings the fish in, and then the shimmer of the multi-sparkle is what attracts them and causes them to hit my bait.”
Want to try LED fishing lights for yourself? Make sure you check local laws and regulations first. Otherwise, affordable lights can be found on Amazon and at Walmart and other retailers. Moore suggests rigging them a few inches above your bait to avoid interfering with the hook and make them less easy to lose in a snag.
