The sun., 1919-05-25
PROOF THAT TROUT
HAVE GOOD SIGHT
Miraculous Fishy Vision That
Of the Darkest Night Can
Distinguish Colors.
NO COLOR BLINDNESS
ny LADD PLUMLEY,

BY LADD PLUMLEY.
In an article in THE SUN Cardigan"
calls attention to the question Of color
blindness In trout. Since fishing fellows
have printer linked their ideas the ques-
ton has been asked. And for the fly
fisherman 1t is a tremendously important
question. II trout were color blind the
task OF ny tiers would be amazingly SIM
plified.
And Of course if trout could be proved
color blind the proof would include sal
mon. No longer would the salmon fish,
erman care what color his flies were. and
no longer would Salmon fytiers send to
the utterrnost parts of the earth for
feathers from rare birds. Think Of the
amazing convenience of filling fly boxes
with flies all Of one color, different. only
In shape.
Cardigan" suggests that an exheus-
tive test Of this radical theory be made
and the results given in these columns.
That would be waste of time-as much
waste az II scientists should devote
themselves to proving that copper con-
ducts electricity or that iron can be SO
shaped that It will float on water.
The males of many varieties of ami
NAL life are far more brilliantly col
ored than the females. This is true of
birds, and II is true of some fishes, in
It is certainly strange freak OF nature
to adorn the male trout, and only during
the spawning season. with the most bril-
liant of fishy attire.
This can be regarded as an abso-
lutte refutation OF the theory that
trout cannot distinguish colors.. Nature
does not color animals by freak: there
Is always a reason, and males are bril-
| liant during the mating season for a
a AztN I.A Ia Ent,Nf In
rayed in his gaudy habiliments in Octo-
Der and November because nature wishes
him to>be attractive to .the female he
courts
| Nature does exactly the same thing
when the young human male. by instinct
| attires himself In his gladdest rags when
| he intends to spend an evening with his
, best girl. She is not color blind, nor is
Sam Brown. her sutton. and dainty
Madam Specklesldes has a keen eye and
glories in the rich attire of her gaydy
sultor.
What Naturalist Say.
For Just q moment let us see what
| some anglers and naturalists have to
say. Or. Gunther ("Study Of FishesD
gays, referring to the eye Of the salmon
| family, at IL by no means devoid OF
olearness and precision
| Wilson ("Ephemera's Handbook
states: "The faculty OF sight in fishes
is one OF their highest sentient endow-
ments."
David Webster was a Scottish angler
who for many years fshed nine months
Of the year and made his living by the
sale of fish he caught on hook and line.
He says: During night fishing I use
six flies Of different shades OF color, and
times innumerable found that nearly the
whole of my trout. amounting from ten
to twenty pounds and frequently more,
lwere got with particular fly, while
scarcely any FISH were killed with any
OF the remaining five. and this, too. In
the darkest night"
Hundreds OF similar statements could
be quoted. but prefer TO give a record
of my own experiments. which prove to
me that trout have eyes 30 exQuisitely
sensitive that It seems rather strange
when somebody rises In meeting and Sc
lriously questions II our spangled burgers
of the stream know colors
The two files known as Lead Wing
Coachman'' and "White Wing Coach
man" are precisely alike In every detail
with the exception of the wings. Many
times have placed these two flies on the
same leader and OF the same size. Time
and time again every trout taken has
8eleCteQ the Wnlto WINS hiOSpSSeA'S ~
the position of the fly. If the white was
changed from tall ny" to "dropper' the
result was the same.
Trout That Prefer Dark Insects.
There u q race OF trout In a small
brook in Delaware county, N. T., thai
lprefers dark Insects. In the main stream
1.-The Coachman and light fiies gener'
aliy are successful and dark fiies vii
take few fish, but in the brook tributary
no large brown trout can be taken on
! light ny. =.
For those who know this water this !!
A kind of trade secret We who hsf
that brook have made many fly expert
ments. And place on your leader TIVE
flies of the same size and OF exactly TN
! same construction, except in color. on
dark and one light. and every fish worth!
To be creeled vii take the dark ny
This Is also true when dusk De
sends and the angler himself has DIFF
nculty in determining the colors OF M
dies. Make your cast In some dusk!
pool. where there must be an absence o
iight-for human eyes-and ol
brown will take the dark ny in prefer
ence TO the light.
love night fly fishing for trout ant
some of my largest trout have been TAX
en- when It was 90 dark 7 could not %