Maybe he likes his old boat. He's got his stickers, knows how it rides, knows how deep the water has to be. I have an old fishing rod that I know is junk but I love it and I catch a lot of fish. Besides, maybe he wants to be incognito!
45 years ago, when I was a kid on LI I went on a party boat for blues in the fall above a wreck. Caught my first fluke and it remains the biggest one of my life, 28", 10.5 lbs. My parents were proud. PRs are great! You never forget.
A dozen or so years ago with gulp softbaits, one called midnight, which was nearly black. It out performed other lures in the very early morning 4am. Trout anglers here in New Zealand say dark day dark lure, bright day bright lure. Amazing video. Thanks
Thank you very much for this video and the information you put into it. I got my brain thinking more for when I fish for crappie at 16' deep.Colors and jig profiles mean alot and this helps out alot from your video.
My parents used to own a tackle shop on Tremont Ave in the Bronx about 20 years ago. I remember my dad telling me about a commercial fisherman he was friendly with who was constantly on fish - even when it was slow. He only ever used black jigs and black bucktails.
Interesting test I’ve only been using silver with glow jigs for tilefish. I’ve been told red with gold is a good deep water grouper jig color. Wonder how gold would do against silver?
The fact John only has 116 thousand subscribers is a mystery. The guys literally is a fishing encyclopedia with all the right equipment and even has his own products. It really dont make sense but his fishing always does. Gonna buy some black jigs John and I just picked up some uv glow cocahoes with a yellow tail. Gonna put em together next time I fish dirty water in the sun see what happens. Thx.
this is exactly what I have found for colors working black gives the best silhouette, which makes it viable at night and low light depths. Glow is always a great color at low light depths as well. Chrome seems to be a shallow water/ clear water/ sunny type of success.
When we night fish for largemouth smallmouth bass here in Tennessee we have always used either black or Junebug colors. Even use black top water plugs, spinnerbaits and buzz baits at night.
Black and glow!! This is great! I've been using Tsunami swing hook fluke ball jigs in glow 1oz in the back bays of SJ for flounder for the last two seasons. I replace the stock short shaft hooks with Gamakatsu 3/0 or 4/0 baitholder hooks (not sure who turned me on to those hooks hahahahah). The jig is tipped with 4 inch Gulp grub in pink shine and I vary the gulp on the teaser above. The Tsunami glow ball jig and pink shine grub have outfished everything else that's been fished on my boat. This year has been a little slower than last year (I have my thoughts regarding why), but that glowing Tsunami ball jig with the swinging baitholder hook has been my go-to rig. We don't have anywhere near the depths you were fishing in this video, so I'd imagine that the light down below isn't the same. I think I'm gonna give a black gulp grub a try to see if it works. Great video Skinner and congrats to your brother for catching his personal best flattie!!
Love your videos...Thank-you for these educational videos. I have learned so much from watching these videos. By far the best saltwater videos. Thank-you for your dedication.
This is such a great video! I think it demonstrates that the fish actually seeing the lure (or seeing it clearly) is a big piece of the puzzle, maybe an obvious thing to say, but I think it is overlooked. I would be very interested to see how a white lure would work under the same conditions. I have a couple of comments. The fact that the black lure caught more fish would indicate there is still some light at the depth you were fishing (however low the intensity) otherwise it would not create a silhouette. Also, the high number of foul hooked fish on the chrome jig (given you were using single hooks) seems too high for this to be a “snagging” type situation. I might be wrong, but I am guessing these were deliberate hits on the chrome jig where the fish could not get a definitive view of where the jig was, knew something was there and hit at it anyway, getting foul hooked. I have been painting some of my jigs bright yellow for fishing dirty water in the surf for a couple of years and have done much better with the yellow over the plain chrome. Looking forward to your next video.
Long time fisherman short time viewer and have to say I love your video. Been fishing since 15 (23 now) and watching your videos alone helped me Excell a lot mostly with fluke fishing. Keep these videos coming!!!
John Paduano said he also found small black jigs to work wonders and he couldn't figure out why. I know of guys who are big smallmouth fisherman and their recommendation is always gold on days with poor light conditions and/or deep water. There's certainly gold diamond jigs too but they seem less popular than chrome. Awesome content!
I’ve always been taught silver/chrome is for clear water, medium light (overcast, morning/evening when the sun is low). Black/dark is for low light and dirty water when the fish are more keyed into silhouette and the absence of light (bait blocking the moonlight). Gold is for clear water, bright light (and always for Spanish mackerel), it reflects but less than silver so it’s not too much for the fish on really bright days. Never tried glow, might need to change that.
Fantastic video, really useful info. Gotta say, I'm a 'belt and braces' angler-I'd be tempted to go black, AND a bit of luminous, plus a little extra fluoro too...
i bought some glow rubber tails to go with single hooks that i swap out trebles for on my various types of jigs, i wonder if a glow tail on a black jig is the best of both worlds (have not tried this)
Thanks for posting- I did this with fluke balls a few years ago, ordered some custom colored ones (black) from a local guy (upstate) making them in his house, he was hesitant to make black ones and finally realized im a paying customer, managed to still F up my order... anyway they did produce
John love your videos, great stuff! As a local New England diver who also does video my one comment is check/test the low light capabilities of this camera. I'm going to guess there's still ambient light where the camera was but the sensor just couldn't process it.
Certainly the fish aren't just feeling around in the dark. They must see the lures reasonably well. How they see them at that depth is the real question (presumably answered by the catch rates). The black would amplify the shadow effect whereas the glow would create contrast in another way. In both cases though I would guess that contrast is the effective mechanism.
I’ve been killing it in FL this spring with the snook at night with black bucktails and black trailers. White, yellow or chartreuse hardly get a bump. Great video John!!!
Just like the wine red bucktails working well in the South Shore inlets at night. It was nice to see the side-by-side test though with a good number of fish. Glad you're hitting the snook! Any luck on darters and bottles?
@@JohnSkinnerFishing Thanks John! Unfortunately I haven’t been fishing in areas where I could really use darters & bottles to their full potential. I need to try a nearby inlet with stronger currents and rips.
John, this was a very interesting video. I cracked up after you showed the pitch black camera footage. I was thinking "so what revelation came from this", In the end it's amazing what your footage revealed since most people aren't throwing black or glow. Thank you!!
All hail Skinner, all hail Skinner! Dude you are really something. Congratulations to your brother! My favorite part of this video, “no i dont think its even the size of the last one...ah shit” grabs net, fish spits hook some how still goes home for dinner 😂 you’re the best the east coast has to offer and you cant argue it! Tight lines John
As with bass fishing, shiny, white, bright colors in clear water, sunny days, dull dark lures in murky low light conditions. Glow helps in dark conditions. And white braid is the hardest to see in deeper water because it absorbs/reflects the surrounding color. Red, green etc turn darker, easier for fish to see same as with lures.
I used to jig for stripers almost exclusively with diamond jigs(chrome). Last 4/5 years I’ve been using butterfly style jigs which are usually painted finishes in different color patterns. I didn’t realize until now that not using chrome may have improved my fishing. Had my personal best bass last season 30.5 lbs. mid August! Side note, my bass/bluefish ratio has been around 6/1. Western LI Sound
Red is the first color in the spectrum to turn black underwater at 3', which is probably why you were doing well with pink. Violet is the last color in the spectrum to turn black. I used to know what depth all the individual colors would turn black, but that was a long time ago. Congratulations to your brother Bob on his personal best summer flounder aka fluke. Thank you for this experiment and tight lines.
Bob's "Holy Crap!" had me laughing. He sounded just like you on some of your PBs. It must be a family favorite quote. ;) I have some Black Bucktails in my tackle box that are going to get a workout on my next trip out!
Mr. Skinner, I respect you very much sir so please, I am not a troller, just curious. One thing about this video that struck me is when you (if I may use the word) surmised that chrome or shiny finished lures reflected the light creating a mirror of the darkness, and that makes sense. But for that to happen there would have to be some light. I don't think your cameras can pickup light at 60ft the way some fishes eyes can. many believe that fish in low light use their lateral line to zero in on prey. I always believed it, except after this video you made, I suspect they use the lateral line to get into range, then eye sight for the kill. I would love if you could test other colors..black vs white. and yellow or chartreuse . typical surf bag colors. i'll bet white comes in second to glow in dark.which proves they hunt by sight.
Hmmm this is very interesting indeed. So maybe it is more about the vibrations if so then a jig that makes more commotion might do even better.. as well as banging the bottom more.. I wonder if this would have good application for deep lakes as well. Might be worth it to try the glow in the dark on some lakes.🤔 Great experiment sir! 🙌🏻🤙🏻
I have a couple night spots that have artificial light surrounding them to some degree. I have found repeatedly that a chrome with dark color plug seems to often have an edge in these places, although I have hooked stripers on most color varieties in these locations, the dark plus chrome has become my GO TO in these places. I enjoyed your experiment. Good creative thinking!
If you're using sub-surface lures there, I wonder how all black would compare to chrome black. I'm definitely going to use less chrome at night after this test.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing I fished there with a buddy side by side as he threw the burple, and I threw purple/chrome. I outproduced his hook ups easily 4 to 1. This happened on at least 2 if not 3 occasions.
Cool. Any chance that the plug ran shallow enough and there was enough artificial light for the chrome to reflect the light and flash? Other than moonlight, I don't fish anywhere near artificial light.
Another superb video John. Over here, throwing lures into the Bristol Channel, a dark, murky water if ever there was one, I've followed advice back and forth between black lures, bright fluorescent lures, and everything in-between, and noticed little difference, in that, if there's fish out there, they don't like any of them, or they just don't like me! However, I've always been intrigued by the idea that black/dark lures succeed in this situation because they make better silhouette, but surely any opaque lure will have the same effect as light cannot pass through it. Just saying. Raymondo
As a diver I can confirm first hand that in low light conditions anything coloured just blends into the background, whereas black things stand out because they suck up what little light that may hit them. It may look pitch dark on the video, but fish that live there have excellent sight for low light levels. The fish can see way better than the camera is able.
John, Fish do have a version of night vision from what I am reading. It would be interesting to know how they see in the dark, what colors, and so forth.
I had just painted some 20 ounce vertical jigs and Norway cod style jigs with glow for fishing in 450 feet off Oregon here... Now i'm thinking I gotta try at least one in black. Black bucktails have been good to me for tarpon under bridges at night.
Fascinating. When fly fishing at night black seemed to be the most attractive color. However, I never tried glow-in-the-dark materials on my flies. Have you tried glowing jigs or lures for stripers?
@@JohnSkinnerFishing I’m sure the results would interest all anglers & would be a great video topic. Due to back issues, I can no longer fish, but I still tie flies to donate to Project Healing Waters. UV materials & glow in dark materials have recently been a topic, but I haven’t seen any practical research like yours. The results certainly would color (sorry, couldn’t resist) my choice of materials for tying in the future.
IIRC, Ralph Votta fished black tins at night. West End tackle & PT Jude had produced some black tins. I've fished black plugs & bucktails with good success at night, in the surf but never black tins.
Hi John, another interesting video!! Is it possible that the camera's setting is not picking up the light down there? Might there be a little light, obviously, murky, but still some? I'd love to know if any divers have been to the bottom around there and can confirm one way or the other. Congrats on your brother's PB!!
About black lures at night---I remember when the black Jitterbug and black spoon were recommended for largemouth bass fishing at night but these are more of a silhouette against the sky. What about black eel soft plastics for stripers?
Something to consider: cameras are not eyes, and do not see the same as eyes see. For that matter, fish do not perceive colors the same as humans, and there are also significant differences between species of fish.
Agreed, but I’m also ok accepting the point being in a dark “black” environment the black jig is benefiting from contract and the glow jig is just that, glowing. Poor chrome doesn’t have anything to work with.
@@douglasfur3808 I couldn’t help but think of that as well. While it certainly doesn’t invalidate any of the conclusions that this video presents I’m thinking: what about ASA or ISO or various camera settings and also the way a fishes’ retina reacts to various light conditions? What a fascinating subject this is! It’s the kind of thing that reminds you that we sometimes know more about outer space than the bottom of the ocean. LOL
John, great information,,, It really only applies to fishing in water that is "dark". I'm more curious why the water is so dark at such a shallow (respective) depth. A depth of 50 feet isn't always black is it?
I don't think the issue is Montauk, where the water is clear and my video is beautiful at 85' at least, but rather where the fluke were caught later in this video. I'll try some darker colors there.
Hey John I’ve been a fan for a while can you show us how you clean a sea bass and fluke? Would love to see how you prepare them also! Can we see a catch clean and cook in your future?
Great video. Do you think color selection would have any impact on surf casting for stripers, where there is some light? I notice you usually use white bucktail with white trailer.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing OK great, thanks for replying. I ordered a couple of the skinner bucktails from J&H, including the "burple" one for night. I love your videos, love the idea of the bucktail, but rarely actually catch anything. but still good fun.
if the fish are usually anything deeper the 60 ft I just use black an always had good success especially when striper fishing an If there that deep I use a black eel jig or black heavy swim-bait and boom gets smashed or just straight chartreuse.
John, was the 60 ft mark a flat area or was there a ridge next to it? You said the weakfish hid in the dark in 2 areas but there was light at 60 feet in others where they weren't. Trying to see if an obstruction causes diminished light at 60 or if thats as far as daylight penetrates the water
It wasn't an obstruction shadow because over the two trips I dropped the camera in several spots between 45 and 60 feet, and all dark. A mile from there in 40 feet I was able to get pretty clear video.
I also had darkness in the 45-ft spot. It will depend on water clarity, which varies throughout our bay system. We definitely get fluke in what I'm now guessing is dark water. This was recorded 2 days after the test in 50', and this water is very dirty. It's about 5 miles from the jig test spot. th-cam.com/video/ZTYBFNjD57Q/w-d-xo.html
very interessting that its quiet dark down there!!! but do fish see the same like us, on the screen??? and shiny silver is the first color that nearly disapear out of the sun,with its mirror effekt. black is always a dark kontrast, against everything,even in the dark... so why dont you try neon colors? on cloudy days,they are working great. my favorite collours are uv-orange/gold/dark oliv and complete black,with uv-orange back. i was grown up on a charterboat in the baltic sea/germany and sry to say,but i think in metaljig fishing,from a boat you could learn a allot... not only in colour... ok,you are sitting on the fish,but try to cast. the lure will work much better, special when you jig it with the current towards you. and in 20feet water i would use a slim spoon arround 20-30g, that rotate at the fall. cast it far,let it sink to the bottom and then stop`n`go,with bottomcontact. and give your jigs some twitches or jig them with a line of twitches they will love it!!! if you have trouble with fail hooking, mount the hook on the linetie or use a second one there. i only use the linetie, the other will mostly fail hook,get stuck or catches dirt.
One thing I'd say; you make a lot of comment about it being dark down there but not once comment about fish sight ability. It might be black to us but is it to them? Every colour changes under different light conditions and with salt water being very prismatic and filtering out certain colours of the spectrum I'm wondering if the black is just silhouetting or if its reflecting a different colour. The chrome would only be reflecting the ambient colour which explains the fouls. Good video and certainly food for thought. Thank you.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing that’s an interesting note because fluke are thought to be very sight oriented with all these bright gulp colors. I guess different areas allow more light to get to the bottom like the montauk ocean videos because that water is even deeper but there’s light.
When you attack science, you attack John Skinner! great info and very very entertaining video John! Black diving bombers are always in my night bag. Thanks for sharing! Your brother looked so thrilled to bag that doormat!
It was just a coincidence, but those were glow bucktails and teasers. It's just what I always use when I have them. The grubs were salmon red gulps. There are links in the video description.
On the West Coast in So. Cal, I have been using an 8 oz glow jig in 150-300' for about 10 years. No bait, no scent, and very little action; and I regularly end up one of the top sticks by end of day.
I think any soft plastic would do as well, but that's just a guess based on the fact that some of those gulps were on the hook a long time and not recharged.
Perhaps they don't see anything below a certain depth, if that is the case, then I would think other lateral line senses are to account for how they bite. sound and vibration
John, how does this experiment work vs the one you did a while ago with the underwater fluke footage? Do you think it’s hard to compare if color matters because the older fluke video was in shallower water? Or do you think it varies species to species?
Nice job!!, I learned a long time ago that black and dark colors were good in muddy water and low light Fishing freshwater bass and walleye. Glad to see it works in saltwater also. I got a question for you. What size gulp grubs are you using for your fluke fishing on average
I can't believe the amount of weakfish you caught! Is this LI Sound? I' fish in the wester pat of the Sound but can never find the weakfish. Great video and congrats to your brother on his awesome fluke!
I've always known that dark plugs were good at night. You have deeper water out there and it never would have occured to me that a dark jig was the way to go. Will we be seeing John Skinner Dark jigs or should i get out my flat black spray paint on my shiny a-27's.
For Christ’s sake, someone sponser John for a boat. He’s done more to help the layperson catch fish than anyone ever.
Lol
A nice Whaler or Parker sponsor does not seem out of line
A nice Varka.us when I resume building.
Maybe he likes his old boat. He's got his stickers, knows how it rides, knows how deep the water has to be. I have an old fishing rod that I know is junk but I love it and I catch a lot of fish. Besides, maybe he wants to be incognito!
It does raise fish
I would think a Steiger would be in order. Local fishing guru, local boat guru.
Could you video the glow jig in the dark to see if we could see it?
45 years ago, when I was a kid on LI I went on a party boat for blues in the fall above a wreck. Caught my first fluke and it remains the biggest one of my life, 28", 10.5 lbs. My parents were proud. PRs are great! You never forget.
A dozen or so years ago with gulp softbaits, one called midnight, which was nearly black. It out performed other lures in the very early morning 4am. Trout anglers here in New Zealand say dark day dark lure, bright day bright lure. Amazing video. Thanks
Thank you very much for this video and the information you put into it. I got my brain thinking more for when I fish for crappie at 16' deep.Colors and jig profiles mean alot and this helps out alot from your video.
Nice last second save with the net John. That fluke was like "Ha! I got away... DAMNIT!"
Great vid! Going to give Gulp glow a try for fluke in deeper water 👍🏻
Hey John. Would love to see you perform the same color test with bucktails and fluke. Thanks!
I was just watching this thinking ..hmm..why is he always using white bucktails?
My parents used to own a tackle shop on Tremont Ave in the Bronx about 20 years ago. I remember my dad telling me about a commercial fisherman he was friendly with who was constantly on fish - even when it was slow. He only ever used black jigs and black bucktails.
I get why now.
Interesting test I’ve only been using silver with glow jigs for tilefish. I’ve been told red with gold is a good deep water grouper jig color. Wonder how gold would do against silver?
The fact John only has 116 thousand subscribers is a mystery. The guys literally is a fishing encyclopedia with all the right equipment and even has his own products. It really dont make sense but his fishing always does. Gonna buy some black jigs John and I just picked up some uv glow cocahoes with a yellow tail. Gonna put em together next time I fish dirty water in the sun see what happens. Thx.
Hey John I love how you experiment. Great inspiration on how to never just settle with what’s normal and keep finding what works best
this is exactly what I have found for colors working black gives the best silhouette, which makes it viable at night and low light depths. Glow is always a great color at low light depths as well. Chrome seems to be a shallow water/ clear water/ sunny type of success.
Spot on!
When we night fish for largemouth smallmouth bass here in Tennessee we have always used either black or Junebug colors. Even use black top water plugs, spinnerbaits and buzz baits at night.
Black and glow!! This is great! I've been using Tsunami swing hook fluke ball jigs in glow 1oz in the back bays of SJ for flounder for the last two seasons. I replace the stock short shaft hooks with Gamakatsu 3/0 or 4/0 baitholder hooks (not sure who turned me on to those hooks hahahahah). The jig is tipped with 4 inch Gulp grub in pink shine and I vary the gulp on the teaser above. The Tsunami glow ball jig and pink shine grub have outfished everything else that's been fished on my boat. This year has been a little slower than last year (I have my thoughts regarding why), but that glowing Tsunami ball jig with the swinging baitholder hook has been my go-to rig. We don't have anywhere near the depths you were fishing in this video, so I'd imagine that the light down below isn't the same. I think I'm gonna give a black gulp grub a try to see if it works. Great video Skinner and congrats to your brother for catching his personal best flattie!!
Love your videos...Thank-you for these educational videos. I have learned so much from watching these videos. By far the best saltwater videos. Thank-you for your dedication.
This is such a great video! I think it demonstrates that the fish actually seeing the lure (or seeing it clearly) is a big piece of the puzzle, maybe an obvious thing to say, but I think it is overlooked. I would be very interested to see how a white lure would work under the same conditions. I have a couple of comments. The fact that the black lure caught more fish would indicate there is still some light at the depth you were fishing (however low the intensity) otherwise it would not create a silhouette. Also, the high number of foul hooked fish on the chrome jig (given you were using single hooks) seems too high for this to be a “snagging” type situation. I might be wrong, but I am guessing these were deliberate hits on the chrome jig where the fish could not get a definitive view of where the jig was, knew something was there and hit at it anyway, getting foul hooked. I have been painting some of my jigs bright yellow for fishing dirty water in the surf for a couple of years and have done much better with the yellow over the plain chrome. Looking forward to your next video.
Long time fisherman short time viewer and have to say I love your video. Been fishing since 15 (23 now) and watching your videos alone helped me Excell a lot mostly with fluke fishing. Keep these videos coming!!!
I wouldn’t say 8 years is a long time fisherman, but hell yea man keep it up! If you’re a short time viewer you’ve been missing out! Tight lines!
Thanks for the kind words. It's great to see younger people fishing!
Great video. I wonder if a black/glow combo jig would work as well or better than solid black or solid glow.
Man what a day with your brother . That's awesome congrats on the fluke Bob. Good to see so many weakfish the last couple of years
John Paduano said he also found small black jigs to work wonders and he couldn't figure out why. I know of guys who are big smallmouth fisherman and their recommendation is always gold on days with poor light conditions and/or deep water. There's certainly gold diamond jigs too but they seem less popular than chrome. Awesome content!
Love the video !!!! Glad to support you brother, Captain Scott
Thanks for the info John I’m going on a deep sea trip in new England in April in about 300 feet of water I’m gonna get a glow jig and a glow teaser !
I’ve always been taught silver/chrome is for clear water, medium light (overcast, morning/evening when the sun is low). Black/dark is for low light and dirty water when the fish are more keyed into silhouette and the absence of light (bait blocking the moonlight). Gold is for clear water, bright light (and always for Spanish mackerel), it reflects but less than silver so it’s not too much for the fish on really bright days. Never tried glow, might need to change that.
Man, the weakfish have really made a comeback, only took 35+ years. Maybe in 30 more years we can get 40-60lb cod and some nice pollack. 😎
Fantastic video, really useful info. Gotta say, I'm a 'belt and braces' angler-I'd be tempted to go black, AND a bit of luminous, plus a little extra fluoro too...
i bought some glow rubber tails to go with single hooks that i swap out trebles for on my various types of jigs, i wonder if a glow tail on a black jig is the best of both worlds (have not tried this)
Thanks for posting- I did this with fluke balls a few years ago, ordered some custom colored ones (black) from a local guy (upstate) making them in his house, he was hesitant to make black ones and finally realized im a paying customer, managed to still F up my order... anyway they did produce
John love your videos, great stuff! As a local New England diver who also does video my one comment is check/test the low light capabilities of this camera. I'm going to guess there's still ambient light where the camera was but the sensor just couldn't process it.
There's probably a little light, but I found it real interesting how in whatever low light that was that chrome lost its effectiveness.
Certainly the fish aren't just feeling around in the dark. They must see the lures reasonably well. How they see them at that depth is the real question (presumably answered by the catch rates). The black would amplify the shadow effect whereas the glow would create contrast in another way. In both cases though I would guess that contrast is the effective mechanism.
Great work, sir. Very informative. I learned a LOT! And it's just fun going along with you.
I’ve been killing it in FL this spring with the snook at night with black bucktails and black trailers. White, yellow or chartreuse hardly get a bump.
Great video John!!!
Just like the wine red bucktails working well in the South Shore inlets at night. It was nice to see the side-by-side test though with a good number of fish. Glad you're hitting the snook! Any luck on darters and bottles?
@@JohnSkinnerFishing
Thanks John! Unfortunately I haven’t been fishing in areas where I could really use darters & bottles to their full potential. I need to try a nearby inlet with stronger currents and rips.
John, this was a very interesting video. I cracked up after you showed the pitch black camera footage. I was thinking "so what revelation came from this", In the end it's amazing what your footage revealed since most people aren't throwing black or glow. Thank you!!
Thanks John... Just discoverd you about a week ago.. Thanks for the great vides. That's a nice Fluke.
All hail Skinner, all hail Skinner! Dude you are really something. Congratulations to your brother! My favorite part of this video, “no i dont think its even the size of the last one...ah shit” grabs net, fish spits hook some how still goes home for dinner 😂 you’re the best the east coast has to offer and you cant argue it! Tight lines John
Nice, I like how you are constantly looking to improve your setup. The boat is just fine, seems like it gets you to the fish. Take care, Thanks
Outstanding video. Thank you for sharing the revealing video and the jig color tests results.
As with bass fishing, shiny, white, bright colors in clear water, sunny days, dull dark lures in murky low light conditions. Glow helps in dark conditions.
And white braid is the hardest to see in deeper water because it absorbs/reflects the surrounding color. Red, green etc turn darker, easier for fish to see same as with lures.
So, glow in the dark or mini Chemlight on jig or soft baits? How about dipping them in those UV liquids?
Maybe. Lots to try from this experience.
Very neat info.Now I have to figure out how deep is darkness!
I used to jig for stripers almost exclusively with diamond jigs(chrome). Last 4/5 years I’ve been using butterfly style jigs which are usually painted finishes in different color patterns. I didn’t realize until now that not using chrome may have improved my fishing. Had my personal best bass last season 30.5 lbs. mid August! Side note, my bass/bluefish ratio has been around 6/1. Western LI Sound
Red is the first color in the spectrum to turn black underwater at 3', which is probably why you were doing well with pink. Violet is the last color in the spectrum to turn black. I used to know what depth all the individual colors would turn black, but that was a long time ago.
Congratulations to your brother Bob on his personal best summer flounder aka fluke.
Thank you for this experiment and tight lines.
Black is the 1st color to turn black under water 😆
@@TravelingToFish
Black is a shade, red is a color. 😃
Great video John I learn a lot about lure colors in the dark , and black see to be the lure for night fishing . 🐠🐟🦈
Very interesting video and under water camera with different colors. Congrats to your brother PB fluke
A very valuable lesson about the chrome. I will paint my Krocodile spoons Black and my Chrome colored lures. TY John
Great video I've always heard black at night
Can you tell me what type of black paint did you use for that diamond jig?
Rustoleum spray black
@@JohnSkinnerFishing thanks John
Bob's "Holy Crap!" had me laughing. He sounded just like you on some of your PBs. It must be a family favorite quote. ;) I have some Black Bucktails in my tackle box that are going to get a workout on my next trip out!
Mr. Skinner, I respect you very much sir so please, I am not a troller, just curious. One thing about this video that struck me is when you (if I may use the word) surmised that chrome or shiny finished lures reflected the light creating a mirror of the darkness, and that makes sense. But for that to happen there would have to be some light. I don't think your cameras can pickup light at 60ft the way some fishes eyes can. many believe that fish in low light use their lateral line to zero in on prey. I always believed it, except after this video you made, I suspect they use the lateral line to get into range, then eye sight for the kill.
I would love if you could test other colors..black vs white. and yellow or chartreuse . typical surf bag colors. i'll bet white comes in second to glow in dark.which proves they hunt by sight.
Hmmm this is very interesting indeed.
So maybe it is more about the vibrations if so then a jig that makes more commotion might do even better.. as well as banging the bottom more..
I wonder if this would have good application for deep lakes as well. Might be worth it to try the glow in the dark on some lakes.🤔
Great experiment sir! 🙌🏻🤙🏻
Amazing results,impressive thank you!
I have a couple night spots that have artificial light surrounding them to some degree. I have found repeatedly that a chrome with dark color plug seems to often have an edge in these places, although I have hooked stripers on most color varieties in these locations, the dark plus chrome has become my GO TO in these places.
I enjoyed your experiment. Good creative thinking!
If you're using sub-surface lures there, I wonder how all black would compare to chrome black. I'm definitely going to use less chrome at night after this test.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing I fished there with a buddy side by side as he threw the burple, and I threw purple/chrome. I outproduced his hook ups easily 4 to 1. This happened on at least 2 if not 3 occasions.
Cool. Any chance that the plug ran shallow enough and there was enough artificial light for the chrome to reflect the light and flash? Other than moonlight, I don't fish anywhere near artificial light.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing Definitely a shallow spring time spot. The chrome probably does provide reflective attraction to some degree if I had to guess.
Another superb video John. Over here, throwing lures into the Bristol Channel, a dark, murky water if ever there was one, I've followed advice back and forth between black lures, bright fluorescent lures, and everything in-between, and noticed little difference, in that, if there's fish out there, they don't like any of them, or they just don't like me! However, I've always been intrigued by the idea that black/dark lures succeed in this situation because they make better silhouette, but surely any opaque lure will have the same effect as light cannot pass through it. Just saying. Raymondo
As a diver I can confirm first hand that in low light conditions anything coloured just blends into the background, whereas black things stand out because they suck up what little light that may hit them. It may look pitch dark on the video, but fish that live there have excellent sight for low light levels. The fish can see way better than the camera is able.
Many thanks Wolf. Most enlightening. R.
John, Fish do have a version of night vision from what I am reading. It would be interesting to know how they see in the dark, what colors, and so forth.
I had just painted some 20 ounce vertical jigs and Norway cod style jigs with glow for fishing in 450 feet off Oregon here... Now i'm thinking I gotta try at least one in black. Black bucktails have been good to me for tarpon under bridges at night.
Definitely try some black at that depth. Should be interesting. Good tip on the tarpon.
You’re always teaching me something.
Excellent video that confirmed a suspicion of mine. However, I wonder if a white jig v black v glow would be of any value?
Outstanding!! Great information as well 😎
Is there a way to polish up metals/diamond jigs , I mean I always rinse mine off and wipe them down but eventually they do get dull ??
Awesome video! When are the shallow bay fluke videos coming?
Maybe Wednesday
Congratulations on the personal best fluke great video John I feel like I know a lot more now 👍🏽🇺🇸
So why is the black better does it glow better in the dark. What about black gulp for fluke then would that work?
Great show John, good info and grats to bro on that doormat.
Can you try this with blurple bucktails vs white for stripers?
Fascinating. When fly fishing at night black seemed to be the most attractive color. However, I never tried glow-in-the-dark materials on my flies. Have you tried glowing jigs or lures for stripers?
Have not, but I guess I should.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing I’m sure the results would interest all anglers & would be a great video topic.
Due to back issues, I can no longer fish, but I still tie flies to donate to Project Healing Waters. UV materials & glow in dark materials have recently been a topic, but I haven’t seen any practical research like yours. The results certainly would color (sorry, couldn’t resist) my choice of materials for tying in the future.
IIRC, Ralph Votta fished black tins at night. West End tackle & PT Jude had produced some black tins. I've fished black plugs & bucktails with good success at night, in the surf but never black tins.
My favorite night bucktail color is wine red. Nice to see the experiment back it up.
Hi John, another interesting video!! Is it possible that the camera's setting is not picking up the light down there? Might there be a little light, obviously, murky, but still some? I'd love to know if any divers have been to the bottom around there and can confirm one way or the other.
Congrats on your brother's PB!!
I'm guessing there's a small amount of light, but what counts is the jig color preference we observed.
I've painted bucktails with glow paint and then epoxied them so it lasts. Let's see what happens?
About black lures at night---I remember when the black Jitterbug and black spoon were recommended for largemouth bass fishing at night but these are more of a silhouette against
the sky. What about black eel soft plastics for stripers?
John, where can you find the black jigs? The listing you have only has chrome and gold.
Black sharpie marker works fine.
Something to consider: cameras are not eyes, and do not see the same as eyes see. For that matter, fish do not perceive colors the same as humans, and there are also significant differences between species of fish.
Yep. A camera designed for daylight may not be sensitive enough to pick up low light that fish can see by.
Agreed, but I’m also ok accepting the point being in a dark “black” environment the black jig is benefiting from contract and the glow jig is just that, glowing. Poor chrome doesn’t have anything to work with.
@@douglasfur3808 I couldn’t help but think of that as well. While it certainly doesn’t invalidate any of the conclusions that this video presents I’m thinking: what about ASA or ISO or various camera settings and also the way a fishes’ retina reacts to various light conditions? What a fascinating subject this is! It’s the kind of thing that reminds you that we sometimes know more about outer space than the bottom of the ocean. LOL
I have been waiting for this video ever since it was briefly mentioned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John, great information,,, It really only applies to fishing in water that is "dark". I'm more curious why the water is so dark at such a shallow (respective) depth. A depth of 50 feet isn't always black is it?
It's turbid. Clear water would not be black.
John- How do you think you will apply these learnings to fluke fishing, particularly in deep waters at Montauk?
I don't think the issue is Montauk, where the water is clear and my video is beautiful at 85' at least, but rather where the fluke were caught later in this video. I'll try some darker colors there.
Hey John I’ve been a fan for a while can you show us how you clean a sea bass and fluke? Would love to see how you prepare them also! Can we see a catch clean and cook in your future?
I'll do a C&C eventually. Here's a fluke fillet vid. th-cam.com/video/kuh2XCpeTCg/w-d-xo.html
Hi John,
Great video as always!
What net do you use on your boat?
Super interesting video. Do you think clicker beads would be beneficial in the dark?
Great video. Do you think color selection would have any impact on surf casting for stripers, where there is some light? I notice you usually use white bucktail with white trailer.
It certainly could in low light. I prefer dark bucktails in the dark.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing OK great, thanks for replying. I ordered a couple of the skinner bucktails from J&H, including the "burple" one for night. I love your videos, love the idea of the bucktail, but rarely actually catch anything. but still good fun.
You might like the black jig by Point Jude also called the PO-Jee black jig. I love mine. I believe it's 1 oz and a half
All the research aside, awesome to see you fishing with you’re brother.
if the fish are usually anything deeper the 60 ft I just use black an always had good success especially when striper fishing an If there that deep I use a black eel jig or black heavy swim-bait and boom gets smashed or just straight chartreuse.
John, was the 60 ft mark a flat area or was there a ridge next to it?
You said the weakfish hid in the dark in 2 areas but there was light at 60 feet in others where they weren't. Trying to see if an obstruction causes diminished light at 60 or if thats as far as daylight penetrates the water
It wasn't an obstruction shadow because over the two trips I dropped the camera in several spots between 45 and 60 feet, and all dark. A mile from there in 40 feet I was able to get pretty clear video.
So you believe the light threshold is at the 60 foot mark?
Just wondering if fluke are that deep are they locking in on the shadow or the gulp scent?
I also had darkness in the 45-ft spot. It will depend on water clarity, which varies throughout our bay system. We definitely get fluke in what I'm now guessing is dark water. This was recorded 2 days after the test in 50', and this water is very dirty. It's about 5 miles from the jig test spot. th-cam.com/video/ZTYBFNjD57Q/w-d-xo.html
very interessting that its quiet dark down there!!! but do fish see the same like us, on the screen??? and shiny silver is the first color that nearly disapear out of the sun,with its mirror effekt. black is always a dark kontrast, against everything,even in the dark... so why dont you try neon colors? on cloudy days,they are working great. my favorite collours are uv-orange/gold/dark oliv and complete black,with uv-orange back. i was grown up on a charterboat in the baltic sea/germany and sry to say,but i think in metaljig fishing,from a boat you could learn a allot... not only in colour... ok,you are sitting on the fish,but try to cast. the lure will work much better, special when you jig it with the current towards you. and in 20feet water i would use a slim spoon arround 20-30g, that rotate at the fall. cast it far,let it sink to the bottom and then stop`n`go,with bottomcontact. and give your jigs some twitches or jig them with a line of twitches they will love it!!! if you have trouble with fail hooking, mount the hook on the linetie or use a second one there. i only use the linetie, the other will mostly fail hook,get stuck or catches dirt.
One thing I'd say; you make a lot of comment about it being dark down there but not once comment about fish sight ability. It might be black to us but is it to them? Every colour changes under different light conditions and with salt water being very prismatic and filtering out certain colours of the spectrum I'm wondering if the black is just silhouetting or if its reflecting a different colour. The chrome would only be reflecting the ambient colour which explains the fouls. Good video and certainly food for thought. Thank you.
Awesome video love using dark colors at night
John were those fluke hitting in the complete darkness areas?
About 6 miles away, but I don't doubt it.
@@JohnSkinnerFishing that’s an interesting note because fluke are thought to be very sight oriented with all these bright gulp colors. I guess different areas allow more light to get to the bottom like the montauk ocean videos because that water is even deeper but there’s light.
I have used a black one up shad very successfully.
When you attack science, you attack John Skinner! great info and very very entertaining video John! Black diving bombers are always in my night bag. Thanks for sharing! Your brother looked so thrilled to bag that doormat!
He was shocked. Biggest he'd ever seen.
What was the setup & colors for your fluke drifts that got that monster ...?
It was just a coincidence, but those were glow bucktails and teasers. It's just what I always use when I have them. The grubs were salmon red gulps. There are links in the video description.
On the West Coast in So. Cal, I have been using an 8 oz glow jig in 150-300' for about 10 years. No bait, no scent, and very little action; and I regularly end up one of the top sticks by end of day.
Great input!
And like that, one curly haired retiree gutted the shiny lure industry. Dr. Katie is going to make a scientist of you yet.
So do,you think they are hitting the grub on the swing of the tail or the scent of the gulp juice?
I think any soft plastic would do as well, but that's just a guess based on the fact that some of those gulps were on the hook a long time and not recharged.
John..so after 45’ it’s totally dark..black jig…so flo carbon leader necessary ?
Also any chance your rod will come spinner ?
Fluorocarbon is never needed in these turbid waters, but I prefer it for abrasion resistance.
Perhaps they don't see anything below a certain depth, if that is the case, then I would think other lateral line senses are to account for how they bite. sound and vibration
Wow John, that's is awesome thank you for this video 📹
John, how does this experiment work vs the one you did a while ago with the underwater fluke footage? Do you think it’s hard to compare if color matters because the older fluke video was in shallower water? Or do you think it varies species to species?
The older experiment was gulp on a bouncing jig vs bait strip. I didn't do anything with color.
Ah that’s right…do you think the color matters regarding fluke? Personally I think it’s more about the profile of the gulp/bait
Nice job!!, I learned a long time ago that black and dark colors were good in muddy water and low light Fishing freshwater bass and walleye. Glad to see it works in saltwater also. I got a question for you. What size gulp grubs are you using for your fluke fishing on average
5 and 6''
@@JohnSkinnerFishing thank you very much for your reply sir
@@JohnSkinnerFishing I was wondering if Berkley was ever going to start selling the smaller nemesis in the US I haven't seen it
Thanks for another Great helpful
Video
Wow John Skinner! Great video!
I can't believe the amount of weakfish you caught! Is this LI Sound? I' fish in the wester pat of the Sound but can never find the weakfish. Great video and congrats to your brother on his awesome fluke!
Peconic Bay
I've always known that dark plugs were good at night. You have deeper water out there and it never would have occured to me that a dark jig was the way to go. Will we be seeing John Skinner Dark jigs or should i get out my flat black spray paint on my shiny a-27's.
Break out the sharpie markers and you'll have all the black jigs you want.