kayak color +netting/gaffing fish panic

        I'm wondering if kayak color has anything to do with fish panic attacks at boating.
     
     A halibut being brought up to an od camo may think,(halibut do think, I'm sure of it. They've outsmarted me many times) "oh my God! It's a giant lingcod just like the nemesis of my youthful days. I'm heading for the bottom , pronto".

    If it's a light colored kayak  then it might be," aarrg! A UFO! I'm outta here".

       So what if fishing kayaks had a bottom of light grey or off blue with a kelp scene painted on, or imprinted. Best scenario, a WSB would knock itself out seeking cover.

  Or does it matter at all?

  Top sides could be high visibility for safety.

i think they panic when they see the surface, not so much about the color of the boat.  but what do i know, i'm not a fish.

Sounds like it's been a long winter......

  Just say to yourself, " what would calm me as I approach death?"

Sounds like it's been a long winter......

amen brother

stoggie

Sounds like it's been a long winter......

amen brother

stoggie

I say ITS OVER!!!!   

It would be nice if the kayak manufacturers offered the black & white 'zebra' design, that is supposed to help prevent shark attacks, on the hull below the waterline. Of course that would probably drive the cost up thru the roof. jim

I'd like to get a mural of my face duplicated over and over, looking very intensely carnivorous and expectant as the fish are brought in.  That way, when they see my face, they won't think it's getting any worse.   

I think because it's a bottom fish so it got PANIC when it sees the top of water 

Maybe the fact that they're being dragged against their will by the lips might have something to do with it........... Plus no eye lids, that suns murder on the pupils.....

 Halibut will feed at the surface if there is bait available and may often be seen leaping  while doing so(according to books).I don't know if this ever happens at any other time than evening. I've seen a halibut leap once at dusk.
   I know that they can be found in mid water during the day if there is bait.

 Halibut will feed at the surface if there is bait available and may often be seen leaping  while doing so(according to books).I don't know if this ever happens at any other time than evening. I've seen a halibut leap once at dusk.
   I know that they can be found in mid water during the day if there is bait.

I've seen this phenomena of jumping halibut twice in SoCal, once in the evening & once in the early morning. Both times the halibut were completely clearing the water, chasing anchovies in 2-3 feet inside the surfline on very low surf days. It was one of the coolest things I've seen wild fish do.

Casey.... Great question about kayak color and it's effect on fish.  Someone should call Mythbusters.

I do think that a camo bottom would be good for:
1) Helping break-up the silohuete of your kayak and make it look less like prey for whitey
2) Disguising unsightly scratches

A camo top would make it good for duck hunting.

I don't know about kayak colors and their affect on fish, but with regards to topwater halibut, I do have experiences with that. In my youth, on the Santa Cruz wharf, we would commonly see the halis chomping through the anchovie schools at the surface, and every now and then one would become airborne. Years later, mooching from a boat off of Devils Slide for salmon, we caught a couple flatties 40' down in over 100' feet of water. I guess if you're hungry you do what you got to do.

I would imagine that most kayaks on most days are black from the underside no matter what color or color schema you choose.