Some lessons you just have to learn yourself.
On day 1 of Deneki FIBFest at Andros South last month, your fearless editor decided to sport a nice new red shirt that was really going to look good in hero shots. The problem? You have to catch a fish before you can take a hero shot.
The Bad Part of the Story
Action was good first thing in the morning. A couple of bonefish swam by. The shot was good enough. Strip…both fish followed. Strip strip…both fish turned away. Hmmm.
The second shot was a group of three fish. The shot was decent. The fish saw it. They followed and then turned away. A comment was made about the red shirt. Nah, these fish aren’t spooky, right?
Third shot. In the ballpark. One strip produced a follow. The second strip produced some very uninterested bonefish. The shirt came off.
Redemption
The fourth shot, shirtless. The first strip led to the fourth follow of the morning. The second strip resulted in an aggressive eat, and a hooked bonefish. Hmmm, maybe there’s something to this ‘red shirt thing’!
Conclusion
Yes, we should have known better. Fish don’t see bright red objects on the flats. When they turn to look at your fly, they’re also probably now looking at you, and a big bright red blob hovering above the water apparently doesn’t make them too comfortable.
Stick with the earth tones and the pastels when you’re chasing fish in shallow water. Learn from our mistakes!
Great post and advice Andrew. Surprised Tom let you in the boat that morning. Now maybe if you were fishing for Bull Sharks…
So, unlike the effect it has on bulls in the fighting arena, red does not result in the bonefish charging in for the kill? Good to note. Perhaps a women’s cut, white t-shirt would have resulted more favorably…
You know Kirk, that’s a fantastic idea – I’m going to have to give that a try one of these days…