Inspired by the photos of the camo rod blanks I've been wondering if blank color has any importance.
Lets talk fly rods.
Should a saltwater fly rod (flats fishing) have a matte light blue/greyish color and should the stream rod have a camo pattern of some kind depending on the background ?
When flyfishing we often come closer to the fish than when spinning or casting and blank reflections and movement should be easier for the fish to detect -but does it matter ?

Please post your views on this - I know fish are being caught using the rods we use today - but that doesnt mean it cant get even better - cameleon paint maybe :-)

Peter

Quite a few years ago a company named Aqua Designs, I think, came out with camo fishing shirts. They had at least 4 different base colors and the theory was that which shirt you wore depended on where you were fishing. A friend of mine owned a fly shop and we each bought one, only trouble was after you put on your vest, the only camo part exposed were the sleeves. In addition, I have fished in places in where the background color could and did change during the course of one day, pine forest background, then a tan or grey rocky canyon and then a meadow with nothing but blue sky behind you. Of course, company then came out with matching vests, so we figured we needed three shirts and three vest that we had to carry with us all the time!

I realize that rods a different, but I think the problems of the camo shirts are not that far off. There are lots of places here in Montana were the predominant background color changes within just a few hundred yards. Carrying three fly rods with me when I go fishing is not something I'm interested in doing. I'll do that if I'm fishing from a boat, but then it's because one might be a 5 or 6 weight rigged for nymphs and another might be a 3 or 4 weight rigged for drys. But when I go wade fishing, I might cover 2-3 miles of stream and I'm not interested in trying to keep track of an extra rod or two, nor am I very interested in carrying a backpack. And considering the diameter of fly rods, I really don't believe it would make any difference. Staying low and keeping to the shade when it's available will make more difference.

But, it's only my opinion.

My personal observation is that motion is far more critical. I wear drab colors but regardless of what your wearing or the rod color, if a trout detects motion from your arm, your rod or the line, the jigs up.

Thank you for your comments guys -
from the number of comments I see this may not be an issue, but I'm still going to go ahead with the "sky-color" idea. CTS are looking into the possibility of making such a color - I hope they will. Maybe I'll get a small advantage :-)

Peter

Consider what happens when someone stands in front of a brightly lit window and you look at them, it's really hard to see any detail, they just look dark. The same thing happens with a fly rod. The fish is in the water, the sun is basically overhead and the rod is in between. From the fish's perspective, the rod will be a dark color because the light is behind it. In addition, a pure white rod will cast just as large a shadow as a black one.

I agree with Gerry mostly...I think fish mostly see the silouette so color to "camouflage" the rod IMO is not worth the trouble.

I do try to choose less flashy guides especially when fishing clear water areas. Also if you can keep a lower profile especially in flat water when approaching fish.