For one thing, their eyes are placed on the sides of seed color sorter, affording them monocular vision, which means they can see well on both sides of their heads at the same time. Each eye has the ability to see over a 180 degree range, so their only blind spot is a narrow area directly behind them where the bass’ own body obstructs vision. We, on the other hand have binocular vision, which restricts our field of view to the front, but also allows us great depth-of-field perception.

Like some of us, they are nearsighted, which means that unless a lure makes noise, it needs to be cast closely to the fish to be detected. They also have limited binocular vision similar to ours in a narrow band directly in front of them. Their binocular vision, however, is really just an overlapping of their monocular vision, so although they can see things at a little greater distance, these objects are blurred and depth perception is impaired, sort of the way we see if we cross our eyes slightly.

This is why you will most often see a bass make a little swoop to the side at the last second before they strike a lure they have been following from behind. This little side-step at the last second allows them to see the bait most clearly the instant before they take it. Short strikes, or complete misses, could mean they saw something distasteful upon close inspection. Under their clearest vision, during that last-second swoop, they sometimes changed their minds like a batter’s half-swing.

grain color sorter believe that bass receive about five times more light through their eyes than humans. This, of course, gives them better vision in deep or dark areas, but it doesn’t mean that they can see five time better than humans. It means, simply put, that they are five time more sensitive to light. They have a fixed lense and the cornea is of uniform thickness. They don’t have eye lids or pupils to dilate and compensate, so they make up for this by seeking shade or moving deeper.

They need this extra sensitivity because water absorbs light quickly. The deeper the water, or the more turbid the water, the less light there is to reflect off objects. Plus, when the surface is broken by ripples, some of the light is refracted, so the diffusion of light is rapid. Often just a few feet or the shade of a fallen tree are enough.

The most confusing aspect of their sight is the fact they have two types of receptor cells in the retina. Their “cone” cells perceive color and are used mostly during the day. Their “rod” cells see only in black and white and are used at night. These receptor cells reverse themselves every 24-hour period, so bass are actually color blind about half the time. Consider that the next time you’re trying to pick out the perfect color.

Sometime before sunset a bass’ internal senses trigger the advance of black-and-white vision in preparation for darkness. Completion of this process takes hours, so it is believed they have a sort of color fade as the rod cells advance. Then, just before daylight, the cone cells begin to advance, causing a gradual recognition of colors. For most of the morning, and for most of the evening, their ability to distinguish different hues of the color spectrum is limited. Ironically, that is usually when we do best with our lures of many colors.

We often think that the beans color sorter of a lure was why a bass hits this or that model, when in fact, most of the bass we catch are fooled during times when they can’t actually distinguish between colors very well. If what you’re using is catching them well during the middle of the day, color might be the key. Early and late in the day, however, they may be hitting that “latest and greatest” model not because of the fancy finish that caught your eye and emptied your pocket, but in spite of it.