I'm an avid diver and an avid fisherman. I dive a lot deeper than I fish! Here's why that's relevant.

Yes, red is the first color in the spectrum to "disappear." It doesn't disappear at first, but it darkens to purple. The absorption of red light to our eyes is the same as the addition of blue light; red and blue make purple.

However, here's why this doesn't matter for most fly fishing. In sunny conditions, you won't notice a color change until depths of 25-30'. These are depths that most of us will never fly fish at. Not until 50-60 feed does red really "disappear" into a blue-ish gray.

Try an experiment. Take a red object and toss it into three feet of water. Does the color change to you? Remember that you're viewing light that has passed three feet into the water, then reflected three feet out of the water. The total distance traveled is 6', and color absorption is occurring the entire distance, both in and out. Did the color change? Not likely.

Unless you're plying the depths below 30', don't worry about color absorption. The color choice should just be about deciding whether you're matching the hatch or fishing an attractor.

MM