How important is thread color?

jact55

jact55

Life of the Party
Besides aestetics obviously, really is thread color that important? Like many, I probably have a hundred spools, but I find myself struggling to take the time to change colors out fly to fly. Especially as I try to fish only my flies, so I am tying more than ever.
If I got yellow thread on, a dark fly get yellow and so on. I have multiple bobbins, I know that's a solution, but not a deterent for me.
For the most part, it's only seen on the head.
Realistically, from will a fish bite perspective I struggle in thinking they'll notice?

I still consider myself a novice. Any reason my thinking is wrong? Is it worth the extra 15 seconds, lol?
 
I believe thread color matters, at least for the fishing I do (mostly trout). For example, on dubbed body soft hackles, I've fished enough variations that I'm certain certain colors do better than others. When the dubbing gets wet and translucent the underbody/thread color shows through. A hare's ear consistently fishes better with burnt orange colored thread vs. black for example. Silk is better for that reason on some flies like a Partridge and Orange than synthetic threads. A black stimulator fishes better with red or hot orange thread and head than any other color combo I've tried.
 
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outside of specific situations that call for pink, chartreuse or black thread, it doesn't matter at all. :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:


I'd defer to @Tom Butler though, he fishes way more than most of us!...especially for trouts!
 
jact55 said:
Especially as I try to fish only my flies, so I am tying more than ever.
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More often than not a known pattern recipe will have a specified thread color, most likely the one the original tyer found worked best.
Tie up several close copies of your favorite pattern using different colors and once you find fish start trying the ones with different colors. Prove it to yourself if it matters so you don't wonder.
 
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I agree with @Tom Butler , thread color can matter. If it helps with body segmentation definition, I think it does.

I have no clue what a Royal Coachman would fish like without red thread.

Definition of the head from the thorax may also matter.

Edited to add: on my dragonfly nymph, a black, brown or dark olive head does not make any perceived difference. Years of experience has proven this...
 
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I think that a lot of fish, specifically trout, have an abundance of both rods and cones in their eyes....cones being important with regard to seeing color, so it would make sense from a scientific point of view. I'm not sure appropriately controlled experiments have been conducted, however....although, I could be wrong...
 
Dunno if it actually works better, but I just like the way it looks. Plus it works with the way I tie; each tying session generally focusing on a single pattern, though I'll use different hook sizes.

And what else would I do with this wide selection of thread colors anyway?
 
If a fish is going to totally ignore the hook eye, the bend and point, why would they pay attention to the thread color?

Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. I normally try to match the thread color to the body but that's only because that's how I was thought to tie flies.
Could we get away with using nothing but black thread? Don't know. I'll still stay with using the thread color I want because that's just the way I tie :D
 
A lot of chironomids I tie are basically thread wraps with ribbing, perhaps gills, maybe a bead, maybe not. I do think trout can be selective to thread colors on a midge that's suspended or dangled. Perhaps I'm wrong. Is ribbing important? Maybe, maybe not.

https://www.jsflyfishing.com/collections/fly-tying-thread (on sale)

I'm going sturgeon fishing Friday, I don't think thread color plays into it.
 
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Thank you all for the replies.
I think some good points were brought up. I like Tom's suggestion of putting different colors to a test.

I've often wondered my purple is by far my most successful mayfly color (such as purple haze). I have guessed so far a darker color might create more of a defined outline of a small fly compared to a lighter color. Maybe, no idea really.

I'm not a bulk person, I have no patience. Most I'll do is 2 of the same then bounce to a different pattern.

From the art side of it, no doubt my methods clash...but mine aren't very artsy anyways lol.

Again appreciate the insights
 
jact55 said:
putting different colors to a test.
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studies have demonstrated fish see colors into the UV, and those decades old proven patterns have done just that...i.e. why Clousers are tied primarily w/green, yellow or white thread to match materials, with red thread often wrapped behind the eyes to imitate bleeding gills, to trigger an attack.
either that or the thread companies are having non stop chuckles during their quarterly sales meetings
 
Thread color is usually only as important as the fly tier wants it to be unless you are using only thread to form the body.
 
The only fly that I tie where thread color is important is the Usual. As the thread is really the only thing that differentiates the fly, the color becomes important. I tie them with chartreuse, orange, and black threads over the Snowshoe hare body. It has been my experience that LL Salmon favor the green, while Trout are attracted to the Orange. The black works too, but not as well.
 
albula said:
Thread color is usually only as important as the fly tier wants it to be unless you are using only thread to form the body.
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This is interesting. You, Richard and several others with a lot more varied experiences than I don't think it's that important. And I think of all the varied classic wets and so on that Norm posts up, just black thread so often. And those flies worked for so many folks for so many years. I know I see trends in my notes, but could it be that one that appeals to me a certain way gets me to hold my tongue different and drift a touch better to get that presentation just right? I don't know, I better go fishing and do some more research to find out.
 
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SurfnFish said:
studies have demonstrated fish see colors into the UV, and those decades old proven patterns have done just that...i.e. why Clousers are tied primarily w/green, yellow or white thread to match materials, with red thread often wrapped behind the eyes to imitate bleeding gills, to trigger an attack.
either that or the thread companies are having non stop chuckles during their quarterly sales meetings
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AFAIK, only juvenile fish see UV. Fluorescence (ie. UV being reflected back in the visible spectrum) is a separate issue from seeing UV itself.

I’m sure thread color matters, when it is a major part of the pattern. For most flies, I don’t think color matters at all. I tie the vast majority of my flies in a medium grey or brown.
 
jaredoconnor said:
AFAIK, only juvenile fish see UV. Fluorescence (ie. UV being reflected back in the visible spectrum) is a separate issue from seeing UV itself.

I’m sure thread color matters, when it is a major part of the pattern. For most flies, I don’t think color matters at all. I tie the vast majority of my flies in a medium grey or brown.
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The new study suggests that the salmon's secret is shuffling the light-sensitive pigments inside their cone cells--nerve cells in the retina that respond to light. Iñigo Novales Flamarique and Christiana Cheng of Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, came to that conclusion by examining the retinas of young Pacific pink salmon. They couldn't find any cone cells with blue-light sensitive pigments. But in the retinas of older salmon, such cones were common. And in fish of intermediate age, the pair spotted UV-light sensitive pigments at the cell's tip, but blue-light sensitive pigments at the base, suggesting the salmon were pumping those pigments into their UV-light sensitive cones. The scientists report their findings in the 18 March issue of Nature.

"The work is very interesting," says Juliet Parry of University College London, adding that many researchers had assumed that salmon tweaked their vision by replacing entire cone cells, not merely replacing the pigment. Novales Flamarique suspects this potential for pigment change may be widespread in vertebrates and has been overlooked because it's difficult to detect in the tiny cone cells. Clearly there is more to color vision than meets the eye.​

 
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