Q: Do you think that swordfish can see colors? And if so, does one color work better than others? Here in Puerto Rico we seem to get a lot more strikes when using the blue lights. Do you think the color matters?

-Xavier Quinones
Puerto Rico

A:  Thanks for a very good question and one for which I have no idea what the answer should be. In fact, I had to ask my good friend Steve Carl at HI-Liner Fishing Supply in Pompano Beach, Florida (954-783-1320), which supplies thousands of lightsticks to anglers every year. Carl says, "First it is important to understand the true function using light as a lure. The introduction of light creates a preferred feeding zone. This PFZ is the shadow area created by the lightstick in the water. As bait, such as squid, are attracted and move to the light source, they create sound. And since sound travels much further in water than light, we believe that sound is what initially attracts predator species like swordfish and tunas to the light source.

"Swordfish and tunas are color-blind, yet still sensitive to short-wave light or the visible light spectrum. The visible light spectrum ranges from red (the lowest), to orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, the highest. All these colors have proven effective in catching swordfish. So in response to your question, yes, it is acceptable that blue could induce more strikes than green. Not because swordfish are more responsive to the color, but because blue is on the higher end of the light spectrum, so it creates a larger cone of light in the water column, thereby attracting more forage species like squid to the area where your baited hook is placed. This is the primary function of the lightstick.

"It is also critical to pay close attention to the proximity of the baited hook to the lightstick. If you put it too close, you will see more foul-hooked fish since swordfish are slash-and-return feeders. A swordfish attacks the aggregated bait in the light source with its bill, then returns to feed on the dead or injured baits that have begun to fall through the cone of light. By placing your baited hook as close as possible to the PFZ, not the stick itself, you'll notice an increase in well-hooked fish."

It's not the color of the light that makes the difference it's the size of the feeding zone that the light illuminates.