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When it comes to breaking down why critters with pea-sized brains do the things they do, it’s sometimes better to just accept the facts and move on without over-analyzing the situation. But in this case, I just can’t let it go. For some reason, the steelhead’s affinity for red, black and white has my left-brain working on overdrive (which, after the college party years is running low on disk space).
So, I decided to write this column in a chronological fashion. First off, I figured I’d give you my sorry, weak theories on why the Nightmare might work and then, after that I’d call some experts and get their two cents worth. For what it’s worth, here we go….
Okay, here’s my best guess: The black and red portion of the Nightmare kinda makes sense to me. I guess you can say it’s a little more natural—even sorta “buggy” looking. Less intrusive than a lot of the fluorescent colors we fish, it may be able to “sneak up” on wary fish better than the bright stuff—especially in low, clear or pressured waters—yet still provide enough attraction to get fish to bite it. Kinda makes sense, right?
The white part, however, has me stumped. The only thing I can come up with is that it provides contrast when used in concert with the other two colors.
Okay, that’s all I’ve got. Time to get on the phone and ask around…
First, I called the very guy who I feel has caught more steelhead on jigs than anyone I know: our very own Nick Amato. He’s also the person who helped me catch my first steelhead on a jig a million years ago.
“Geez, I donno why they like the Nightmare color,” said Nick. “I guess it kinda looks like a bug and has some natural color shades. Plus, you have the contrast in there…but who knows really why they bite it?”
My next call was to Jimmy Davis, owner of Mad River Manufacturing. He’s pumped out a bazillion Nightmare worms from his facility and I figured maybe some of his many customers might have shed some light on the subject.
