I believe there has been substantial research in the scientific community, and the definitive opinion is...pike are very poor art critics!! Don't sweat the paint job. The dekes in my box have been bashed, bit, dropped, stepped on, fetched, speared and have logged thousands of miles rattling around in a box being towed behind sleds. They were pretty once, not anymore! But they still fool the fishes!
. Doesn't matter what the fisherman think, only the fishes!