Color, does it really matter?

[MMT]

Do you feel that at different times, bass are "On" to a certain color while they hit another color less frequently?

[JT_BAGWELL]

I do feel that making subtle changes in color selection of baits can produce more strikes. In high pressure situations I think that just the slightest variation can cause fish to hit one lure over another bait of a different color. I also believe that the transparency of soft plastic baits has a great deal of impact on the effectiveness of the baits. This link will take you to an article I did recently with a friend of mine. It briefly explains some of the coloration issues. http://www.bassresource.com/features/to ... iques.html

Hope this helps

Jeremiah T. Bagwell

[johnnie crain outdoors]

Color? At times color can be the only trigger that turns bass on or off. Some colors lose their hue at certain depths, it has been proved that the color red turns to grey in seven foot of water. We all know to use the color that best represents the available bait fish, and the color that matches the water color best, and even at times, the color that is easiest seen. After all the new colors that infiltrated the market over the past decade, the same tried and true colors still represent the bulk of great catches and tournament wins. Black, blue, shad, white, chartreuse, bone, green, purple and combinations of these colors will always do the trick. Yes, color makes a difference and fish will become complacent with the same old colors every day. When every angler practicing for a tournament is throwing black/blue jigs, you may see a diffinate slow down in strikes on the black/blue. A color I forgot to mention that saves my day so many is grey, my uncle Ken paints all his Storm Wiggle Warts grey and outfishes me constantly while I fish tradional colors. Good luck, good bassin' Johnnie Crain Iowa Pro Staff.

[britchie]

We are all suckers when it comes to lure colors.
Color is more eye appealing to the angler than the fish.
Now that's not to say that one particular color will not out produce another on any giving day.
I'm just saying that one owns more colors than they probably need or will ever throw.
The basic colors, that have been around for decades, will be sufficent for myself.

Although I am probably one of the biggest suckers, when I think I have found that magical bait or color, I splurge.

Who knows, maybe there is one out there.

[d.mcgarry]

MMT, although being in the right place is more important than other variables and having the right state of mind when you have located the right place. Color is as important as you let it become. Confidence and if you have confedince in a particular color you will fish harder and better. For years I love Brown and Blue now I fish watermelon or black and blue, it all comes down to Confidence and if we can remove all variables and insure our confidence level is up we will succeed. Godd Bassin Dan Bass

[JoeM]

Good link, Jeremiah. I read it in one sitting and I think it was an excellent article.

Johnnie, grey lures....now why didn't I think of that?

River Rat- I splurge, too. But I never seem to have enough (of the hot lure on TX day)

DanBass- Now,if you can take that confidence to the right location....heck, I've seen you do that.

Craig- Thanks for posing a really fine question. Now, what's your take on this question? Much obliged. JoeMo

[MMT]

Joe, in my opinion, color can be all the difference on some days and matter little on others. I've experienced times when bass were locked on to a certain color and I couldn't buy a bite on anything else, including a similiar colored bait with different flake. I've also had days where bass would hit my finger if I could put a hook through it. I think at times bass can get finicky and an angler must match the hatch to catch them. I won two tournaments on the same lake this past season by imitating small white perch with my drop shot rig. They were the natural forage and the bass were definately targetting them. There was a real large weight gap between first and second place so I adamantly believe that the color was the important factor there. Other guys did not try to mimic the natural forage during those tournaments and caught far less fish. Generally, I think that just about any bass will hit either black, purple, pumpkin, watermelon or red shad at one time or another. I don't stray too far from those offerings most of the time. Now that I am pouring my own baits, I have the capability to get wild and I do have a few new colors that are producing strong for me. I've learned to pour a bait similiar to a Senko full of salt and scent. The only thing is that I can make it a multi color pour, nothing that you will ever see in the Yammie catalog. I have one specific color that I call Watermelon Magic that is truly a special color. It is cool to do something unique and have it turn out to be a consistent catcher.

[postcard]

Al Lindner once said (paraphrased), "Color is not often important but when it's important, it can be very important".
Color may be another one of those 200 plus posts that reflect opinions, confidences and preferences.
If certain primary conditions are met, a large color selection most likely isn't very important. It can be, but to a far less extent than the other lure elements such as profile, size, running speed, plus target location.
What many of us believe is that once you've located active fish, then what?
Is there a color or color range that help trigger the bite along with the other basic 'requisites' and is there a color range that gets their dorsal fins into a tizzy, thus resulting in bait rejection?

Lure classes (blade baits, crankbaits, spoons, jigs {skirted, soft plastic}, jerkbaits {soft and hard}, worms, etc.) all have different vibrations and appearances. Does color enter into the 'appearance equation' as making a lure more or less effective? (Would you use a black or pink jigging spoon or a black Rat L Trap?)

Colored blades on a particular size spinnerbait may make all the difference versus the high flash of # 5 silver willow leaf blade. The same applies for skirt color. A kelly green or bubblegum skirt may be good today, but a group of other colors may work better most of the year.

Is there such a thing as a bad color for a particular crankbait or jerkbait? How many of you have 30 or more crankbaits that are in storage because color rejection is the reason you don't throw them?

Soft plastic colors are probably far less important than the above mentioned bait colors, but at times certain colors are preferred. Dark or light colors are still colors and deemed important by just about everyone, or we would just use shades of gray, black or white.

I'll bet not one you closes his eyes and pulls out just any colored bait from the box randomly. You can be sure that all of us have not done so well on certain colors for certain conditions and usually narrow our choices because of many annual experiences and confirmations and because of color 'burnout".

I've tried color changes for school bass and panfish. Many days, a particular color or color range would catch fish 10:1 to my partner's color. I would try his color (or other colors he used that got few bites)and in the same lure, and the number of bites crashed to 1 or 2. I then went back to my original color(s), and the bites increased dramatically.

Do black poppers work well in daylight? I've tried black poppers, spooks and chuggers with a black or white hair rear-treble and found the bite better with plug bodies that were bright, clear or flashy colored, even with a black-hair(or feather) rear treble. (I've done better this year using white hair or feather tied with crystal flash strands.)

You can prioritize all you want, but it still comes down to all of the lures basic elements combined, that make a bait work for you. Even if color is less important at times, you may be right that color doesn't matter, except when it does.

[britchie]

Great reply Frank.

You make alot of sense.

Thanks.

[JoeM]

MMT, Frank M and River Rat- Throughout this entire thread there is a common idea expressed as I see it:

"This is the way we do it, but not always"

That certainly isn't a criticism. It just means that while we may firmly believe in something, we reserve the right to go against the grain occasionally.

Thank you all for taking a serious bass fishing question to a higher level. Anyone feel like doing a critique of this thread?

Thanks again for all your contributions. Bass Wishes, Joe