choosing colors,whats your rule of thumb?

[juggalo]

I've recently moved to the spokane area from the west side and am all excited to get back to my roots with bass and panfish.the one thing thats got me stumped is when, where,and why when it comes to colors of soft plastic baits.there are sooo many choices available and I'm sure they all work at times.I would really like to hear your systems for choosing colors and styles for bass and crappie. THANKS GUYS

[Hexnut]

My go to colors for Bass are almost always the greens and darker colors. Pumpkin, Watermelon Candy, Smoke, Purples with various flakes. These have outfished other colors 2 to 1. Cant go wrong with a green pumkin senko in 4 or 5".

Tight lines

Hexnut

[BassDood]

What Hexnut just said. Can never go wrong with any of those

[juggalo]

Thanks guys,but why?whats the theory?water clearity,color,time of day,sunny,overcast?

[fishnislife]

Bruces Bassin Essentials





fishnislife

[BentRod]

Southeast quadrant of the state: Chartruse is a good color all around for bass.

[Jordan]

So when the water is stained, dark, or murky/algae bloom. There is going to be a lot less visibility for the fish, so you need to go with brighter colors (ex. chartreuse) for the fish to be able to see and as more of an attractant.

When the water is clear with high visibility you can go with darker colors or more imitation patterns due to the fish being able to see more clearly and further distances.

[Trent Hale]

Years back I made a $88.00 color slector buy. I would use this every time out now I never use it. I like the (GPJ)-green pumpkin jig the fish caught on this lure has beat all the lures in my box 10-1. With the exception to the culprit worms. Dark colors of course.

[marktfd88]

There are a couple different theory's in play here. First is what are the fish eating in your area. This is the match the hatch theory. In clearer water, this is usually the predominant choice. Natural colors to match the hatch. Browns, greens, and natural bait fish type colors. Occasionally you get the " go with the bright colors" for smallies when they are real aggressive. But generally the natural colors in clearer water.
When you get to water that is stained/dirty, it starts to get a little trickier. Brighter colors can be easier for the fish to see, I however look beyond just color then. What is my bait doing in the water that can add vibration and motion to the bait. In clear water the fish are more sight oriented feeders. In dirty water, they use a combination of sight, sound, vibration, lateral line, to detect prey. These all play into what makes a bass want to hit your lure. I have seen plenty of days when the bright color will get the bass to find the bait, only then to turn away and not commit at the last second because the chartruese color just wasn't natural enough. Then to throw you a curve ball, I have seen when the natural color in clear water will do the same thing. That is the fun part of bass fishing. The experimenting to figure at what is going to work that particular day.
The beauty of bass fishing, is having all these pieces of a puzzle in front of you on any given day and figuring it out.
They all play in to what you should throw. Water clarity, forage type, weather conditions, seasonal trends, etc all have to be accounted for.

mark

Thanks guys,but why?whats the theory?water clearity,color,time of day,sunny,overcast?

[Anglinarcher]

There are a couple different theory's in play here. First is what are the fish eating in your area. This is the match the hatch theory. In clearer water, this is usually the predominant choice. Natural colors to match the hatch. Browns, greens, and natural bait fish type colors. Occasionally you get the " go with the bright colors" for smallies when they are real aggressive. But generally the natural colors in clearer water.
When you get to water that is stained/dirty, it starts to get a little trickier. Brighter colors can be easier for the fish to see, I however look beyond just color then. What is my bait doing in the water that can add vibration and motion to the bait. In clear water the fish are more sight oriented feeders. In dirty water, they use a combination of sight, sound, vibration, lateral line, to detect prey. These all play into what makes a bass want to hit your lure. I have seen plenty of days when the bright color will get the bass to find the bait, only then to turn away and not commit at the last second because the chartruese color just wasn't natural enough. Then to throw you a curve ball, I have seen when the natural color in clear water will do the same thing. That is the fun part of bass fishing. The experimenting to figure at what is going to work that particular day.
The beauty of bass fishing, is having all these pieces of a puzzle in front of you on any given day and figuring it out.
They all play in to what you should throw. Water clarity, forage type, weather conditions, seasonal trends, etc all have to be accounted for.

mark

Thanks guys,but why?whats the theory?water clearity,color,time of day,sunny,overcast?

This pretty much sums up my position as well.

[Dustin07]

There are a couple different theory's in play here. First is what are the fish eating in your area. This is the match the hatch theory. In clearer water, this is usually the predominant choice. Natural colors to match the hatch. Browns, greens, and natural bait fish type colors. Occasionally you get the " go with the bright colors" for smallies when they are real aggressive. But generally the natural colors in clearer water.
When you get to water that is stained/dirty, it starts to get a little trickier. Brighter colors can be easier for the fish to see, I however look beyond just color then. What is my bait doing in the water that can add vibration and motion to the bait. In clear water the fish are more sight oriented feeders. In dirty water, they use a combination of sight, sound, vibration, lateral line, to detect prey. These all play into what makes a bass want to hit your lure. I have seen plenty of days when the bright color will get the bass to find the bait, only then to turn away and not commit at the last second because the chartruese color just wasn't natural enough. Then to throw you a curve ball, I have seen when the natural color in clear water will do the same thing. That is the fun part of bass fishing. The experimenting to figure at what is going to work that particular day.
The beauty of bass fishing, is having all these pieces of a puzzle in front of you on any given day and figuring it out.
They all play in to what you should throw. Water clarity, forage type, weather conditions, seasonal trends, etc all have to be accounted for.

mark

Thanks guys,but why?whats the theory?water clearity,color,time of day,sunny,overcast?

that info right there i'm taking to the bank- thanks

[spindog]

Depth, Speed, Size, Action, Color, notice I listed color last. When selecting lures of any kind, color comes into play but I personally think color is extremely controversial, I think it has alot more to do with confidence! SURE-more natural colors for clear water and brighter for darker water, but I've seen the bass want the exact opposite so that pretty much takes the science right out of it. A handful of colors and a little trial and error will get you pointed in the right direction. I know this thread is about colors but we need to remember when selecting a lure or technique, color is only 1/5th of the puzzle, the other 4 triggering aspects may be more important in actually triggering the Bass at times.

[basser90]

Like Mark said, the beauty is figuring it out. I would like to put myself in the best position to hook up. And having some of my confidence colors along with the other factors mentioned, is for me a good place to start. When I'm whacking em, is usually when I do most of my experimenting, or if I'm not getting bit at all it's time to change up. For me it's mostly mental because I usually fish alone and with only one rod in the water I sometimes will second guess myself, or not have the patience to stick with it, but to me that's the beauty of bass fishing

[rl206]

Hi guys, new to the site thought i would put my opinion and first reply out there seeing how i noticed my strategy was different than a lot of yours', choosing brighter colors for murkier water. would appreciate some feedback as well? =)

When i am fishing on brighter days, murkier water i tend to throw darker, natural colors.

I started doing this while fishing at Silver Lake In Cowlitz Co. ( for those of you who haven't fished there, VERY murky most of the time) I realized I could see my pure black jig a lot better than brighter colors I had tried.

The contrast was far easier to to see with the bright sun shining through the dirty water I noticed I could see the outline of the bait but, not so much the pattern or details of the bait as much, especially while bouncing it off obstacles near the surface, like over logs and whatnot.

I have used that thought when deciding colors/patterns and haven't had too many problems lacking bites at least

Anywho that's what opinion I had, does this sound reasonable?

[bassmasterderek]

I try to not stress too much about colors. Presentation will be my main priority. Generally yeah clear-natural colors, dark/murky-bright colors. I have caught fish on several different colors with the same presentation and at times and it didn't seem as though the color mattered. I have caught fish on very bright colors in clear water, but usually presented pretty fast. As mentioned above if you in a good area thats producing why not experiment with different colors. Is the bite better with a particular color?
BMD

[kzoo]

My general rule of thumb for plastics is bright days is lighter natural colors watermelon and green pumpkin. Low light hours I'll use darker greens and blacknblue.

Water Clarity also plays a role, if it's clear water I'll use natural colors, stained water I'll put a contrast with natural colors, greens with a chartruese dip. For muddy waters I actually use black and blue or june bug, I've learned this from fishing muddy waters in the south, I never believed it until I tried it.