When to use certain colors of lures.

[chris kowaleski]

So i have a variety of different lures, and i know some colors are better suited for certain water conditions, but i don't know which.  I was wondering if you guys could help me get a better understanding of what to use in different colors of waters or any other factors to be considered.

[Steve Crowder]

Alot depends on your location and conditions Chris. Experimenting is the true solution. Colors I've used in one location do not seem to work as well in others. Aslo depends on what mood the fish are in. Like us, they don't always eat the same things, under certain condiotins.   

[dick tabbert]

Rule of thumb is Clear waters us light colors dirty water use dark colors. This applies to clear skies light colors and overcast darker colors but not as important as the water clarity issue.  What will possibly help you a little bit more, don't fish  solid colors mix them. Maybe you have a white and a light blue maybe the fish can't quit make out that white but see the blue you have increase your chances for a bite. I rarely fish solid colors, example because 90% of the time I throw jigs I might have a red head and a white body. My favorite go to colors and I mix them all the time is the whites and chartreuse's.

[John Sheehan]

I 've usually done well with white on sunny days and Black on cloudy days or silver in clear water and brass or copper in stained water .That's my starting point and then I go from there and continue to experiment trying to find a combo of factors  .I think it matters how finicky the fish are but a lot of times i don't think color is  more important than speed, size of lure and depth, and a combination of these factors presented the way the fish want it .This is just my experience .Your trying to trick fish -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[dick tabbert]

Color isn't always a determining factor although a big part. Some times we may have to add beads or that little something to get a little noise. Never mine if it's small and you don't think the fish can hear it believe me they will hear it through there lateral line. Every fish has a lateral line and what it does is pick up vibrations in the water and we all know water amplifies. If the water is clear and I'm using a spinner it will have a willow leaf blade on it. If the water is dingy or dirty and I'm throwing a spinner I'm changing it up to a colorado blade which gives off much more vibration, that's where it lateral line come back into play. Hope this helps you in making your decision on what to use.

[David Dillman]

Dick

Your rule of thumb sounds right to me.  I agree with you to add a spinner In dirty water.  I also like to add a small swim bait, a curly tail jig, or a slider grub to the spinner to add to the vibration.  I also like to use a 1/16 oz Road Runner jig instead of the spinner. anything to increase the vibration in the dirty water, so that the fish can find the jig. I am not sure if there is to much vibration in dirty water.  Fishing in dirty water is tough so anything that will increase your odds of a strike is good.

[dick tabbert]

David I'm one of them people who don't like change. Not that I wouldn't change if had to but I fish the same types waters all the time. I fish 1/32 or 1/16 oz jig heads 90% of the time. I do change up on my colors and every piece of water I fish is clear water so I do have to make long casts. I use twister tails (curly tails) and will also change up my colors. I fish at least two colors never solids. I like whites the most with my favorite being white pearl which gives the jig an iridescent,s that little extra. Does that help don't know thats were the confident factor come in. I do have many color of tail but again I like the pearls so I have pearl chartreuse from light to darks same with my blues. So when I say I don't change up I mean I always fish jigs with twister tails but even I know we have to still change up on color because of bright days and overcast days. The other 10 percent of time I fish dark inline spinners. I find I do my best on sunfish with them.

[David Dillman]

Dick

 I understand the hate of change, if it ain't broke don't fix it.  I use curly tail jigs a lot now, but 2 years ago I didn't.  They now are one of my top producers.  I use mostly dark colors because most of the water I fish is stained to dirty.  I also like to fish 1/32 to 1/16 oz jigs. horizontally.  I prefer the 1/32 oz jig though.  I've tried small crank baits, to many treble hooks, but I have had some success on small rattle traps,  but I have more luck with jigs and plastics.  I always tip them with crappie nibbles or gulp alive waxies. 

I think your going to have a ball this summer with your style of fishing and the float tube.  I like lightning rods also.  The last one I had I converted into a redneck rod.  I have a six foot medium light  one piece rod.  I could not find any Tennessee handle fishing rods up here in Yankee land, so I made my own version.  I cut the reel seat and handle off my lightning rod.  I then taped the spinning reel to the im 6 blank with electrical tape.  I then kept taping and created a handle out of the electrical tape.  I then cut each side of the tape to give the handle a straight look.  I then  taped the end up.   The rod looked like a split handled spinning rod.  It is a sensitive rod. Unfortunately, I broke the handle, so I cut off six inches, and now have a smaller redneck rod.

I guess I like change if it is going to improve my fishing and I believe this rod did help improve my fishing.  I am getting a new rod to improve the distance of casting these small jigs.

[dick tabbert]

Wow David that is scary we are much alike. I wish you all the luck and hope you catch so many fish you don't want to see another one. Fat chance of that happening Keep it safe and GOOD FISHIN.. If your ever in my area come on by, I'll put the coffee pot on and we can see how much alike we really are.

[David Dillman]

Well,  Dick I will take that offer.  Like I said before I think you will have a ball with the float tube and your style of fishing.  I thought I read you where going to try fly fishing?  Give us a report on how that is going.  I remember my dad trying it.  I remember trying to learn how to cast in the front yard.    I don't remember if he really ever tried to flyfish in a body of water.  Fly fishing is suppose to be one of the most popular types of fishing for newbies. 

Anyway make sure you get a good set of fins.  It is easier to walk backward into a body of water with swim fins then walking forward.  I also always wear a floatation device.  It is better safe then sorry.  Some belly boaters will sit on a floatation cushion for their device, it also gets them higher out of the water.  For spring fishing you can get some waders with sock feet and put your swim fins over the waders.  I recommend plano's small double sided plastic boxes for your  jigs and and plastics.  I have one box for blue gill and another for crappie. I also recommend getting a small hand pump and keep it with the float tube, that way if you get a leak you can go to shallow water and pump it up enough to get you to your launching point. 

I will let you know how it goes with my cheap hand held fish finder.  I hope this will help with the deep crappie.  I hope these float tube tips will help. I wish you the best of luck!!   May your jigs be bitten many times this spring and summer!!

David Dillman

[dick tabbert]

Thanks you David for your words of wisdom and reassurance What ever happen  I'm sure it will be all fun. 

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Boy, don't I wish I knew the last word on this subject! Some people will tell you that color doesn't matter. But, it is a fact that the game fishes we most often seek have an acute color sense. So it behooves us to at least consider color as a factor. I think we've come pretty close as a starting point, with this Rule of Thumb:

 

Clear water / clear sky =  go with lighter colors, smaller lures, easy-going presentation

a. Silver toned flashers (spinners, flickers, etc.)

Dark/stained/turbid water / dark sky = darker colors, larger/active lures, "disturbance" presentation 

a. Gold toned flash (spinners, flickers, etc.)

 

Of course, there about a gazillion variables to complicate this subject. So, without bogging down in all of that, can we still narrow it down to a universal "color palette" that you might want to keep on hand? Yes, I think we can.  

 

FIRST: Know and try to imitate the natural forage of the fish themselves, in YOUR waters.

This dictates every color/action choice we must make. 

 

+++ Soft plastics/swimbaits

For the dazzzzling range of soft plastics available, some personal preference must be allowed. Use what you know works - first. At the same time, a few basic colors seem to be important.

1. Black, white and chartreuse. Dark purple and June Bug can be included here.

(Tom Mann, a pioneer of the soft plastic worm, was famous for saying he'd catch fish with any color - as long as it was black.)

2. Natural tones like browns, olive green/watermelon, June Bug and minnow based tones. 

3. Yellow, orange, pink, and smoke/sparkle. 

4. Black or June bug, with chartruese tails.

 

+++ Hard baits (spoons, crankbaits, spinner baits, top-waters and jerkbaits)

Just a few colors seem to be needed here, although you can break any fishing budget buying lures from this category.

1. Chrome/mirror - reflects the natural colors around it.

2. Silver and Gold - forage fish mimics (think original Rapala's) 

3. White, and pattern-over-white  

4. "Crawfish" tones - reds, and browns

5. Yellow

6. Chartruese

 

 P.S. This information is from my own research into the subject... it isn't scientific, or even worth much! Much of it comes from bass fishing, since there is so much information available on this species. By a stroke of luck, it can also apply to their close cousins, the sunfish. As Dick Tabbert says, "Bluegill fishin' is the same as bass fishin' - only smaller."

Regardless, just when you think you've got this color business figured out, something new pops up. So dont be afraid to experiment. But this pretty sums up what I might call a "universal" color palette for these fishes.

Bottom line is this: you could hardly go wrong with a mix of these - but take it with a grain of salt.

 

[David Dillman]

David, 

Your observations sound right on the money to me.  I am a big fan of black plastics.  I think You will enjoy Charlie Brewers book.  It might make you a believer in Tennessee  handle fishing rods, Actually rods today are so much more sensitive then they were when he wrote his book, so I do not think it makes muck difference.  Good observations, thanks for putting them out their for people to learn from and reminding us who have had many of the same observations.  May your bait be bitten many times this spring and summer.