Color Of Topwater...does It Really Matter?

[airborne_angler]

Went out yesterday and had a tough day.A friend of mine swears by Popper as his go to,and fishes them ALL THE TIME and does very very well. I tried all day with a Popper and got nothing.

The Popper I was throwing was a Popr in a Perch pattern. It was older and the finish was beat up. In fact throughout the day,the finish started coming off entirely.

Right before sundown,I gave the finish some help and removed it entirely. I now had a plain solid white bone color popper,no features,no eyes with a white teaser tail rear hook.

I've heard people say black or darker colors are best inn low light situations...could've fooled me...in 15 minutes I was able to boat 3 fish...largest being 2 pounds. So was it the bait or the conditions that suddenly caused the fish to turn on? I'm starting to think maybe black or dark is good in low light...but when it comes to topwater...it may not even matter. Anyone care to share thoughts ideas and opinions on this?

[GOOCHY]

I think darker is better in low light conditions. This morning I was fishing a black buzzbait while it was lightly raining and they were absolutely destroying it at every opportunity. I think the rain mixed with it being an overcast early morning helped. It seems to me that the less opportunity for a fish to identify that something is wrong (dark, can't see it as well) is only going to work in the fishermans favor.

[airborne_angler]

Perhaps I need to experiment...go out one day and throw the Bone colored Popper and then the next time throw a dark colored popper...of course that may not be an exact comparison...weather,wind and temps along with other variables will affect things...

[ClackerBuzz]

ur popper wanst working during the day b/c the topwater bite wasn't on...but it turned on a dusk. it had more to do with time of day. most likely NO color would have worked during the day and ANY color would have worked at dusk. bass roam more at sunup/sundown b/c there is less light so then can ambush in open water.

[craww]

"Right before sundown"....was likely why they turned on. I'm a topwater junkie, and don't get too caught up on color. Most everything a bass is gonna eat in its natural environment is gonna have some shade of white belly. Black obviously obviously has its place at night and murky waters, but I throw black buzzers in clear water and do just fine. Thing is about black, while it gives a great silloette, it also doesn't show detail as well, which is a good thing IMO.

[Bankbeater]

Night and early morning I like to throw a black jitterbug. After the sun comes I switch over to a green frog. If it gets cloudy I will start to throw a chrome popper.

[Marty]

I use black Jitterbugs and chartreuse buzzbaits and they hit both when it's a sunny afternoon and hit both under lower light too. Bottom line is I have no idea what effect color has.

[fishking247]

i don't think it really matters. i generally stick to colors to match the baitfish they feed on. by me the main forage is baby bass, perch, bluegills, and other panfish. i use a lot of baby bass colors

[jignfule]

Somedays color has made all the difference. Generally darker colors work best for me.

[Bluebasser86]

I prefer darker colors for topwaters since they stand out better on the surface. The exception would be in very clear water when I like very natural to translucent colors for my topwaters. In my experience topwater baits are probably one of the baits where color matters the least.

[M-D]

IMHO, color does not matter too much unless dealing with gin clear water. I prefer white as I can keep visual contact with it the best.

[NBR]

Stained to heavy stained lake dark colors, clear waters light colors or even clean plastic.

[airborne_angler]

Went to WalMart this morning to check out the Topwater baits they had...the only topwater they carry in this store is a Rebel POP-R and a FROG-R. All the POP-R baits had white bellies regardless of what the sides and top looked like...there's gotta be something about a white belly on a topwater bait...

[Crestliner2008]

I use black Jitterbugs and chartreuse buzzbaits and they hit both when it's a sunny afternoon and hit both under lower light too. Bottom line is I have no idea what effect color has.

Neither does the fish! It's all a matter of an opportunity to feed.