Are custom painted hard bait better than original?

[yaaj]

So, it seems the craze this year is going to be custom painted bait, primarily hard baits like cranks, swimbaits, and jerkbaits.

What are your thoughts/opinion on whether or not they are more effective? I understand that local bass in your areas may not have been conditioned yet to these "custom" colors, but can anyone verify with experience whether or not fishing with these more expensive lures have made a bigger impact on their fishing catch?

I'm just wondering and I also agree the custom paint jobs may yield a better catch percentage, but want to hear from others as to what their experience has been.

thanks.

[hmongkidBee]

I don't think it works better.  I believe custom painting a lure to your liking would help boost your confidence in wanting to keep throwing that lure even though nothing is biting it.  That's the same thing with custom rods, if you like the rod you won't drop it down to trade for an brand name rod you'll keep fishing with your custom rod.  So in conclusion CONFIDENCE is what custom painting helps build.

[sal669]

In my experience, the more beat up a lure is , the better it catche fish.

...or , the better the lure, the more beat up it becomes; and the more beat up it becomes , the better it catches fish, so it becomes more beat up...

[Crestliner2008]

Depth & speed control catch fish. Everything else is window dressing. If a certain color give you added confidence, then I say go for it. Just don't rely on color to produce the bite for you.

[jb7725]

custom painted lures=confidence

[FL Knifemaker]

Being able to closely match the local baitfish has to be an advantage.  I don't care for any of the factory tilapia patterns I see.  Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

[yaaj]

It has nothing to do with confidence people, what I'm asking is have you fished with it, and do you notice a difference. 

I will test this as soon as our ice thaws out, go find a group of schooling bass, throw an original crankbait.  Then throw the same crankbait, but is has been custom painted to match the forage per se. 

Just wondering if anyone has tested this out yet or has any experience...

[Raul]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

[hitchhiker]

When it comes to color I think that close counts. It's the right retrieve speed, depth, pause, wobble, maybe line diameter, it's the action that really matters.

Yes the custom painted baits are NICE, but do you think the fish are going to jump all over it because it is custom painted? If I had an airbrush and artistic ability, it would be all that I would fish, but turning a $4 crankbait into a $30 crankbait isn't for me.

[SkilletSizeBass.]

I think its more the action of a custom made crank than the color. If a custom made balsa bait has more wiggle or  more wobble at a certain depth it can be a great advantage on certain days, and then a certain color may help also. I've been adding custom made balsa and Japanese crankbiats to my box and got some new ones to try out this spring. Besides, they sure are pretty   ;D

[FL Knifemaker]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

You didn't quote my entire post, thus some perspective is lost. I see bass chasing and eating the small tilapia all the time. None of the factory baits in their tilapia colors really resemble the actual colors of the talapia they are chasing. You don't think it would make sense to create a bait that is much more realistic for my local waters ?? :-?

[jb7725]

dont want to cause an argument but i live on 2 40 acre ponds which dont have any shad, shiners, alewives or any baitfish the forage here is blugills, crappie,smaller bass, and perch and all of the standard baitfish patterns work well when i use them. so i dont think a custom bait would make a difference thats why i said it was a confidence thing

[bmadd]

Jerkbaits fished during the winter months were the sit motionless for great periods of time and swimbaits that are dead sticked are the only hardbaits that I believe are worth custom painted, highly detailed finishes. All other baits are constantly moving therefor the fish are not allowed to take in all the colors and/or details you paid for. I do believe that you should match the tones of the forage you are trying to imitate but I am a firm believer in keeping color patterns simple and figure out the depth and action the fish want.

[Raul]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

You didn't quote my entire post, thus some perspective is lost. I see bass chasing and eating the small tilapia all the time. None of the factory baits in their tilapia colors really resemble the actual colors of the talapia they are chasing. You don't think it would make sense to create a bait that is much more realistic for my local waters ?? :-?

I read it entirely, I stick to it, if you want to believe so...

[kikstand454]

i think actual "color" is the last peice of a very complex (or simple) puzzle. i think "shade" is more important than color. the only time i think color may be an overwhelming factor would be baits that dont move much in gin clear water.

color selection is super fine tuning a discovered pattern.

[FL Knifemaker]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

You didn't quote my entire post, thus some perspective is lost. I see bass chasing and eating the small tilapia all the time. None of the factory baits in their tilapia colors really resemble the actual colors of the talapia they are chasing. You don't think it would make sense to create a bait that is much more realistic for my local waters ?? :-?

I read it entirely, I stick to it, if you want to believe so...

Well then you MUST be right based on your informative reply.  I'll change my order to just clear over the bare balsa

[airborne_angler]

Being able to closely match the local baitfish has to be an advantage. I don't care for any of the factory tilapia patterns I see. Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

Crankbaits are a reaction bite type of bait. The wiggle gives off Vibes and maybe a bait gives off some attention grabbing flash. I dont think the bass even have time to analyze what the bait looks like. They just hit it.

I dont think a bass has ever seen a lure ,chased it and at the last minute thought "Naw,that doesnt look much like a tilapia,it has too much red in the paint scheme " and left it alone

The fish will either strike it or it wont,if the conditions are right, its that simple.

Going back to my Chartreuse thread I posted a little while back. Whens the last time you saw a totally chartreuse fish of any kind swimming in fresh water? Chartreuse is a very productive color for many species of fish such as Bass(both LM and SM) Walleye,Pike,Musky,Trout...You get the picture

Also think about the cranks that are neon orange and have a craw painted on them. The craw is facing the wrong way,craws swim backwards. Most of the craws painted on cranks have the craw facing forward.

Think about this and how productive these paint schemes are,That should put a nail in the coffin.I cant say I have ever seen a neon orange craw swimming fast forward like a crankbait does.

Its all about the action.

I think custom painting is left more for collectors of baits.

[Raul]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

You didn't quote my entire post, thus some perspective is lost. I see bass chasing and eating the small tilapia all the time. None of the factory baits in their tilapia colors really resemble the actual colors of the talapia they are chasing. You don't think it would make sense to create a bait that is much more realistic for my local waters ?? :-?

I read it entirely, I stick to it, if you want to believe so...

Well then you MUST be right based on your informative reply. I'll change my order to just clear over the bare balsa

You are overthinking it, why ? you are giving bass a credit they don 't have, you insist that an ultra realistic paint job imitating exactly the color of, in this case, tilapia and to be more specific the tilapia that lives in the exact body of water you fish should be an advantage, however you are overlooking several points:

1.- You are giving the bass a sight seeing definition which they do not have, bass can 't see with the level of defintion we can see, their world is blurry so athey won 't be able to see all that pretty paint job.

2.- Bass do not see colors the way we do, so unless the paint can be seen just exactly like they see the colors of the tilapia the paint job will not be seen as you think they will see it.

3.- The colors of the fish change depending upon turbidity, background, light penetration, season and mood, for that purpose they posses specialized cells called cromatophores which contain a pigment named melanin, to those specialized cells you add muscular cells that squeeze the cromatophores and depending upon how much they squeeze or how much they do not squeeze the cromatophore will change color because the distribution of the melanin in the cromatophore changes, more squeezed the darker, less squeezed the lightest. Those muscular cells are ruled by the SNC and depending upon what the SNC detects it 's what it orders the cells to do. Your pretty painted crank is not able to do so, it will always look as it 's painted so in within the multiple variations of mood, water tutbidity, background, light penetration your bait can only match in the best case a minute number of psossibilities, in other words, the paint job will only "match" to the forage in very few ocassions.

4.- Bass will feed almost on anything it can get in it 's mouth, which is an advantage to us, if bass could see the way you think they see, if bass had the ability to reason  like we do bass would not strike a bait, you would not be able to fool them, yet all of us fool them over and over again. The fish acts on instict and if it 's instinct tells him that what he is able to see, taste, listen, feel and touch resembles to something that it 's alive and an easy prey the fish will strike, even it it looks unnatural to you.

5.- Bass can 't recognize species for what they look like, what they can recognize is the movement and wounded/injured/dying/handicapped/ill animals have a very peculiar movement pattern, predatory animals can recognize that pattern and that 's the reason why predators prey on them before trying to prey on a healthy animal. Lures imitate that wounded/injured/dying/handicapped/ill pattern, reason why they are effective. So do unnatural color patterns work ? sure they do, bass in my neck of the woods have never seen a trout, a shad, an ayu or a perch however painted baits in those patterns which the bass can 't recognize as prey catch fish.

Bare balsa will work if you put the bait in the right place and if the lure has the right action.

[microman]

depends on how well you paint.

[FL Knifemaker]

Having baits custom painted to match the local baby tilapia has GOT to be an advantage.

If you want to believe so ...

You didn't quote my entire post, thus some perspective is lost. I see bass chasing and eating the small tilapia all the time. None of the factory baits in their tilapia colors really resemble the actual colors of the talapia they are chasing. You don't think it would make sense to create a bait that is much more realistic for my local waters ?? :-?

I read it entirely, I stick to it, if you want to believe so...

Well then you MUST be right based on your informative reply. I'll change my order to just clear over the bare balsa

You are overthinking it, why ? you are giving bass a credit they don 't have, you insist that an ultra realistic paint job imitating exactly the color of, in this case, tilapia and to be more specific the tilapia that lives in the exact body of water you fish should be an advantage, however you are overlooking several points:

1.- You are giving the bass a sight seeing definition which they do not have, bass can 't see with the level of defintion we can see, their world is blurry so athey won 't be able to see all that pretty paint job.

2.- Bass do not see colors the way we do, so unless the paint can be seen just exactly like they see the colors of the tilapia the paint job will not be seen as you think they will see it.

3.- The colors of the fish change depending upon turbidity, background, light penetration, season and mood, for that purpose they posses specialized cells called cromatophores which contain a pigment named melanin, to those specialized cells you add muscular cells that squeeze the cromatophores and depending upon how much they squeeze or how much they do not squeeze the cromatophore will change color because the distribution of the melanin in the cromatophore changes, more squeezed the darker, less squeezed the lightest. Those muscular cells are ruled by the SNC and depending upon what the SNC detects it 's what it orders the cells to do. Your pretty painted crank is not able to do so, it will always look as it 's painted so in within the multiple variations of mood, water tutbidity, background, light penetration your bait can only match in the best case a minute number of psossibilities, in other words, the paint job will only "match" to the forage in very few ocassions.

4.- Bass will feed almost on anything it can get in it 's mouth, which is an advantage to us, if bass could see the way you think they see, if bass had the ability to reason like we do bass would not strike a bait, you would not be able to fool them, yet all of us fool them over and over again. The fish acts on instict and if it 's instinct tells him that what he is able to see, taste, listen, feel and touch resembles to something that it 's alive and an easy prey the fish will strike, even it it looks unnatural to you.

5.- Bass can 't recognize species for what they look like, what they can recognize is the movement and wounded/injured/dying/handicapped/ill animals have a very peculiar movement pattern, predatory animals can recognize that pattern and that 's the reason why predators prey on them before trying to prey on a healthy animal. Lures imitate that wounded/injured/dying/handicapped/ill pattern, reason why they are effective. So do unnatural color patterns work ? sure they do, bass in my neck of the woods have never seen a trout, a shad, an ayu or a perch however painted baits in those patterns which the bass can 't recognize as prey catch fish.

Bare balsa will work if you put the bait in the right place and if the lure has the right action.

I pretty much agree with everything you're saying.  I'm going with custom balsa baits for the vibe and action more than the color.  But......having to choose a color, my feeling is I might as well go with something that resembles the local bait fish, more so than the factory offerings.  The baits are retrieved and stopped.  As you know, bites offen happen when they stop and float up.  IMHO, some realism at that moment could be helpful.

Also, regarding chartreuse....

I spent a lot of time looking at baits going by as I helped build a dock.  At times, I was the only one working    At depths below about 3 feet in our stained water, the brightest chartruese looks tan or off white, no greenish yellow at all.  Same thing with the bright blue, chartreuse or parrot colored crankbaits.  They just look drab, even sort of grey.    How the bass see it, I don't know but I doubt they see a bright chartreuse like we see it on land    Other than the brightest color worms or solid black are all but invisible in 5-7 feet of water where I was diving.  Again, looking at them with human eyes underwater is not the same as how bass see them but makes one realize just how good their senses or sight is.