How Do You Choose Colors?

[*Hootie]

I ask this because I wonder what are your reasons. I work at BPS, so I have seen this over and over many times. A couple of year ago, KVD wins a tournament on a sexy shad crankbait. Now we had all the available colors of this crankbait, but we couldn't stock sexy shads fast enough. Next it was, KVD won a tournament using a chartreuse, black back crankbait. Here we go again. Now I choose my baits based on, water color, time of year, water temp, etc. etc.

To insist on a particular color just because, so and so won a tournament with it could get expensive, not to mention get you a bunch of baits you can't even use, because they aren't even effective on the water you fish. Just wondering, how many will admit to falling into this pattern. I admit, years ago, that was pretty much how I chose all my tackle. I have lures in my collection that have never caught a fish. Oh well, what are your thoughts.

Hootie

[Bluebasser86]

Water color, time of year, and available forage are my main deciding factors for what colors I chose. Of course there's those times I see a bait that sparkles just right and I'm like a deer in the headlights and it's in my basket before I even realize I picked it up

[thehooligan]

Water color, time of year, and available forage are my main deciding factors for what colors I chose. Of course there's those times I see a bait that sparkles just right and I'm like a deer in the headlights and it's in my basket before I even realize I picked it up

x2 This is exactly how i am. I do fish alot of quarries where the water is crystal clear so i like to match the baitfish. I love baby bass, bluegill, and perch colors the best. If im fishing murky water thats where the whites and chart. colors come into play for me.

[papajoe222]

Water color/light penetration and how bright or overcast it is. Low light penetration from a choppy surface has a similar effect on light penetration as does stained water, in either case I'm choosing something that gives off a good siloutte or a color that doesn't dissapear quickly. That normally translates to either dark or brighter colors. On the other hand a bright sky and clear/calm water and I'm looking for something translucent or something that imitates the forage. When it comes to spinnerbait blades, it's chrome for clear/bright conditions and copper or painted blades for stained water or overcast conditions.

That's how I choose which color to use, but when it comes to purchasing baits, I must admit that I buy into the marketing hype as much as most guys.

[Sam]

Water color (clarity), clear or overcast skies and their food source on that particular body of water.

[Mike L]

Water color, time of year, and available forage are my main deciding factors for what colors I chose. Of course there's those times I see a bait that sparkles just right and I'm like a deer in the headlights and it's in my basket before I even realize I picked it up

Man if there ever was an explanation of what I do, this is it!!

Mike

[NBR]

Much the same. Water clarity, time of day, cloudy or sunny, water bodies forage and my most important confidence in the bait and color. With all that said my first concern is depth, then action followed by size, shape and then color. And for most every one of the above cases I've had a day, hour or part of either where the opposite of what is considered the best approach works best.

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Ive only been at this a few months and haven't really gotten into tournaments and pros and who won what on which bait. Like everyone else, the colors I choose on the lake are based on lighting/weather conditions, water clarity, and available forage. On the other hand the colors I choose when Im in the store are often based on "aw sweet...I don't have anything in that color yet". Im still building up my tackle collection and Id like to try and be prepared for anything. If I have all the basic colors of a particular bait, I might buy a more random color just to give it a try. Maybe give the bass something they haven't seen before.

[BradH]

Whatever is in the bargain bin

[Clint C.]

As far as plastics. I tend to stick with green pumpkin, almost to a fault.

[merc1997]

marketing sells more colors than anything. if a bass can not find a brown crawdad, it just might starve to death. same goes for shad colors. basic crawdad colors, and basic shad colors will catch bass. crankbaits are a great example of what i am talking about. i would much rather have a crankbait with the right wiggle pattern the bass are looking for on particular day, than to have the "right color". example would be a wiggle wart over a shad rap. the wiggle wart has a wide wobble, and the shad rap has a very tight wiggle. i do not care which bait had the "right color", the bait that had the right wiggle is going to catch most of the fish. depth and speed catch more fish than the "right color". and to the depth and speed i will add a horizontal presentation or a vertical presentation.

bo

[roadwarrior]

marketing sells more colors than anything. if a bass can not find a brown crawdad, it just might starve to death. same goes for shad colors. basic crawdad colors, and basic shad colors will catch bass. crankbaits are a great example of what i am talking about. i would much rather have a crankbait with the right wiggle pattern the bass are looking for on particular day, than to have the "right color". example would be a wiggle wart over a shad rap. the wiggle wart has a wide wobble, and the shad rap has a very tight wiggle. i do not care which bait had the "right color", the bait that had the right wiggle is going to catch most of the fish. depth and speed catch more fish than the "right color". and to the depth and speed i will add a horizontal presentation or a vertical presentation.

bo

On the other hand, the right color can make good fishing better. Sometimes it's critical.

[Jim_M]

Until it fails...I will continue using a piece of software I have on my Android called "My Fishing Adviser".

Results indicate that may be a while.

[Arv]

I tend to stick to "natural colors." A lot of browns and greens for plastics and jigs, and mix in black/blue/purple and that about covers it there. Anything that will look like a bait fish (cranks, spinners, etc.) I generally go for white/silver and gold/yellow, or anything else that would resemble a bluegill, shad or a perch. I still have different color schemes that vary from what I mentioned above (fire tiger, chartreuse, red, orange...) but that's generally how I choose.

[fishking247]

i stick my hand in my bag and whatever i pull out is what i use LOL

[Knightiac]

For the most part, the items I use the most are broken down into three colors...

That would be Worms, Jigs, Craws and Creatures. I use green pumpkin in good conditions, black/blue in darker or lower visibility situations and a redbug or plum I will throw when green pumpkin isn't getting it done.

For spinnerbaits and buzzbaits I stick to white or chart. I have darker skirts that I will throw on but I don't have as much confidence in those.

Topwaters are all natural colors.

I got caught in the crankbait fad... Went out and bought KVD 1.5's and 2.5's in chart. chart black back, firetiger, sexy shad, silver, chrome and you name it. I bought them thinking I would love using them and I never touch them honestly. I'd much rather throw a spinnerbait, a fluke or a swimbait. It happens...

[retiredbosn]

I really like red in the spring and Shad colors and chrome in fall on the rattl trap type crank. If it has a lip low light murky bright reds and black back chartreuse sides, clear water browns and Shad colors, I also like a bone color but that's a closely guarded secret.

[WRB]

Every lake has a color preference that changes seasonally, daily, hourly depending on factors we simply do not know, it's trail and error proces. Using lures the coloration of the prey the bass are feeding sometimes helps, but always. For example if you are fishing a dep diving crankbait, action can far outweigh color, however the right action combined with a color the bass prefer is the best combination. Bass are very fickle when it comes to colors.

Take. Huddleston Drelux 8" rainbow trout swimbait that comes in light rainbow, dark rainbow,, Lasson rainbow, etc, etc, etc, the bass can be targeting the dark rainbow and you have the light rainbow and can't buy a strike, very frustrating and there isn't a simple answer.

Tom

[Tuckahoe Joe]

Hey knightiac, Ill take those KVD 1.5/2.5's off your hands if you don't want em!

[ripinthem]

The way I break it down to keep it simple, is to decide between the natural forage(bream, shad, crawfish colors) and water clarity. Water clarity is big, and probably my biggest factor. If clear, go as realistic as the forage you imitate(white=shads, green pumpkin=crawfish). As the clarity dims, go either darker, or bright as you can. Dark baits seem to be easier for Bass to silouette, and bright baits announce their presence in visually dim waters. I fish in mostly stained water, and do better with black/blue/junebug type colors, and I feel they just see it better...nothing against other colors. Another key is making it dissappear. Its what their prey does, so why not. Match your bait exactly to the water...if its green pumpkin, watermellon....great! Believe me, they will see it.

[ww2farmer]

I picked one...........it worked, so I kept using it. Simple as that. I have seen color matter not at all way more times than I have seen it mean the difference between getting bit or not. Matching the hatch is nonsense for bass fishing. I have caught just as many, if not more bass on goofy outlandish crankbait colors, as I have on super realistic natural ones...........even in clear water. And just the oppostite with jigs/plastics. I catch more on brown, green, or black, than anything else......reguardless of water clarity. So what does that mean? Nothing. Pick a color and fish it. If your not getting bit, it's not because you have the wrong color. I am not 100% positive of this, but I think I have taken there money or at least finished higher in tournaments than almost every one I have ever met who's first question, or main concern, is "what color are you getting them on". I'll tell you all day long what color I use.............but I won't tell you why/when/where I am doing what I am doing, which is the most important thing.

[tholmes]

1. Available forage

2. Water color/clarity

3. Weather conditions - clear, cloudy, rain etc.

What KVD or any other pro won a tournament with has zero bearing on what I use. I'm pretty sure that no tournaments were held on any of the lakes that I fish.

Tom

[*Hootie]

1. Available forage

2. Water color/clarity

3. Weather conditions - clear, cloudy, rain etc.

What KVD or any other pro won a tournament with has zero bearing on what I use. I'm pretty sure that no tournaments were held on any of the lakes that I fish.

Tom

My feelings exactly!!

Hootie

[5fishlimit]

Until it fails...I will continue using a piece of software I have on my Android called "My Fishing Adviser".

Results indicate that may be a while.

Same here. My Fishing Advisor has helped me out plenty of times, but I still tend to stick with lures I'm comfortable with using even if I don't have a specific color.

[Bankbeater]

Water clarity, and the amount of sun is what I go by first. If that doesn't pan out I will start playing around with different colors to see what works.