Only Three Color "schemes" To Choose From, What Would You Take.

[Zeeso]

So I am digging through all my tackle.  

 

And I realize, that I have wasted a lot of money, on baits that I probably won't ever use.  This is mainly when talking about plastics, not so much others.  Usually they are purchased because I am shopping for something, I see a box that says, 1$ clearance bin.   Which In turn I say, well I could always use some more worms.  Ill just add these to my "stock"

 

So my goal, this year, is to really thin down my color selections, and possibly limit myself to 3 basic color schemes that I "know" will work, and to not buy an abundance of " Hmm, well if I was a fish I would eat that" lures.  

 

Starting with jigs, I'm making it my goal to really get into jig fishing this year.  I have had some success with jigs, but I want to "master" it.  I often find myself fishing fast, and then I am  so tuned in, that I can't slow it down.  I want to build a decent stock pile of jigs, but I want to limit my color schemes.

 

So for jigs, I am thinking -  Black/Blue , Greenpumpkin and maybe a Brown/orange.  Weights would vary from 3/8 to 3/4 oz.

 

I love lipless crankbaits, but I also want to limit what I purchase in these as well.  I use red eye shads, and my most productive colors have been Orange belly craw and bluegill.  I want to add another color that I can move too if the conditions call for it.  So I am thinking maybe a Bone White, or a blue/chrome.

 

Spinnerbaits / chatterbaits.    Black/blue,  a natural color (green pumpkin or a bluegill skirt)  and a white, usually with a few red strands.

 

Plastics (tubes, worms)  Best luck for me comes with greens, I like to use a black with red flake, and sometimes a bluefleck.

 

These are just some of the baits I use, but they are easily the baits I find myself using the most.  I was just wondering what you guys thought so I can try and narrow down my trash bags full of plastics!  I haven't got into much deep diving cranks or jerk baits  which I need to do, I just find myself often relying on my "confidence" lures that I don't take the time to fish them. 

 

If you could, I would love to know what you guys would choose if you could limit yourself to three colors for each of the following baits

 

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general)

Spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits

Lipless Crankbaits

Jigs

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to hearing what you guys think and discussing it, Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[PondBoss]

Tubes/Worms:

Watermelon/Red, Watermelon Candy, Black Blue

Spinnerbaits:

White/Chartreuse, White/Red, Chartreuse/Blue

Lipless:

Chrome/Blue, Chrome/Black, Red/Orange

Jigs:

Orange/Brown, Watermelon/Red, Black/Blue

 

Honestly with the lipless I could get by with just the chrome/blue and on spinnerbaits just white/chartreuse

[Stingray23]

Tubes/Worms/Plastics-Green pumpkin, watermelon/blk fleck, Black

Spinnerbaits-White/Chartruese, Smoke-Silver, Chartruese

Lipless Cranks-Chrome/blue, Gold, Red craw

Jigs-Green pumpkin, Black/blue, Brown

[Comfortably Numb]

Tubes/Worms/Plastics-Green pumpkin, watermelon/red, Black/blue

 

Spinnerbaits-White/Chartruese, Bluegill, Bleeding shiner
 

Lipless Cranks-Chrome/black, Red craw, Firetiger/Perch

 

Jigs-Green pumpkin, Black/blue, Brown/orange

 

[Zeeso]

Alot of chartreuse in the spinnerbaits already!  I can't seem to have much luck with chartreuse, what conditions do you guys usually throw these under?  I fish primarily clear water reservoirs and a slightly stained local pond.

[Stingray23]

I throw a chartreuse or chartreuse/white spinnerbait under most conditions. I too fish clear to stained reservoirs. I vary the blade colors and sizes. I like tandem willow blades. One silver, one gold. If I'm fishing ultra clear water, I will down size the blades and make them both silver. But for clear to stained water on an over cast day, I prefer silver and gold. I also throw chartreuse blades with a chartreuse skirt for smallmouth on an overcast and stained water.

[Bankbeater]

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general)

Green pumpkin, Pumpkin, Watermelon Red

Spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits

White, Chart/White, Black

Lipless Crankbaits

Chrome w/ blue back, shad color, bluegill color

Jigs

Blue/Black, Black, Watermelon

 

 

[ww2farmer]

I don't need three, 2 will get it done moat of the time, and for some just 1

 

Plastics : Green pumpkin, and June bug

 

Jigs: Black/blue, and Brown/green

 

Spinnerbaits: Chart/White

 

Lipless cranks: Red craw, and a translucent naturalish looking baitfish color

[Christian M]

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general)-

Black, Junebug, Red Shad, Baby Bass, Pumpkinseed.

 

Spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits-

Black, White, Chartreuse, & BlueGill, Baby bass,  

Blades depend on season, water temp & clarity, & time of day

 

Lipless Crankbaits-

Orangebelly w/brown back, Gold Shiner, Yellow Perch, Shad, Bone White

 

Jigs-

Black, Green/Watermelon Red, Brown/Green, White & Silver

[BrettD]

Tubes/Worms/Plastics-Watermelon red flake, red shad, Black and Blue

Spinnerbaits-White/Red, Black, White/Chartruese

Lipless Cranks-Chrome/blue, Gold, Red craw

Jigs-Green pumpkin, Black/blue, Orange/Brown

[Deleted account]

So I am digging through all my tackle.  

 

And I realize, that I have wasted a lot of money, on baits that I probably won't ever use.  This is mainly when talking about plastics, not so much others.  Usually they are purchased because I am shopping for something, I see a box that says, 1$ clearance bin.   Which In turn I say, well I could always use some more worms.  Ill just add these to my "stock"

 

So my goal, this year, is to really thin down my color selections, and possibly limit myself to 3 basic color schemes that I "know" will work, and to not buy an abundance of " Hmm, well if I was a fish I would eat that" lures.  

 

Starting with jigs, I'm making it my goal to really get into jig fishing this year.  I have had some success with jigs, but I want to "master" it.  I often find myself fishing fast, and then I am  so tuned in, that I can't slow it down.  I want to build a decent stock pile of jigs, but I want to limit my color schemes.

 

So for jigs, I am thinking -  Black/Blue , Greenpumpkin and maybe a Brown/orange.  Weights would vary from 3/8 to 3/4 oz.

 

I love lipless crankbaits, but I also want to limit what I purchase in these as well.  I use red eye shads, and my most productive colors have been Orange belly craw and bluegill.  I want to add another color that I can move too if the conditions call for it.  So I am thinking maybe a Bone White, or a blue/chrome.

 

Spinnerbaits / chatterbaits.    Black/blue,  a natural color (green pumpkin or a bluegill skirt)  and a white, usually with a few red strands.

 

Plastics (tubes, worms)  Best luck for me comes with greens, I like to use a black with red flake, and sometimes a bluefleck.

 

These are just some of the baits I use, but they are easily the baits I find myself using the most.  I was just wondering what you guys thought so I can try and narrow down my trash bags full of plastics!  I haven't got into much deep diving cranks or jerk baits  which I need to do, I just find myself often relying on my "confidence" lures that I don't take the time to fish them. 

 

If you could, I would love to know what you guys would choose if you could limit yourself to three colors for each of the following baits

 

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general)

Spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits

Lipless Crankbaits

Jigs

 

Any input would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to hearing what you guys think and discussing it, Thanks!

Those are all good color choices. I like the gold black back RES, and a Sexy looking CC Super Spot which crushes in the spring. Where in MD are you? I find myself throwing the same 4 lures a lot.

[Felix77]

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general) - Green Pumpkin, Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin Magic

Spinnerbaits - White, Chartreuse, White/Chartreuse

Chatterbaits - White/Chartreuse, Blue/Black

Lipless Crankbaits - Chrome/Blue, Chrome/Black, Gold/Black

Jigs - Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin/Blue Flash, Black/Blue

 

Red indicates the one I would choose if I had one choice.

[Fishes in trees]

What is up with all this cutting back/slimming down/going lean stuff?  If the subject is your waistline, then slimming down is a good thing.  Might help you live longer, etc.

 

When the subject is fishing tackle, I've got to say, "Huh?"  "What?"  "Why?"

 

I don't know about you, but one of the reasons I got a boat is so that I could carry more gear and have more choices when I am fishing.  I totally get lean & mean when you are bank fishing and you've got to tote all the stuff around with you.  A boat totes all that stuff for you.  Just saying . . .

 

If you're worried about spending money, I've got to ask, "Why?"  All of us, at some point in our fishing progression have spend money on stupid fishing stuff, or stuff that we don't use very often.  That is something to laugh about, maybe vow to "not do that again".

 

I've got to tell you, the first time I saw a senko, I thought that the lure looked stupid and what kind of action could that lure possibly have.  After buying a few packs of those stupid looking senko lures, I changed my opinion.

 

Besides, what else would you spend that money on?  Would you spend it on rent or food or work clothes or something else important?  I don't know, but in my case the answer is probably not.

 

All the posts prior to mine have given you good advice about cutting down, minimizing your tackle options.  If you got to do that, take their advice.  If you don't, then take my advice.  Take all your options with you.  Take as many as will fit into your boat without tripping over them.  Every so often, you will come across a fishing day when that oddball option will be THE TICKET, and you will be glad you brought it.

 

Anyway, while I'm encouraging you to waste money on fishing tackle, I am assuming that you are doing it with the "disposable" portion of your income.   If you are spending money on fishing tackle that should honestly be spent on various "necessities" in your life, that is a different issue.  Believe me when I say I've been there, too.  I've been down to my last few hundred dollars in the bank, and currently unemployed and spent $160 on a new fishing reel and put $30 gas in my buddies truck so we could go fishing instead of me going job hunting.   Ahh, yes, the choices we made when we were younger.

 

So, really, one of the coolest things about our sport of fishing is that we can all engage in it at whatever level we choose, and at the end of the day we can all laugh about it and have something in common.

[aharris]

Tubes/Worms ( or plastics in general) - Green Pumpkin, Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin Magic

Spinnerbaits - White, Chartreuse, White/Chartreuse

Chatterbaits - White/Chartreuse, Blue/Black

Lipless Crankbaits - Chrome/Blue, Chrome/Black, Gold/Black

Jigs - Green Pumpkin, Green Pumpkin/Blue Flash, Black/Blue

 

Red indicates the one I would choose if I had one choice.

What ^^ said. Except for Aaron's Magic! haha Gold and black lipless crank is a MUST.

[BobP]

I cut down on the colors I buy, but not to get cheap.  I found myself sitting in the boat, going over the 10 colors I had of every bait, trying to decide just what would be the perfect color for that day, that water clarity, the mood of the fish, etc etc etc.  Guess what?  You don't catch fish sitting in the boat, pawing through your options, re-baiting plastics every five minutes.  I took the pledge, reduced my colors to 3 basics and never looked back.  Green pumpkin black flake, Watermelon black flake, Junebug.  Now I keep my line wet longer and am catching more fish.

 

If I could catch more fish by carrying 20 colors of every plastic bait - believe me, I would!  But I can't. 

[BassinB]

Tubes/Worms: Black blue, Watermelon red fleck, Brown craw

Spinnerbaits/Chatterbaits: White/Chartreuse, Blue gill, Black blue

Lipless Crankbaits/Crankbaits: Shad, Chartreuse/black, Blue gill

Jigs: Black/Blue, Black/Brown, Green pumpkin/brown

[mnbassman23]

Tubes/Worms/Plastics- watermelon/red fleck, green pumpkin, okeechobee craw

Spinnerbaits-  White and Bluegill

Lipless Cranks- Bluegill, Perch, Red craw

Jigs-BLUEGILL (new gill to be specific), watermelon/red fleck, black/blue

 

Really if i HAD to I could have just a sunfish imitator of each and be happy. 

[moguy1973]

Went to a fishing show a couple months ago and Paul Elias (of Alabama rig fame) spoke at a seminar there.  He said that there are 3 primary forage colors that you need and that's pretty much all you need. 

 

A shad color to mimic bait fish

Something with chartreuse which mimics bluegill colors

and a Crayfish color

 

True there are other colors he uses, but those are the three primary colors he catches fish the most on.

[Zeeso]

Fishes in trees - Money is not an issue. Its just that I have spent money on baits that I won't use rather then baits that I will use. If that makes sense

Bobp - that is exactly what im looking to do! Im just trying to narrow down my main baits to colors i know will produce. I will keep a few oddball baits i wouldnt normally throw if im getting skunked but I would like to keep my choices lean.

Thanks for all the input so far everyone I appreciate it!

[jhoffman]

I throw...

 

Jigs

 

- pumpkin variations, black/blue

 

- swim jigs include white

 

Jerkbaits

 

- chrome/black, gold/black, clear, perch

 

Spinnerbaits/Buzzbaits

 

-blue/black, black/green pumpkin, white, white/chartruese

 

Cranks

 

-chrome, bluegill, red craw, bone, black back/chartruese, parrot

 

Soft Plastic

 

- Pumpkin, Blue/Black, Clear/Purple Flake, Summer Craw, Bluegill

 

Inline Spinners

 

-gold, silver

 

 

Im pretty much a guy that sticks to colors found in nature with the addition of chartruese

[jhoffman]

BLUEGILL (new gill to be specific)

 

So youre the guy who cleaned TW out of that color in every bait from sk 5xds to wiggle warts

[keith71]

PLASTICS, Red Shad,Watermelon,Bluefleck

SPINNERBAITS, Blue Glimmer(shad),White,Chartruese

CRANKBAITS OR LIPLESS, Shad,Red Craw,Chartruese black back

JIGS, Brown,Black, Green pumpkin.

[mnbassman23]

So youre the guy who cleaned TW out of that color in every bait from sk 5xds to wiggle warts

I won't deny that I may contribute to this