Best Dark Water Baits

[bmorgan0714]

What are the best bait for dark water wether it be plastics, spinner baits, lures, whatever you prefer to use the most when in dark water

[Hooked_On_Bass]

I fish some dark coloured waters and I have a lot of success with dark coloured T-rigs and jigs. On the flip side, I also do well with firetiger and chartreuse coloured crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

[The Young Gun]

Loud baits like traps or RES

[Blues19]

Firetiger or Chartreuse crankbaits are pretty good in dark water. I also really like throwing a big chartreuse spinnerbait with big blades. I like the Luck e strike Trickster spinnerbait cause it throws off a huge thump. Big Colorado or big Willows will also work.

[Hooligan]

Dark water requires darker baits, black blue, black neaon, or flipping blue. The silhouette of the dark baits is much better established.

Loud baits are not always the answer. Many, many times I've been fishing a jig with rattles only to have fish short strike it. Switch to a non-rattle model and it gets demolished. The same is true of crankbaits.

In general with dingy water you want to use colors that offset the shade you're in. Jigs and plastics go very dark, junebug, electric blue, black blue. Though fire tiger cranks will work, I've never done well in darker water. I tend to lean more towards chartreuse black or Rayburn red. Dark natural craw colors or chartreuse baitfish patterns work very well, too.

[Crestliner2008]

Early in the season like this, I've had decent results from Chatterbaits. I dress them with a 4" Fluke. White seems to work very well.

[papajoe222]

Surprisingly, bass can see fairly well in off colored water. The detail of what they're looking at is diminished as is the distance they can see, so unless you're talking muddy water, bright colors like Fireetiger or Chartreuse will bring out the detail. Adding sound and/or vibration will get their attention from distances beyond their vision.

Dark colored baits can be used with slow presentations like soft plastics that are used for close up presentations. The dark contrast to it's surroundings where getting them to move close enough to clearly see isn't important.

This also applies to fishing at night, with the possible exception of top water baits that the fish will silouette against the night sky.

Muddy water is a different situation as the fish's sence of sight doesn't come into play when feeding. That's when sound and vibration are your key concerns. Loud rattles, wide wobbling cranks, Colorado bladded spinnerbaits, or Chatterbaits are good choices for hard baits.  RageTails and other plastics that give off a lot of vibrations are good soft bait choices and you can always add a rattle.  Oh yea, Don't forget a good ole black and blue jig with a big trailer

[bassin is addicting]

my favorite plastic for dark/stained water is a Zoom Speed Craw in Junebug.  i also have a lot of luck at night with it.

i primarily fish it with a slow retrieve on the bottom on swim it back.  i've had the most luck slowly swimming it.  those big claws create a lot of disturbance.

 

as for cranks....chartruese/black has worked the best

a single colorado blade spinnerbait in black produces for me too

[MCS]

Dark color T-rigged 10" ribbon tails move a lot of water, Vibe worms from zoom or bitters, Vibe craws.

[TNBassin']

I use chartreuse black, black/blue. A Chartreuse and white spinnerbait landed me my PB last year, so I throw that sucker every chance I get.

[BassThumb]

Black spinnerbaits with oversized gold blades, and dark-colored jigs with oversized trailers.

[TNBassin']

Anyone using the copper blades on their spinnerbaits? I heard they rock for stained water.

[Felix77]

Zoom UV Speed Worm, Lipless Cranks and Chatterbaits