Custom Painted Lures, Will Is Really Make A Big Difference?

[bassguytom]

I usually do better than my buddy when I use the front of the boat color. It always out fishes any color he uses.

[Primus]

Couldn't have said it better myself....................infact I know I couldn't, because I would have probably said.............." LOL at you fools who think a custom and or pretty paint job matter"....but thats just me.

 

Some touring pro's apparently are fools as well as I know that many of them use custom painted baits. It's not the most important factor in getting bit but  I have seen it a make a big difference on many occasions. It can also be a factor in the size of the fish as well. That said I hope most think the way you do on the lakes that I fish, gives me an advantage.

[RoLo]

It's not the most important factor in getting bit but  I have seen it a make a big difference on many occasions. It can also be a factor in the size of the fish as well. That said I hope most think the way you do on the lakes that I fish, gives me an advantage.

 

The list of variables that influence an angler's success rate would go twice around the block.

Among the litany of variables, how did you determine that 'color' was the responsible variable?

'Color' may be blatantly obvious to humans, but that's not a measure of its importance to fish.

 

The next time you find a color that's hammering bass, immediately switch to another color...any color. 

If color is indeed responsible, then the action will quit. Now switch back to the winning pattern again,

and the action should pick-up. Run this color-swap experiment every time you're convinced that color

is the key. I have a hunch that next year at this time, you & I will have similar opinions on lure color 

 

Roger

[ww2farmer]

Some touring pro's apparently are fools as well as I know that many of them use custom painted baits. It's not the most important factor in getting bit but  I have seen it a make a big difference on many occasions. It can also be a factor in the size of the fish as well. That said I hope most think the way you do on the lakes that I fish, gives me an advantage.

 I'm not going to argue with you, if you think it matters, than you think it matters. I just don't. Merry Christmas.

[basscatcher8]

painted baits are just fun to make. i dont see a whole lot of advantage. unless there is a forage in your area that nobody makes and you really wanna match the hatch. but most of the baits i see painted are 90% to get the fisherman to drool over and 10% to catch fish.

[rippin-lips]

I like the look of them and own a few but I think more times then not that color isn't the reason for getting bit. Lure placement,cadence, and depth play a bigger role in my opinion.

Last year I was wading a shallow flat with two friends. The left side was a rock bank and the water had carved out a little channel over the years making it just a bit deeper. All three of us were throwing a wacky rigged yum dinger in the same exact color. 2 of us were catching 3/4 fish to the others 1. Me being closest to the rip rap bank and Colten in the middle had more bites then his brother having to throw into open water.

[Primus]

The list of variables that influence an angler's success rate would go twice around the block.

Among the litany of variables, how did you determine that 'color' was the responsible variable?

'Color' may be blatantly obvious to humans, but that's not a measure of its importance to fish.

 

The next time you find a color that's hammering bass, immediately switch to another color...any color. 

If color is indeed responsible, then the action will quit. Now switch back to the winning pattern again,

and the action should pick-up. Run this color-swap experiment every time you're convinced that color

is the key. I have a hunch that next year at this time, you & I will have similar opinions on lure color 

 

Roger

 

 

I have done that and have proven to myself that color matters at times especially when fishing clear water. There are times when the fish are very aggressive and will bite just about any color you have in your tacklebox especially juvenile fish that tend not to be as selective. I am not saying that someone has to have custom painted lures to catch fish and I have found that stock colors will do well under most conditions. That said I have done much better fishing a Bullshad swimbait that was painted in a Golden Shiner pattern to match local forage than I have with the standard Shad pattern as one example. I have talked to a few touring pro's who have had baits custom painted so apparently I am not the only one who thinks that way. We can agree to disagree, happy holidays  

[craww]

Most times the big manufacturers offer a color "close enough" to match the forage or water clarity I need. I have run into a few situations where I'd like a certain color that isn't available. For example I think there aren't enough straight up white baitfish looking patterns. Something like rapalas glass ghost in the x-rap series is such a great versatile color for multiple species and enviroments.

[Catt]

This all started in the late 70's & has had a cult following ever since!

Anyone remember Bagley's Small Fry Series? The most meticulously painted/patterned lures available.

Or how about Crankbair Corp's Bullcat? Exact reproduction of a small catfish.

The there was the scientific break through of Keeper Bait Co's Dance's Craw & Dance's Eel made from "Space Age Hydrofoam".

Do they work? Caught a lot of anglers

[RoLo]

I have done that and have proven to myself that color matters at times especially when fishing clear water. There are times when the fish are very aggressive and will bite just about any color you have in your tacklebox especially juvenile fish that tend not to be as selective. I am not saying that someone has to have custom painted lures to catch fish and I have found that stock colors will do well under most conditions. That said I have done much better fishing a Bullshad swimbait that was painted in a Golden Shiner pattern to match local forage than I have with the standard Shad pattern as one example. I have talked to a few touring pro's who have had baits custom painted so apparently I am not the only one who thinks that way. We can agree to disagree, happy holidays  

 

Like you Primus, I too believe that color can definitely make a difference.

However the role of color and the reason it might make a difference is where I part company with the herd.

It's my opinion that color makes a difference only inasmuch as it affects 'lure visibility', but has no affect on 'fish appetite'.

Color can be used to make the lure 'more' visible or 'less' visible, as dictated by current light levels (sky clarity, water clarity, etc).

 

=> The lower the light level, the darker the lure color, which enhances 'contrast'              

                     For example: Black at night  (where there is No light,  there is No color)

=> The higher the light level the lighter the lure color, which makes it harder for fish to detect flaws in delivery

                    For example: Clear ghost in gin-clear water  

                                                                                                                                       Merry Christmas  

 

Roger

[WRB]

Take a look at the high end swimbaits, look real, swim like a live fish and they catch a lot of big bass.

Merry Chrismas.

Tom

[gobig]

IMO color generally plays a minimal roll. But when it does it can be huge.

[bass1980]

This debate is getting "color" and "details" mixed up. I can take a KVD 1.5 sexy shad and paint that sucker up bright chartreuse and in the right condition it'll catch fish. Now if I add all these little details like scales, bleeding gills, orange belly, ect ect will it catch more fish than my custom chartreuse???....???

 

IMO a reaction bait is just that, getting a fish to react to the motion of a lure. I highly doubt the fish will pick up on the small details otherwise you all would be fighting the lines for those gimmick Koppers bait ball. A crank wobbles so much that how could a bass possible see that it has a bleeding gill? Color on the other hand I believe will play a role in some certain condition. Most stock colors of from manufacturers should fill the list.

 

I believe fishing is a hobby just like any other. If you enjoy custom lures, gives you more confidence, and makes the hobby more enjoyable, then it is not a waste of money. My sisters think a $1000 setup is a waste of money but thinks a Louie Baton purse for $1000 is a bargain. Enjoy the fishing hobby my friends and hope your wife doesn't get into purses .

[WRB]

One of the interesting characteristics of fresh water black bass is the ability to change the flicker rate they see things moving when they are close to te prey. Increasing flicker rate is like watching a movie in slow motion real time. This allows the bass to see fast moving objects clearly. We see fast moving objects like a spinner bait blade blurred, the bass sees it clearly moving in slow motion.

The question about custom painted colors is best answered when comparing the importance of detail getting wary big bass, that have experienced seeing a lot of lures, to strike your lure. Life like swimbaits answer this question, the more the swimmer looks like the real baitfish, the effective it is for catching big bass.

Butch brown for example is a master at customizing swimbait colors and camouflaging hooks to blend into the lure.

Tom

[Maxximus Redneckus]

I think people are overthinking this .and reading too much about customizing..just cause someone in cali or japan makes a custom bait for 100$ and tells you it catches 10lb bass ...u been had

[Catt]

Really Tom, seriously!

For that to take place a bass would have to be capable of deductive reasoning!

They are not!

Secondly man is not capable of knowing what a bass is thinking if a bass could in fact think!

[SirSnookalot]

Really Tom, seriously!

For that to take place a bass would have to be capable of deductive reasoning!

They are not!

Secondly man is not capable of knowing what a bass is thinking if a bass could in fact think!

 

 I'm in this camp for sure.

My lures are so banged up, scratched, rear hooks bent down from broken plastic, and they still catch fish everyday.  Common belief peacocks like brightly colored lures, I catch many on duller colors.

[RoLo]

One of the interesting characteristics of fresh water black bass is the ability to change thecflickercratecthey see things moving when they are close to te prey. Increasing flicker rate is like watching a movie in slow motion real time. This allows the bass to see fast moving objects clearly. We see fast moving objects like a spinner bait blade blurred, the bass sees it clearly moving in slow motion.

The question about custom painted colors is best answered when comparing the importance of detail getting wary big bass, that have experienced seeing a lot of lures, to strike your lure. Life like swimbaits answer this question, the more the swimmer looks like the real baitfish, the effective it is for catching big bass.

Butch brown for example is a master at customizing swimbait colors and camouflaging hooks to blend into the lure.

Tom

 

 

We don't know what bass see and probably never will. In spite of having rod & cone vision,

wouldn't it be funny if biologists ultimately learned that bass are colorblind?   

An old, worn-out fishing adage is: "Let the fish tell you what they want".

Far from brilliant, that statement assumes that you're catching bass or at least getting strikes.

Okay, let's assume an angler lands two bass. How foolish he would be if he allowed 'lure color"

or 'lure pattern' to dominate his thought process and override all the important elements of angling.

Catch patterns deal with micro-environment and lure properties, meaningful criteria such as

bottom contour, resident cover, water depth, weed species, weed density, cover mergers,  

water current, lure style, lure size, retrieve cadence, cast placement ~ ~  

'Color' is a girly thing…Oh wait a minute, maybe that's why my wife outfishes me. 

 

Roger 

[whitwolf]

 

 

I believe fishing is a hobby just like any other. If you enjoy custom lures, gives you more confidence, and makes the hobby more enjoyable, then it is not a waste of money. 

 

I'm in this camp. I have several custom made crankbaits and have a high degree of confidence in each one. I catch more fish on them than anyother crankbaits I own. I could go on and on about the details of the bait and about the differences in a hand made bait vs. a mass produced bait not being equal, but I simply have more confidence in the handmade baits which means I fish them more, therefore I catch more fish on the handmade baits.

 

I haven't done any field work with regards to throwing a different (mass produced) bait in the same places on the same day, under the same conditions because It's not that Important to me. I do know there are days when a bait with rattles will work better then a silent bait and will always throw a trusty Norman bait when needed. In the end though my confidence level is much higher when using the custom made baits.   

[Dwight Hottle]

I'm in the camp that color only matters when it increases or decreases visibility. Rolo's comment about fish being color blind is closer to reality than not. Studies I have seen in the infisherman suggest fish do not see color like we do. And their range of color is greatly inferior to the human eye. Maybe they are color blind & only react to shades of certain colors. Fun topic.

[WRB]

Knowing Bass: The scientific Approach To Catching More Bass by Kieth Jones.

The bass vision information was printed in Bassmaster magazine quoted by Kieth Jones, referencing the above book. Don't believe me then read the Jones book!

Tom

[Catt]

Knowing Bass: The scientific Approach To Catching More Bass by Kieth Jones.

The bass vision information was printed in Bassmaster magazine quoted by Kieth Jones, referencing the above book. Don't believe me then read the Jones book!

Tom

Read his book! Don't believe him either!

Cerebral Cortex, bass aint got one!

To say we know what a bass sees is a stretch of the imagination!

[WRB]

What is scientific fact verses opinion has been discussed at ad nuseam.

What we know today often changes tomorrow as facts are proven or disproven. Today I will go along with Dr Jones until someone comes up with a better study.

Agree we know little about how bass actually see their underwater world where they have evolved to servive, not by intellect but by instinct and physical attributes like good underwater vision.

Tom

[Catt]

Dr. Jones book & study are not fact but his opinion!

He is the same person who says his studies have proven a bass will ignore lures with anise in them dispite 50-60 years of bass being caught on them.

Marine Biologist & Microbiologist who peer reviewed his work call it junk science.

I will give him Gulp & Power baits cause they do work & quite well.

[WRB]

Catt, there is a lot support for both Kieth Jones and Gene Gilliland by Bassmaster/ B.A.S.S. I feel the same about Gilliland as you do Jones, so will just say the information is published and accepted by the majority of bass anglers.

Tom