Lure Action Or Color?

[WRB]

What is more important with bass lures, action or color?

It appears about 1/2 of the anglers on this site believe color is the key factor, the other half believe in a lures action triggers more strikes.

Crankbaits, deep or shallow divers with or without diving lips are a good example. The early crankbaits called plugs were made of wood and each lure had a slightly different action due to the density of the wood and shape varied slightly because they were made one at a time by hand and not mass produced.

If you bought 6 crankbaits the same exact color, one would out perform the others. In this case action was more important than color. With today's automated manufacturing and injected molded plastic the lures do not vary as greatly as the wooden plugs did, however a few still out perform others of the same make, model and color. Sometimes a lure company retools their lures or makes changes in paint suppliers that have an impact on how the lure performs. The Wiggle Wart is a good example, Rapala bought the Wart and retooled it, changing it's action and the original Warts became a hot item because the new Warts didn't catch as many bass, the action had changed slightly and the colors changed.

I am in the action group, action is more important than color. However, color becomes important when a lure has the right action. Good examples of the right action, wrong color are lures that move slower underwater. Swimbaits come to mind, Matt's Hard bluegill in female bluegill color is more popular then the male color, same action different color. Could it be that Matt produces more female colors and being hand made wooden lures the odds of a good action lure are higher with female coloration?

My favorite color discussion is black/blue jigs and green pumpkin red flake worms/Senkos. Jigs and worms have little action of their own, so color seems to be important as long as it's black/blue or green pumpkin, except when you add RageTail, now action becomes a major factor. Is action first or is it color or the combination of both?

The fact is where I fish you can't get bit on black/blue jigs often, it's a poor day light color combination and smoke/purple out performs green pumpkin. The crawdads are reddish/ brown, the shad are closer to smoke/purple tones.

Tom

[Crestliner2008]

Without a question, depth & speed control are paramount factors. After that, lure action would be my next consideration (i.e.: crankbait vs. plastics). Color has always been way down there on the list for me. I have a couple of old Heddon's River Runts in red-head & white that still produce fish for me. Sometimes, even when I'm on a good bite with something else, I'll toss one of these bad boys and sure enough....I get whacked!

[WRB]

I would put speed/ depth under the lures action.

Tom

[mjseverson24]

the best answer I can come up with is depends... in clear water situations I believe that color is much more important than action (not saying action is not important) these fish have adapted to be more reliant on their eye sight to catch prey based on their clear water environment. In dirty water situations I think action is much more important than color, as these fish rely mainly on their lateral lines and other sensory organs to find and catch their prey. The hardest decision is in low light and or moderately colored water, the action and color both play an equal role in my opinion, i dont think having the magic color alone will get the job done in these conditions much like having the right action wont either if it doesnt have a color scheme that the fish are naturally feeding on.

 

Mitch

[Todd2]

Put me in the action first, color second camp. I do remember one spring day though where me and a buddy were dragging lizards. Same weight, speed, size. He's getting bit, I'm not. He was throwing watermelon red, I was throwing watermelon. I make the change and instantly start getting bit. Just a little red flake was the difference.

[roadwarrior]

I had this discussion with Big O several years ago during a BR Roadtrip on Kentucky Lake.

The takeaway was this: Even when fishing is good, the "right" color can make it better. Although

I think action and profile trump color, we all know that sometimes color is critical.

[slonezp]

Action. I had a "lucky" Rattletrap in chrome and black. I caught more fish of all species on that one bait than any other single bait I have ever used. I had even tried it side by side with other chrome and black Rattletraps. It had worked just as well beat up, missing paint, with teeth marks from pike and king salmon. There was just something about this one lure that was better than others of it's kind. That lure is long gone. Chrome and black is a staple Rattletrap color for me. I have never been able to duplicate past results. 

[smalljaw67]

I put size and action ahead of anything else, last is color but color does matter when it matters. I had a friend laugh at me for saying that, and a trip for smallmouth on the river in late May got him to believe in color. I know color is more important to us, the anglers but in ultra clear water there are times when the fish are color sensitive. As I said, my friend told me he could get bit on different colors and he was right but that one day in May is one both of us never forget. It took an hour to find any type of pattern, we caught 1 fish on a moving bait when I got bit on a Yum 2.5" crawbug in black neon which is black with red glitter. I caught 3 more in short order and he switched and told me he'll get them on another color, perfect time to set up the experiment. Well he used a green pumpkin, watermelon red, and a straight black, only 1 fish on the black and he then took a black neon and caught 3 fish in 4 cast, we went through both bags of that color that day, and I always have tubes and stick worms in black neon for the river because there is something in that water that makes the fish hit dark baits with red glitter. I know some will laugh but it is true, and it happened more than once and when my buddy goes with me, he now carries black neon when he goes on the river but that kind of thing is rare, and so I say color only matters when it matters, and most days any color bait as long and the size and action are right it will work but every now and again a color will be a must have.

[A-Jay]

.

I am in the action group, action is more important than color. However, color becomes important when a lure has the right action.

Tom

 

This statement sums it up for me.

 

A-Jay

[slonezp]

I had this discussion with Big O several years ago during a BR Roadtrip on Kentucky Lake.

The takeaway was this: Even when fishing is good, the "right" color can make it better. Although

I think action and profile trump color, we all know that sometimes color is critical.

I think color is of less importance with bass than with other species, but tend to think the amount of light penetration has a lot to do with the fishes reaction towards choosing which color they like better. IMO Action plays a huge role and bait placement even moreso. I fish Lake Michigan for bass but there are guys who spend their lives trolling for salmonoids. A green Howie fly is probably the number one bait used. The action changes depending on the dodger and boat speed. You'll see patterns when the bite is triggered when the boat is turning. Turning the boat will increase the lure speed on the outside lines and decrease the speed on the inside lines. There's other days when only dipseys produce or yellow birds or down riggers.  

[Raul]

Better have the right bait with the right action than the right color in the wrong bait.

[Ratherbfishing]

There are some general "rules" I try to follow such as tight wiggle in cold or clear water and wide wobble in warm or muddy water.  That seems to hold MOSTLY true.  Having said that, I believe action/sound is a little more important than color.  Sometimes, however, it's difficult to know what the action/color needs to be until you try it out and let the fish tell you.

[RoLo]

"It appears about 1/2 of the anglers on this site believe color is the key factor,"

 

A syndrome known as LMO or 'Lure Marketing Overexposure'.

Actually, I doubt that the percentage is anywhere near 50%

 

Roger

[Jigfishn10]

I often think about this subject and can not for the life of me figure out which are more important.

 

I asked Larry Dahlberg the question about lure color and I thought his view on color was really interesting, especially his last statement:

 

"My experience is that color is less important than what the lure actually does. On topwater lures I've been searching for a color they won't bite!
I've seen times when they react to fluorescent colors like chartruese and orange better than any thing else.
Most large predators fit into the match the hatch thing, but also remember they have a role in natural selection that means part of their job includes getting rid of things that don't belong or are out of place.

best,
L"

 

I also thought Denny Brauer's take on it was quite interesting. I read it in his book and can't find the quote, so I'll have to paraphrase:

 

He basically says that he has no idea what a bass thinks a lure is or perceives it to be, so he'll use a lure that appeals to most if not all of the bass senses. If he has all those tools at his disposal, than he'll certainly try to stack the odds in his favor.

 

To me, if your fishing a lure, why not use Denny's logic?

[WRB]

Now all we need to know is what Denny knows regarding appealing to most of all the basses senses.

We know bass use their sense of sight, feel ( lateral line ), hearing, smell ( water odors) in approximately that order of importance.

1. Sight, big eyes located to see all around, except under there chin and directly behind them. Both lure movement ( action ) and color.

2. Feel, bass have a highly developed lateral line nerves to pick up underwater sound waves. Lure movement ( action ).

3. Close range hearing. Lure movement making noise.

4. Smell, close range odors, not highly developed, neither color or action.

So we know action is important in 3 out of 4 senses. Color is important for the basses #1 sense, sight. Sense of smell is low on the totem pole for bass, but still a sense factor, however isn't action or color.

Do think Denny rates sight as # 1?, may depend on water clarity and available light.

Tom

[doyle8218]

Now all we need to know is what Denny knows regarding appealing to most of all the basses senses.

We know bass use their sense of sight, feel ( lateral line ), hearing, smell ( water odors) in approximately that order of importance.

1. Sight, big eyes located to see all around, except under there chin and directly behind them. Both lure movement ( action ) and color.

2. Feel, bass have a highly developed lateral line nerves to pick up underwater sound waves. Lure movement ( action ).

3. Close range hearing. Lure movement making noise.

4. Smell, close range odors, not highly developed, neither color or action.

So we know action is important in 3 out of 4 senses. Color is important for the basses #1 sense, sight. Sense of smell is low on the totem pole for bass, but still a sense factor, however isn't action or color.

Do think Denny rates sight as # 1?, may depend on water clarity and available light.

Tom

Nice Job !!!

[Catt]

Ahh! Let's Denny Brauer's goto lure!

Strike King's Denny Brauer Premier Pro-Model Jig

1/2 oz

Extra loud rattles

Black/Blue

Trailer

Strike King' s Rage Tail Chunk

Blue Bug

Yelp got all 4 covered!

[Uncle Leo]

I have seen at times both come into play but on one occasion I believe the action of a crankbait made a difference. One one occasion my fishing partner was casting to a bank with a Manns-1 do not remeber the color and was catching them like crazy. I had the same bait in the same color and tied it on. I could not buy a bite and he continued to catch. In this case color played no part. As these were production made lures there was something about the action of his bait or his retrieve. I asked him if I could use his bait and rod and wham I caught them. This made me a believer that action come into play more then we think.

[RoLo]

Ahh! Let's Denny Brauer's goto lure!

Strike King's Denny Brauer Premier Pro-Model Jig

1/2 oz

Extra loud rattles

Black/Blue

Trailer

Strike King' s Rage Tail Chunk

Blue Bug

Yelp got all 4 covered!

 

Weeeeell, Not Completely.

 

Denny's son Chad is talking about throwing in the towel and becoming a high-school teacher or basketball coach.

Do you suppose Denny is holding something back from his son?       

 

Roger

[RoLo]

I would put speed/ depth under the lures action.

Tom

 

Speed, Depth & Action are 3 separate and independent elements of lure delivery:

 

'Depth' is important insofar as the lure is within the fish's strike zone. The importance of depth increases as water clarity decreases.

When anglers speak of 'Speed' they're typically referring to FORWARD SPEED regardless of the lure (for example: 1.5 mph)

When we speak of 'Action' we're focusing solely on the lure: fast wiggle, wide wobble, slow blade rotation, stick-worm shimmy~ ~ ~

 

Roger

[WRB]

Speed, Depth & Action are 3 separate and independent elements of lure delivery:

'Depth' is important insofar as the lure is within the fish's strike zone. The importance of depth increases as water clarity decreases.

When anglers speak of 'Speed' they're typically referring to FORWARD SPEED regardless of the lure (for example: 1.5 mph)

When we speak of 'Action' we're focusing solely on the lure: fast wiggle, wide wobble, slow blade rotation, stick-worm shimmy~ ~ ~

Roger

All variables of how the lure moves (action) as opposed to color. Anglers can control how much or how little action or movement a lure may have and where to fish and how to present it, they can't always control the lures built in action or movements. The color is the color.

All excellent points Roger and very important to being successful catching bass with lures. Lure size, shape or profile have a big impact on how effective a lure is and may also affect both action and colors.

Depth is dependant on where the bass are located, activity level at the location, depth of available light. Both lure action, movement forward or sinking or setting still and color vary with depth.

A lures action, profile and color can be changed by adding feathered hooks, hair, blade size/shape, etc..

Tom

[Jigfishn10]

Now all we need to know is what Denny knows regarding appealing to most of all the basses senses.

We know bass use their sense of sight, feel ( lateral line ), hearing, smell ( water odors) in approximately that order of importance.

1. Sight, big eyes located to see all around, except under there chin and directly behind them. Both lure movement ( action ) and color.

2. Feel, bass have a highly developed lateral line nerves to pick up underwater sound waves. Lure movement ( action ).

3. Close range hearing. Lure movement making noise.

4. Smell, close range odors, not highly developed, neither color or action.

So we know action is important in 3 out of 4 senses. Color is important for the basses #1 sense, sight. Sense of smell is low on the totem pole for bass, but still a sense factor, however isn't action or color.

Do think Denny rates sight as # 1?, may depend on water clarity and available light.

Tom

 

Excellent read Tom. The way I read that section of the book and what I took away from it was that Denny believed all aspects were important and he didn't rate or stress one aspect over the other.