Here's A Challenge To You: Dark Vs. Light Color

[tcbass]

So I have a color challenge for you and a friend or you by yourself. If you're by yourself just fish part of the time with the dark lure and part of the time with the light lure color.

No matter what you're fishing, if you're fishing with a friend, both of you fish the same exact lure but one dark and one light colored and note the conditions such as stained water and sunny day.

ex: Both of you fishing Spro frogs and one uses a white belly and the other uses a black belly. Or a dark colored spinnerbait and light colored spinnerbait.

Post your results.

I'd be really interesting to see what the outcomes are.

[smalljaw67]

I've done this for years and years, it is why I'll make 4 brown jigs and each one will have a different shade of brown. I also tend to believe in color a little more than some but I have 2 friends that would agree with me. A few years back we discovered bass can see very slight shade differences, we were fishing Yum craw bugs for smallies, we both had green pumpkin tied on and we weren't doing to good. I went to change colors but all I had was green pumpkin but one bag was older and you could see the green pumpkin color was different, it was a shade or two off what we had been using. Well 3 hours later we had 21 smallmouth, when the last craw bug was gone we went back to the newer bag that was a little darker and the bite was done, they just wouldn't hit the new shade of GP. I had a lot of this happen, tubes, for some reason smallmouth will get funny with tubes and only hit a certain color and I'd be lying if I said it always matters because there are times when the color doesn't matter a bit and I think that is true most times but I've had my share of times when it mattered a lot. Flake,or glitter, whatever you call it, sometimes you wonder if it makes a difference or not, well I had a day in which black neon (black with red glitter) tubes would get hit every cast and a solid black tube didn't get a sniff and we were fishing a large pool in the early winter, the fish were stacked up on a big rock pile. My and my friend were fishing 2.75" tubes as the water was 49 in most places but the pool we found had water temps that were in the low 50s and when one followed a jerkbait and didn't respond again, we knew we had to slow down. I had a black neon tube right from the start and it got bit, I got my 2nd fish in and my friend switched to an all black tube, he didn't have black neon, well after I released my 5th fish I gave him a black neon tube and his first cast he got bit and landed a fish. I knew of black neon working for me before which is one of my favorite colors but these instances aren't the norm, we all know stuff happens you just can't explain when fishing but I know that there are times when color matters. BTW, this happens more in smallmouth than it does with largemouth, I had days where it had to be either a dark brown or dark green pumpkin to get bit when fishing largemouth but they would hit a black bait or anything light colored but not as specific, the same think for wild colors, smallies tend to hit those more than the largemouth do also.

[Wayne P.]

I was bass fishing clear water yesterday. I was using finesse worms rigged weedless wacky.

Colors were watermelon with red flakes and Junebug with red flakes.

I chose those two colors since they were first two bags within reach.

Both produced numerous catches.

Color is a non-factor, it's the presentation.

I have used 10 different plastic worm colors in a single day as a test, none outperformed any other.

[F14A-B]

I've done this for years and years, it is why I'll make 4 brown jigs and each one will have a different shade of brown. I also tend to believe in color a little more than some but I have 2 friends that would agree with me. A few years back we discovered bass can see very slight shade differences, we were fishing Yum craw bugs for smallies, we both had green pumpkin tied on and we weren't doing to good. I went to change colors but all I had was green pumpkin but one bag was older and you could see the green pumpkin color was different, it was a shade or two off what we had been using. Well 3 hours later we had 21 smallmouth, when the last craw bug was gone we went back to the newer bag that was a little darker and the bite was done, they just wouldn't hit the new shade of GP. I had a lot of this happen, tubes, for some reason smallmouth will get funny with tubes and only hit a certain color and I'd be lying if I said it always matters because there are times when the color doesn't matter a bit and I think that is true most times but I've had my share of times when it mattered a lot. Flake,or glitter, whatever you call it, sometimes you wonder if it makes a difference or not, well I had a day in which black neon (black with red glitter) tubes would get hit every cast and a solid black tube didn't get a sniff and we were fishing a large pool in the early winter, the fish were stacked up on a big rock pile. My and my friend were fishing 2.75" tubes as the water was 49 in most places but the pool we found had water temps that were in the low 50s and when one followed a jerkbait and didn't respond again, we knew we had to slow down. I had a black neon tube right from the start and it got bit, I got my 2nd fish in and my friend switched to an all black tube, he didn't have black neon, well after I released my 5th fish I gave him a black neon tube and his first cast he got bit and landed a fish. I knew of black neon working for me before which is one of my favorite colors but these instances aren't the norm, we all know stuff happens you just can't explain when fishing but I know that there are times when color matters. BTW, this happens more in smallmouth than it does with largemouth, I had days where it had to be either a dark brown or dark green pumpkin to get bit when fishing largemouth but they would hit a black bait or anything light colored but not as specific, the same think for wild colors, smallies tend to hit those more than the largemouth do also.

I believe this... It's happened to me too... Started with green pumpkin black flake tubes..... Busting great #s then outta that color... No biggy right.. Same tube but red flake, nothing... 0 natta... I am not going to write a page... But it's true... Don't know why... It just is

[Raul]

Here's an even greater challenge, my friend Pedro and I are fishing the exact same bait, the exact same rig, the exact same bait color and I' m outfishing him badly. See the point ? Color doesn't matter much, it's not the wand, it's the magician.

[PondHopper96]

Here's an even greater challenge, my friend Pedro and I are fishing the exact same bait, the exact same rig, the exact same bait color and I' m outfishing him badly. See the point ? Color doesn't matter much, it's not the wand, it's the magician.

I'd have to agree with this, but I also feel sometimes color can make quite the difference, other times not at all

[ripinit]

It makes a difference for sure, and is definitely a factor. Action is #1, though, but they have to see the action, or mimic the forage, and that's where color comes in. I usually match the color to the water, or make it stand out. In clear water, I want the bait to be almost invisible, at least that's where I start(Watermelon, green pumpkin), in stained, I like Black or Junebug, and red, chartreause in Muddy water. Those that don't think color matters haven't fished a spot with one color, and then nothing for an hour, then changed color, and start picking up fish....Again, not as important as action, but it does matter....

[Mccallister25]

I personally feel that color doesnt have a strong correlation to your numbers. First is location, and second is presentation. The other day a buddy and I were fishing the same color jig/craw on the same exact line, etc.. Only a few yards apart, and he was catching 2-3 to my 1.

[PersicoTrotaVA]

Color is a secondary factor and to be honest I think its more for the fisherman than the fish.  Presentation is the key component.

[Raul]

I'd have to agree with this, but I also feel sometimes color can make quite the difference, other times not at all

1 out of 100, so 99 times it didn't matter, worry when you encounter that 1 out of 100.

[Fish Murderer 71]

Presentation is king, Colors only come into play due to light conditions.  Deep waters get dark colors, murky waters get dark with hot pink/ chartreuse tails. Stained gets bright colors and clear get pumpkins and naturals.  I try to keep it as simple as possible otherwise I end up with 4 wal-mart bags stuffed full of every color of worm and then spend more time trying to decide which color than I do fishing.  

[Raul]

So, here it is and you take it the way you color worried guys take it as you wish, I´ve been fishing for bass since 1980, that makes, hmmmmmm, 34 years, let´s say for the sake of the argument that I go to fish once every week, 52 weeks in a year x 34 years = 1768 outings, let´s round it up to 2,000 outings, if I tell you that I can remember specific times when color mattered, that I can count them and they don´t make more than 20 times in 34 years what conclusión will you get ? that color mattered in 0.01 % of the ocassions, or to make it more simple to understand once every 100 outings color did make a difference.

 

I´m not denying the fact that "sometimes" color makes a difference but 99 times it won´t, I´ll bother to think about I´m not fishing the "right" color when after fishing the colors I like I don´t get results.

[Fish Murderer 71]

and the argument continues....

[Raul]

and the argument continues....

 

So, please tell us which are your favorite soft plastic colors ?

 

I like:

 

Red Shad ( man I´ve caught more fish on red shad than with all the other colors I own put together ) 

Tequila Shad

Grape Shad

Watermelon gold flake

Watermelon red & green flake

Motor oil chartreuse tail

Black blue flake.

 

Of course I own another 2 or 300 colors that I seldomly use.

 

But of course for jigs there´s an assortment of colors, I like solid black and there´s black and I recommend black, did I mention that most of my jigs are solid black ?

[BadBassWV]

So for the guys who say color doesn't matter, How do you know? If color doesn't matter then obviously you don't have over one or two colors in your bag. So how do you know that if you had changed to a different color you wouldn't have doubled your numbers?

[HeavyFisher]

I dont know about the whole color thing, all I know is I've seen bass try to bite my fishing line in clear water....I stopped going for numbers this year and strictly focused on Large Bass using Large Baits. 

[Mccallister25]

So for the guys who say color doesn't matter, How do you know? If color doesn't matter then obviously you don't have over one or two colors in your bag. So how do you know that if you had changed to a different color you wouldn't have doubled your numbers?

Here's a challenge for you; next time you go out, find fish and figure out what they're eating. After catching a few, switch to the same lure, colored differently. Chances are, your strike ratio will remain about the same. If not, and you catch more, then concern yourself with color. My personal experience says that if I run out of "bama craw" trailers, and switch to "summer craw", I still catch fish. Iv yet to be on an outing, and have one color produce over another.

[BadBassWV]

I guess what I'm trying to say is why do you fish the "Bama Craw" in the first place?

[Mccallister25]

I guess what I'm trying to say is why do you fish the "Bama Craw" in the first place?

Its one of my favorite colors. Simply pleasing to my eyes.

Spooks are another example.. I feel that color is a very small contributing factor with spooks. I catch just as many fish on a "bleeding shad" colored plug, as I do on a "foxy shad" plug, but I prefer the latter, simply because it looks nice to me.

[Fish Murderer 71]

So, please tell us which are your favorite soft plastic colors ?

 

I like:

 

Red Shad ( man I´ve caught more fish on red shad than with all the other colors I own put together ) 

Tequila Shad

Grape Shad

Watermelon gold flake

Watermelon red & green flake

Motor oil chartreuse tail

Black blue flake.

 

Of course I own another 2 or 300 colors that I seldomly use.

 

But of course for jigs there´s an assortment of colors, I like solid black and there´s black and I recommend black, did I mention that most of my jigs are solid black ?

Simple- red shad like you, Blacks, green pumpkin, pumpkin, purple, watermelons (with different flakes), and Cotton Candies when nothing else works. Whites, blacks, watermelons, and shads for flukes and drop shots. craws are usually as close to the natural molt stage colors as I can get. 

[ww2farmer]

Here's an even greater challenge, my friend Pedro and I are fishing the exact same bait, the exact same rig, the exact same bait color and I' m outfishing him badly. See the point ? Color doesn't matter much, it's not the wand, it's the magician.

Or the reverse...........I am fishing one color, catching fish, the guy in the back switches to my color, still nothing, I switch to his color and catch fish, guy in the back gets ticked, and I proclaim victory with my highly tuned skill set.

[WRB]

When we had predominately northern strain LMB color wasn't critical and the lakes that still have them holds true today. Nearly all our lakes today have predominately Florida strain LMB and color is critical. Determine the right size, profile and depth is important, ounce you have that dialed in you better have the color the bass are eating or it's a long day on the water the majority of the time. With soft plastics color can be the difference between 1 bass and 10 bass or a 10 to 1 advantage, so I would say very important.

Tom

[BadBassWV]

Its one of my favorite colors. Simply pleasing to my eyes.

Spooks are another example.. I feel that color is a very small contributing factor with spooks. I catch just as many fish on a "bleeding shad" colored plug, as I do on a "foxy shad" plug, but I prefer the latter, simply because it looks nice to me.

I like that its one of your favorite colors. Some top water baits I agree, as long as the bottom of the bait is orange. LOL

[FL Bass Abducter]

Color doesn't matter. Don't be a victim of their marketing. 

 

I have people approach me at the ramp and ask what color are they hitting. This is the wrong question to ask. The proper question to ask is what depth are the fish at!!!

 

If you tell me the depth, I can figure out which lure I need to effectively fish at that depth and of course the color doesn't mean much at all. Simple, ehh? Don't overcomplicate fishing.............

[Mccallister25]

Don't overcomplicate fishing.............

Absolutely agree. This tends to happen. ALOT.