Must Have Crankbait Colors.

[Jassch82]

I'm looking at putting together a assortment of Crankbaits. I'm looking at the Strike King KVD 1.5(square), KVD HC 1.5(flat side), 4, 5, 6 & 6xd. I want to be able to cover many depths and water color types. The baits listed should get me from 2' - 18'+. Can I limit myself to 6 colors or less of each and be able to cover almost any situation? What colors are a must and what conditions to use them.

[Catch and Grease]

Chartreuse black back is a must for dark/muddy in my opinion but I use it in all kinds of water.

I think 6 colors could cover most situations

If I had to choose 6 colors only for the KVD 1.5s I'd pick

1. Chart black back

2. Gizzard shad

3. Sexy shad

4. neon bluegill

5. Yellow perch

6. Cataouatche special

But that just me everyone's gonna be different

[livetofish28]

Chartreuse black back sexy shad and bluegill are all you truly need you can cover most water colors with......sorry BAIT MONKEY. That's what I would pick it all depends on forage also

Tight lines

Andrew

[Fishing Cop]

Red seems to be the only color working for me right now.

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Firetiger,,silver,gold

[papajoe222]

I limit my choices to only three 'colors' as I don't put a lot of faith into subtle differences in color on a fast moving bait or one that runs more than 10ft. deep.  Natural (shad or bluegill or craw), bright (firetiger, chartruse), Dark (red, black).  Between shallow-medium, and deep runners, square-round, coffin and spoon bills, flat,-fat and long bodied baits, suspending and floating and silent and rattle baits.  Three color variations are all I can afford!

Hey, I just figured out what my answer to the wife's 'why are you buying another crankbait' question should be.

[TNBassin']

Chartreuse black back

Sexy Shad

Chartreuse Sexy shad

Blue Gill/Neon Blue gill

Powder Blue chartreuse

Citrus Shad

Gizzard Shad

[iceintheveins]

For the 1.5 color selection I go with the following:

 

1. Bluegill

2. Chile Craw

3. Firetiger

4. Sexy Sunfish

5. Green Gizzard Shad

6. Blue Gizzard Shad

7. Black Back Chartreuse

8. Orange Belly Craw

[Mr. BattleArmor]

Bluegill, Chrome blue back, and chart. black back 

[iceintheveins]

For cranks in general I always have on hand bluegill/sunfish colors, shad colors, crawdad colors in both natural and bright, and bright colors like firetiger and chartreuse/black. Variations in those are all you need. But here is a bare bones color guide that should cover any lake in the country.

 

1. Bluegill/Sunfish

2. Shad

3. Natural Craw

4. Bright Craw

5. Firetiger

 

Really you don't need more than that.

[crazyjoeclemens]

Kind of OT and sorry for hijacking the thread, but I noticed that nobody put Pearl on their list.  Why is that?  I don't use KVD's (I have mostly Bandit cranks), but my color choices would be somewhat similar.  I have a bunch, but the ones I throw most are Rootbeer, Tennessee Shad, Pearl/Black Back, and Natural Shad/

[Avalonjohn44]

Pearl/Chartreuse back, Rootbeer and Taco Salad are my three Bandit colors. 

As for KVD1.5s, I love the Black back Chartreuse and River Minnow (BPS exclusive) colors.

[Jassch82]

Thanks again for everyone's input. I think I am going to start with a certain style (square bill or medium depth) and go that way. It will cost a lot less initially. Can I get away with throwing square bills on a MH/F baitcaster until I can save up for a M/Mod setup?

[tcbass]

Chartreuse black back sexy shad and bluegill are all you truly need you can cover most water colors with......sorry BAIT MONKEY. That's what I would pick it all depends on forage also

Tight lines

Andrew

 

 

How many colors did you just mention? lol.

 

 

 

Is chartreuse black back sexy shad one color or is that multiple colors?

[MichiganBass80]

The KVD 1.5 sexy sunfish has been my go to crankbait so far this year. Lost my last one a couple nights ago, got a couple more on the way, along with bluegill and yellow perch

[Frenchman83]

For the waters I fish Bluegill, Perch, Gizzard Shad, and Chartreuse Black Back.

[ColdSVT]

Chartreuse black back

white black back

citrus shad

tennesee shad

something in a craw color...red or brownish

[Bluebasser86]

Chartreuse black back

citrus shad or chartreuse blue back

Tennessee shad

red craw

craw orange belly

bull bream

copper gold bream

[ww2farmer]

I actually do not like my squrebills, lipless cranks, jerkbaits, topwaters, mid depth and deep cranks to be the same color. IDK why, but it's always worked better for me that way. I keep three colors (give or take a few LOL) for each "type". These are the three for each that would be my "must haves".

 

For squarebills/shallow cranks I like: Bluegill, Orange Belly craw, and chart/black back

 

Mid depth: Rootbeer, sexy sunfish, baby carp

 

Deep cranks: Chart. sexy shad, , chart. belly craw, and sexy ghost minnow

 

lipless: Chili craw, albino craw, and Jap. shad

 

Jerkbaits: Yellow perch, natural bream, Ayu

 

Topwaters: clear water minnow, black, and white

[Fishing Cop]

I went again yesterday and fished several cranks with no luck and then went back to my go-to RED crank and wham, 3 fish in just a few minutes. They just love the red.

[Felix77]

1 - Sexy Shad

2 - Green Gizzard Shad

3 - Chartreuse Perch

4 - Chartreuse/Black Back

[DirtyDeuceGoose]

Thanks again for everyone's input. I think I am going to start with a certain style (square bill or medium depth) and go that way. It will cost a lot less initially. Can I get away with throwing square bills on a MH/F baitcaster until I can save up for a M/Mod setup?

You absolutely can throw squarebills on a MH/F rod. I did it for the longest time and actually liked how it performed/felt. I still do it from time to time depending on the area I'm fishing.

[Catch and Grease]

I went again yesterday and fished several cranks with no luck and then went back to my go-to RED crank and wham, 3 fish in just a few minutes. They just love the red.

I like red during spawn but that's it really

[DTack]

I definitely feel you can get away with 6 colors and cover everything you need.  I primarily throw about 3 colors in each different depth category.  I will use Strike King’s colors to hopefully make this easy on you.  I’m not the greatest crankbait fisherman and would never claim to be.  I feel confident in catching fish on them however.  I will say, this list can depend upon where you live as well.  I live in California and we face adverse water conditions.  We have bodies of water where the clarity can be about 2” down to ultra-clear water with 20’ visibility which causes me to carry a few variations.  I basically want colors which will cover a shad, a bluegill or brighter shad color, and a craw color.  Once again this list is trying to cover just about every water condition you could face.  I used the 1.5 colors for reference, not sure if these colors are available in all baits listed or not, but I’m sure there will be comparable colors in other models.  

Sexy Shad
bluegill or firetiger
chili craw
Clearwater minnow
Black back/chart or Cataouatche special
I've never looked at Strike King that close but another favorite that they don't offer in the squarebill is either chartruese with blue or purple back.  That's usually what I consider my bright bluegill color which I included Bluegill or Firetiger as a replacement. 
Hope this helps.

[papajoe222]

I went again yesterday and fished several cranks with no luck and then went back to my go-to RED crank and wham, 3 fish in just a few minutes. They just love the red.

Glad to hear of your success.  What color was the water, or I guess a better question would be how deep was the light penetration and how deep were you fishing?