What is your best crankbait color/pattern

[detroithiker]

I am going to pick up another crankbait for fishing near the weeds.

What is your favorite color/pattern for fishing the plants? I already do well with a craw in the rocks but I haven't found the right crank for the weeds.

I was thinking the Strike King square bill in sexy shad or sexy shad chartreuse.

[GORDO]

For weeds I dont like square bills... I spend more time cleaning off weeds than fishing. I personally use the Strike King Red Eye Shad. I like the 1/2oz models in several colors. Sexy Shad, Chrome with black back, Gizzard Shad, and the Red with a gold stripe and White belly. I like to tie directly to the bait as well. Anyways, I like to let it sink to the tops of the weeds and start reeling. When you feel the weeds, rip it loose, let it flutter for a second and start reeling again. Also, the yo-yo is deadly! just cast out, let it sink to the depth you want. rip your rod tip up and let it fall on slack line. Repeat to the boat. 

Use a M-MH casting rod. If you can get away with braid, do it. If not I like a strong co-polymer. What ever you use, try to get the "least stretchy" line you can. 

[JigMaster4]

For squarebills I use a kvd 1.5 in either black back chartreuse or pb&j craw.

[iabass8]

[papajoe222]

Tenn. Shad, or Nutter Shad

[j bab]

I became a big fan of the chartreuse w/ black back pattern this year

[S. Sass]

Mann's 1-Minus in Baby Bass Crystaglow

[Bluebasser86]

Rayburn Red, Lucky Craft's Bull Bream and Copper Bream, Berkley's Vintage Craw.

[chadmack282]

gizzard shad

chartrs black back

[Big Swimbait]

SPRO Little John 50 in Rootbeer/Chartreuse

[bigbill]

Bomber FAT A or Model A about 1 7/8" to 2" shallow running in redapplecraw. Slow reel it over submerged weeds, stop over the open weed pockets and twitch it. That orange bottom with the redcraw sides the bass can't resist. The crawfish are red black here.

[RHuff]

On August 27, 2016 at 0:28 AM, j bab said:

I became a big fan of the chartreuse w/ black back pattern this year

 

I caught my PB a couple weeks ago on that pattern except it was the 8-10ft KVD instead of the squarebill.

[Turkey sandwich]

For weeds, lipped cranks can be tough, and lipless cranked fished like @GORDO mentioned are a great choice. Also, guys have mentioned lots of color patterns that are super popular and really effective in different lakes.  However, none of that matters if your lake has different colored water, different forage, etc.  If clown colored DTs are crushing it in my murky lake, but your lake is gin clear, it probably isn't the best choice for you.  A good general start is matching forage (what color are the crayfish? Are there Shad? Alewives? Herring? Perch?).  After that, some colors that match black with chartreuse or neon colors are great for darker colored water/low light, and colors like white and holographic finishes are great in super clear water and days with more sun.  

Got shad/herring/alewives? Colors like blue shad, chartreuse shad, sexy Shad are killer. 

Perch? Perch and fire tiger colors are a must have. 

Crayfish? Match the local colors and keep brown, orange, red, and green on hand.

Heavily stained water? Fish a spinnerbait instead. 

[JT Bagwell]

I have several different hard bait styles in this color, not just one particular bait.

With that said, MS American Shad by Lucky Craft is by far the most productive hard bait color
that I have ever thrown. I don't know of any color that has even come close to it.

I tried to upload a picture to show the color but I wasn't able to so here is a link to a picture of
one on my Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10207889666584165&set=pb.1371158367.-2207520000.1472395539.&type=3&theater

 

[jr231]

I agree with @bigbill . My favorite model A color however is the chartreuse blush. Hard to find anymore. I have one so beaten up I've retired it. 

[scaleface]

This is the only photo of this bait I have . LOL .  

By far my most successful shallow diving bait . I guess its a bluegill pattern . I have an air brush that has never been used . One of these days i'm going to try to match this pattern .

 

[bigbill]

Not all the colors work all the time. The bass eyes aren't like ours. There influenced by the water conditions, the light conditions and the vegetation causes the hues in the water clarity. So Dr Loren hill proved this in his ten years of testing and development of the color c lector and the combo c lector at OK UNV.

I've seen what color works today change on daily basis.