Why do dark colored plastics catch fish in clear water?

[Geebo]

Hi there....

 

So for the past few years I have been fishing on a super clear lake that doesn't allow gas powered engines.  It's not a very deep lake- it's mostly about 8-10 feet, but there's only one small section that 25 feet deep.  The last couple of years I switched up colors and started using junebug, PB&J and black/blue and out fished all of my friends.  It seems counter intuitive that dark colors would work so well on a clear lake regardless if it's sunny or overcast. I am hoping to gain some insights on why this is happening and any recommendations on other lures/colors to use.

 

Thank you!

[Wayne P.]

The fish don't care what the color is, you do.

[S. Sass]

Pretty much my take is the same. I think you have more or less 3 or 4 color spectrums that make a difference to the fish. Most of the super pretty is for humans to entice you to buy or satisfy a personal reason like as a hobby. 

 

Every lake I've been on seems the fish kind of have their own likes and dislikes. If you found dark colors work great nonstop then you did good figuring that out. 

[RoLo]

Let me guess: Because it looked like something to eat?  

 

Roger

[scaleface]

    Junebug, PB&J and black/blue are  hugely popular colors because bass fisherman have caught lots of fish on them , not because they are suppose to use them or not .

[WRB]

Where I fish in clear deep structured lakes color can be the critical factor and most of our lakes change preference seasonally.

Several reasons for this, the depth the bass are at, the preferred prey at the time and angler preference. 

If the bass feeding heavily on crawdads darker colors work good, Shad lighter transparent colors work good. During the spawn color makes no difference. Pre spawn darker colors that represent crawdads work good. Post spawn Shad and greens works good. Summer everything can work, darker colors at night. Fall is similar to post spawn.

I am a fan of purple or blue neon as accent colors year around because they have worked for me for decades. I also believe on color contrasts; lighter agianst darker.

Angler preference is a big factor on smaller very high fishing pressure lakes where I fish.

if everyone has been using a specific color like green pumpkin with red flakes I usually try to avoid the most popular color. There are only so many catchable bass on any specific lure and/or color combination before it becomes ineffective. I feel that making a change that is different from the 90% of anglers using a specific color increases my odds if that color has reached it's saturation point.

Tom

[Oklahoma Mike]

37 minutes ago, WRB said:

I also believe on color contrasts; lighter agianst darker.

 

 

Tom, would you mind expanding on this a little please? Are you talking about bait color versus water clarity? Or do you mean integrating contrasting colors within the bait, such as a brown jig with a blue trailer, a jig with contrasting colors within the skirt, etc?

 

Thanks in advance.

[WRB]

If you look at soft plastic worms for example contrast is darker top half agianst light bottom half called laminated injection molded worms. It's easier to have contrasted colors in hand or automated poured worms and for this reason I prefer hand pours because of multiple contrasting shades top to bottom. Example dark purple top, blue neon center blood line and pearl white belly with each layer having different colors of flakes that equal lots of color contrast.

The only one color soft plastic I use is black with either blue or red flakes and that is at night.

Jigs I prefer multiple colors, usually 3 contrasting colors in my skirts like black/purple/brown and use 1 of those colors in the trailer. Black and blue are a good contrast as proven by it's popularity. If the blue is bright like blue neon it contrast more to black. 

I want the bass to see my lures and contrast helps them find it!

Tom

[Oklahoma Mike]

Got it. Thank you for your response. 

[A-Jay]

The Waters I'm fishing in up here are seriously clear.  My approach towards being successful when fishing it has many layers.   Bait color is one of, if not the Last one.  There are days when it's a big deal, but many days I could use 4 or 5 colors of the same bait / presentation with equal success.

However, in many cases, my most productive approach when presenting bottom contact plastics is to choose a color / pattern that matches the bottom color as closely as possible.  If it's a mostly open / bare sand bottom, that's what I'll go with.  If there is a blanket of vegetation, on the bottom &/or extremely prevalent in the area I'm fishing, going with a watermelon or green something can be the deal.

 My thought here is that the bass know their environment and although big color difference can & does get bit, the bass's natural prey is almost always trying to avoid detection, so a camouflaging color pattern makes sense.

 

A-Jay

 

[William Rossi]

If the fish see it they will eat it. Color USUALLY doesnt matter as much as anglers think

[U-boat Aficionado]

Smallmouth sure seem to go for the bright, flashy colors. I love using fire tiger flavor lures for them!

[Jagg]

14 hours ago, WRB said:

Where I fish in clear deep structured lakes color can be the critical factor and most of our lakes change preference seasonally.

Several reasons for this, the depth the bass are at, the preferred prey at the time and angler preference. 

If the bass feeding heavily on crawdads darker colors work good, Shad lighter transparent colors work good. 

That's it pretty much. You're probably fishing around craws or the bass in that water feed heavily on craws. A lot of the water I fish around SE CO is very clear and I do very well on green pumpkin w/blue flake because most of the crawfish here are those colors most of the year. 

 

I also try to match the bottom like A-Jay said up top because that has been my experience almost universally that prey will try to camouflage itself with it's surroundings, but if I know what color the prey they are eating is and water/wind/light conditions will allow I will "match the hatch".

[Turkey sandwich]

We can all give our best guesses based on experience, but figuring out "why" is rarely more than that - educated guesses. Here's my take.  Generally, I think, choosing color comes down to either matching forage accurately or creating enough contrast to make your bait visible.  Sometimes even on brighter days in clear water the darker colors provide that contrast.  Another consideration has to do with light penetration.  If there's any discoloration in the water, there's  going to be much less light available 20, 30, 40 feet down.  Similarly, early morning or late evening means less light and darker colors (black, brown, purple, green pumpkin) provide more contrast.  I also think having something super visible - be it dark contrast or crazy bright like bubble gum or methiolate can be very effective for sight fishing, not so much  because they look great but because they're super visible to the angler. 

[Catt]

On 1/15/2017 at 0:05 PM, Geebo said:

The last couple of years I switched up colors and started using junebug, PB&J and black/blue and out fished all of my friends.  It seems counter intuitive that dark colors would work so well on a clear lake regardless if it's sunny or overcast. I am hoping to gain some insights on why this is happening and any recommendations on other lures/colors to use.

 

Thank you!

 

Bass don't read color charts so why are you!

 

We can try to soothe our egos by thinking we have em figured out but they will prove we don't.

 

On 1/15/2017 at 0:05 PM, Geebo said:

 

On 1/15/2017 at 0:05 PM, Geebo said:

 

 

[papajoe222]

I'm with AJ when it comes to color selection. The first thing I check is the shade of the bottom, though, not the color as I'm partially color blind.  Often times, in the same lake, the bottom composition changes from hard to soft, or rock to clay or sand.

Aside from being great places to target, being aware of those changes and changing colors when you do can greatly increase your production.

The other thing to consider is how pressured is the lake? Everyone, and I mean everyone, that fishes a private lake I frequent uses green pumpkin or water melon colored plastics.  I've gone to PBJ and black/blue on tough days with great success.  The other guideline i've always gone by is to show them something different and that goes for color selection, too.

[Deleted account]

21 hours ago, Wayne P. said:

The fish don't care what the color is, you do.

 

This ^

[RoLo]

On 1/15/2017 at 4:42 PM, A-Jay said:

Bait color is one of, if not the Last one.  

 

A-Jay

 

 

I put lure color dead last  

 

 

Here's a wild idea:

Select a versatile color pattern when you buy the lure, then obstinately stick to that one color. 

By removing lure color from the equation, your mind will be forced to blame success and failure

on other things like water depth, cover pattern, retrieve cadence and so on.

In my opinion, that approach is more likely to double your catch than color.

 

Roger

 

 

[Airman4754]

I've been fishing spots in a really clear creek the last month using one type of bait. I have four colors. Two of the colors they kind of check out, one they won't even pay attention to, and one they swim to as fast as they can an inhale it right when they spot it.

 

The one they bite is the most natural looking. It's a "match the hatch thing." Nothing in that creek is solid black, white and flashy, or purple. Green pumpkin and pepper looks like it belongs. 

 

I've never believed color doesn't matter, because I've fished enough with other people for the same thing using similar stuff to know it matters.

 

You can find the right color in black, white, green, and purple for the conditions, but they aren't a substitute for each other.

[Cgolf]

I agree that all bodies of water especially clear lakes have their own color patterns that develop. One lake I fish I could probably take two colors and be good for the week. It is a heavy bluegill lake. Flat water with some sun, smoke purple and smoke red are money. Overcast or heavy chop, water red is the hot color. My guess is these colors match the gills in the different light conditions. 

 

To the op you figured out what they are keying and it sounds like rather quickly, and the fish aren't as picky as the ones I chase. One thing you could do is keep a log and see if your catch rates change in sun, overcast, or choppy when sunny. Choppy water seems to break up the light making bait selection similar to overcast conditions. The log will help you dial in the baits to use each time you go out. 

["hamma"]

I believe that color does matter, but only to the extent of where you are fishing.

I think that different waters require different attention as far as color is concerned.

 Some it does matter,...and some not so much.

 I've found that clear waters,.. it makes a difference, and swampier/muddy waters not as prolific as the gin clear lakes.

 

 Could be my perception, and still "my" issue,....but I think not

 

 My jig box has 4 different colors of jigs in it,... Why?,...cuz thats what I need to be consistent no matter where im fishing.

 They are black,...Black/blue,....brown,,, and green

 

 And if I'm wrong? tell me what color I do need, so I can clear up some valuable space! The bass seem to like what I already have, so,... if you have the magic color,....Please, by all means, correct us all

[WRB]

The #1 mistake out of state visiting anglers make when bass fishing our SoCal trophy bass lakes is using too heavy line. #2 is using soft plastics colors that work at their home lakes.

Finesse bass fishing started here for a reason, the traditional terminal tackle and off the shelf soft plastics didn't work after the introduction of Florida strain LMB. 

The exception to the above is a few lakes that had a population of northern strain LMB that are more aggressive and less particular about details like color or size.

We base our statements on experience. When Bass fishing in Mexico I use stuff that doesn't work at home because they tend to bite anything that moves.

Tom

[the reel ess]

I don't know the answer, but I have a ton of black/blue plastics and I try to buy everything I can at least in black/blue and some natural looking colors. Purple is another killer color for soft plastics. But there are times fish will snub them and I'll have to reach for the pumpkins and watermelons. Usually, when I have to do that I also have to downsize and that tells me they're just getting very picky and discriminating. Light or bright blues and even reds don't work well for me around here. I've caught fish in the middle of the day on a black/blue spinnerbait with a black blade.

 

Hey, why do fish bite 6" worms? I don't know, but they do.

[the reel ess]

On 1/15/2017 at 8:58 PM, William Rossi said:

If the fish see it they will eat it. Color USUALLY doesnt matter as much as anglers think

I have always believed that, but I have learned on one body of water I fish that it can make quite a difference. When you sit in the back of the boat and watch your buddy slaying them with a gold Rat L Trap and you only have silver and craw that can't buy a bite, you'll go get a few gold next chance you get. The same goes for spinnerbaits in this place. 

 

 But they'll bite black craws there.

[mixel]

I've been noticing this winter millipedes crawling on the shore. They are predominately medium brown in color with tan colored stripes between their bendable structure. Kind of similar to the pic below. Am now looking for a plastic that has similar color and pattern. I have to think the bass must love these things and those 100's of tiny feet moving must be attractive.

 

Interestingly, I did some research on Millipedes and just in California alone, there are 226 species! 

 

This is not my pic but it's kind of similar in color to the ones I've been seeing.