Why do dark colored plastics catch fish in clear water?

[J Francho]

Not sure if I do know him or not, but on tough days on the bays, in the sort of conditions you describe, a tail color can be key.  I used to buy worms with a bright tail - there were quite a few Powerworms, which replaced my Culprits, that had them - and do better than just plain.  These days, a dip in JJ's Merthiolate or chartreuse does the trick.

[Team9nine]

22 hours ago, king fisher said:

I have not ready many color studies, and can only draw on experience with other sport fish.  I do know that for rainbow trout on streams in Western Alaska, when Sockeye Salmon are spawning, color is the very important. An orange bead painted with pearl finger nail polish will catch rainbows every cast.  When you look at an orange bead, and a fresh sockey egg in the air, they look identical.  In the water the real egg gets a white look to the outside.  Finger nail polish imitates this foggy look perfectly.  Believe me a bunch of Alaska guides would not get caught borrowing their girl friends finger nail polish, if it didn't make a difference.  I have watched clients catch fish every cast with these beads, while I experimented with other colored beads and yarn flies.  Even going so far as to soak the other baits in salmon egg juice.  The orange painted bead always out fishes the other offerings 100 to 1.  Even when my clients mend incorrectly, making very bad drifts, they still catch fish, while I make perfect drag free drifts with other colors catching no fish.  I understand that rainbow trout are not bass.  I will point out that both are predatory fish, that can see color.  It is easy to experiment with trout in Alaska, because I can  eliminate most other variables, because the water is clear, I can see the fish, and catch them in large numbers, for many days in a row.  I have also had similar experiences with artic grayling, King Salmon, Silver, Salmon and Yellow fin Tuna.  I have fished and guided for many other species of fish, that I assume prefer different colors in different conditions, but I have never had the opportunity to eliminate enough variables to make a firm conclusion.  On a side note. the same trout will hit a mouse pattern drifted over them all summer, until the salmon start laying eggs.  Once the first eggs hit the water, you could drift a mouse within inches of their nose, and they wont even notice.  I have tried many times.  This is  my best example of matching the hatch.  Again I know the other species I mentioned are not bass.  I am aware that bass might be completely different.  I can only assume bass have some similarities to these other predator fish with color vision.

 

 

Your experiences listed above are perfect examples of "Optimal Foraging Theory" (OFT). That becomes the big benefit of having intimate familiarity with a particular water body and its resident fish population. It also doesn't conflict with using the general color theory I mentioned as a guideline for those without that level of knowledge, or at times when specific food supply isn't so prolific, especially when dealing with bass. In theory, "match the hatch" is nothing more than OFT lite 

 

 

7 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Didya know Rich has gone to Green Pumpkin as his GoTo color? Or... GoEn ("Good Enough"). Probably as much bc Black Grape just isn't so widely available anymore, than bc it's that much better.

 

 

Yeah, Rich's original primary finesse "go-to" colors were smoke, black grape ("grape"), black and motor oil. He uses "motor oil pepper" the most these days in soft plastics (dropshot Ribster and Swimfish) from what I've seen, along with black. I think he has pretty much given up on smoke for the most part though and gone to green pumpkin as you mention for grubs. I also concur with the very limited availability of black grape ("grape") these days as being more the reason for its lack of mention/popularity.

 

-T9

[J Francho]

16 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

He uses "motor oil pepper" the most these days

 

That's what I see hanging out of the mouth of the fish in the FB posts.  I don't get the feeling he's a color guy.