Color revisited!

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

As to purple: nowadays it's Green Pumpkin. I wonder what's next?

 

I don't know if it's a mental block on my part but I can count on one hand how many bass I've caught on Green Pumpkin but I slay em on Watermelon!

 

At a seminar someone asked Tom Mann why he made so many different colors, he answered " to catch the fishermen, a bass has never put a penny in my pocket!"

 

Like it or not there are dozens of colors the produce daily!

 

From my personal experience I've seen days when color made no difference at all.

 

I've seen days when color made all the difference in the world.

 

I've seen days where I had to change colors constantly to keep getting bit.

[N Florida Mike]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

 

I don't know if it's a mental block on my part but I can count on one hand how many bass I've caught on Green Pumpkin but I slay em on Watermelon!

 

At a seminar someone asked Tom Mann why he made so many different colors, he answered " to catch the fishermen, a bass has never put a penny in my pocket!"

 

Like it or not there are dozens of colors the produce daily!

 

From my personal experience I've seen days when color made no difference at all.

 

I've seen days when color made all the difference in the world.

 

I've seen days where I had to change colors constantly to keep getting bit.

Exactly.And I've caught about the same on green pumpkin. Watermelon is my favorite.

["hamma"]

Hmmmm,.. color? seems to be a consistent topic,. Why? well consider this,... I live in the northeast,...Catt in the south,.. Tom? California,...and so on.,..

 We all live in different areas, and the waters therefore may have different qualities, vegetation, and extents of cover and structures. nevermind the different forage bases that will contain or exhibit different hues.

 Depths that we fish may also vary greatly, in Fla maybe just a few feet,.. to one of my favorites up here I'll fish at about 40 feet. We all know about how the spectrum of colors change at different depths ,..right. So I imagine that where as we all are fishing different waters there must be a variance in color choice, or should there be? Therein lies the question.

 I fish the same lure, but different colors, at different water bodies because thats what works. I dont have just shallow waters, or just deep clear waters over here. Theres literally just about every type of waterbodies possible here. Maybe thats why I have over my 50 years of bass fishing narrowed it down to 4 basic jig n pig colors, but within each color I tie up a few different hues. And this works for me, up here. depending on what lake, river, or pond I'm at, will tell me which color and hue I will tie on my flippin stick. (yeah I fish a jig on a flippin stick)

  You could say that Im crazy, you could say I am just obsessing, you could say color doesnt make much difference, are you wrong?,..I cant say,... But I do know that my color choices comes from many years of trial and error, and this is what works for me. Could be just for "my" confidence, but take into consideration that when I tie a bass jig?,..it takes about almost a hour to produce one of my "tweaked custom jigs". And I dont just do so to "try",...these are tested and been proved to me already, thats why I put the time in on them.

 Now on to the thought of does it matter to the bass? AGAIN,..I dont tie these jigs for fun, its been tested and proven that the color of these jigs does matter, its not just color though, weight, shape, and content add in there as well. Each jig I tie up is a certain weight, head shape, amount of skirt strands, and either a rattle, or rattle"s",...

 And yeah, it does matter to the bass as far as I can see, as one will work on a certain water body, and around a certain cover, where another will fail miserably. A flippin model will get stuck in a boulder field and a football model fail in a weedbed, and so on. Green hues seem to be better in weedy areas and black blue better around the boulders etc. Some lakes I will have a couple different jig rods ready to go, just slight variations in the actual jigs tied on.

 Forage may change colors due to temps, areas, and depths, but the base color usually stays true.

 At least, thats what I have found. Im no scientist thats "tested" this in a controlled environment. Just a fanatical bass angler thats been fishing a long time, going on whats worked, and keeping track of such to advance my consistency.

 Hence why im so freaked out about my states lead law ban,  I now have to start all over again with "New" jigs. What I once used is now illegal, and only a few variations of my couple dozen different jighead styles are now legal for sale on the shelves here. So?,.. jig pouring lead alternatives is kind of a forced hobby I must now embark on if I want the once tested and proven scenario to continue. I just hope that I can duplicate what I used, as different materials weight differently,..Color for me in this deal is the least of my worries, colors? I can duplicate, the difficulty will lie in the jigheads themselves. Some weights, in certain shapes, may be tough to produce due to the different material being used. I may just cut some of my leadtied jigs skirts off and re-use them on a bismuth jighead.

 But Colors? in general,... to me?,... It does matter over here. yeah I could just fish green pumpkin and catch fish. But the right hue, in the right spot, at the right time? doesnt just catch fish, it catches PIGS!

 

  And to me? that matters

[TOXIC]

Having been with Yamamoto for 15 years, I have just about every color ever produced and have thrown all of them at one time or another.  My attitude was always that there are some "universal" colors (Green Pumpkin, Blue, Black, White, etc.) and then there are some colors that are specific to one particular body of water.  Many colors are even named for the body of water they are patterned after.  Many believe you have to "match the hatch" and use a color prevalent to the natural forage of the body of water you are on.  Confusing right?  I have had the privilege of hosting some Elite Series anglers at my residence a few times (I had a house in Florida for a while as well) and one of these anglers that I call a friend set me straight on the topic.  His advise was:  Don't get hung up on color.  Pick any within a group of colors that follow "hues".  More specifically a group of colors for stained water, a group of colors for muddy water and a group of colors for clear water.  Makes the choice a lot easier.  Now I don't know why the Smallmouth on St Clair will sometimes get on a Bubblegum Yamamoto DShad but they do and that discovery salvaged a trip one year!!  So, I guess there is another category I would call "off the wall"

[J Francho]

1 minute ago, TOXIC said:

Now I don't know why the Smallmouth on St Clair will sometimes get on a Bubblegum Yamamoto DShad but they do and that discovery salvaged a trip one year!!

 

Smallies in Ontario and Erie will do the same.  I always get a chuckle when I put that color on.  Until I yell to hand me the net.

[lonnie g]

14 hours ago, slonezp said:

What I can't figure out is there are dozens of flavors of bubblegum yet it is only represented in soft plastics by a single color. What happens if the bass is in a tropical fruit mood and all I have is Bazooka Joe pink?  

well I guess if you miss her with your hook,  maybe the gum will get stuck in there mouth. 

[fishballer06]

16 hours ago, Raul said:

Jitterbug.- is there any color other than black ?

 

Nope

[scaleface]

I had to change lures  one day because my bluegill colored crankbait  blended into the fall foliage so well , it was invisible . I kept casting into the overhangs .

 

Another day I had to change that vary  same crankbait and color  because I was catching fish on almost every cast and they were taking it deep . For each fish i caught,  minutes were wasted trying to get the lure out .I  switched to a different color and almost all the fish were caught on the rear treble .  I was catching fewer fish on the lure they were hitting best .

[Catt]

@"hamma" very well put!

 

It's pre-spawn here in southeast Texas, the bass are on a Rat-L-Trap bite, any brand name will be productive as long as it's Toledo Gold (red crawfish), Rayburn Red, Chrome Red...seems to be a pattern!

 

Some will say; but Catt a higher percentage of anglers are throwing red so of course it will be more productive!

 

To which I say " maybe a higher percentage of anglers understand red works!"

[Mike L]

Color has always been part of the overall puzzle for me when trying to establish a pattern for years...Why? Because that is what I've always read and been told. However, as I said before in many other thread it's not the be all end all...

 

Will a June bug work better than white in some instances? Sure, but is it the overall deciding factor?

No.

 

Last week in a B.A.S.S. Nations qualifier on Okeechobee, my boater was culling by 9:00 pitching a June Bug beaver in heavy grass and floating hyacinth. Me? Not one bite!

I changed to a Honey Candy Cut R with a pegged 3/16 weight and started swimming it around in open water and dropping it in holes around where he was pitching the beaver, and by 11:00 I was culling. 

 

I gave him one when his bite slowed and he couldn't get bit! About an hour later went back to the beaver and he started again. I didnt change anything the rest of the day. 

 

Lesson learned...

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

[Paul Roberts]

10 hours ago, Catt said:

 

I don't know if it's a mental block on my part but I can count on one hand how many bass I've caught on Green Pumpkin but I slay em on Watermelon!

 

At a seminar someone asked Tom Mann why he made so many different colors, he answered " to catch the fishermen, a bass has never put a penny in my pocket!"

 

Like it or not there are dozens of colors the produce daily!

 

From my personal experience I've seen days when color made no difference at all.

 

I've seen days when color made all the difference in the world.

 

I've seen days where I had to change colors constantly to keep getting bit.

Tommy, I'll have to take your word for it. And will.

To tell you the truth, there are colors I wouldn't tie on if my life depended on it. What's up with that??

 

I've never liked Watermelon. I don't know why. I don't get that feeling I'm going to crush em with it. I like to feel all shaky when I tie something on.

[TOXIC]

You hit on a great point Hawg.  Confidence.  I once asked Gary Klein when we were working a show together about lure selection and confidence.  His answer:

 

I don't know if confidence in a bait helps you catch more fish but I guarantee you if you throw a bait you have no confidence in, you will not catch fish.  

[WRB]

If  color doesn't make a difference and you only use green pumpkin or a combination of black and blue then it makes a big difference, you are hard over on the color of your choice.

Unwiling to try different colors or different lure types only limits your ability to catch more bass under varying conditions.

One of the things that tournament bass fishing does is it teaches you to be open minded because the top 10 rarely caught thier bass using the same colors or lures. Bass are unque fish and the reason they are so challenging.

Tom

[RichF]

1 hour ago, Paul Roberts said:

Tommy, I'll have to take your word for it. And will.

To tell you the truth, there are colors I wouldn't tie on if my life depended on it. What's up with that??

 

I've never liked Watermelon. I don't know why. I don't get that feeling I'm going to crush em with it. I like to feel all shaky when I tie something on.

 

HAHA I feel the exact same way about Watermelon.

[Catt]

3 hours ago, Paul Roberts said:

Tommy, I'll have to take your word for it. And will.

To tell you the truth, there are colors I wouldn't tie on if my life depended on it. What's up with that??

 

I've never liked Watermelon. I don't know why. I don't get that feeling I'm going to crush em with it. I like to feel all shaky when I tie something on.

 

My first 20 bass 100# tournament sack I throwing a spinnerbait with double Colorado blades painted chartreuse with a pink & chartreuse skirt!

 

Second barely topped 80# throwing the same spinnerbait but with a white skirt.

 

We were fishing less than 50 yards apart 

[Team9nine]

27 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

My first 20 bass 100# tournament sack I throwing a spinnerbait with double Colorado blades painted chartreuse with a pink & chartreuse skirt!

 

Second barely topped 80# throwing the same spinnerbait but with a white skirt.

 

We were fishing less than 50 yards apart 

 

So do you think if things had been reversed and you had the white sp'bait, and 2nd place guy had the pink/chrt colored one, he would have beat you by more than 20 pounds? Personally, I'd bet against it thinking you were either the better angler or had the better positioning on the area ? and not simply the better color. But who knows - maybe he would have smoked you 

 

-T9

[Catt]

7 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

 

So do you think if things had been reversed and you had the white sp'bait, and 2nd place guy had the pink/chrt colored one, he would have beat you by more than 20 pounds? Personally, I'd bet against it thinking you were either the better angler or had the better positioning on the area ? and not simply the better color. But who knows - maybe he would have smoked you 

 

-T9

 

That is the question!

 

This was a 3 day 7 fish limit tournament, he lead the first 2 days with both of us throwing white but on the third day I was armed with pink-n-chartreuse!

Edited February 9, 2017 by Catt
Operator error

[whitwolf]

Color: It's more than likely the most asked question on this site, dock talk, or just talking with your buddies. I've had It proven over and over to me that sometimes color makes a difference but not that often. I have always been of the opinion that If you are confident in a color and you are putting your bait in front of the fish on a consistent basis you will catch fish. I still believe that today but there are a few exceptions.

There are days that contrast has been Important. I was fishing with a guy that was throwing a green pumpkin jig with a blue Zoom super chunk junior trailer. He was wearing me out and to say I was stunned would have been an understatement.

 

Another Instance is a subtle difference. I have thrown Watermelon and when I quit getting bit I will throw Watermelon/red or Fried Watermelon. It's a small difference but It made a difference. 

 

The above being said there are a few colors that I am supremely confident throwing and I have chosen these because they have proven themselves over many, many years. So for those of a curious nature, here they are.

 

1. Black: I like solid black the majority of the time but with certain baits there may be red flake, etc. 

 

2. Red Shad: It's unreal the amount of fish that I have caught using this color.  

 

3. Watermelon: A staple during the day. It, at least to me, looks natural In the water.

 

4. Smoke: A few variations here and there.(flake) I love this color In clear water and bright days.

 

5. Red: I throw this shallow on bright days during the pre-spawn and spawn. There might be better options but during that time It has proven Itself.

6. Bull Frog: The R.I. Skinny Dipper is the only bait I throw this color but It Is the bomb!

 

I will occasionally throw other colors but the above catch 99% of my fish. 

[Paul Roberts]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

My first 20 bass 100# tournament sack I throwing a spinnerbait with double Colorado blades painted chartreuse with a pink & chartreuse skirt!

I love it. That's another good color story.

[RoLo]

A known hot-spot in a popular lake will likely be assaulted by a wide array of lure colors during the 'same' day.

Oddly enough, the color selection won't necessarily be dictated by lighting conditions or prevailing prey,

but will be dictated largely by "LURE TYPE".      

 

The same sweet-spot during the same day will likely be raked by a "Black-&-Blue" jig & craw,

a "Green Pumpkin" plastic worm, a "Sexy Shad" billed crank, a "Chrome & Blue" lipless crank,

a "Black" popping toad, a "Silver" spoon and a "Chartreuse & White" spinnerbait   

See something wrong with that picture?   

 

Roger

 

[WRB]

6 hours ago, Catt said:

 

That is the question!

 

This was a 3 day 7 fish limit tournament, he lead the first 2 days with both of us throwing white but on the third day I was armed with pink-n-chartreuse!

What are the odds anyone else fishing that tournement came up with a spinnerbait with chartreuse painted Colorado blades and pink/chartruese skirt.....trailer?

Tom

[Raul]

8 hours ago, Catt said:

 

That is the question!

 

This was a 3 day 7 fish limit tournament, he lead the first 2 days with both of us throwing white but on the third day I was armed with pink-n-chartreuse!

 

I can bet a brand new crispy two dollar bill the it wasn't the spinnerbait color what made the difference  .... it was the man behind that spinnerbait. 

On 8/2/2017 at 8:53 PM, flyingmonkie said:

Bait monkey is telling me to go expand my color selection... 

 

Well, I got spinnerbaits in like 20 colors, cranks .... OCD makes me purchase then in every color available, soft plastics ..... got watermelon like in 20 different colors of metal flake and that is just watermelon .....

[Catt]

6 hours ago, WRB said:

What are the odds anyone else fishing that tournement came up with a spinnerbait with chartreuse painted Colorado blades and pink/chartruese skirt.....trailer?

Tom

 

Conditions:

Pre-spawn

Water was a light milk chocolate 

Surface temperatures mid 50s

Underwater pond with dead Lilly pad stems, crescent shaped wind break of Willow trees on the northwest side.

Spinnerbait was a Cajun Anglers Tournament Tackle 3/8 oz long arm double deep cupped blades, no trailer.

 

The pink-n-chartruese skirt was shear accident & was not my choice!

 

My oldest daughter was 5 at the time, we were at Toledo Tackle buying a few things when she saw the skirts & insisted I buy em. While rigging up the next morning I was putting a new "white" skirt on but Angie insisted on pink-n-chartreuse, daddy said no, daughter starts crying, momma gets involved, & Catt got a silly spinnerbait tied on.

 

Blastoff the next morning Catt was 15th & Andy was first

 

30 something years later & I still get harassed over that spinnerbait!

 

That's only one extreme example

["hamma"]

I understand the bait of choice by your daughter I 

2 hours ago, Catt said:

 

Conditions:

Pre-spawn

Water was a light milk chocolate 

Surface temperatures mid 50s

Underwater pond with dead Lilly pad stems, crescent shaped wind break of Willow trees on the northwest side.

Spinnerbait was a Cajun Anglers Tournament Tackle 3/8 oz long arm double deep cupped blades, no trailer.

 

The pink-n-chartruese skirt was shear accident & was not my choice!

 

My oldest daughter was 5 at the time, we were at Toledo Tackle buying a few things when she saw the skirts & insisted I buy em. While rigging up the next morning I was putting a new "white" skirt on but Angie insisted on pink-n-chartreuse, daddy said no, daughter starts crying, momma gets involved, & Catt got a silly spinnerbait tied on.

 

Blastoff the next morning Catt was 15th & Andy was first

 

30 something years later & I still get harassed over that spinnerbait!

 

That's only one extreme example

  I understand your daughters bait of choice as I too have daughters and some pink slugo's, 3 pink poppers, and a few pink skirted spinnerbaits that they "chose" by,... "demand".

  The continued rhetoric?,..I'd answer with,..."You try a dd cup and pink n chartreuse skirt and see how well you do!",.. that should either end any levity thrown your way, or reversely,.. open up a "fun filled conversation",...lol

 

  The fortitude to not change the bait just before blast off? Commendable!,...The results? Congratulations.

 Point taken just the same.

 

 Another great post Catt!

 

[Catt]

49 minutes ago, "hamma" said:

 The fortitude to not change the bait just before blast off? Commendable!,...The results? Congratulations.

 Point taken just the same.

 

 Another great post Catt!

 

 

My daughter & X would watch the blast off so I couldn't change it until I got to the pond. Once there I pick up my rod & I thought what the heck & started throwing!