Ribbontail worm colour

[The Short Fisherman]

I usually fish some stained water around my area and want to try using some ribbontail worms this summer. There's a ton of colours on bass pro though so I'm not sure what colour to get, but I'm thinking of maybe getting a pack of red shad or black with a chartreuse tail. Any suggestions?

[Dorado]

Junebug and Cali 420 are my two favorites for ribbontails in fishing stained waters. 

[jimmyjoe]

   Stained water? Red shad. Definitely red shad.   jj

[newriverfisherman1953]

Red shad is a great color. 

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, Outdoor Adventures said:

I usually fish some stained water around my area and want to try using some ribbontail worms this summer. There's a ton of colours on bass pro though so I'm not sure what colour to get, but I'm thinking of maybe getting a pack of red shad or black with a chartreuse tail. Any suggestions?

 

Both good choices. I would fish red shad in brownish-stained or muddy water, and Black/chartreuse in greenish or algae-stained water. 

 

[Spankey]

If you like fishing with the chartreuse tail try the green pumpkin with the chart. tail and pumpkinseed with the chartreuse tail also. I happen to like the chart. tail on some of my worms. Solid worms are as productive if not more. But it's all good stuff. Have fun.

[deadadrift89]

Junebug all day long in stained water. During Summer its hard to beat a Zoom Ol Monster 10.5"

[new2BC4bass]

2 hours ago, Dorado said:

Junebug and Cali 420 are my two favorites for ribbontails in fishing stained waters. 

Junebug #1 by a long shot.  Then black.  I'll have to look up Cali 420.

[Bankbeater]

Junebug, black, or green pumpkin. 

[Log Catcher]

I agree with @stratoliner92 about junebug and the OL Monster worms. Also like the Mag 2 worms. You might try red bug colored worms. I have better luck with them than red shad.

[primetime]

I tend to fish ribbon tail worms throughout the year more than just about any other plastic worm with the swim senko being a close second...Tons of good worms and colors, but I have been using Culprit ribbon tails for 30 years and they still catch fish as good as any other worm I carry.

 

I used to use a Power worm for a while, but last few years have gone back to the culprit in 6", 7.5" and 10" but also love the fat max since it is designed for pitching and is really thick, holds a big hook, and the colors Culprit have seem to shine in stained water more than other brands imo.

 

In florida, pretty much everyone throws Black and blue and Junebug in stained water, some guys go watermelon Red, or green pumpkin red, Okee craw etc...But I love a Red shad Culprit, Grape, Tequila Shad, and the best color they make for spring imo is the black/copper color they have....I believe someone won a bassmaster classic about 10 years ago on a tomato colored 6" culprit when it was sunny out, the colors are really vibrant compared to other brands...They are still on every shelf at Walmart, Dicks etc. for a reason and they never market. The tail is different also. As you can tell, the culprit is my confidence worm, but I also like the Strike King Ribbon tails like the 12" Anaconda since it puts off alot of vibration, and then the 8" ringed body worm is also really good.

 

Zoom has several good ones, Charlies makes a buoyant worm in Motor Oil that sometimes works really well.

 

The Fat max in 7" is actually a bigger worm than a 10" cause of its weight and thickness, the 9" is really big, but its a great worm, the tails do not get stuck in weeds as bad as others. 

 

You really can't fish them wrong...Shaky head, C-Rig, Texas rig, swim over weeds instead of a frog.....I will say, I do not like the bass pro version, the tails are thin and consistency is never good from my experiences. 

 

Not sure why people stopped fishing a purple worm? Grape is killer to this day, so is solid black.

[Sam]

1 hour ago, Bankbeater said:

Junebug, black, or green pumpkin. 

X2

[WRB]

Largemouth or smallmouth bass?

Tom

[The Short Fisherman]

2 minutes ago, WRB said:

Largemouth or smallmouth bass?

Mainly for largemouth but when I go to a lake I fish for smallmouth as well

[WRB]

Lake of the Woods area?

Tom

[The Short Fisherman]

No I live in Markham its near toronto and I fish a lot of rentention ponds and waterbodys around the area for largemouth. I go to a few of lakes in the kawarthas in the summer and fall though so I also have some access to smallmouth

[Revival]

Anyone ever have any luck throwing blue?  Zoom’s Mag II has a color called Killer Blue that I’m curious about.

[MIbassyaker]

9 hours ago, Revival said:

Anyone ever have any luck throwing blue?  Zoom’s Mag II has a color called Killer Blue that I’m curious about.

Bill Dance's favorite color worm famously is blue: "Any color worm as long as it's blue"

 

I don't think there is such a thing as a bad worm color. There may be some colors that fish better in some places under some conditions. But those preferences aren't necessarily going to be large or predictable, and could be different in different bodies of water, or at different times. You usually just have to figure it out from experience in the places you fish. I worry about location, depth, speed and size before color anyway.

 

When in doubt, throw whatever colors you like best -- you'll fish them with more confidence than ones you don't like.

[deadadrift89]

10 hours ago, Revival said:

Anyone ever have any luck throwing blue?  Zoom’s Mag II has a color called Killer Blue that I’m curious about.

I use to catch a lot of bass on electric blue, still have a bunch. Don't remember why I moved away from them

[WRB]

In Canada I had more success smaller soft plastics 4" to 7 1/2" in lieu of larger sizes.

Looking at Berkley Power worms don't see the 7 1/2" only 8 1/2", Culprit still offers the original ribbon tail worm in both 4" and 7 1/2" so that the worm of choice with excellent color selection.

Up north leaches are bass food along with young of the young of the year pearch, bluegill and crawdads, those colors colors should work. If you want to add chartreuse use JJ's or Spike-It dip dye.

Tom

[The Short Fisherman]

thanks for the responses I'll be sure to look at some of the worms you guys mentioned. Also one more question do you guys usually fish the ribbontail worms weightless or with a weight?

[WRB]

Sliding bullet weigh usually 1/8 oz for 4" & 5" with 2/0 hook  and 3/16 oz for 6" to 7 1/2" with 3/0 hook, straight shank T-rigged.

Depends on depth, cover etc.

[scaleface]

Ribbon tail , j tail, straight tail ... I use the same colors for all of them . Purples , blues , greens , browns , blacks and combinations of them . 

[primetime]

I like fishing the 4" and 6" on shaky head and often on a split shot rig. I do throw them weightless shallow, but a split shot or light bullet weight pegged 18" up seems to work really well and you can cover more water that way...At least I feel you can.....They do work really good on a shaky head which makes sense, lots of tail action.

 

I would imagine a 4" culprit or Zoom G tail even 6" would be killer Ned rig bait. I don't just use elaztach, those Jigheads make any bait stand up, I seem to do well with any smaller bait as well.

 

I think the key to ribbon tails on lighter line, split shot, mojo rig etc...is straight shank worm hook as mentioned above. I feel the worm needs to be straight, with culprits they have a flat bottom like a hand pour and they kind of glide slowly to the bottom so most strikes come on the fall like with a senko..

 

Hope that helps. I rarely go over a 3/0 hook unless fishing a 10" unless I want a heavier hook for weight. Usually just use an Owner straight shank worm hook or BPS worm hook light wire with lighter line 8-10lb test. If stained water I will just throw them on straight braid, but weightless works awesome if casting toward targets. 

 

I would fish them the way you have the most confidence if you like a sliding bullet weight for other baits, that will work  just as good. I just love a light carolina rig/Split shot rig cause I feel I can feel the bottom better and stay in strike zone longer....Just me.

[Munkin]

Green Pumpkin,  black,  and  tequila sunrise are what I use most. 

 

Allen