OCD about Soft Plastic Colors

[TriStateBassin106]

Hey all, I been having this problem for awhile now when ever I fish some small lakes and ponds up here in Northern New Jersey and Eastern Pennslyvania, I fish a lot of soft plastics including Yum dingers, craws, senkos etc and for some lakes the water color can really be decieving. A few lakes here I already know the color code and know what to throw but for some lakes the water can be clear in one spot and then stained/Murky a bit in others. 

 

I almost go crazy deciding what colors to throw because of this issue, I keep it simple. Green pumpkin/watermelon for clear and Junebug/Black blue flake for stained/muddy but when the water is looking clear near the bank then murky out in open water it really causes confusion.

 

Anyone else have this issue? Or is it me just having OCD? 

[Sam]

Yes Pond Hopper, we all have the same problem you are experiencing.

 

Just too many colors in the marketplace that can confuse us.

 

So what to do?  You take only three colors with you for your plastics: watermelon for clear water; green pumpkin for stained water; June bug for stained and muddy water.

 

And that's all. No "with another color of flake."  No two tone.  Just the three simple colors rigged on a spinning rig for each so you can change them easily by picking up your spinning rods for each color.

 

Then flip, pitch and cast your fanny off using the colors for each type of water you encounter and remembering what they hit in what type water.

 

After you do this a few times you can then expand your colors to the "with flake" or "red or green or blue flake" and on and on as you know what the basic three colors will produce.

 

Sometimes when I fish tournaments I limit my plastic colors to those three main colors as it can become confusing and aggravating to have too many color selections at your disposal. Remember: KISS.

[Catt]

This is how I pick colors ?

 

I walk down the aisles at Academy, see a color that appeals to me, I take to the lake, throw it, & let's the bass decide it they like it.

 

[ike8120]

Well I have the same issue, now I use three different colors, I have a nice collection of colors I don't use.

[Choporoz]

My brother in law is color blind.   Believe me, I am quite envious. 

 

He does just fine out there 

[frogflogger]

4 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

My brother in law is color blind.   Believe me, I am quite envious. 

 

He does just fine out there 

yep - I too can get ocd over color - it is about confidence - one year I fished only black or white baits or combos of the two shades and caught as many bass as I ever have.

[Todd2]

I'd guess stressing about color is more of an angler thing than a fish thing..having said that, I've seen where a minor change has made a difference (red flake) comes to mind.  I generally keep some dark (black/june bug), white, and green.

 

I also like a two toned laminate colors (if the product offers it) dark on top, light on bottom...just like the little fish, craws, snakes in nature.

24 minutes ago, frogflogger said:

one year I fished only black or white baits or combos of the two shades and caught as many bass as I ever have.

Nice and simple....

[ike8120]

The soft bait suppliers just love our OCD about colors, it basically what keeps them laughing all the way to the bank.

[TriStateBassin106]

1 hour ago, ike8120 said:

The soft bait suppliers just love our OCD about colors, it basically what keeps them laughing all the way to bank.

Yeah, it's quite ridiculous how many colors these companies make 

[roadwarrior]

Why is that?  Nothing wrong with unlimited options.  On the other hand, fish YOUR 

favorite color (s) and you will do just fine.

 

[TriStateBassin106]

18 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Why is that?  Nothing wrong with unlimited options.  On the other hand, fish YOUR 

favorite color (s) and you will do just fine.

 

Confusion, better to keep it simple unless I know what works in some lakes. I have this peoblem a lot with new lakes that are in that 50/50 clear and dirty range. You might be able to see the bottom at like 2 feet but when you drop your soft plastic in open water it dissapears like right away 

[J Francho]

12 hours ago, pondhopperNJ said:

A few lakes here I already know the color code

Please share this code.  

 

In all seriousness, I generally just pick a few colors that I like the looks of, and worry little about what is the Right color.  My own mood, or my perception of what might have contrast in the water, or even what I observed in the color of a crawfish or bait fish swimming by has more influence than a hard and fast rule like the water is [stained, muddy, clear, pea soup] so I must throw [black, blue, watermelon, chartreuse].

[TriStateBassin106]

31 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Please share this code.  

 

In all seriousness, I generally just pick a few colors that I like the looks of, and worry little about what is the Right color.  My own mood, or my perception of what might have contrast in the water, or even what I observed in the color of a crawfish or bait fish swimming by has more influence than a hard and fast rule like the water is [stained, muddy, clear, pea soup] so I must throw [black, blue, watermelon, chartreuse].

Are you in Jersey? I fish a couple lakes up north near the NY border

 

[J Francho]

56 minutes ago, pondhopperNJ said:

Are you in Jersey? I fish a couple lakes up north near the NY border

 

Not even close.  Rochester, NY.

[TriStateBassin106]

19 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Not even close.  Rochester, NY.

That a good drive up there, how has the bite been up there? What colors do you mainly throw? 

[J Francho]

Sunday, between 11:30 and 3:30, I caught 17 LMB all on 1/2 oz. Rage Craw in Bama Craw.  Last night just four, same bait.  And ladies and gents, I broke one off at the knot.  Lest you think we mods are perfect.  I can't remember the last time that's happened, and I had just retied.  Who knows?  Anyway, with all the flooding, fishing has been good, especially for that body of water (Irondequoit Bay).  None of the fish I caught were huge, but none under 3 lbs.

 

[Black Hawk Basser]

I think that most of us over-think this.  I try to focus more on what color is visible, but not too visible, according to the water clarity.  I want the fish to be able to detect the bait, but not so much so that they can see it in enough detail to reject it.

[Deleted account]

3 hours ago, pondhopperNJ said:

Are you in Jersey? I fish a couple lakes up north near the NY border

 

I fish quite a bit in NJ, and I haven't found bass there to like or dislike colors any differently than other places. 

Something dark, something light, something natural, as usual. I did almost get a fine once cause I didn't have my license clipped to the back of my head, tools!

[Mobasser]

6 hours ago, J Francho said:

Sunday, between 11:30 and 3:30, I caught 17 LMB all on 1/2 oz. Rage Craw in Bama Craw.  Last night just four, same bait.  And ladies and gents, I broke one off at the knot.  Lest you think we mods are perfect.  I can't remember the last time that's happened, and I had just retied.  Who knows?  Anyway, with all the flooding, fishing has been good, especially for that body of water (Irondequoit Bay).  None of the fish I caught were huge, but none under 3 lbs.

 

Nice one J Francho. I don't get too worried about colors anymore- and I've tried so many over the years. 3 or 4 colors for me from light to dark, and I'm ready to go fishing!

[smalljaw67]

Go with black or white, the universal colors for soft plastics and jigs. Black and white show up well in murky water while also being natural which also makes it a good choice for clear water. 

[thinkingredneck]

My experience has been that any color works as long as it is Junebug.  My approach lately has been to try Junebug and change SHAPES of worm until I find the shape that works best.  Usually, Trickworms work best, but sometimes they want a U-vibe, Ole Monster, etc.  I mostly use plain ole Junebug Trickworms and that does the job.  I still can't catch anything much on a Senko.  Go figure.

 

Yesterday, we went catching instead of fishing.  We hammered them at least every other cast, mostly around 1 lb-2 lb cookie cutters.  June bug worked.  When we tried other colors, they shut down.  Picked back up when Junebug was tied on.  That has been my general experience. 

[tander]

I only carry 2 colors for the most part, Junebug and Green Pumpkin. I am kind of like Gerald Swindle when they asked him the color of jigs he throws. He said, I will start will brown, if that don't work I will go with black or, I will start with black, if that don't work, I will go with brown.

[Scarborough817]

16 minutes ago, tander said:

I only carry 2 colors for the most part, Junebug and Green Pumpkin. I am kind of like Gerald Swindle when they asked him the color of jigs he throws. He said, I will start will brown, if that don't work I will go with black or, I will start with black, if that don't work, I will go with brown.

same here i really love gerald's approach, also really love his ballin' out jig's been fishing them for pretty much everything so far this year 

[scaleface]

Motor Oil Jelly worms .I have no idea what color that is . It changes under water . It   gets a lot of bites .

[Dens228]

Green Pumpkin, Watermelon/Red Flake, Black/Blue Flake

I have those three colors for my Rage Bug, Rage Tail, Yum Dingers.

 

I've never found a need for anything else color wise.