Red baits

[5by3]

Curious if you have much luck with red/orange baits during the spring depending on the part of the country you’re in? Always read about people swearing by red lipless, squarebills, chatterbaits, etc. but have had limited success with red here in the Northeast... usually just in coffee brown water. 
 

Just curious if it’s more of a regional thing?

[Scott F]

Not exactly red, but but I have had a lot of success with the Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crank bait in the Orange Craw color in spring on largemouth, musky and pike. 

[walleyecrazy]

I’ve had pretty good luck with red colors here in NY. I got this one the other day on a red/orange lipless.

 

[scaleface]

I havent had a lot of luck with red either . I prefer chartreuse . Uncle Josh use to make an orange pork frog that I used on a jig if the water was extremely muddy .

[J._Bricker]

Decisions, decisions, decisions @5by3....?

[HenryPF]

2 hours ago, Scott F said:

Not exactly red, but but I have had a lot of success with the Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crank bait in the Orange Craw color in spring on largemouth, musky and pike. 

 

I use the orange/red craw in Spring only - just doesn't produce for me any other time of the year vs. natural baits. I am in the midwest.

[Bird]

Use a lot of soft plastics with red flake, like'm.

Spinnerbaits with partial red skirt, like also.....white spinnerbaits that is.

[Dens228]

I don't think I've ever caught a bass with red......other than red flake in plastics like mentioned above.  I tried today too, no luck. 

 

[WRB]

I have had good results using black/red color combo crankbaits during low light periods like overcast days, dawn or dusk and at night. The reason may be because crawdads are more active at low light and night periods.

Tom

[Black Hawk Basser]

The red craw Super Spot is killer for me in spring.  I fish an old quarry often during prespawn.  It is very clear.  Most waters around here are pretty clear.

 

My best producing spinnerbait is a BPS double Colorado in red/black.

[river-rat]

I use red crankbaits and rattle traps in the late winter pre-spawn period. After the bass have spawned I put them away until the next year.

[Dogface]

I use red all year. I don't limit it to a particular season.

 

[Log Catcher]

I have caught a few on red or brown craw baits even though I don't use them a lot. I saw an article about colors several years ago. I stated that red was a better color for southern states. The farther north they were less effective.

[GreenPig]

Booyah Pond Magic 3/16 oz Red Ant pulled a 9.9

[basser27]

Red craw rattle trap has been an excellent bait for me late winter-prespawn

[Midwest Fisherman]

I’ve always had good luck with red, been having good success with the TRD craw so far this spring 

 

[MIbassyaker]

Red has been an excellent color for me almost any time I have given it good-faith chance. I don't often think to tie on something red, but have not been disappointed when I did.

 

I can think of some advantages red may have, situationally:

(1) Bass see red well and distinguish it easily from other colors, especially green. This may make red contrast well against the background of many environments, such as greenish, weedy areas.

(2) Red light penetrates really muddy water better than most other colors -- notice how popular reds are in many lower river systems.

(3) Where local forage species have some reddish on them, because of it's high visibility and contrast, it may act as a reliable food signal.

 

I think variations of Red/Black especially deserve much more attention than they get in jigs, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and worms/craws/creatures

[Kev-mo]

Not sure it really matters. I've done well in the spring in stained water and also in July/August slightly stained to clear water. Square bill(s), mostly river fishing.

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, Log Catcher said:

I have caught a few on red or brown craw baits even though I don't use them a lot. I saw an article about colors several years ago. I stated that red was a better color for southern states. The farther north they were less effective.

 

Definitely more popular in the south and less popular in the north, but I'm not so sure that's really about effectiveness; I think that's more perception than reality, but people up here do have that belief -- we up here may have a prejudice against red! I maintain that red can be as good in, say, Michigan, as anywhere, at least situationally.

[Dirtyeggroll]

I think this one liked red/orange.

[Bluebasser86]

My bass must think they're from the south because they love red, and it's not just during the cold water months either. Just from the past month or so.

 

[zell_pop1]

I live in northern Indiana orange works well at times but red not so much

[PhishLI]

18 hours ago, 5by3 said:

Curious if you have much luck with red/orange baits during the spring

No, no, and no! I say twelve Hail Marys and throw in an Our Father before I throw a red anything, and NOTHING! I went to a lake the other day that's loaded with crayfish and the first thing I did was tie on a T-rigged red Chigger Craw. I dragged it, I hopped it, I swam it, I dead sticked it, and NOTHING! Three casts after I'd tied on a green pumpkin chatterbait and threw it in the exact locations I got hits all over the place and landed two fish of different species. Tied on a blue/silver paddletail swimmer and more of the same. Come to think of it, I get sent pics constantly of catches from a bunch of dudes from around here and I don't recall ever seeing a red bait hanging off a bass's face. Maybe it's just this area? It's possible. I'll keeping try to break the red curse though.

[scaleface]

I have had good success with red cranks at night but I think they look black .

[fishballer06]

They work just fine here in western PA.