Question regarding crankbaits...

[Red]

how important do you think crank color is?  for example....last night i used an american shad Fat BDS LC crank and caught 4 keepers, including a 3lber...today i went to the very same place...weather conditions were the same and time of day was the same....the only difference was there was a sleight wind today, hardly enough to ripple the water...and today i threw the same crank and only managed one dink....do you think a different color crank would have made a difference? for the past month or so, the majority and the biggest fish have come on this same crank, or topwater...buddy was using the topwater so i threw the crank, plastics and jig and got nothing, but the one dink on the crank...i am just wondering if color would have made this outing different, or if was just one of those days where they arent biting..your thoughts?

thanks

Cliff

[Sam]

Cliff, you have just asked the $64,000 question.

Sometimes I don't think color matters while at other times I just have to throw that shad color.

I try to "match the hatch" with my crankbaits.

I will be fishing a river next week so I went on the internet and found out what types of fish are in the river that can be baitfish for the bass.

Shad and white pearch lead the list so I will throw a shad colored crankbait.

I love to throw the Firetiger color as it has always produced.

And the Chartruse with Blue Back is a winner in my local waters, too.

Some guys love Salad Bar; Root Beer; and Tennessee Shad.  Others swear by the green tints and dull yellows and my friend only throws shad colored crankbaits.

So what do you do?  Experiment like the rest of us and add to your collection of crankbaits.

But try to remember to "match the hatch" when possible.

[T-rig]

I don't think to "match the hatch" is important. I have caught bass on peacock bass color baits and there are no peacock bass around here! If bass are feeding , color is not important. Only to us color has importance and is a cofidence thing. Don't get me wrong, there are days that certain colors work better but usually when the bite is tough, then you can't go wrong with the chartreuse shad color from Lucky Craft.

[gatrboy53]

if your catching them one day but not the next color would be the last thing i would change.lure wise i would change size and /or shape,but the first thing i would look at is what was holding those fish in that place.bait,structure, cover.if its bait ,has the bait moved?if its structure, am i fishing the structure the same way? and the same w/ cover. sometimes ,they just aint bitin!

[islandbass]

To know that answer would make fishing easier.

I think color can make a difference at times but not always.  I think the activity level of the bass is a key. The more active and willing they are to strike, I have noticed it really didn't matter what color I threw. Then in some cases, the same colored crankbait gets me one catch and not another for any other casts for the rest of the day. Go figure.

[Red]

the only thing i can think of that was holding the fish in that area was nearby deeper water...two of the fish were caught near the weed edge on the far side of the deeper water from where i was standing...the other two, including the 3lber, were caught in the deeper water out in the open, away from shore....but when i went back the next day, i fished the same areas, the same way. with the same bait...i also fished other baits as well...guess maybe they just werent biting cuz i only managed one dink on the crank, not even a nibble on anything else...i was just thiniking the whole time out the second day that i wished i had that same bait in a different color, just to see if it made a difference, but my tackle collection is very small, i only have 3 cranks and two are the same color but differnt shapes and one is a bit different but got nothing on it either....guess it is time to maybe grab a few more bait in differnt colors, just so i have them on hand next time...then i will be able to answer my own question

thanks guys

Cliff