To Blend In or to Stand Out?

[compositi]

i'm a novice bass fisher and i was wondering should the color of your bait blend in or stand out? This question came to me when i was staring at a bass literally 5 feet from me ignore my bait and even be frightened of it even with natural presentation and a nice green pumpkin color. thanks for the help guys

[Deephaven]

12 minutes ago, compositi said:

i'm a novice bass fisher and i was wondering should the color of your bait blend in or stand out? 

The definite answer is yes...one or the other.  They will tell you when you are right, but tomorrow it may be the opposite.

[Deleted account]

Sometimes blend, and sometimes standout, and it doesn't always follow the water vis or light penetration. I can't tell you how many times I've been tuning cranks and jerks in crystal clear water, and crazy gaudy baits (technical term) have been hit with gusto. I've even had them followed and looked at before getting crushed. 

[Michigander]

Yeah, just depends on their mood. You kind of have to try both each time.

[Bluebasser86]

The most general rule is to blend in when the water is clear and stand out when it's dirty. 

 

Your issue was if you could see the bass, it could see you, which makes them much more likely to bite regardless or lure or presentation. 

[fishingtx]

11 hours ago, compositi said:

i'm a novice bass fisher and i was wondering should the color of your bait blend in or stand out? This question came to me when i was staring at a bass literally 5 feet from me ignore my bait and even be frightened of it even with natural presentation and a nice green pumpkin color. thanks for the help guys

The reason the fish spooked is because he was on a bed. As an experienced angler by the first 3 casts to the fish on a bed you should know if it will eat, so my dad tells me. I just guess I'm not an experienced angler.? ?

[Hammer 4]

1 hour ago, Bluebasser86 said:

The most general rule is to blend in when the water is clear and stand out when it's dirty. 

 

Your issue was if you could see the bass, it could see you, which makes them much more likely to bite regardless or lure or presentation. 

^^^^ This. Be stealthy. Also when casting, try not to make a Big slash.

[E-rude dude]

If possible, wait till the fish turns away from you to cast past them and work the bait back to them. If they are sitting on a bed this can take patience. Or drift away and cast past them. Fish beds can be fun but be polite and let them go back to tending the beds.
 

[Dens228]

I'm another one in the camp of blend in when the water is clear, stand out when it isn't. 

[galyonj]

5 minutes ago, Dens228 said:

I'm another one in the camp of blend in when the water is clear, stand out when it isn't. 

 

I always follow this guideline, except for when I don't.

[Dens228]

39 minutes ago, galyonj said:

 

I always follow this guideline, except for when I don't.

Haha, very true.........I remember once fishing with a friend and what we were doing at first was not working.   He asked me what I thought the problem was and I replied that it was obvious the bass were not reading the same articles as us. 

[galyonj]

You know, I've attempted a couple times to show them threads from here, but they won't even look. Rude about it, too.

[Junk Fisherman]

I thought this question was going to be about boat color.  To answer your question, it usually depends on water clarity for me.  Clear water- natural  Stained/Muddy water- colors that stand out.  Sunny or cloudy conditions play a role as well.  

[Mike L]

9 hours ago, bass4life.... said:

The reason the fish spooked is because he was on a bed. As an experienced angler by the first 3 casts to the fish on a bed you should know if it will eat, so my dad tells me. I just guess I'm not an experienced angler.? ?

Always listen to the Dad!

He’s right again. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

 

 

 

 

[CrankFate]

 

21 hours ago, Deephaven said:

The definite answer is yes...

I see it like this you can match the hatch. If fish are eating the hatch. They might not be. But anyone who has spent a lot of time fishing where real bait is the only option and lures are a no go—if you drop that fish’s favorite thing to eat, it’ll eat it, even if it is not the hatch. Fish go crazy for their favorite foods. So I am always torn on matching or trying to find out what that fish’s favorite thing to eat is. 

[Dens228]

9 minutes ago, CrankFate said:

 

I see it like this you can match the hatch. If fish are eating the hatch. They might not be. But anyone who has spent a lot of time fishing where real bait is the only option and lures are a no go—if you drop that fish’s favorite thing to eat, it’ll eat it, even if it is not the hatch. Fish go crazy for their favorite foods. So I am always torn on matching or trying to find out what that fish’s favorite thing to eat is. 

Well considering that several of my go to waters have no shad and my number one color with cranks, spinnerbaits, and swim jigs is shad..........I'm not big on match the hatch.  A bass does not swim up to engulf a baitfish and suddenly realize it's the wrong color and turn away. 

[CrankFate]

There aren’t any shad where I am either. There’s basically nothing. Only bluegills, craws and insects. So there’s hardly anything to match.

[Team9nine]

One of the tenets of the Devolutionary Oath ?

 

“Wear gaudy colors or avoid display. It's all the same.”

 

Either is just as likely to work...or fail. Best to try them both.

 

 

[geo g]

I agree with posts that said it all depends on water clarity.  Clean water natural colors like watermelon, green pumpkin, and shade colors.  Dirty water darker colors like black, junebug, purple and dark with a chartreuse tail.  I follow this rule, but some days the fish don’t!

[billmac]

Honestly, I'm not convinced that color matters much except perhaps at the extremes (extremely bright or extremely dark).  I think colors like green pumpkin are popular and effective because they are kind of middle ground in color.  They work in clear water or dark water.  I think the angler with 2 colors who fishes the bait well will outfish the lesser angler with 87 different colors.  I wouldn't say color never matters, but I think it matters far less than bait companies would like you to believe.

[Black Hawk Basser]

We are probably all "outthinking the room" when it comes to lure color choices.  There are 0 rules.

[the reel ess]

12 hours ago, bass4life.... said:

The reason the fish spooked is because he was on a bed. As an experienced angler by the first 3 casts to the fish on a bed you should know if it will eat, so my dad tells me. I just guess I'm not an experienced angler.? ?

I have fished a bed for 30 minutes before getting a bite. They aren't really eating most of the time, rather removing the bait from the bed. I caught one two Thursdays ago off a bed and went back and caught it again Saturday. I checked its mouth for marks and it appeared to have been caught recently. Males are more likely to bite than females, unfortunately. Some people will keep the male after it bites and work on the female, then release both if she bites.

 

@compositi It's almost always at least stained water where I fish. I like black/blue for creatures. I should say the bass like it. Oddly, when it comes to the Trick Worm and fluke, they seem to like the wild colors: bubblegum and limetreuse. I believe fish can see a lot better than we imagine they can. One little rule of thumb is to go into Walmart and see which colors they're out of. Then go to Academy or online and buy those. They're most likely the best colors in your area.

[Jaderose]

"should the color of your bait blend in or stand out? "

 

Yes.  My most productive colors are grn pkn, blue/black, etc.  You know what else works very well SOMETIMES?  Bubblegum and White with chartreuse tail.