Bait color/Match the hatch

[GoneFishingLTN]

This is a common discussion, I'm just currently revisiting everyone says match the hatch and I agree that makes the most sense, but in my lake where it's mainly bluegill I've done well on just plain white jerkbaits and starting thinking does it ever even matter color wise? 

[A-Jay]

"Match the Hatch" in bass fishing to me means as much about bait size & profile

as it does about color/pattern.

Presenting the bait in a place (depth) bass are expecting their food to be at

might play a role in this as well.

Either way, color isn't always a big deal, until it is.

Like when I run out of something the fish have been mauling for 2 hours.

Rarely excites me. 

When all else fails, I'll throw Blinky the rest of the day.

A-Jay

 

 

[GoneFishingLTN]

14 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

"Match the Hatch" in bass fishing to me means as much about bait size & profile

as it does about color/pattern.

Presenting the bait in a place (depth) bass are expecting their food to be at

might play a role in this as well.

Either way, color isn't always a big deal, until it is.

Like when I run out of something the fish have been mauling for 2 hours.

Rarely excites me. 

When all else fails, I'll throw Blinky the rest of the day.

A-Jay

 

 

Ok I got a good question for you then, since I’ve seen you run both white and perch baits when do you choose the white since your waters are mainly goby and perch eaters

[Mobasser]

I fish a clear lake that has bluegill as the main forage. I think size is more important than color. I do best on baits of 5" or less here. Soft plastics in blues, purple, and black work well. But, at times color makes no difference. Only the bass know why.

[Pat Brown]

I feel like the times when color matters the most is when visibility is very poor or exceptionally good or when the bass are keyed in on something very specific.  Beyond that, when you're getting a generic run of the mill reaction strike, I think it matters zero.

[A-Jay]

23 hours ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Ok I got a good question for you then, since I’ve seen you run both white and perch baits when do you choose the white since your waters are mainly goby and perch eaters

I think it's a mistake to lump bass into any one or two categories based on what we think they eat.

Some fish puke up their chow along side the boat and or in the live well, so I get to see what "Those" particular fish ate.  But I never know when or where that happened. Fish that don't give a clue as to what they've been dining on would need to be gutted to find out and I don't do that anymore.   So at times that could help but not always.  If I get a bass on a jerkbait and if pukes up 3 crayfish, am I changing my locating and or presentation?  Not right away I'm not. 

The single biggest deal when it comes to bait selectin for me is confidence.

I need to be fishing something I really believe they will eat that day.  The more I fish, the more I catch with different presentations at different times with different baits, the more confidence I have.

Doesn't mean I can't/don't completely blank on any trip,

but it pay off enough to keep me in the game.

If you don't have confidence in your baits, go fishing and get some.

I'm betting it will help you catch more quality bass.

Good Luck

A-Jay

[TOXIC]

To me it’s a sliding scale.  When fishing soft plastics with no rattle or scent, read Senkos for example, the first notch on the scale is choosing a color the fish can see.  That’s based a lot on water color and conditions. Second notch on the scale is what they are feeding on. Third notch is how are they positioned.  That’s just a general approach and there’s always an oddball situation.  On St Clair I found that traditional knowledge on a weightless Senko didn’t work.  When it was cloudy they wanted a lighter color.  When it was sunny they wanted a darker color.  Gotta stay flexible. 

[Cbump]

I don’t really think so.  I have all my similar colored senkos in a zip lock. At any given time I could be grabbing baby bass, green pumpkin with a variety of different flakes, pbj, black, black blue etc. They all work. 
On a day when those were working I had like 4 white ones left I wanted to burn through. Hooked them on and they worked the same. 

[papajoe222]

I'll approach it in one of two ways; Match the hatch is more important in super clear water or under tough conditions when the fish are holding tight to cover and you need to basically hit them on the head to get a bite. Either way, they'll be getting a good look at it.  The second way concerns faster moving baits and or stained water. Either gets something the bass can see from a distance, but something they won't get a good look at until they've already decided to strike.  This is where white and chartreuse combinations shine for me. Chrome, or other reflective surfaces on hard baits also excel here. In murky water, vibration is more important to me than color.

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Color has more do with water and weather conditions, IMO.