Topwater Colors.....Dark or Light...?????

[Pat Brown]

I got that exact one @Catt.  Might be tossing it tonight ?

 

On super sunny days white bellies don't suddenly turn black or transparent.  At night or when it's cloudy, white bellied critters are also still white bellied.  I think plenty of other colors will work when bass are hot and ready to go....but.....

 

When fish look up they're mostly just looking for a belly.

 

I'm sure there are times when some specific color might outproduce white and it's good to be prepared but I'm still thinking white is gonna get bit by topwater fish more than any other color.  Because 99% of natures bellies... regardless of reptile, mammal or fish or bird are white.

[Spankey]

I feel all the pattern variations I throw of Pop R’s work equally as well. Low light conditions (AM hours) but not in pitch dark. 

[Catt]

The eyes of a bass go through a night adaptation cycle beginning at twilight and are usually adapted for black, white, and all shades of gray within an hour after darkness.

 

Contrast is more important by far than color at night.

 

[Woody B]

My favorite top water lure is a Devils Horse.  Pictured earlier by @Captain Phil    My most productive color is "Perch"......which happens to be yellow.   I've had dark colors work at night.  I've had silver colors work during a bright day, but perch/yellow pretty much always works.   

[ChrisD46]

Another top water color theory : Silver sides / Blue top (for sunny days and blue skies) , Silver sides / Black top (for cloudy / over cast skies) ... Bone color is proven (maybe used ?) as well as all Black for low light . Currently I'm liking the YoZuri top waters with their special reflective strips inside the lure - multiple color options based on light conditions with YoZuri top waters.

[Captain Phil]

16 hours ago, Woody B said:

My favorite top water lure is a Devils Horse.  Pictured earlier by @Captain Phil    My most productive color is "Perch"......which happens to be yellow.   I've had dark colors work at night.  I've had silver colors work during a bright day, but perch/yellow pretty much always works.   

 

Over the years, I have thought many times about why the Devil's Horse works so well?  What is it about this bait that bass love so much?   First, it seems there are lures with a certain shape that bass prefer.  That shape is long and thin.   You can see this shape in plastic worms when the 6" worm is by far the most effective.   Second, the splash of the spinners when fished in short jerks is a "Gold Record" to a bass.  It not only signals food, it draws strikes so aggressive that it can't be just the look alone.  Big bass knock the heck out of this lure just because they can.  I don't believe color or pattern makes that much difference.   This lure is not that natural looking, so it must be something else.  It also seems to work everywhere. I took these lures to the Canadian side of lake Erie, and smallmouth ate it too.  One thing I will say is these lures work best when fished in shallow cover and the closer to the cover the better.  If you want to see how well they work, leave everything else at home one day and fish them all day long.  I think you will be surprised.

 

The Devil's Horse below has been modified for big fish.  The front and middle hooks are #6 Gamakatsu trebles. The rear is a #4.  The pattern shown is a long out of production pattern called a Spotted Ape. 

 

 

[Bankc]

Black at night (pretty much the only topwater I throw at night is a black jitterbug).  Chrome or transparent when bright, high sun.  White or orange any other time.  And I don't even care about the color of the rest of the lure, just the belly, since that's all the fish really see.  And to be honest, I don't even stick to those "rules" all that well.  For me, it's more about pace, action, sound, and location than bait color.  

[Bazoo]

I've caught a lot of bass on soft frogs of frog color and yellow, but not of black for some reason. Maybe its because I don't tie it on enough. Confidence in the lure makes a lot of difference I think.

 

I've used rebel poppers in silver/black and chugbugs in both chartreuse and silver/blue with success.

 

My favorite topwater is a Heddon Spit'n image, bill dance signature in Tennessee shad. It always seems to entice. I wonder if it's because it's less common and many people don't seem to use one around here?

 

I've had some success with buzzbaits, but I don't fish them as much as I should.

 

The few times I tried a Devils Horse... I got skunked. Maybe I'll have to give it another go.

 

[detroit1]

My favorite topwater is a std. size Chug bug that i custom painted the bottom to look like a perch, and the top is white with 6 black dots (easier for me to see).

[Woody B]

Most of the time I put a #4 short EWG hook on the rear of a devils horse.   I use the short hook in combination with a split ring.   I sharpen the front 2 hooks, and eventually replace them when they get "tired".   The old brick mason who took me fishing when I was a kid said he don't think a bass "sees" the devils horse, they just see the disturbance.   Bluegill will peck the heck out of a devils horse, especially during the mayfly hatch.  I think they think the spinner is a may fly.   My second biggest bass of 2022 came on a devils horse, with a bluegill hook to it.   (6 lbs 10 oz).   For me a devils horse works best when it's dead calm.   Targeted, accurate casts that land like a butterfly hitting the water work best.    Most of the time what works is trying to move my line a little bit without actually moving the lure.  Think a really small twitch.   I've also had some success "walking" a devils horse.   I've caught a few bass as deep as 20 feet (on cane piles) walking a horse.  Think about what a spook looks like worked properly and imitate that with the 'horse.   For some reason when I cast a Spook, regardless of what I try it lands like a concrete block hitting the water.  This might not matter in deeper, or rougher water, but it hurts my confidence.  I believe confidence is a MAJOR factor in bass fishing.   I've had a little luck with an Evergreen SB-105 when the water is what I think it too rough for a 'horse.   My SB-105's are clear.   

 

I also caught bass in the past on a jitterbug.   My Grandfather loved to fish with a Creek Chub Darter.   (Yellow, he called them Yellow Darters)   I've got a couple of his old ones but don't fish with them due to sentimental value.    

[Captain Phil]

11 hours ago, Woody B said:

The old brick mason who took me fishing when I was a kid said he don't think a bass "sees" the devils horse, they just see the disturbance.  

 

THIS ^^^^

 

[Mike L]

Same can be said for most top water baits….
Colors, bubbles, wakes, spitting, whatever it is, is the attraction. 
Mood, hunger, curiosity, aggression or instincts take over after that. 
 

 

 

 

Mike
 

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

If I could only have 1 color it would be black.  

[Bird]

@Captain Phil

Devil's Horse is my preferred top water presentation as well but find myself constantly tuning them for that perfect sound...... it's almost possessive.

 

[Captain Phil]

9 hours ago, Bird said:

@Captain Phil

Devil's Horse is my preferred top water presentation as well but find myself constantly tuning them for that perfect sound...... it's almost possessive.

 

 

Some members may wonder just how a Devil's Horse is "tuned"?  The most common way is to bend the blades changing their pitch.  Not only can you change the sound and action this way, you can change the distance the lure moves on each jerk.  Less pitch makes the lure move less.  This works well when you want the bait to linger in one spot.  More pitch makes more splash and moves the bait farther.  It is very important with these lures that the blades move as freely as possible.  One thing to be careful of is water getting into the wood from the holes in the bait.  This can enter from the screws in the hook hangers and the long screw that holds the rear hook.  It is best to use sealer or just throw the lure away after each period of use.  These lures catch big bass and you don't want the hooks pulling out.  As you can imagine, there have been many personal modifications made to these baits over the years.  They were and still are one of the greatest big bass baits ever made.  Strikes can be ferocious or subtle.   More than once I have had water thrown on me from a bass attempting to kill this bait.