Soft Plastics : Junebug vs. Black & Blue ?

[ChrisD46]

The above are somewhat close in color - any specific reason(s) why you elect to use one over the other ?

[Captain Phil]

From my experience here in Florida, black and blue works better in the winter. June Bug works in the warmer months.   Both are good year round.

[Mobasser]

I used to fish the Ditto Gatortail worm years ago in black/ blue tail. It was a great plastic worm. Now, if given a choice, I'll choose junebug. The Zoom finesse worm in junebug color has been very good.

[Team9nine]

If I could only pick one - Junebug - all day, every day. Just seems to work better in nearly all water clarities. Maybe a nod to B/B at night or in muddy water.

[you]

Both are dark colors with good contrast and visibility in a wide range of water/light conditions.

 

I have more confidence in junebug, though, and in purple colors in general (morning dawn, MM3, etc).

 

The gills around here usually have some degree of purple or violet coloration. Maybe it makes the bass angrier? Who knows.

[ironbjorn]

This is going to sound weird because black/blue is such a popular, common color, but I think it's the most underrated color in bass fishing. It works well for me in essentially any lure, any water clarity, any condition, for both LMB and SMB. Where others do not consider BB, I absolutely do.

[galyonj]

Purple worms are best worms.

[Mike L]

I hardly ever throw B/B. 
I really don’t see any appreciable advantage in the So Fla waters I fish. 
Purple or a red/black combination of some sort is my back up to June bug. 

Plus June Bug is a more consistent color throughout all brands. 
 

 

Mike

[Jig Man]

Black blue is great in crepuscular periods.  Junebug not so much.

[Mike L]

17 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Black blue is great in crepuscular periods.  Junebug not so much.

Ok

My limited education is on display. 
 

What is a “crepuscular period” ??

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Pat Brown]

I have caught fish on every color worm but when I catch big fish the worms always seem to have some red in them.  Gonna have to go with Junebug on this one, but I'm really into 'Blue Fleck' (purple with blue flake instead of green) which is essentially the best of both worlds of black and blue flake and purple with green flake.

 

It's my dirty water confidence color.

 

For jigs: I'll throw a black and blue jig in gin clear water up to mud.  That's the color you need for a jig.

[galyonj]

@Mike L means twilight, like at dawn/dusk.

[MIbassyaker]

Junebug, because of the green flakes

[Skunkmaster-k]

Purple worms are the cat’s meow. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Black Grape was invented by the Bass Gods to catch monsters in low light/night.

 

It's also very consistent from one company to another.  If I could only have one color for low light it would be Black Grape.  

[galyonj]

4 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Black Grape was invented by the Bass Gods to catch monsters in low light/night.

 

*angrily goes to find wallet*

[you]

40 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

Junebug, because of the green flakes

 

22 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Black Grape was invented by the Bass Gods to catch monsters in low light/night.

 

Any thoughts on flake vs no flake (or flake size) in these darker colored plastics? Wonder if there is any difference in terms of fish responding.

 

I would treat the two colors above almost interchangeably while fishing, but I also have a 'favorite' junebug (gambler's). Maybe that's more of an artistic opinion than a practical one.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

12 minutes ago, you said:

 

 

Any thoughts on flake vs no flake (or flake size) in these darker colored plastics? Wonder if there is any difference in terms of fish responding.

 

I would treat the two colors above almost interchangeably while fishing, but I also have a 'favorite' junebug (gambler's). Maybe that's more of an artistic opinion than a practical one.

If I'm honest, I've never really seen much of a difference between black, black grape, junebug, junebug with red flake, blackberry (black with purple flakes), and black with red flake all within Zoom's lineup of 10.5" Ol Monsters, and 8" Magnum Lizards.

 

I fish those baits 4-5x weekly night fishing, and I'll run out of one color and grab one of the other's above and can't ever tell the difference.

 

Black Grape is just my confidence color I guess, if I had to standardize it, I'd go with it straight up, no flakes.   

 

The more important thing I've found rather than color at night and perhaps in general with soft plastics is having the right profile size.   Sometimes I need to give them a 7" Roboworm straight tail in Black Grape, 'Afterdark', or 'Midnight', but when I think they're really chewing I'll bump it up to that Ol Monster or 11" C-Mac.    The Magnum Lizards are my starting point......kind of the perfect middle ground b/t my three favorite night plastics.   

[MIbassyaker]

17 minutes ago, you said:

Any thoughts on flake vs no flake (or flake size) in these darker colored plastics? Wonder if there is any difference in terms of fish responding.

 

I would treat the two colors above almost interchangeably while fishing, but I also have a 'favorite' junebug (gambler's). Maybe that's more of an artistic opinion than a practical one.

 

When I drop a flaked worm in the water, I see the flakes light up as they catch the sun, flickering as the bait moves, winking and glinting through the gloom.... I can easily imagine bass registering flakes as baitfish scales, acting as a strike trigger. 

 

It's also possible flakes could turn bass away if they are associated with something negative....whether flakes are good or bad or neutral could depend entirely on the quirks of particular local water environments or conditions.

 

Why should I prefer the green flake of Junebug over the blue of Black/blue? Ask my bass. They seem to like green.

[Catt]

Black with a blue tail or claws

 

Junebug with a blue tail or claws

 

Green Pumpkin with a blue tail or claws

 

Okeechobee Craw, green pumpkin, blue laminate 

 

 

[Texas Flood]

8 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

This is going to sound weird because black/blue is such a popular, common color, but I think it's the most underrated color in bass fishing.

This broke my brain.

[Pogues2300]

Caught fish on both. Specific reason I usually choose junebug is confidence. Nothing super scientific just confidence and I’m learning how important that is to success in fishing. Both are great though.

[king fisher]

 I prefer Junebug for worms, Black and Blue for Craws and  I don't know why.

[LonnieP]

Junebug for me. Never had any luck with Black/Blue, even jigs

[MN Fisher]

Junebug - yesterday, today and all the tomorrows. B&B never did anything for me.