Color Preference?

[papajoe222]

Simple question for those in the know; How do you determine when the fish want one color over others?  Personally, I'm one that doesn't put much faith in color making a difference, but a recent experience when I couldn't buy a bite with a green pumplin soft plastic, they were downright hammering a different style plastic in purple/red flake. I thought the shape was the difference, but the same bait in GP was ignored. Is there a better way to determine when one color is hot?

[A-Jay]

If we're talking soft plastics, I can  easily make this far more complicated than it probably actually is.

However after listening to Mr Hackney, who seems to sum it all up rather nicely,  I go this way now.

https://youtu.be/maYOGh4-eP4

A-Jay 

[GRiver]

I try to use the rule of thumb of clear water, light colors,  dark water, dark colors. But have found that not to be true. 
Networking, talking to other fishing people like here on Bass Resource has worked the best for me. 
I too thought green pumpkin was the Holy Grail of colors until I moved to Fl. 
After talking with other Junebug as worked well here on the St John’s or Okeechobee is a good color too for creature baits. 

 

[scaleface]

Easy. If I want to catch fish with soft plastic worms, use some sort of purple dominated color like June Bug , BamaBug... If I want to experiment, use other colors.

[Mobasser]

After trying so many colors over the years, I've narrowed it down to junebug, motor oil, black, and purple. Purple has been the best one, motor oil a close second.

[Mike L]

Water color is my main deciding factor  but it’s not the first consideration, except only when punching 
 

For me it’s Junebug, purple and black. 
Mixing a little red anywhere in there can make a big difference at certain times. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[LrgmouthShad]

I believe every lake has its own share of productive colors and that it’s our job as fisherman to find those colors. Beyond that, I think I know what video @A-Jay posted even though I can’t see it. I remember Hackney saying he likes flake/more vibrant colors in the sun and no flake/subdued colors in the dark or under clouds. That - along with changing water clarity - is how I narrow it down from the list of productive colors on a lake. 

[Texas Flood]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

If we're talking soft plastics, I can  easily make this far more complicated than it probably actually is.

However after listening to Mr Hackney, who seems to sum it all up rather nicely,  I go this way now.

https://youtu.be/maYOGh4-eP4

A-Jay 

That's a good video to watch. I'm in the same boat where I use natural colors first and if that slows down/doesn't work, I switch it up with something that has flakes.

 

 

Basically what I'm saying is I should be a pro fisherman like Hackney.

[LrgmouthShad]

Also, side note. Most colors these days seem to have flake in them. Colors with no flake are so massively underrated, it’s crazy. 

[king fisher]

If the bass wont bite Green Pumkin, and they wont bite Junebug, then that is their problem, not mine.  I gave them a chance, and I will hope they are in the mood for a crankbait. 

[Mobasser]

6 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Also, side note. Most colors these days seem to have flake in them. Colors with no flake are so massively underrated, it’s crazy. 

This is true. This year my two best have been plain purple and motor oil, both with no flake.

[Catt]

Black Neon! Think I heard that somewhere 

 

Probably one of the most under-rated color, that & Reds.

 

What was the last statement Hackney made?

[FishTank]

I don't always subscribe to any one particular color theory as I was once smoked by a guy using a red, white, and blue striped Budweiser crankbait that he got from a promo pack. So I try to keep it simple, in order> dark, natural, bright and then white.

 

Sometimes color makes a difference but other times a different size might trigger a bite as well. For instance, I have a particular bait (my current secret) that comes in three sizes. The largest size usually gets bit the most. Then there are days I get nothing on this bait. I downsize to the smallest size in the same color and I start bringing them in. It's weird but it works. 

[Pat Brown]

I think color only matters if they're super non aggressive, which is probably a lot of the time, so maybe it matters.  But I'm sorta with Todd Castledine, in general, I'm fishing for the stupid ones first and foremost and then I'll slow down and try to figure them out when I get in an area with a couple stupid ones.

 

I think Hackneys take on action and color and profile and fall rate and how they relate to temperature and water clarity is much much more important information to assimilate than any particular juice color.

 

Over time you figure out the juice colors on your lake and the seasons they work best.

[river-rat]

 

Black Neon and Red Shad have accounted for untold numbers of bass in the Atchafalaya Basin.

[Darth-Baiter]

i feel presentation overides color on most of my outings.  

 

i kid you not.  i almost own ALL green pumpkin in all my soft plastics.  

[Pat Brown]

@Darth-Baiter I love green pumpkin/watermelon and some markers to add secondary colors if I feel like they'll make a difference.

 

Sometimes just a little blue or red marker on the tails is as good as buying 3 different bags of plastics!

[Zcoker]

The moment when you couldn't buy a bite with green pumpkin and switched over to purple red flake is the simple answer. The determining factor. Sure, there's norms out there, colors for this or that. Take black at night, for instance. I can get as many bites on white! In a nutshell, color selection is a dynamic process, imho.  

[Mobasser]

We've had some good post in the past on the topic of color. It's a weird thing. Why would bass be hitting green then stop, and start hitting purple? I think most guys use what's worked in best in the past.                                                  Sometimes, it may not even be the color, but the retrieve that draws the strikes. It's part of the puzzle, and only the bass know the answer.

[fishballer06]

Are we talking topwater? Because then the answer is always black. 

[Spankey]

16 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

We've had some good post in the past on the topic of color. It's a weird thing. Why would bass be hitting green then stop, and start hitting purple? I think most guys use what's worked in best in the past.                                                  Sometimes, it may not even be the color, but the retrieve that draws the strikes. It's part of the puzzle, and only the bass know the answer.

I think I’m going to agree with this. It’s been a tuff bite for me all season. I’ve been catching bass but just not catching many of those respectable fish. Not PB fish just plain respectable fish. 
 

Crankbait fishing is almost in the toilet over the last few weeks. I’ve been fishing soft plastics for the most part as of lately. On the river I don’t fish many big plastics, mostly a finesse style of baits. If a lite T rig bite stops, switching to a slider of the same bait sometime things pick back up again, change to a drop shot/split shot rig or jig rig it. I’m seeing this now on some of my preferred (bass preferred) soft plastic. I’m throwing pumpkinseed, green pumpkin, green pumpkin water melon laminate and black. No particular color results are pretty much the same. 

[Darth-Baiter]

23 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Are we talking topwater? Because then the answer is always black. 

unless it is white/bone. 

[WRB]

You can try to feed them what you like, sometimes they only eat what they like. How do you know? Keep an open mind and try other colors, the bass know what they want. 

Tom

[RRocket]

3 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

i feel presentation overides color on most of my outings.  

 

i kid you not.  i almost own ALL green pumpkin in all my soft plastics.  

That's one of the least productive colors here. Haven't caught one on that color this year.

 

 

[roadwarrior]

Well, that's hard to believe. Green Pumpkin is a standard in the sport.