must have lure colors

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

Im working on filling my lure boxes. Im going to be using swim jigs, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits this year. Are there 2-4 go to colors for each lure that I should pick up?

[PBBrandon]

Spinnerbaits I typically run some combo of white and chartreuse, swim jigs and chatterbaits I go white, green/blue, or black and blue depending on which forage I’m trying to match

[Aaron_H]

2 hours ago, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

Im working on filling my lure boxes. Im going to be using swim jigs, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits this year. Are there 2-4 go to colors for each lure that I should pick up?

 

Something bluegill-ish like green pumkin, something shad like white or electric shad, and something dark like black/blue will cover a wide amount of forage and water clarity/conditions, IMO.

[Porkchop_Sandwiches]

1 minute ago, Aaron_H said:

 

Something bluegill-ish like green pumkin, something shad like white or electric shad, and something dark like black/blue will cover a wide amount of forage and water clarity/conditions, IMO.

good info thank you. I dont see alot of shad in the town ponds near me, its mostly blue gill.

[king fisher]

Skirts-, white or black, 

Trailers- white, black, chartreuse, and blue.

 

[Pat Brown]

Green+White (shad) or black and blue (blue gill or crawfish) is about all ya need for any lure.

[MediumMouthBass]

6 hours ago, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

Im going to be using swim jigs, chatterbaits and spinnerbaits this year. Are there 2-4 go to colors for each lure that I should pick up?

Swim jigs: Green pumpkin, Dirty Shad (white with green pumpkin and chartreuse), a perch or bluegill one too, along with a white or electric shad one.

Chatterbaits: Red/orange, black and blue, green pumpkin, white or dirty shad.

Spinnerbaits: White, white with chartreuse, chartreuse, and golden shiner.

 

4 hours ago, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

I dont see alot of shad in the town ponds near me, its mostly blue gill.

Shad colored baits will work country wide, just like trout ones. Bass are opportunistic and need to eat to survive, if they see something that looks different they may think of it as an injured fish or an easy meal that stands out from everything else. The nice thing about not having shad, is more than likely the other guys fishing wont be using shad color lures. So if you are fishing pressured ponds it may give you a benefit.

[softwateronly]

For swim jigs, I've basically settled on alabama bream and crappie from dirty jigs.  Then I play around more with trailer colors, from solid darks to 2-tones with lighter bellies.  Before the weed growth comes up I lean toward crappie and 2 tones, and bream w/ solids when it's starting to get thick.

 

scott

 

[Bankbeater]

Spinnerbaits / Vibrating Jigs:

Shad color, Chartreuse, White / Chartreuse.

 

Swim Jigs:

Shad color, Green Pumpkin, Black / Blue.

[scaleface]

I generally use bright skirts in the spring and switch to less bright skirts after the spawn. Several factors play into it. Fishing pressure and water color are two major considerations.

[tander]

I try to keep it simple. Chartreuse and white or some shade of green pumpkin for all three. Works for me.

[RRocket]

Dark: Blue/Black/Purples

 

Light: White/Pearl

 

Something that mimics your local forage in color (bluegill, shiner, shad, goby etc)

[Rockhopper]

white and white

[GRiver]

On 2/17/2025 at 6:56 PM, Porkchop_Sandwiches said:

Are there 2-4 go to colors for each lure that I should pick up?

Phfffff! 2-4 colors!! Everyone told ya about the same colors, then why does everyone here (including me). Have about 15 different colors, in various weights and styles.haha

But they are right, great colors, they will catch fish.

[bait__Monkey]

THerE R aBOuT 1,000,000,000 DIfrENt coULeRS in FiSHIng IF u Dont hAVe hALF U aINT no rEEl FiSHERMan.

 

[GetFishorDieTryin]

For skirted baits there are situation colors, but the vast majority of the time, I'm going to be throwing green pumpkin, shad/white base, or black.  The situational colors would be like, something bold in muddy water, like firetiger or red/orange in early spring. 

If I could only have 1 color bladed jig it would be GP.  By using different color trailers, you can give a GP skirt all kinds of different hues.

only 1 swimjig color it would be GP as well.

1 jig color it would be black or black blue.

1 buzzbait color would be black.

1 spinnerbait color it would be white or some kind of white based color.

  

 

[papajoe222]

For our area of the country, in natural lakes, I stick to colors that mimic the natural forage. Basically bluegill, craw and some minnow  colors. For spinnerbaits, I'd skip the craw colors and if you're looking to limit the number of each lure type, don't go overboard on having a bunch of different colors. IMO, color is near the bottom of my list. Variety in lure sizes and retrieve speeds comes first.

[Lottabass]

What would happen if all your lures were clear?  No color at all, just see through.  All of 'em...and you fished this way all year......?

Not gonna happen, but what if???  Would you catch nothing?  Would you catch a few?  Would you catch the same?

[Munkin]

Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits= White and shad colors

Swim jig= Same as above but I also use a bluegill color

Regular jig= GP, black, and brown

 

Allen

[CDMTJager]

In soft plastics KILLED the bass with 5-5.25" flukes in White Ice/Ghost Shad, Watermelon red-flake pearl/watermelon blue flake,

In soft plastic worms or creature/beaver baits, Okeechobee Craw, watermelon candy, black sapphire/blue-black sparkle flake

 

In my chatterbaits early spring ASAP after ice out blue-black sparkle flake with a fire red trailer  

beginning of respawn and rest of the year in chatterbaits was white/chartreuse, white/blk/blu/chartreuse with a white ice trailer or bluegill color with a bluegill trailer 

 

In my duel Colorado spinnerbaits was black/blue with a black/blue or fire red trailer early before prespawn and rest of year colors very similar to my chatterbaits with same color trailers. 

 

I actually did so well day in and day out on these three lures types I just didn't bother to try out fishing a wacky rig or other lure types I had planned on last year. I caught 90%+ of my bass on weedles rigged flukes, chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, other T-rigged soft plastics and as soon as cover was available a weedles frog, absolutely killed them on the frog. Oddly though, best frog fishing day after day regardless of all else always began the instant the sun dropped beneath the tree tops to cast shadows and was red hot until all light vanished then the bite went cold. No idea why this was but it was like this 8/10 evenings.    

On 2/20/2025 at 3:23 PM, bait__Monkey said:

THerE R aBOuT 1,000,000,000 DIfrENt coULeRS in FiSHIng IF u Dont hAVe hALF U aINT no rEEl FiSHERMan.

 

In MY experiences which after 44 years fishing now mirrors Tom Manns statement in his book on soft plastic worm fishing I read in the mid 1980's when he said (IIRC) 90% of fishing lure colors are designed to/and are better at catching fisherman more than fish. Or words to that effect.

[primetime]

For spinnerbaits I use white, Chart, and Orange for skirts. blades I like silver and gold mixed. 

 

Jigs - Match forage but white and black and  blue for swimming are my favorite and for pitching and dragging, brown and black with some yellow or orange.

 

Chatterbaits - Stained water - gold blade and chart/white skirt, or black and blue, green pumpkin.

 

I would try to match your forage, and also buy what you think would work best regardless of whatever anyone throws. Sometimes doing the opposite of what everyone says works can be the ticket. 

 

The bluegill near me are in tanic water so to match the color I simply need some silver, black and a touch of orange......I don't really get into fancy colors with skirts and jigheads and buy all kinds of different bluegill and shad patterns like I used to.....I try to only keep 3-4 colors of each with me at most and it helps to have less options.