How to select what color to fish?

[REAU]

I am like other guys on this forum am trying to get back into bass fishing b/c i love it. Is there any rule of thumb you guys use to select color and when fishing a spinnerbait what blades to use. I mainly fish soft plastic but will throw a spinnerbait. My main color selection is watermelon re metal flake,red shad,crawfish color and in flukes baby bass,white,arkansas shad. Any help would be appreciated? oh and i just bought a Gambler Swim Blade all they had was black/blue...

[Deuceu72]

Personally, I like spinnerbaits with a white skirt and chrome blades in clearer water and chartruse with gold blades in murky water. I like willowleaf blades in clear water and depending on how murky the water is, or if its nighttime, I like the big colorado blades.

[Bassbum80]

For color selection you can catch bass on a variety of colors but your standard white, black, chart & Chat/white are pretty much the basics.  They should fit most applications. White in cleareer waters, Chart in dirty waters.  I like black on cloudy days in clearer water.  Blade selection, as mentioned above, has more to do with water clarity.  Colorado blades produce the most vibration which is why they are better in dirtier waters.  Willows produce the least vibration so they are better in clear waters.  Indiana blades are a nice middle ground for stained waters.  It sounds confusing, but it is pretty basic once you memorize a few basic rules of thumb.  Like any other lure though, sometimes you have to break the rules when fishing gets tough & anything CAN work.

Hope that helped a bit!

Good luck!

[REAU]

I does and I really appreciate it...

[Shad_Master]

However, don't limit your selection or you will anger the bait monkey -- check out the Jewell Spinnerbait in bluegill -- I have been having some good luck with this in areas were the BG's are plentiful

[.ghoti.]

Good advice so far. Here's another factor to consider. The size and style of blade(s) will determine the effective running depth. Willow blades have less lift, will allow you to run deeper than colorado blades for a given weight. Want to run one over emergent weeds? Put on a big colorado blade to keep the bait up above the cover. Want to get down deep. Switch out the blade to a smaller willowleaf, and you can run this down a point, maintaining contact much easier.

Another thing. Many people advocate the use of trailer hooks. I don't. I like to throw spinnerbaits into cover, and like to bang them off anything I can. Your hangup percentage goes way up when you add a trailer hook. If you find that the fish are short-striking, and you think you need a trailer hook, try changing your dressing. If you're using a grub, try a fluke, or a tube. I keep a lot of my torn plastics for use on spinnerbaits. A lizard works, a chunk of torn up senko works, any kind of plastic will add some bulk to the bait, and this is most times all it takes to stick those short strikers.

Good luck,

GK