Are Ultra Realistic Crankbait Finishes Unneeded? 2024
cgolf reply :
Seeing all the threads about realistic baits and the expensive lured threads I got to thinking and realized about how those ultra realistic finishes are for us and not the fish.
If you look at 2 lures, jigs and senkos, one has a reputation as a big bass bait and the other flat out catches fish, neither of the baits looks remotely realistic. Jig skirts are made with a mix of colors to give the illusion of of some type of prey and the senko has many color variations to do the same. These baits are also fished slow too giving bass plenty of time to inspect the baits.
Lately I have been buying new cranks by looking at which colors generally match the forage on the lakes I fish instead of buying as many of the colors I could afford at the time thinking the slight differences between some of the colors may make a difference, which has allowed me to purchase a wider variety of tackle.
What do you guys think?
deep reply :
On 4/20/2015 at 6:50 PM, cgolf said:Seeing all the threads about realistic baits and the expensive lured threads I got to thinking and realized about how those ultra realistic finishes are for us and not the fish.
If you look at 2 lures, jigs and senkos, one has a reputation as a big bass bait and the other flat out catches fish, neither of the baits looks remotely realistic. Jig skirts are made with a mix of colors to give the illusion of of some type of prey and the senko has many color variations to do the same. These baits are also fished slow too giving bass plenty of time to inspect the baits.
Lately I have been buying new cranks by looking at which colors generally match the forage on the lakes I fish instead of buying as many of the colors I could afford at the time thinking the slight differences between some of the colors may make a difference, which has allowed me to purchase a wider variety of tackle.
What do you guys think?
Yes!!
I think Mrs. Bass sees and processes things differently than we humans do. I also think it's important to find a color that she likes to eat, which need not be realistic (to us).
As for the specific topic, I have no input, since I don't throw lipped cranks. From my experience with jerkbaits, lipless cranks, and topwaters though, the answer is yes (un-needed).
Ozark_Basser reply :
I think some baits just have "it". Whatever it is that makes them work, works. Whether that's a realistic finish or any other characteristic seems impossible to know for sure. In my opinion a realistic finish can't hurt, but some baits are better the way they are.
Senko lover reply :
When you're fishing a reaction bait like a crankbait; some people think that color just don't matter and the bass will grab it regardless. Some people swear by certain colors or realistic finishes. You decide!
Crestliner2008 reply :
I agree wholeheartedly. Example: Last season we spent the day fishing for smallmouth, which is my No. 1 sought after species. we each had an internal tube jig head on two rods. One had the Yum "CrawBug" which is about as realistic a representation if there ever was one. The second had a plain, green pumpkin 3 1/2" tube. We fished both rigs all day long, both of us switching rigs on & off. I gotta tell ya folks, the plain tube actually out-produced the replica by a significant margin. The plain tube accounted for 11 fish....the replica 6.
We repeated this experiment twice more last season. One of those repeats came really close to each other. The last was a repeat of my initial experiment. Not sure if this a valid trial to base any conclusion on or not, but I'm convinced that the main tried & true factors involving fishing success are still, and will continue to be, depth & speed control. All else falls considerably short of that. JMO! 
smalljaw67 reply :
For a lure to catch fish, it must first catch the fisherman!!!! Nobody really knows what the fish see and things that happen on the water make it tough to pin point. On crankbaits I believe there are times when an ultra realistic looking bait helps, in my waters when the bluegill spawn you will catch a few on various types of cranks but if you use a Koppers Live Target bluegill crank, it will not only catch but the hits are ultra violent and that leads me to believe they see it as a bluegill. With spinnerbaits you rarely fish those in a stop and go manner, if you stop it the bait falls like a rock so detail I don't think is important but I think if you get the colors of a baitfish right in the head and skirt material, you can create the illusion of a baitfish but this is pure speculation. I very seldom use a single color jig, if I make a brown jig for myself, it will have a brown head but I'll use plain brown skirt material for a base and then add a few strands of a different shade or brown and I will often use up to 4 different shades of brown to create a mottled appearance as I believe it looks more realistic but does it truly help or hurt? I'll never know but it does seem to work and there are ton of examples when loud unrealistic colors work, it comes down to personal theories and whether you think it is worth the price of realistic baits.
Catt reply :
One of the deadliest craw worms I've ever thrown is a Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craw.
Do y'all think it looks realistic?
Master Bait'r reply :
To each his own.
I like huddlebugs but I also like pit bosses too... Each puzzle piece has its place. I can't hate on realism but action is everything. The former without the latter won't do a whole heck of a lot.
Heron reply :
On 4/20/2015 at 11:14 PM, Catt said:One of the deadliest craw worms I've ever thrown is a Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craw.
Do y'all think it looks realistic?
Id eat it.
Heron reply :
I always felt the Savage Gear reaction craw, represented a happy medium between realism vs. action, in such a way that ought to appeal to the fish in both ways, equally. But, Ive never used it, so I dont know.
J Francho reply :
I use realistically finished baits as much as I use unrealistically finished baits, so I guess I need both?
A-Jay reply :
The places I fish that have clear water & good visibility, I think the fish are relying on sight quite a bit. On these lakes I seem to have better action with lures that do resemble the resident bait in them by having a similar color pattern, even at night. Accurate Perch, Bluegill and Crayfish patterns have earned the right to the first fished.
Places where the visibility is reduced, the color pattern doesn't seem to matter as much. Sometimes a plain white bait is like magic.
A-Jay
Bruce424 reply :
I think it plays more In a jerkbait than say a squarebill. Jerkbaits at least pause for a good while. Those detailed cranks are only to "hook" the fisherman into buying them. I paint my own cranks and they aren't detailed or realistic in any way but i catch plenty of fish with them. When reeling In a crank I believe bass see a crank for split seconds then they strike on it. They react to a white a red a orange a blue. Somthing that makes them react and think ooooo dinner. I doubt they think " oh that fish doesn't have a yellow scale on its Tail. Nope not gonna eat it!" Now I think color is kinda important. Yellow, black or chartreuse for stained muddy water. White or transparent colors for clear waters.
Sorry for ranting and rambling!
MickD reply :
If anyone thinks that color is not important they have not fished for walleyes on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers.
I don't think realistic finishes are important. Here's my theory on what makes fish strike: Fish are primitive, and they don't look at something and think "That looks good, I'd like to eat that." What fish do is just hang out, or in some instances move around stalking, or waiting actively in ambush, but they just react to a few stimuli that mesh with what the fish's brain subconsciously is looking for at the time. The stimuli consist of color, and/or movement (the RIGHT movement), and/or shape, and/or sound, and/or "interest/curiosity." What natural food does a tube look like?
Some stimulus, or combintation of stimuli, of the type they are at the moment programmed for, will get them to strike. "Active" fish, whatever that means, are easier to induce into striking than non-active fish.
The big question is: What stimuli are they looking for right now? All of us have seen this change in an instant. All the fish that were going nuts for our offerings for the last half hour all of a sudden turn off. I have no magic here, nor do the pros some of the time. I just use past history and other environmental observations to try to find fish, then try a number of colors and presentations until I start to get results.
cgolf reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 5:37 AM, MickD said:If anyone thinks that color is not important they have not fished for walleyes on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers.
I don't think realistic finishes are important. Here's my theory on what makes fish strike: Fish are primitive, and they don't look at something and think "That looks good, I'd like to eat that." What fish do is just hang out, or in some instances move around stalking, or waiting actively in ambush, but they just react to a few stimuli that mesh with what the fish's brain subconsciously is looking for at the time. The stimuli consist of color, and/or movement (the RIGHT movement), and/or shape, and/or sound, and/or "interest/curiosity." What natural food does a tube look like?
Some stimulus, or combintation of stimuli, of the type they are at the moment programmed for, will get them to strike. "Active" fish, whatever that means, are easier to induce into striking than non-active fish.
The big question is: What stimuli are they looking for right now? All of us have seen this change in an instant. All the fish that were going nuts for our offerings for the last half hour all of a sudden turn off. I have no magic here, nor do the pros some of the time. I just use past history and other environmental observations to try to find fish, then try a number of colors and presentations until I start to get results.
Completely agree, this is why I think a Senko works and is available in so many different colors. Basically it can be fished like a jerk bait giving fish plenty of time to inspect it. I also have seen color switches with bass in clear water depending on sun/no sun, waves/no waves etc. maybe there is a market for a Senko with a realistic finish.
The nice thing with our WI lakes and their forage, fire tiger works in both clear and dingy water and is usually one of the best options.
Matthew2000 reply :
Yeah walleye fishing and bass fishiing always petain to eachother. I always catch bass trolling with my glow in the dark spoon. Not! Bass won't even see the majority of the finish in the bait. They will notice the color if the even can see color. So if you're fishing a realistic craw colored crank the bass will only see red. A tube looks like a craw BTW.On 4/21/2015 at 5:37 AM, MickD said:If anyone thinks that color is not important they have not fished for walleyes on the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers.
I don't think realistic finishes are important. Here's my theory on what makes fish strike: Fish are primitive, and they don't look at something and think "That looks good, I'd like to eat that." What fish do is just hang out, or in some instances move around stalking, or waiting actively in ambush, but they just react to a few stimuli that mesh with what the fish's brain subconsciously is looking for at the time. The stimuli consist of color, and/or movement (the RIGHT movement), and/or shape, and/or sound, and/or "interest/curiosity." What natural food does a tube look like?
Some stimulus, or combintation of stimuli, of the type they are at the moment programmed for, will get them to strike. "Active" fish, whatever that means, are easier to induce into striking than non-active fish.
The big question is: What stimuli are they looking for right now? All of us have seen this change in an instant. All the fish that were going nuts for our offerings for the last half hour all of a sudden turn off. I have no magic here, nor do the pros some of the time. I just use past history and other environmental observations to try to find fish, then try a number of colors and presentations until I start to get results.
C0lt reply :
I feel like its safe to say that almost any bait we buy will usually appeal more to us than it does to the fish.
MickD reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 6:35 AM, Matthew2000 said:Yeah walleye fishing and bass fishiing always petain to eachother. I always catch bass trolling with my glow in the dark spoon. Not! Bass won't even see the majority of the finish in the bait. They will notice the color if the even can see color. So if you're fishing a realistic craw colored crank the bass will only see red. A tube looks like a craw BTW.
A tube, in my opinion, doesn't look much like a craw, especially in the context of discussing realistic finishes. Many times pike and bass will nail a tube on the fall many feet up from the bottom where a craw would likely not be found. Working one along the bottom most likely gives the motion stimulus of a craw, but really, even there it doesn't LOOK much like a craw.
My point on the walleye is only that color is vitally important at times. There are times when walleyes will just not touch another color than the one they are favoring that day/hour. Bass can see color, and are selective based on color much of the time. Interestingly, on a local lake the largemouth bass will readily take white spinnerbaits but a bite on a white tube or worm is rare. A few miles away is a lake where the bass readily take white worms. On the first lake greens and goby colored plastics are good. AND, there are no gobies in the lake. There appears to be a lot more going on in that tiny brain than we can figure out.
MickD reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 6:22 AM, cgolf said:Completely agree, this is why I think a Senko works and is available in so many different colors. Basically it can be fished like a jerk bait giving fish plenty of time to inspect it. I also have seen color switches with bass in clear water depending on sun/no sun, waves/no waves etc. maybe there is a market for a Senko with a realistic finish.
The nice thing with our WI lakes and their forage, fire tiger works in both clear and dingy water and is usually one of the best options.
Firetiger works well in MI and in Ontario north of MI for walleyes, pike, and smallmouths. Not as good for largemouths. I've always thought firetiger was a sort of perch imitation pattern.
cgolf reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 11:34 AM, MickD said:Firetiger works well in MI and in Ontario north of MI for walleyes, pike, and smallmouths. Not as good for largemouths. I've always thought firetiger was a sort of perch imitation pattern.
The greens and yellows also have that pumpkinseed bluegill thing too. Not exact, but on a deep diver or square bill, those flashes could be enough to trigger bass and they don't get a lot of time to look at those either.
gulfcaptain reply :
Crankbaits are reaction bites. They either are going to eat it or they aren't. Find the right color, action, shape, then you're going to catch fish. If I fish a hard swimbait, it needs to look sort of like what I'm trying to replicate....size, general color. But I'm not going to slow it down for them to inspect it and see TWO big @ss hooks hanging from it. I want a reaction strike. If I have to fish one slow, then yes a soft swimbait that is detailed and realistic is going to be my choice.
RoLo reply :
Any bass that can tolerate the sight of 2 gaudy treble hooks,
is not likely to be very opinionated about the lure's finish 
Roger
wuchr20 reply :
When fishing for a reaction bite, I would just use a brighter color so they can see it better.
gulfcaptain reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 12:09 PM, RoLo said:Any bass that can tolerate the sight of 2 gaudy treble hooks,
is not likely to be very opinionated about the lure's finish
Roger
maybe one of them had pretty feathers on it. But totally agree.
Mattlures reply :
A Senko and maybe even a jig are more realistic then a realistic finish painted on a NON realistic bait like a crank bait. A crank is still a crank even if it has a photo finish. It is still a non realistic looking bait. It doesn't swim like a real fish. It kind of has the right shape. They come with big hanging trebles. How many crank bait bites do you get with the bait just sitting still or fishing it super slow? Probably none. Why because it doesn't look or act realistic. Fish react to it. A good quality swim bait that is the correct size, species, color, and has a natural swimming action is REALISTIC. A crank bait with a nice paint job is not.
Here is a test.
If you saw a crank from 20 feet away that I was holding would you ever think it was a fish? no you would instantly know it was a lure
If you saw a realistic swim bait from 20 feet away that I was holding would you ever think it was a fish? If you didn't know better you would probably need to take a closer look and If I played it off I might even be able to trick you into thinking I was holding a real fish.
Now to Senko. There is nothing about a Senko the screams fake. It is a very natural looking bait. aside from funky colors it could easily be mistaken for a living thing especially with its subtle action. Jigs can also achieve an allusion of realism with all the little movements of the skirt and trailer. I wouldn't classify a jig as realistic but It can look very natural as with the Senko. I would not classify a classify a crank as realistic ever. Do they get bit? yes of course so they don't need to be real looking. In fact I believe the realistic finishes are less productive on cranks or jerk baits and other billed trebled type baits. I think less is more for that type of bait. Give me an old Rapala style patern instead
Angry John reply :
Jerks work better when the pattern matches the hatch. Realistic might be a little far but closer the better. These types o lure also depend a lot on action.
Crestliner2008 reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 12:52 PM, Angry John said:Jerks work better when the pattern matches the hatch. Realistic might be a little far but closer the better. These types o lure also depend a lot on action.
If that's the case, why do I catch a lot of smallies on a "hot steel" Xrap?
MickD reply :
Regarding slow cranks, Norman DBN's fished V E R Y slowly, with a lot of stops, work quite well on spring cold water smallmouths. Not a great search tactic, but if you know the fish are there, try it.
cgolf reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 7:23 PM, Crestliner2008 said:If that's the case, why do I catch a lot of smallies on a "hot steel" Xrap?
I too have had luck with the same color. I see that color though as a walleye/carp imitator with the gold sides which my local lakes and river system have plenty of both so it is a great color.
With the shadow rap, I picked up 5 colors that I thought would cover most situations, purpledescent, olive, carbon, yellow perch, and I believe moss back shiner. What is crazy about the bait though is if you look at the thumbnail pics on the TW site a lot of the colors are really similar, surprised that they didn't come out with some more of their brighter patterns like the have in the x rap.
RoLo reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 8:18 PM, cgolf said:I too have had luck with the same color. I see that color though as a walleye/carp imitator with the gold sides which my local lakes and river system have plenty of both so it is a great color.
With the shadow rap, I picked up 5 colors that I thought would cover most situations, purpledescent, olive, carbon, yellow perch, and I believe moss back shiner. What is crazy about the bait though is if you look at the thumbnail pics on the TW site a lot of the colors are really similar, surprised that they didn't come out with some more of their brighter patterns like the have in the x rap.
IMO, if an angler pays too much attention to color, he runs a high risk of missing the 'real' reason for success or failure.
For example: Place the right lure, at the right depth, at the right speed, on the right retrieve line,
and there is no 'wrong' color. Take away any 1 of the above 4 criteria, and there is no 'right' color.
Roger
Heron reply :
On 4/21/2015 at 7:12 AM, C0lt said:I feel like its safe to say that almost any bait we buy will usually appeal more to us than it does to the fish.
Winner!
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