Color Crankbait 2024
bassnbornboy reply :
What color crankbait do you guys out there use for heavily stained water? It would help if you could give an exact crankbait that you use. How do you retrieve it? Thanks guys!
Mccallister25 reply :
When in doubt, throw fire tiger!!
Catch and Grease reply :
That depends on depth and the type of cover your fishing. Give us those and we can give you more info on a retrieve, but a good color is chartreuse/black back for low vis water. But any bright color should work
Raul reply :
In low visibility environments it´s much more important for the bait to have a strong hydrodynamic signature ( because the fish can feel it ), loud noise, wide wobble, and/or flash than the actual color, the fish isn´t going to be able to see the bait unless the bait is real close, when you have selected the other features then select the color: bright orange, chartreuse, metallic finish.
bassnbornboy reply :
Thanks, I'm fishing in 75 degree water before sunrise, overcast mornings and in scattered flooded timber.
frantzracing0 reply :
I throw a firetiger 90% of the time in really stained water. Rattles are a must
Kevin22 reply :
Square bill- chartreuse black back
medium/deep- firetiger.
I like strike kings.
Big239Fish reply :
I second the previous.
McKinneyLonghorn reply :
For me stained water calls for a firetiger crankbait with a wide wobble and rattles. Since the areas I fish are incredibly weedy and anything that runs deeper than 12 to 18 inches gets hung up, I typically use the Baby Minus 1 (in the matte tiger pattern) or a similar super shallow crankbait.
Bluebasser86 reply :
Red craw, chart/black back, firetiger, black, and mistake 
TNBassin' reply :
Black back chartreuse allll day. If the bite slows on that then I go to chili craw or citrus shad. If it's muddy you want reds or blacks .
stratoliner92 reply :
Black back chartreuse KVD 1.5
aavery2 reply :
So here is my take, and I will apologize in advance for the length of the post.. All material metal, plastic, wood, or whatever the case may be absorb a certain amount of light and reflect a certain amount of light. What we as humans see as color is the light that is not absorbed by the material and is reflected. Water acts as a filter to light as well as make it more difficult for the light to reach an object and reflect. Some colors are much better at this than others.
Red is the very first color to lose it's ability to reflect light, this can can happen in relatively shallow clear water, and when you add in stained or muddy water, which further limit light penetration a red baits ability to reflect light is almost nothing. This does not mean the bait becomes invisible in the water, only that it no longer looks red, but becomes a shade of grey.
IIRC, the colors that lose their ability to reflect light in terms of depth and water clarity go something like this, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Violet. When you think about it in these terms it is easy to understand why a color like firetiger may be more visible (in terms of color) than something red or orange and why black and blue may work so well as a color choice for many baits.
No no knows with absolute certainty how fish see, the rods and cones in their eyes are very different than ours. It is reported that fish can see color and grayscale many time better than humans, and it is often thought that they may even be able to see into the ultraviolet spectrum. But this like many things in fishing can be debated.
There are some great books out there on how fish see, and how to use color selection to your advantage.
TNBassin' reply :
bassnbornboy reply :
On 6/18/2014 at 10:44 PM, aavery2 said:So here is my take, and I will apologize in advance for the length of the post.. All material metal, plastic, wood, or whatever the case may be absorb a certain amount of light and reflect a certain amount of light. What we as humans see as color is the light that is not absorbed by the material and is reflected. Water acts as a filter to light as well as make it more difficult for the light to reach an object and reflect. Some colors are much better at this than others.
Red is the very first color to lose it's ability to reflect light, this can can happen in relatively shallow clear water, and when you add in stained or muddy water, which further limit light penetration a red baits ability to reflect light is almost nothing. This does not mean the bait becomes invisible in the water, only that it no longer looks red, but becomes a shade of grey.
IIRC, the colors that lose their ability to reflect light in terms of depth and water clarity go something like this, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Violet. When you think about it in these terms it is easy to understand why a color like firetiger may be more visible (in terms of color) than something red or orange and why black and blue may work so well as a color choice for many baits.
No no knows with absolute certainty how fish see, the rods and cones in their eyes are very different than ours. It is reported that fish can see color and grayscale many time better than humans, and it is often thought that they may even be able to see into the ultraviolet spectrum. But this like many things in fishing can be debated.
There are some great books out there on how fish see, and how to use color selection to your advantage.
Why apologize? Thanks for your time and info. Greatly appreciate it! Wrapping it up it sounds like firetiger will do for me. If not, Good Charlie! Get another one!
bassnbornboy reply :
Another question: How deep do I want the lure to run? What does it mean when it says 6-13'? How can you adjust the depth it runs at? I've been confused about this for a time.
Catch and Grease reply :
You can control the depth it runs by using heavier/lighter line. The lighter the line the deeper it goes to an extent
Jassch82 reply :
Does how fast or slow the retrieve is adjust depth also?
Catch and Grease reply :
On 7/4/2014 at 12:26 PM, Jassch82 said:Does how fast or slow the retrieve is adjust depth also?
No, a general rule of thumb is that for the first 1/3 of your retreive your lure will be going down to the max depth your line allows it, the next third it is at the max depth, and the last third it is coming back up from that depth.
Kevin22 reply :
On 6/19/2014 at 6:11 AM, keep_calm_and_catch_a_bass said:Another question: How deep do I want the lure to run? What does it mean when it says 6-13'? How can you adjust the depth it runs at? I've been confused about this for a time.
Well, you want it to get to where the fish are! Cranking is an electronics game really. If you see the fish on a break in 10 feet of water then you back off and get a crank down there. For the crank you mentioned, it will dive 13 feet with 10 pound mono. So with 12# fluoro it would dive to about 12 feet, 12# mono about 11 feet. So I would choose one of those two. You want to crank it down until it hits bottom and then reel as slow as possible to still make bottom contact.
Another example. If you saw fish in 8 feet of water, you would take that same crank and tie it on 14# line to get it to dive about 8-9 feet.
If you do not have multiple rods to adjust depth with, then you need multiple cranks covering all depths and each one of those cranks in different colors so you can switch cranks to hit the right depth.
You don't want to be adjusting depth with crank speed unless you absolutely need to, it will be hard to duplicate over and over.
Montanaro reply :
I've truly found color not to mean much. I still consider it though. Just put in a tw order...Some chartreuse, some shad like, some browns, some bluegill.
Basic rule of thumb...If sunny use naturals like flashy ones or clear ones. Darker skies or water calls for solid colors be it dark browns or even whites and firetiger.
Catch and Grease reply :
I'd have to disagree with "cranks being a electronics game" there are plenty of ways to find fish without electronics
Fishing Cop reply :
I throw red most of the time. I have more luck with that color than any other. Usually a red, Red-Eye Shad or a red Livingston lip-less.
Kevin22 reply :
Without electronics you are just guessing where to throw the crank and how deep to run it. Waste of fishing time IMO. Won't be able to see any breaks or underwater points or any other structure that will hold fish. Might as well cover your eyes with a bandanna and start casting.
The exception would be square bills of course.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Longer cast are always the deal when trying to get deep... You have to spend a lot of time in learning the crankbait game... I ain't talking about little farm ponds either, fishing a 10,000 acre to 150,000 impoundment is way, way, different than fishing lil ponds or smaller lakes...
Catch and Grease reply :
On 7/5/2014 at 12:15 AM, Kevin22 said:Without electronics you are just guessing where to throw the crank and how deep to run it. Waste of fishing time IMO. Won't be able to see any breaks or underwater points or any other structure that will hold fish. Might as well cover your eyes with a bandanna and start casting.
The exception would be square bills of course.
Crankbaits and electronics are like peanut butter and jelly, but I was just saying crankbaits can produce if you can find the fish and you don't always need electronics to do that.
bassnbornboy reply :
On 7/4/2014 at 11:25 PM, Kevin22 said:Well, you want it to get to where the fish are! Cranking is an electronics game really. If you see the fish on a break in 10 feet of water then you back off and get a crank down there. For the crank you mentioned, it will dive 13 feet with 10 pound mono. So with 12# fluoro it would dive to about 12 feet, 12# mono about 11 feet. So I would choose one of those two. You want to crank it down until it hits bottom and then reel as slow as possible to still make bottom contact.
Another example. If you saw fish in 8 feet of water, you would take that same crank and tie it on 14# line to get it to dive about 8-9 feet.
If you do not have multiple rods to adjust depth with, then you need multiple cranks covering all depths and each one of those cranks in different colors so you can switch cranks to hit the right depth.
You don't want to be adjusting depth with crank speed unless you absolutely need to, it will be hard to duplicate over and over.
Okay so let's say I have a crankbait with a running depth of 8-14 feet. What pound line to run at 8 feet? At 14? Is there a way to go more/less than that range?
Kevin22 reply :
Crankbaits are rated on 10# line for maximum depth. So the 14 feet would be with 10# mono. You can drop down to 8# flouro and get an extra foot or two as well.. If you don't mind breaking off a ton of cranks. To get it to run at 8' is just a guessing game. I'd say with a range that broad it would be 14-17# mono. You'd have to find a spot of 8' water and give it a toss to see how each crank runs.
A great tip I saw on a pro's video once was to learn your cranks! Spend a day on the water when the fish aren't biting just learning your crankbaits. Pick a brand that you want to learn and learn it. For instance, strike king crankbaits (my favorite). Get some series 3, 3xd, 4, 5, 5xd, 6, 6xd and learn them. Toss them on different lines to known depths and see how deep each one dives. Write it down as you go, with the brand and poundage of line and how deep the crank went on that line. When you are all done make a couple copies and have them laminated. Put one in your boat and keep the others for your record. That way lets say you are on the water and are marking a big school of fish 12' down over 20' of water. You can pull out your sheet and see that you found out a series 5 will dive 12 with 12# seaguar invizx. So you grab your reel that has the correct line, slap it on a crankbait rod if it isnt already, tie on the series 5 and catch those fish.
bassnbornboy reply :
On 7/5/2014 at 1:13 AM, Kevin22 said:Crankbaits are rated on 10# line for maximum depth. So the 14 feet would be with 10# mono. You can drop down to 8# flouro and get an extra foot or two as well.. If you don't mind breaking off a ton of cranks. To get it to run at 8' is just a guessing game. I'd say with a range that broad it would be 14-17# mono. You'd have to find a spot of 8' water and give it a toss to see how each crank runs.
A great tip I saw on a pro's video once was to learn your cranks! Spend a day on the water when the fish aren't biting just learning your crankbaits. Pick a brand that you want to learn and learn it. For instance, strike king crankbaits (my favorite). Get some series 3, 3xd, 4, 5, 5xd, 6, 6xd and learn them. Toss them on different lines to known depths and see how deep each one dives. Write it down as you go, with the brand and poundage of line and how deep the crank went on that line. When you are all done make a couple copies and have them laminated. Put one in your boat and keep the others for your record. That way lets say you are on the water and are marking a big school of fish 12' down over 20' of water. You can pull out your sheet and see that you found out a series 5 will dive 12 with 12# seaguar invizx. So you grab your reel that has the correct line, slap it on a crankbait rod if it isnt already, tie on the series 5 and catch those fish.
Alright! Talk about descriptive answers. Thanks Bro!
aavery2 reply :
On 7/5/2014 at 12:15 AM, Kevin22 said:Without electronics you are just guessing where to throw the crank and how deep to run it. Waste of fishing time IMO. Won't be able to see any breaks or underwater points or any other structure that will hold fish. Might as well cover your eyes with a bandanna and start casting.
The exception would be square bills of course.
Rick Clunn won 4 classic titles, largely fishing crankbaits without the aid of modern day electronics. I admit electronics make it much quicker , but it can be done without.
Kevin22 reply :
I'm sure he had some sort of depth finder on that boat. They've been around since before B.A.S.S was founded. I remember a picture of bill dance when he was a young man holding up a bass on an old tri-hull boat with an old super 60 on it.
Catch and Grease reply :
Everyone has a depth finder on their boat, its a line and sinker.
Montanaro reply :
You gonna drop that line and sinker over every square foot?
Catch and Grease reply :
On 7/5/2014 at 3:39 AM, Montanaro said:You gonna drop that line and sinker over every square foot?
No, because I have a depth finder 
Catch and Grease reply :
I was mainly just trying to be a smart arse, fishing a big lake that your not familiar with without electronics is gonna be very difficult
Cranking that is
whitwolf reply :
To the OP. You're going to get many different answers and the only thing you can do Is see what works best for you. I know it's nice to have a starting point and like the rest of us It's how you learn.
If you have the time I highly suggest reading this: http://www.bassresource.com/fish/crankbaits.html
I don't have the time at the moment but I'm going to try and find either and article or some posts from a guy named chris who broke down the crank bait like I have never seen.
aavery, durn fine post, I don't think you should ever apologize for passing along Information!
whitwolf reply :
a bump for this: http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/72766-a-rare-insight-into-crankbait-fishing/
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
next topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.