Colors 2024
Mobasser reply :
Well, my wife has been gone on a trip to visit her sister in Arizona for a week and a half, so I've been fishing every night after work. I've also been doing a test on various colors of plastic worms. I chose the standard Zoom trick worm, in 5 colors, ranging from light to dark. These 5 are watermelon, light purple, green pumpkin, grape, and solid black. I've been giving each bait 30min fishing time, then changing regardless of if I caught fish or not. Guys used to talk about " dark days, dark bait, bright sunny sky, lighter baits. I've doubted this for several years now. On the overcast evenings, which were pre frontal the fish would strike most of the colors I threw. Other nights they became more picky. The overall winner in this was grape, followed by the lighter purple. Even with a bright sunny sky, grape outfished all. The grn pumpkin, which seems to be a very popular color these days, caught the least fish the entire time. Despite much research over the years, we still don't know why bass may choose one color over another. As for now, I'll keep doing what I've been doing for years, which is to keep several colors on hand, from lighter to dark. Sometimes, throwing a changeup in color can draw a strike. Others may disagree of course, but I think color is an important factor in bass fishing. Any thoughts or opinions here? How important is color to you? For those interested, I did my test with standard bass tackle. 6'6 med/ivy casting rod, 1/4 oz bullet weight and 12 lb Trilene Big Game mono line. I tried to duplicate a slow hop retrieve as best I could, to eliminate action being a factor in drawing a strike. And bear in mind, this test is not really very scientific, but it's about as scientific as I can get, bank fishing a small lake near my home. Any opinions? Do you think color is a big factor? How many colors do you carry in soft plastics. I think it's important, and can sometimes make a big difference at times.
Dens228 reply :
When it comes to plastics I'm generally using one of three colors.......
A lighter color, usually Watermelon/Red Fleck 80% of the time
A darker coler, usually A Black/blue 15% of the time
A natural color, usually a Green Pumpkin 5% of the time
The only other color I use is a Melon/Pearl laminate stick style bait,,,,,,,,,,,It is absolutely my go to confidence color for stick baits no matter what the water/wind/sun conditions.
evo2s197 reply :
What was the actual names of the worms, they make a Old Purple, and Black grape which is almost black.
But none of them go by the color name, Grape or Light Purple.
Mobasser reply :
On 5/12/2019 at 9:19 PM, evo2s197 said:What was the actual names of the worms, they make a Old Purple, and Black grape which is almost black.
But none of them go by the color name, Grape or Light Purple.
Old purple and Black grape
evo2s197 reply :
If you liked how those trick worms worked out try the Mann's jelly worms in grape which matches Zooms old purple, and black grape that matches zooms black grape, they are more buoyant and have more fluidity in the water.
Mann's make a solid producing watermelon red also but your limited on sizes in that color.
Fishes in trees reply :
The only conclusion that can be drawn from that experiment is "that's what worked for you then."If I were going to try to replicate your experiment, first I'd have to go buy black, black grape & old purple trick worms. I've got over 50 different bags of trick worms (many more counting Netbait and other manufacturers versions of trick worms) but I'm pretty sure I don't have those three colors. I do have many different variations of watermelon & green pumpkin. Plus I fish all those baits on shakey heads, trick worm isn't really a tx rig bait to me, a little too skinny.
Anyway, I remember back in the early to mid 80's, back when the Color-C-Lector was a thing. I had access to one.
It would reliably tell you which color the bass could see, in any given situation. The issue would become, move 5 feet, drop the probe and it very likely would tell you some other color. Move again, same result, maybe the same color, maybe not, but definitely not predictable. Bottom texture, water clarity, clouds, sun and a plethora of other conditions made it difficult to get a predictable result, move and that result could change. When the Color-C-Lector evolved to become the Combo-C-Lector, measuring PH along with light it became even more confusing. PH in a given body of water isn't constant, even relatively close to different sampling points. The guy who conducted the experiments that led to the marketing of the Color-C-Lector was a professor at Oklahoma or Okie State (I forget ) named Loren Hill. Overall the best thing that I got out of the color chooser toy was it motivated me to buy a solid purple/ more lavender than purple, deep diving Bagley crank bait. It caught a few fish before the bottom of some nameless pond re-claimed it and I've never seen that color again.
I think that the only reliable color theory is trial & error, combined with memory, i.e. "What color has worked in the past under similar circumstances". It's part of the charm of bass fishing.
Then, I think we've all seen situations where a color worked for one guy and it wouldn't work for you. I have a bud whose favorite jig color is solid blue with a white trailer. I can't buy a fish using that color. Another instance, a different fishing buddy favors black & blue dingers as his favorite pitching bait (primarily because he goes through many of them and that is a color that is readily available at Walmart. I can tie on a black & blue dinger, same hook, same tungsten weight, same line test, and get out-fished 5 or 6 to one. There is no rational explanation for this ( I'm on the trolling motor and I get first pitch at most targets ). Tie on a different color bait and the catch ratio evens out some. Drawing conclusions from those fishing episodes, to me the most logical explanation is that he's just better at using that bait than I am.
roadwarrior reply :
Big O explained it to me this way:
So, you are having a good day on the color you are fishing, but it might be a great day on the RIGHT color.
Heartland reply :
Baits rarely appear the same color underwater as they do in the hand unless the water is very clear. Color is the reflection of light. Dirty or stained water does not allow much light to penetrate so many wavelengths of light are filtered out the deeper you go. With the water filtering light, many baits will appear as a greyscale color. This is the method humans use to see color, many fish have similar components to their eyes (rods and cones). But until fish can talk it is really an educated guess as to what they truly see.
roadwarrior reply :
Seriously...Fish your favorite color and you will do just fine.
WRB reply :
Force feeding bass your favorite color may work some of the time, giving them the color they prefer works all the time. What color do bass prefer....trail and error is the only way to know at any given time.
Tom
Fishingchucknj reply :
I know it’s not quite on topic. But I used to wear them out on a grape slider worm 20 years ago.
Boomstick reply :
I go by the light/dark/darker theory myself. The fish can't see the color but they see the hue, so white for clear water, brown for dirty water or low light conditions and black for night or really dirty water
Catt reply :
Well how y'all know for certain it was color that caused the reaction?
scaleface reply :
I like purples greatly . Its my lucky color and has been for decades . Worms , craws and lizards in all water conditions . I use other colors but purple's are number one . That includes electric blue .
Mobasser reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 10:43 AM, Catt said:Well how y'all know for certain it was color that caused the reaction?
Catt, this is all I've been able to figure out with this test. Still not sure if it was a certain color, or my retrieve that drew the strikes. Only the fish know this
greentrout reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 10:43 AM, Catt said:Well how y'all know for certain it was color that caused the reaction?
how would you know it wasn't?
????
jbrew73 reply :
Are the lakes still frozen?
The Bassman reply :
Fifty+ years ago Homer Circle admonished readers to fish any color as long as it was purple.
Mobasser reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 11:04 AM, scaleface said:I like purples greatly . Its my lucky color and has been for decades . Worms , craws and lizards in all water conditions . I use other colors but purple's are number one . That includes electric blue .
On 5/13/2019 at 5:32 PM, The Bassman said:Fifty+ years ago Homer Circle admonished readers to fish any color as long as it was purple.
Purple and grape have long been favorites of mine too.
Catt reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 11:05 AM, Mobasser said:Catt, this is all I've been able to figure out with this test. Still not sure if it was a certain color, or my retrieve that drew the strikes. Only the fish know this
On 5/13/2019 at 11:28 AM, greentrout said:how would you know it wasn't?
????
It's impossible to know for certain!
Could have been color
Could have been retrieve
Could have been the bass's attitude changed
We like to think we're that smart, but until we can actually sit down & interview a bass it's all guessing!
Mobasser reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 7:01 PM, Catt said:
It's impossible to know for certain!
Could have been color
Could have been retrieve
Could have been the bass's attitude change
We like to think we're that smart, but until we can actually sit down & interview a bass it's all guessing!
Catt, I'm 61 now. I may never know the answer to this, at least not in my lifetime
TOXIC reply :
There are "General" theories to color and then there are "specifics" for example, on the Potomac a lot of colors work but they work better if there's a little red fleck in it. Not to mention there are exceptions to the general rules by location. On Lake St Clair for example, the smallmouth bite better on the darker 297 Senko (Green Pumpkin/Black Fleck) when the sun is out but let it get cloudy and they react better to a lighter 305 (Baby Bass). 
Catt reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 10:50 PM, TOXIC said:a lot of colors work but they work better if there's a little red fleck in it
Toledo Bend is the same way, Watermelon Neon (red flake) works better than Watermelon Black Flake.
Spinnerbaits with a red head is better than any head color.
scaleface reply :
A color that is hard to find ,I have only had two packs of them in my life , is bright lime green . I had a pack of fliptail worms that color and went through them in like an hour . Then I found a pack of some off name brand in a clearance bin once and went through them in one day . Its a small sample size but they worked well .
KP Duty reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 9:11 AM, Fishingchucknj said:I know it’s not quite on topic. But I used to wear them out on a grape slider worm 20 years ago.
26 years ago I was introduced to the slider worm in a club tourney (I was 15). My boater was crushing it on what I thought was a weenie worm. I busted out my trusty kalin's on a jighead and he said 'that wont work the same'. He tossed me a camouflage color slider worm rigged on an original slider head. He finished 1st and I took 2nd. Now I almost always have one tied on.
Pickle_Power reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 10:50 PM, TOXIC said:There are "General" theories to color and then there are "specifics" for example, on the Potomac a lot of colors work but they work better if there's a little red fleck in it. Not to mention there are exceptions to the general rules by location. On Lake St Clair for example, the smallmouth bite better on the darker 297 Senko (Green Pumpkin/Black Fleck) when the sun is out but let it get cloudy and they react better to a lighter 305 (Baby Bass).
I find that you can start fishing using the general color theories, then refine from there. When you fish enough at a particular body of water, you can really hone in on what seems to work best. This obviously applies not just to color choices.
Delaware Valley Tackle reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 7:01 PM, Catt said:
It's impossible to know for certain!
Could have been color
Could have been retrieve
Could have been the bass's attitude changed
We like to think we're that smart, but until we can actually sit down & interview a bass it's all guessing!
Correlation without causation is always a possibility with so many variables and uncontrollable aspects. Anecdotal evidence is not without merit but is what it is.
WRB reply :
Color matters when it maters a ole Catt once said.
When bass are on a specific color and you don't have it's a long frustrating day on the lakes I fish. Florida strain LMB can be very selective about colors and lures. We call northern strain LMB "easy bass" because they are more aggressive and less selective about lures or color.
It's difficult to explain how tough FLMB can be vs NLMB until you fish lakes with only FLMB or NLMB strains. When I had a opportunity to teach a freind to jig fish we always fished a lake with NLMB because they are so much easier to detect strikes and catch.
Tom
fin reply :
On 5/13/2019 at 7:01 PM, Catt said:We like to think we're that smart, but until we can actually sit down & interview a bass it's all guessing!
I interview almost every fish I catch, unless there's people around.
Bankbeater reply :
Grape / purple has been my go to color for years.
scaleface reply :
On 5/14/2019 at 7:59 AM, Bankbeater said:Grape / purple has been my go to color for years.
It seems purple is popular with us Missouri anglers .
thinkingredneck reply :
All I know is on most days on the rez, either Junebug or Candybug work better than Green pumpkin, watermelon red flake or black. Same bait or retrieve. I generally start with one in trick worm, when it works, I then change worm shapes to see which shape they like, such as ribbon, u vibe etc. Probably BS and I should just throw trickworms. I dunno. Keeps me entertained. I think flakes matter in dingy water.
BassWhole! reply :
On 5/12/2019 at 8:04 PM, Mobasser said:Well, my wife has been gone on a trip to visit her sister in Arizona for a week and a half, so I've been fishing every night after work. I've also been doing a test on various colors of plastic worms. I chose the standard Zoom trick worm, in 5 colors, ranging from light to dark. These 5 are watermelon, light purple, green pumpkin, grape, and solid black. I've been giving each bait 30min fishing time, then changing regardless of if I caught fish or not. Guys used to talk about " dark days, dark bait, bright sunny sky, lighter baits. I've doubted this for several years now. On the overcast evenings, which were pre frontal the fish would strike most of the colors I threw. Other nights they became more picky. The overall winner in this was grape, followed by the lighter purple. Even with a bright sunny sky, grape outfished all. The grn pumpkin, which seems to be a very popular color these days, caught the least fish the entire time. Despite much research over the years, we still don't know why bass may choose one color over another. As for now, I'll keep doing what I've been doing for years, which is to keep several colors on hand, from lighter to dark. Sometimes, throwing a changeup in color can draw a strike. Others may disagree of course, but I think color is an important factor in bass fishing. Any thoughts or opinions here? How important is color to you? For those interested, I did my test with standard bass tackle. 6'6 med/ivy casting rod, 1/4 oz bullet weight and 12 lb Trilene Big Game mono line. I tried to duplicate a slow hop retrieve as best I could, to eliminate action being a factor in drawing a strike. And bear in mind, this test is not really very scientific, but it's about as scientific as I can get, bank fishing a small lake near my home. Any opinions? Do you think color is a big factor? How many colors do you carry in soft plastics. I think it's important, and can sometimes make a big difference at times.
Were you fishing in the same spot or moving around while giving each color 30 minutes? The number of bites may have nothing to do with color. I will say though that purple is one of my favorite worm colors.
On 5/13/2019 at 11:53 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:Correlation without causation is always a possibility with so many variables and uncontrollable aspects. Anecdotal evidence is not without merit but is what it is.
So coffee, bourbon, cigars, and multiple sex partners don't actually cause..... 
Jigfishn10 reply :
Fishing in FLA back in late February in Disney. I went out with a guide for 2 hours and started at 1:00 pm. Mostly sunny skies and was warned that the bite was very slow. Only 1 was boated the whole day.
I got 10 fish. I'm going from memory here, but 1 was on a white fluke fishing over weeds, I think it was hydrilla (I'm botanically challenged), the other 9 were on a hump covered with the same vegetation. The 9 were caught on 5 different colored swim senkos. Smoke, black blue, pumpkin, a motor oil type color (not sure what Yamamoto Baits calls it) and watermelon. My guide caught 4 on fluke, spinnerbait and lipless crank.
My retrieve was a slow, worm hopping type retrieve, letting it fall into pockets in the vegetation. I don't know how my guide was retrieving his lures, but I'm guessing it wasn't a steady retrieve.
Was it the color? Was it the presentation? Was it the location?
Color didn't matter that day. I'm guessing the combination of location and presentation won out. I could have just caught it right when the fish went into feeding mode, who knows. I think color matters on some days, presentation on others and location on all days. Sometimes it's a combination of 2 of 3 or all 3.
Personally, I really like the dumb luck days. Very relaxing to me. 
Mobasser reply :
On 6/28/2019 at 8:09 PM, BassWhole! said:Were you fishing in the same spot or moving around while giving each color 30 minutes? The number of bites may have nothing to do with color. I will say though that purple is one of my favorite worm colors.
So coffee, bourbon, cigars, and multiple sex partners don't actually cause.....
I stayed on the move, moving to several spots to try the colors. Sometimes it made a difference, sometimes not. And yes, purple/ grape has always been good for me too
Catt reply :
@Jigfishn10 I see that a lot on Toledo Bend, some days you can go all day on a single color & the next day ya gotta change 2-3 times.
Why?
I aint got nuthin! ????
It's one of dem things ya can't control so I just roll with it.
Toledo Bend it's Reds, Plum Apple, Candy Apple, Red Bug, Red Shad; on any given day.
Todd2 reply :
On 6/29/2019 at 12:35 AM, Catt said:
It's one of dem things ya can't control so I just roll with it.
Until somebody learns to speak to these things or they start reading Bass articles to learn what to bite..that's all you can do.
We worked a channel bank back in April...3 in a boat. Throwing green pumpkin, water melons and had made a couple of passes because we were kind of stuck in an area because of wind. I switched to a Watermelon Red and I started catching. My buddies told me it was because I was in front. So I went to the middle, kept catching, caught a couple more and had to give it up....lol...That red flake had to be the difference that day.
Big Rick reply :
Zoom makes limited color runs. One of those is Candy Bug. And it is AWESOME. Its June bug with some different flakes in it.
yosef reply :
I would think color matters more when the sun is out and shining but I’m no expert .
WRB reply :
On 6/29/2019 at 8:44 AM, yosef said:I would think color matters more when the sun is out and shining but I’m no expert .
Definately matters to the human eye and brain, bass........you need to ask them.
Tom
related Fishing Tackle topic
previous topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.