When does color matter the most and least?? 2025
joleree reply :
My go to colors are red Shad and recently watermelon.
BobP reply :
I think it when you're fishing either very clear or very dirty water.
bigbill reply :
Color really matters sometimes and on somedays I think they would strike a bare hook when the feeding frenzy is really on.
I carry all the colors with me (cranks) and i go thru a ritual of tossing different colors till one works. If i throw everything i have i go back thru them all again and slow down and try different presentations.
So far with plastics, black shad, red shad, green shad/baby bass, electric blue, amber red flake and black have worked for me in the past.
gobig reply :
In my belief system colour makes up a small percentage of the equation. I place far more emphasis on location, depth, cadence, speed, vibration, water displacement and the best possible angle of the retrieve.
With that said there are definitely times when color is the difference between getting bit... or not. I think matching the hatch can be just as important as throwing something that stands out from everything else. I have never seen a chartreuse shad with a blue back swimming in my local waters. Or a pink bait fish. Take a wild guess what colour sold out first on the latest run of the 3:16 freestyle shad...Pink. I don't think those baits are additions to barbie doll collections.
In the short of it. I do not think there is really a matter of fact answer to your question. Its trial and error. If you feel you are fishing in the right place and you have tried everything, change up the colour. Who knows your PB may come on a bubble gum (pink) senko.
Catt reply :
When does color matter the most and least??
When the bass say so!! 
When bass get hung up on a particular color there is usually no rhyme or reason that man can detect. I've also seen the absolute opposite, I would catch 1 or 2 bass on a particular color and have to change colors to get bit again.
bigbill reply :
There is a reason why Kevin VanDam uses an older Combo "C" Lector. On tough days knowing what color to use can make a difference wether we go home a beaten fisherman or not.
I've tested the older Combo "C" Lector and its proven its worth. I actually have two now, one is still brand new in the box. I'm not sure how good the new color selector is but it chooses the color only i believe. The older selector gives us the PH at what depth, the water temp and the combination of colors the fish can see at that time. The Hues in the water, the PH, the water condition and the sun make certain colors invisible at times for the bass. So the bass don't see all of the colors all of the time.
Quote Bill Dance: If the bass could see all the colors all of the time there wouldn't be a baitfish left in the place.
So the bottomline is color matters.
My test of the combo c lector is as follows you be the judge;
Day 1
The color was chosen by the combo c lector and it was "red". I used the bomber FAT A in redcrabapple and caught bass. I tried most of the other crankbait colors and none caught fish. I switched back to the red crank and caught fish again.
Day 2
The chosen color was brown, I used the bomber FAT A in browncraw. Again i tried the other crank colors and nothing worked. I went back to the brown and caught fish again.
Day 3
The chosen color was green so i used a Bomber FAT A in greencraw and caught fish. I tried the other colors with no fish caught again. I go back to the green and continued catching fish.
Day 4
It chose a combinaton of colors so i tried the red and it worked, i tried the freen and it worked, then i tried the brown and it worked. This was a day when all the colors worked.
This is why some colors don't work all of the time. And other day they do work.
To me its lure size, lure color and our presentation. One color may land a few fish but the right color can load the boat.
In the evenings as it goes from light to dusk try changing to a brighter color lure as it becomes low light. I've had the fish striking a joesfly blackgnat super striker in the light and as the bite slowed down i switched to a super striker in firetiger apache and the bite picked up again for a few more fish. Its the opposite from night to day. Again low light to bright light. At the point of dusk i use bright colored lures. At night its the larger dark colored lures. Each light dimention brings a different type of fishing.
The waters condition matters too on what lure size and color plus the presentation to use. The game can change again.
Its not luck in fishing its skill!!!!!!!
gobig reply :
QuoteWhen bass get hung up on a particular color there is usually no rhyme or reason that man can detect. I've also seen the absolute opposite, I would catch 1 or 2 bass on a particular color and have to change colors to get bit again.
I have had the same.
rboat reply :
If there is schools of baitfish, definately match them. On fast moving cranks, they do not have a chance to see the color. In this case I think flash and light reflection trigger a reaction strike. Slow moving soft plastics, dark colors catch fish anywhere. The bright colors work sometimes again depending on forage (white may resemble shad). The bright pinks and other odd colors I think are just reaction or aggression strikes. JMHO.
Blue Streak reply :
I wish I knew a good answer to this. Sometimes color makes all the difference and sometimes it doesn't and I don't think there is any way on earth to tell that ahead of time. Sometimes it just doesn't make any sense at all. I guess the bass know and we just have to ask them with our presentation.
Raul reply :
I 've been fishing for bass for 3 decades, in those three decades on very few ocassions I 've encountered the situation where fish just seem to like a particular color, you got another and they don 't bite it, however the rest of the times color doesn 't matter at all. So you can say that 95% of the time I fish with the colors I like.
bigbill reply :
I wish some people who actually used a "combo c lector" or a "color c lector" in the past and had awesome results would chime in here.
I have heard from others that the color c lector has picked a weird color and they used it and it worked. Then they forget about using it again for some reason.
I'm going to purchase the new color selector and try it out too.
Blue Streak reply :
Actually the Color C Lector will only tell you which color the fish can see best under different conditions. It does not tell you what color the fish will hit. It is more or less a light meter.
As for the older units they were usually out of calibration and not very dependable for color or PH.
Boogey Man reply :
I try to use light, more natural colored lures in clear water, and darker, more visable colors in stained or muddy water. If color didn't matter, we could use, for instance, a cotton candy colored worm in muddy water or a black worm with a chartreuse tail in gin-clear water. You might catch fish, but maybe not as many if you used the appropiate colors. Different colors do have their place.
bigbill reply :
QuoteActually the Color C Lector will only tell you which color the fish can see best under different conditions. It does not tell you what color the fish will hit. It is more or less a light meter.As for the older units they were usually out of calibration and not very dependable for color or PH.
I was lucky enough to get the calibration liquid with both of my Combo "C" Lectors. So far the one i've used and tested seemed ok. The brand new one i'm not sure about it yet.
If we do a search for the Combo C Lector or the Color C Lector the story of Dr. Loren Hill comes up and how it took him ten years to develop it and test it. He also worked very closely with bass in the lab using different colored feeder pails. This is how he realized the bass do see different colors.
Next month when i get my s/s check i'll order and test the new color selector in my favorite spot again.
rboat reply :
This color topic is very interesting and I enjoy everyones insight. I believe the super colors produced today catch more anglers than fish. Early on, the top color produced and sold by those pioneer companies was a white body with a red head. I have never seen anything in the lake that looks like that, but they worked. Some of those companies still produce that color???
Mattlures reply :
Color matters the least at night. Everybody always says to use black. Well black does work but it works no better then any other color.
Blue Streak reply :
When you adjust those pots for calibration, you should put a small drop of paint across the crack to hold them because they have a tendency to stay lose and drift.
roadwarrior reply :
QuoteI 've been fishing for bass for 3 decades, in those three decades on very few ocassions I 've encountered the situation where fish just seem to like a particular color, you got another and they don 't bite it, however the rest of the times color doesn 't matter at all. So you can say that 95% of the time I fish with the colors I like.
Color can be very important on some lakes, sometimes. Big O
told it this way, "When your fishing is "good", the right color
might make it better."
8-)
bear7625 reply :
I am a firm believer that color does make a difference. Over the years, there has been to many instances that proved it. Fish probably don't see colors like we do, but something in certain colors seems to make a difference. This is a topic that will be argued for years.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
My theory on this is changing. I would say clear water would be the only thing that might make a difference.
Anything else starts a blackout. Have you ever dove below a thermocline in some lakes? Its completely black. I dove a "what I thought was clear lake" it was clear down to 15 ft. 15-20 was brown 1-2 ft viz, 20+ you couldnt see your hand in front of your face. Color would make 0 difference in this. The only thing I could see was my glowing gauge if I pressed it against my mask.
So in other words if you have light penetration it could make a difference. Other then that its location.
I.rar reply :
clear water is where it matters most to me. i try to stick with natural colors like greens ,whites and baby bass. i do have some tequila sunrise , red shad and other colors that all catch fish though too.
NateFollmer reply :
Different species tend to like certain colors more. For example, fish in the Pike family seem to like white and charteruse more so than other species.
For bass, I can honestly say I use dark greens, browns, blues and blacks. I have never caught a bass on anything white or really brightly colored. BUT I also never fish any lakes that are clear and I think that is the reason light colors dont work for me.
urp reply :
Speaking of things in the lake....
There's not a basser throw'n that doesn't use a chartreuse spinnerbait. Ever seen anything in the lake that's chartreuse?
farmpond1 reply :
QuoteWhen does color matter the most and least??When the bass say so!!
When bass get hung up on a particular color there is usually no rhyme or reason that man can detect. I've also seen the absolute opposite, I would catch 1 or 2 bass on a particular color and have to change colors to get bit again.
Agreed! Sometimes color means nothing and sometimes it means everything. And only bass can tell you when (if not why). Sometimes it "makes sense" and sometimes it doesn't. That's one reason why the bait monkey has such a grip on me.
mrbassky reply :
The more fishing pressure the more it matters. Also clearer water it matters more and in very muddy water sometimes.
In dirty water with little or no fishing pressure it matters the least and in pressured clear water it matters most in my opinion.
Wayne P. reply :
It matters the most--never.
It matters the least---always.
gobig reply :
QuoteAgreed! Sometimes color means nothing and sometimes it means everything.
Your on to something. The following mantra "Every thing matters, Yet nothing matters" is a Big Bass Zone principal. The key is paying attention and trying something different if need be. If your not getting bit change what you are doing. Even if it may seem against conventional bass wisdom.
Catt reply :
I have never bought into the theory of selecting lure color based on water or sky clarity. Based on water or sky clarity where would you put colors like Yellow, Bubble Gum, Merthiolate, Sherbert, Chartreuse?
If Plum Apple, Cran Apple, & Red Bug are basically the same color why does one out produce the other on certain occasions?
Why does Tequila Sunrise with green flakes out produce plain Tequila Sunrise?
If red is the first color to "disappear" underwater why is a Rayburn Red Rat-L-Trap so deadly?
gobig reply :
QuoteI have never bought into the theory of selecting lure color based on water or sky clarity.
We are on the same page.
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