Someone school me on color!

[arkansasnative]

Everytime i go fishing i always seem to go to the same lures in the same color... old habit i guess. A lot of the time its no big deal and i can catch a few fish but when the bite gets tough or im fishing unfamiliar waters im lost and usually go home empty handed. What are some of the basics of finding the right colors to use? I know sometimes its as simple as match the hatch but where does say fire tiger or black with blue flake come in? Just looking for some pointers!

 

[fool4fish1226]

JMO But I like dark colors in dark water and Light colors in clear water. I almost think its more about the retrieve fast, slow, start/stop etc

 

[Brine]

For hardbaits, general rule of thumb for me....

Clear to slightly stained - Natural Colors (This is where I try to "match the hatch")
Stained - Bright Colors (Fire tiger, clown, flourescents etc....)
Muddy Water - Black

Adding blue, orange, red accents in the way of dyes or part of the bait is more of a confidence thing for me; however, most crayfish will at somepoint have these color combinations at some time in their lives. Once you've gotten bit on a certain combo, it's hard to dismiss the value.

Good luck!

 

[redbug]

I tend to use only a few colors most of them are natural colors
green pumpkin, watermelon, pumpkin and motor oil , these colors have worked for me all across the country
I will also use redbug in any color water . blue fleck is another color that has worked well for me
this also works well for me in jigs adding the black blue purple.
my fav color in a buzzbait would be a black on black combe throwing it in shaded areas
if you stay in this color pallet you will be able to catch fish anyplace
in muddy water i will dip the tail of the bait in a chart dye
crankbaits i stay with 3color concepts, shad...craw fish and bright Parrot, fire tiger chart.

 

[fish devil]

:twisted: For the most part I think color is way less critical then movement and retrieval speed of a lure. I usually stick with natural colors. I will switch to something funky looking when my normal is not working.

 

[Captain Ahab]

:twisted: For the most part I think color is way less critical then movement and retrieval speed of a lure. I usually stick with natural colors. I will switch to something funky looking when my normal is not working.

I agree - I use three colors about 90% of the time in soft plastics - Black, Brown and green

In hard baits Black, White or something natural looking

All about the motion - less about the color (usually)

 

[arkansasnative]

ok guys thanks for your input so far... its really helping me out! i agree on the lure, retrieval speed, etc is more important than color... im just tired of buying plastics and then never using them because i do better with another color. Anyone else is more than welcome to keep inputting!

 

[New River Rat]

If you're not throwing where they live, color doesn't matter. 8)

 

[tnriverluver]

For soft plastics, green pumpkin, blue or red junebug, or motor oil are all I throw. Add black if night fishing. If I haven't had a bite in thirty minutes i'll change colors and nine out of ten times will get a bite on the first cast after the change.

 

[lovedr79]

I use chartrouse hard baits, white soft baits and black jigs. I use black/silver.rapala deep divers. That's it. I feel I do very well in the river I fish. Same colors for everywhere else as its the pallet that I have had since a teen.

 

[Bugpac]

I tend to throw black in soft plastics regardless of the water color. If i was throwing a fluke or similar i would use white. I do love some junebug to tho.

 

[parkerdog]

I'll use a natural worm when nothing else is working. Almost always keeps me from getting skunked. might just be a bluegill though!

Like others said, I try to use dark when the water is murky or the sun isn't out or going down.

White and bright in clear and sunny.

 

[parkerdog]

Page 208 spring Cabela's fishing catalog I see has a device that selects the color for you. If someone wants to spend the $124 let us know if it works would you?

 

[Dennis Logston]

On bright days use brighter colors. For night fishing use darker colors. Pretty simple. And if you are using chrome type baits gold for cloudy days, and silver on clear days. the light reflects better. Also if the water is very clear use more natural looking colors, not just the brightest and solid color worm. But in dirtier water it wont matter as much so use more bold colors because they will see it better. Another good tip -- Match the hatch. Meaning, if the fish are chasing bluegill during bluegill spawning, don't throw a crawdad pattern at them

hope this helps a little.

A little clarification, many people think that you should use brighter colors in the dark. this is a common misconception seeing as its a reasonable thought. But unless its glowing it wont do anything. If you hold something up to the sky in the dark do you see its color? No you just see black, so you use bigger and darker baits to get more contrast and make it bolder so it stands out more.

Sorry if this doesn't help much, Most of this is based off of bass fishing and i was not sure what you were going for, and I'm just a dumb 16 year old kid. But hey, maybe this will help you out a bit