Lure Color Information

[svnmag]

If this is a repeat post I apologize.

Good boring tutorial on color:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQTh_tnJ6c

Firetiger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTi5nJqEzvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTqyVX3oZk0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5P6UMGiT7o

Watching these vids again affirms my simplistic "match the hatch" or "shock" approach to color. There are subtleties which should be committed to memory IMO.

 

[JayKay]

Fodder for conversation for slow afternoons fishing. Have hashed this over at length with several people "in the know". Personally, I have decided "it's gotta be visible" is the hallmark.

Alternately, it would stand to reason that lures that resemble what the walleye are eating, should do well, but that seems to not always be the case. Shad colored lures weren't (in my experience) very successful while fishing waters populated with shad. The walleyes that I did manage to catch often had stomachs full of gizzard shad, but they still inexplicably hit on blue or bright lures (hot steel, firetiger, etc).

In my own limited experience, it seems that contrast is the likely key. Dark and light. Bright colors with dark or black stripes. Dark tops with silver or white bellies. Black might do as well as blue, especially after dark, but either has to be balanced with a light belly.

I have not re-watched the above clips, but I do note that the depths shown are far deeper than I'm normally fishing. At least with crankbaits.

 

[svnmag]

Fodder for conversation for slow afternoons fishing. Have hashed this over at length with several people "in the know". Personally, I have decided "it's gotta be visible" is the hallmark.

Alternately, it would stand to reason that lures that resemble what the walleye are eating, should do well, but that seems to not always be the case. Shad colored lures weren't (in my experience) very successful while fishing waters populated with shad. The walleyes that I did manage to catch often had stomachs full of gizzard shad, but they still inexplicably hit on blue or bright lures (hot steel, firetiger, etc).

In my own limited experience, it seems that contrast is the likely key. Dark and light. Bright colors with dark or black stripes. Dark tops with silver or white bellies. Black might do as well as blue, especially after dark, but either has to be balanced with a light belly.

I have not re-watched the above clips, but I do note that the depths shown are far deeper than I'm normally fishing. At least with crankbaits.

Yes sir, I noted that also. I believe "match the hatch" should always be the first "go-to" and greatly increases in importance as ambient light decreases. I have the most "Zen" with "shock" during the spring or overcast days in clear or "shallow" water. I'm a firm believer in two rods throwing two colors.

I used to "look at things" go "50/50" and give the boy which color he wanted to throw. One of us usually had a bit more action be it the Tailrace or Audubon. We would evolve from this point and change presentations from spinnerbaits retrieved slowly in the current to Texas Rigged plastic worms as we got bored with the "superior" color as a platform. Until it got dark. Then black with contrasting "belly". Match the hatch.

Catch channel catfish on crawlers.

Smack. Bleed. Ice.

Zen: Millions of variables; obtain Zen, smack, bleed, ice.

 

[deleted_account]

ive never bought into match the hatch. why would you want to try to compete with the real thing?

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(when using artificial baits that is)

 

[svnmag]

Imprinting, separation and random action which simulates weakness and easy foraging.

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Does it hurt when you urinate?

 

[Captain Ahab]

Color + speed + action + size = bite. Vary each until successful.

 

[johnr]

I heard all you need is a box of alka seltzer

 

[deleted_account]

ive never bought into match the hatch. why would you want to try to compete with the real thing?

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(when using artificial baits that is)

i kinda take this back. guywhofishes has a pretty good pattern going on a particular lake we sometimes fish that is all about matching the hatch casting cranks. I'll partially concede this one, sven.... until next time...

 

[johnr]

i kinda take this back. guywhofishes has a pretty good pattern going on a particular lake we sometimes fish that is all about matching the hatch casting cranks. I'll partially concede this one, sven.... until next time...

tool

 

[deleted_account]

Mr. poop

 

[Enslow]

tool

Hahahahahaha! No doubt i would never think of using lures that mimic baitfish.

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Color only matters when the other guy/gal is catching more than you. Then all of a sudden you are switching.

 

[deleted_account]

Hahahahahaha! No doubt i would never think of using lures that mimic baitfish.

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Color only matters when the other guy/gal is catching more than you. Then all of a sudden you are switching.

Why does purpledescent, pearl white, and firetiger work more often than not? They certainly don't look like any bait fish that I've seen...............

 

[SDMF]

purpledescent

Because if you look @ minnows from the side (vs. the top that we most often see), they've got a lot of purple and iridescent silver/white on their sides and bellies. For the most part, walleyes don't feed top down.

Fire tiger/Hot Tiger just pisses 'em off, until you get deep and then that green can be seen from further away.

 

[DirtyMike]

Contrast...

 

[camoman]

ive never bought into match the hatch. why would you want to try to compete with the real thing?

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(when using artificial baits that is)

Because if the fish are feeding fairly vigorously the attention to detail is much more limited. I've personally seen it done and done it to a limited extent myself, and it works. Takes some attention to conditional detail from an anglers perspective.

 

[Still_Learnin']

With baitfish imitating lures, I like them to match the hatch but then still have some contrast to it by having a dark color along the back. For example, having a irredecent yet translucent body with a black back. So from a side profile, it looks very natural. But on the retrieve, the lure has the side to side "roll" action that allows that black back to sort of make the lure "flash".

 

[johnr]

but does the carpet match the drapes?

 

[svnmag]

When casting cranks and getting a short/missed strike, it's very often effective to immediately throw back a shock color in a smaller size. For bass I believe immediately throwing back a plastic is the ticket. This may also work for walleye but I've never tried it. I'm talking a specific target for this tech not a Tailrace "general area" current situation. Missed strikes in current are often remedied with downsizing.

 

[Still_Learnin']

When casting cranks and getting a short/missed strike, it's very often effective to immediately throw back a shock color in a smaller size. For bass I believe immediately throwing back a plastic is the ticket.

I agree with this statement. Also, with smallmouths, I've found that on a bright sunny day following days of stable weather, bright gawdy colors work best. They seem to key on those "loud" colors under those conditions. I've caught wallayes in the same areas on the same baits too. The opposite seems to hold true with largemouths.

 

[svnmag]

You know damn right. Up here if it's cloudy I'm targeting pike or walleye. Usually topwater pike. If I were in a tournament in dark conditions I'd guess I'd first throw a football jig or go with a deep crawfish colored crank off rocky bottomed points.