Lures are designed to mimic the forage that fish feed on. The best color for cloudy or overcast day bass fishing would be a more solid color like black, gray, white, or chartreuse. Bass will keep hammering craw patterns until the shad and other baitfish start getting corralled into trap-zones by schools of bass and the bass shift their focus onto shad. Either go with a bluegill colored jig or a bluegill colored swimbait and creep that thing into the bed. If the MirrOLure Mirrodine C-Eye Pro isn’t working the next sea trout lure we try is the Heddon Super Spook Jr. In this guide, I will show you the best lures, baits, and tactics that will allow for a more productive time when trout fishing. Email ( required; will not be published ). But oftentimes it’s the color that gets the deal going in the first place. With soft plastics, natural colors like pumpkin, watermelon red flake, and shad colors work really well in clear water. On bright sunny days, you want to throw something that puts off flash. The reason they work so well is because fish can see the size, shape and action of the lure better. The size, shape and action was what mattered because I quickly caught trout after trout with nearly every cast! Bass are definitely not dumb. It won’t show up as well and won’t look nearly as natural. Panther Martin inline spinner lure, with genuine gold plate finish. This is especially true in finesse baits. In dirty water, match the forage base, but break out the brighter versions. Of course, frogs and crawfish are always going to be good bass baits regardless of body of water. Lures painted in colors that fluouresce work fantastic when dropped in a school of fish that are being chased by bigger fish. Many fly anglers will not wear flashy metallic watches when fishing small streams because the flash scares away trout. FreshwaterFishingAdvice is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. But they are especially well known for being one of the best fall bass lures. When the water has reduced visibility, it may be time to switch to a white or chartreuse colored bait. Scuppernong. The color didn’t matter. Now obviously to the human eye, a plastic worm looks absolutely nothing like a deep-bodied bluegill but you aren’t a bass looking items in 15-feet of water. But I did have a pack of floating mice tails. A fishing lure will not work if it cannot attract the attention of fish. Many of these colors are not found in any natural bait but still draw bites. Lure color helps emphasize the size, shape and pattern of the lure. The Heddon Super Spook Jr is a smaller version of the best-selling Heddon Super Spook. The best walleye lures colors are green, red, silver, and black. Solid colors are great for bass when fishing in murkier water or under less than bright sunlight. The head was white and the body was bright pink. If you are fishing on a waterway that has water normally in the 1-2 foot visibility-range, then ghost colors can work really well even if you can’t hardly see your bait right beneath the water’s surface. But for this Bassmaster Elite Series angler, who counts Bassmaster Classic champion and Angler of the Year among his titles, it’s not as important as others. I prefer to fish these bass with natural patterns that have realistic paint jobs. I sandpaper the paint off some of my lures and repaint them in duller matte finishes for those tough summer days when nothing is biting. Yes, you can get along with only four colors for lures. Water clarity is the most important factor when it comes to color selection. Fish adapt to their normal conditions and they will react to that baseline water clarity condition. The rest will remain shallow and stay there all summer. Dark colors like black and blue, black neon, and junebug are all very visible in murky water and provide the ideal contrast necessary to generate strikes. All the color does is attract attention to the fishing lure so that the fish can observe the size, the shape and the action of the fishing lure. But I’ve also caught countless trout with lures in a clear transluscent pink. I prefer white-bellied frogs but a lot of bass anglers claim that a pure black frog works best in the dead of summer. During winter, you should slow way down and fish finesse. As water visibility is reduced, go with solid patterns and less flash. I think it is just too flash and spooks bass. White is the most visible and reflective color. I have no doubt that the dodger alerted the trout to my presence and when the grub passed by, the dark colors of the lure made it easy to see the frantic swimming action of the lure. Realistic lures work best when you are trying to trick a fish into biting. This site is owned and operated by Eric Matechak. Match whatever it is your bass like eating. Use a fluourescent color during a fishing blitz to catch striped bass, bluefish, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, trout, salmon, lake trout, musky, walleye etc. Solid colors show up a lot better to bass in dirtier water. Never miss an article. Now one bonus tip for you. It is a color that shows up really well in darker water, in muddier water, or when the clouds are out. A beautiful rainbow trout fooled by a fluorescent Gulp brand fishing bait. They’re easy to use, provide a bright and flashy display that drive pike wild, and because they’re virtually weedless, you can use them around weedy shorelines without worry. More importantly, these colors can be used to incite strikes from bass. Natural colors like greens, watermelon, and translucent ghost colors are prime examples of natural colors. You don’t have to be unsure any longer when you go to buy a fishing lure. What this means is that there may not be a best color for trout. Period. They lose effectiveness during cloudy, low light and low water visibility conditions. If you were to watch baitfish swim underwater on a sunny day, you would notice a good amount of light reflecting off those fish, especially shad, shiners, and silver-sides. Best 6 Saltwater Fishing Lures, Tips and Techniques to Succeed Anywhere. This saltwater lure features rugged line ties and hoo… In murkier water, go with white or chartreuse colors that will be visible to bass and draw big bites. The first thing to think about when choosing the color of the best fishing lures for bass is how clear the water is. The best part of using nail polish is that each color comes with a small, built in brush perfect for applying the paint to lures. top-performing colors. When you get on the water, check water clarity first and the available sunlight second. Black with blue flake. Pentac BC Steel Spoon. The only moving bait I recommend would be a chatterbait or buzzbait because the pulsations and noise can draw bass in and give them enough to locate the bait. There are quite a few factors to consider and here is a lure color selection and guide to make things a little easier for you. What makes lure color important is it’s ability to get that lure noticed. But those are colors that I tend to feel confidence in. Natural colors are my favorite to fish with. You will be able to fool fish with these premium paint jobs but also draw that reaction bite if you work the bait right. As a basic rule of thumb it is safe to stay with natural fish colors. Their see-through quality makes them glow when sunlight passes through them. Clear water means natural colors, like shiner colors, and whatever the color of the forage base at your lake. These are those translucent “see through” colors that really do mimic a baitfish in clear water. Once this happens during the pre-spawn, go with the baitfish colors like natural shad, sexy shad, or emerald shiner. Lure patterns consisting of contrasting colors can also be useful for the same reason of attracting attention. They are depth, water clarity, forage, and bottom color. With those four basic colors you will be prepared to catch fish at any time of day or night, regardless of the weather conditions. Go with solid bold colors in reduced visibility and overcast conditions. Foxy Momma. Fish can see flashing lures from far away. In a best-case scenario, you will be fishing in relatively clear water with a reasonable amount of sunlight penetration and your lures might look somewhat similar to what they look like out of the water. Go with natural ghost reds and browns to catch those bass feeding on craws. The Best Lure Colors for Fluke. Steelhead Slammer Spinner. Experience shows that some colors are indeed more effective than others. Here are few fall fishing tactics that are highly effective this time of year. Finesse fishing especially requires a natural look because bass have a ton of time to study a bait before biting. If you know what the weather is going to be for the day, you can probably get away with carrying one color. However, fish are known to become immune to certain colors after they’ve been fooled by them, sometimes even once. Some will branch off and head deep. Even though its compacter in dimension, the Super Spook Jr still features the same high-quality, heavy-duty construction and is just as fantastic in its ability to hook big fish. Treat them like crawfish. The funny thing is, if you ask half a dozen fishers for their opinion on the most effective lure color, you’re likely to receive six different answers. This calls for plum, purple, motor oil, pumpkinseed or combinations thereof. There will come a time when bass will switch off that ghost craw pattern and bite heavily on orange or bright solid reds. It’s a proven fact that black lures are highly effective at night. Steelhead Slammer spinners. Fluorescent colors work best during overcast conditions, and periods of low light or low water visibility (when the water is less than crystal clear). If a lure blends in or becomes invisible it simply won’t work. Use silver blades in clear water and gold blades are better for stained or muddy water. Instead, select solid grays, whites, or blacks. When the water conditions are shallow and clear, you may wish to tone down the flash and use a fishing lure with a brass, copper or nickel finish. But top anglers know that the only colors you really need are For me, it is a white-bellied, yellow-bellied, or black frog. In many cases, the water and weather conditions very well might be more important than simply worrying about what the fish prefer. This isn’t to say that silver plated lures are better than nickel plated lures. The reason is because fish are more easily spooked when the water is shallow and clear. You need to slow down and go finesse so the bass can find the bait. Sunlight does play some impact on the color of bait you select. It looks great in the water and is a little bit of chartreuse bold with a lot of natural shad coloration. This means it can flash and call in fish from long distances. This could simply be because more fishermen (and fisherwomen) are using the lure. Freshwater anglers might be surprised to know that black is a great lure color for catching fish in freshwater, too. When fishing with premium hard baits like jerkbaits, crankbaits, and lipless baits, you can find some $100 paint jobs on baits costing less than $15. When water clarity really peters out in stained or dirtier water, go with white or chartreuse. I don’t recommend them as the best. While there are no colors that crappies actively dislike or avoid, this type of fish can be very picky and there are a few general color guidelines that could be useful. (Moon Phases, Seasons, Baits), link to Ice Fishing Holes: Diameter, Distance, Patterns, Target Fish, how and when to throw craw patterns for big bass. I have my favorite colors for trout. Some may say that all lures look glossy and shiny underwater. Glossy lures look wet but matte and dull colored lures reflect less light. You will notice the change. best coho lures, best jig colors for coho salmon, best lures for coho fishing, best plugs for coho, best spoons for coho, favorite coho lure, favorite coho lures, plug colors for coho, the best scents for catching coho, what color id the best coho lure in the morning If you REALLY want to gain an advantage on other anglers on a bright sunny day, try fishing a black colored lure. Compare nickel to a genuine silver plated lure and you’ll see that the silver lure reflects more light and that it actually has a white tint or glare to it. The challenge that many fishermen face is selecting the right lure colour. I know this as a fact as I have caught countless fish with lures that did not match what the fish were in a frenzy eating. A White, Chartreuse, or really dark colors like blue or black that will create a strong contrast will work well in waters with lower visibility. Bass will begin schooling up and pushing baitfish into bottlenecks whether that be against ledges, into deep coves, or into the backs of shallow bays where they can dismantle the schools and feed. But ultimately, you’re probably going to find that the basic colors I outlined above are going to work for most anglers, fishing for most kinds of fish, most of the time. Brown trout caught with a combination of a gold colored Kastmaster and a fluorescent trout worm that was threaded to the hook. They shouldn’t break easily and should be corrosion and rust-resistant. You can dropshot or ned rig creature baits but my favorite way is on the trailer of a jig. Nickel plated lures (like chrome Kastmasters) will call in fish from a shorter distance but they are less likely to scare away the fish. What’s great about flashing metallic lures is that they call out to fish from a distance. These paint jobs look incredible. For example, the Owner Mira Shad was and continues to be a hot lure in Northern California. When you go this approach, you are going full-blown craw pattern and bass will hammer them. Walleye do have good eyesight and can see particularly well in low light conditions. All of these elements are key ingredients in understanding what color will work best for bass fishing. They will be looking for those tell-tale signs the bait is legit, especially on lakes that get a lot of fishing pressure. Don’t waste your time throwing ghost colors. What a difference color can make! Bass Fishing Lure Color Selection Chart. When a fish looks up on a bright day they’re likely not going to see the fancy colors. In this post we will break down a fishing lure color selection chart to help you pick the right color to catch more fish. A little flash is natural, and swimming LED light is not. If they don’t stock the lake often, a lighter trout is better. If you want to learn more about bass fishing, be sure to visit UltimateBass.com. Saltwater anglers have for decades caught countless striped bass and bluefish at night fishing with black lures. If the water is stained or clarity is less-than-perfect, go with solid colors that will better show up to bass. But in clear water, lighter, more translucent lure colors seem to work best. When fish are in an active feeding condition, you can throw the same lure over and over and catch fish with nearly ever cast. Personally, I would still stick with more natural colors like green pumpkin or watermelon red flake but I would avoid ghost colors or anything with a ton of flash. Most of the time, lure color is one of the least important aspects of a lure. A nickel plated finish is often a better choice than silver plated lures during periods of bright sunlight, when the water is shallow and crystal clear. Artificial lures have been used by anglers to catch fish for a very long time. But the truth is with so many countless colors and paint jobs out there, selecting the right color can seem daunting. Then use that information to choose your lures accordingly. That is exactly how baitfish look in clear water under sunny skies. Different conditions require different coloured lures to help reel in your target species. The low intensity flash of nickel plated spoons and inline spinners is what makes them so effective. Lure color helps a lure stand out and be noticed. Since then, I've lived across the country and have really taken that passion for fishing to a new level. Look for color names like ITO Wakasagi and Wabi-Sabi. When bass fishing picking the best color lure can be difficult. In early spring, bass are likely still in deeper water keying in on crawfish. In dingy water, dense colors are the rule, and two-color worms with bright tails offer added visibility. It’s a great combination for a fishing spoon or even for a trolling dodger. Write it down and keep notes. If bass are pinning shad against a rock bluff or rip-rap, there are still crawfish there. Just like any other product, ice fishing lures also needs to be sturdy and durable. There’s every color out there from black to luminous pink, but why? Perhaps it’s time we moved color to the bottom of the list of criteria when choosing a lure or fly, and placed far greater emphasis on the size, action, profile, and speed of our offerings.