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| I am new to the sport and I would appreciate some help in choosing colors for baits. I fish in waters with alot of perch, walleye and panfish so I have alot of baits that reflect natural patterns as well as alot of black and black and red baits. Let me know your favorite colors or if you have any systematic way to pick color please! Thanks. |
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Posts: 767
Location: Ames, Iowa | Sounds like you are on the right track for colors of baits. Try to do a search here using terms like natural color or bait color. Make sure you go back awhile- usually that is set at 24 hours- just set that date as far back as a year if you want. You can search by message- that might be effective.
Good luck,
Don |
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Posts: 229
Location: Willoughby, Ohio | Color depends on the clarity of the water. We have murky water around here, so firetiger & orange firetiger are quite good choices. When the water clears up, perch and Tennessee shad are effective. |
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Posts: 512
Location: Appleton | Seems like the Bright day, Bright color. Dark day, Dark color works. I fish mostly darker water and this seems to be working this season. I have found different but a good rule to start with. |
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Posts: 618
Location: Bloomington, MN | All black seems to be a win win color in water that is somewhat clear many times. I have no idea why, except the silloutte theory. I never got a Color Selctor (C-Selector), but I don't think that they are still made. |
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Posts: 468
Location: Not where I wanna be! | i use lots of natural colors, i own about twice as many natural colors as hot/bright colors. however, that is no rule! i have had bright colors work when "by the book" they shouldnt, and vica versa. so im a firm believer in matching to the forage base of each lake, but you know what?? get any bait in front of a hungy fish, and you are gonna get bit!! |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Don't forget orange, and my favorite: Firetiger! m |
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| Water clarity, depth, time of day and even time of season could all affect how a certain bait appears to a musky. I think it would be interesting to see the same bait underwater in various conditions to see how its appearance changes. Would you guys rank color as more or less important than the size of the bait? |
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Posts: 39
| I hear what you guys are saying as far as not trying to establish hard and fast rules for color. I have heard the rules go both ways anyway (meaning I have heard some musky fishermen say use brighter baits in the morning or evening because they show up better and others say the opposite.) It interesting that even within the "natural" range of colors there is alot of variance (ie one natural Perch bait could very different from another in terms of the color intensity) Darker natural is my preference but I dont have anything scientific to justify thinking that way... |
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | I like to use different colors than what is popular at the stores or what is the hot bait on a local water. That is why I started to make my own bucktails. Baits are typically made by manufacturers based on what sells. What sells is based on what customers will buy. That is why you see a lot of good producing colors discontinued - because they did not sell. I am sure we all have, or have heard someone say they have (insert name here) bait that is good but is no longer available in that color. With some of the talented people that paint baits on this board, it is not as much of an issue, you can send one to them & have it painted as you like. I started making bucktails with silicone skirts due to availability of many different colors. I now just started with Flashabou, colors are a little more limited but still good. Here is a good example of different colors than what's hot. On the lake that we go to in Canada, if you ask what color to throw, everyone will say whatever you want, as long as it is black with an orange blade. While there have been many large fish caught on that color, I have had a lot of follows. I changed it up by throwing white skirt, orange blade. Not a color you see very often in stores. 1st day out with them we had 2 caught in 3 boats. A friend wanted me to make him a purple skirt nickel blade. Made it but added a little silver in the skirt. 49" in the boat on the last night of the trip. Also have has success with White blade, white & gray skirt. This is on clear trout water. Sometimes just a little tweak makes a big difference on conditioned fish. Headed to Canada next week. Can't wait to try a new one, double #10 orange blades with straight silver Flashabou. Also have made a lot of other combos to try, but to numeroous to list. |
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Posts: 39
| A quick funny story. I talked to a guy that had over 34 yrs of experience on the lake I was fishing and he said the colors I was using for my marabou bucktail would not work (black with silver blade) on that lake. I caught one fish on one day and the next day got a mid-40's fish to strike at the boat (did not hook that one.) That same guy caught his biggest fish (52 incher) on that lake on a white bucktail and it turns out that white is not a popular color on that lake. It almost seems like you could take this contrarian approach where you throw everything but what the "hot" bait color is and do ok (if you believe that musky can become conditioned to avoid certain colors or baits) The first fish that ever bit for me was on a bucktail I tied myself (orange / olive green) and I have never seen one that looks like what I tied so I am into the idea of making my own bucktails now (so that I can dial into exactly the size/colors/flash that I am looking for) Thanks for all of the input, I do appreciate it. |
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | It is kind of funny how some people are close minded about trying new colors. I think that you can catch muskies just about anywhere on a black skirt nickel bladed bucktail. I went to northern WI & went out with Jake Smith (Smity Baits) & he told me to bring some orange bladed green skirted bucktails along for the lake we were fishing. Not quite the olive green, but similar. No fish that day, but he said it was a great color combo for that lake. |
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Posts: 40
Location: Rhinelander, Wi | my dad always told me to have 3 colors in my box. Black, Black and even more Black. |
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Posts: 1270
| Personally I think color is WAY over rated in all fishing but especially in musky fishing. I like to have the hottest, newest, fanciest looking baits out there as much as the next guy but I could care less about what color they are. My best baots have hardley any paint left on them. What does that tell me? That the action of the bait is way more important than the color.
Or that natural wood is the best color;~) |
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Posts: 42
Location: Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin | I agree with you reelman. I do think that contrast is important regardless of what the colors are. I think that is why almost every guide has a jailbird pattern crank or jerk in their boat. Cloudy day I like dark skirt & light color blade bucktail. Sunny day a blade with more flash. |
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Color for Musky Baits