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Posts: 103
| I know this question has been beaten to death and nobody can really come to an agreement on what color is best. My home lake primarily has shad and perch, so I was thinking perhaps lures that are shad and perch colored. However, I ran across a lure color (it's called black rice from supernaturak baits) that has a white belly, silver side and black top. I was thinking this lure color has it all, so perhaps that might be my best bet? |
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Posts: 547
Location: deephaven mn | the way to figure this out is test yourself. sometimes one color may be better than another. the more lines you have in the water the more research you can do. naturals can be good in clear water. chartuesee blades on a cloudy rainy day. its all reserch the more you fish the more you learn. Goerge Wahl had three eagletails in his boat. Grey with nickle blades (natural color) Purple with gold blades for cloudy days. Red with chartuese blades for clear sunny days on clear water as he believed it ws the brightest color and fish could see it from farther away. he caught fish on all. |
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Posts: 1300
| Speed, action, deep, size, then color. Yes there are times and place where color can make all the difference in the world.
And if you fish where there's a low population of Muskies you may never find the answer. |
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Posts: 103
| kap - 7/6/2024 7:59 AM
the way to figure this out is test yourself. sometimes one color may be better than another. the more lines you have in the water the more research you can do. naturals can be good in clear water. chartuesee blades on a cloudy rainy day. its all reserch the more you fish the more you learn. Goerge Wahl had three eagletails in his boat. Grey with nickle blades (natural color) Purple with gold blades for cloudy days. Red with chartuese blades for clear sunny days on clear water as he believed it ws the brightest color and fish could see it from farther away. he caught fish on all.
Well this is a crankbait. The water around me is pretty heavily stained, so I thought this lure would be good since it has a white belly, a silver side with some flash to it, and a black top. Or perhaps I should get something in a more natural color (I was thinking shad, walleye, or perch) or brighter color (firetiger perhaps?). |
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Posts: 32860
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Muskies look 'up'...all the time. Eye placement. Most strikes eventually result from the fish seeing the lure above it, just like most fish.
If that's a fact, then what's the background against which the lure will be silhouetted?
The sky. On a dark day, it's a dark day because it's cloudy. Clouds are light gray to white. Dark lure contrasts nicely. Bright day, the sky is blue, and the further one goes down in the water column the sky goes deep violet due to refraction/absorption of light. Bright lure contrasts nicely.
Black is basically the absence of color. ALWAYS good. White is all colors present. Always good. 'Silver' metal is basically white if it's real, and a compound color if it's paint and is 'light' colored. Don't confuse chrome with silver, chrome is a mirror reflecting what light hits it.
'Copper' is a metal, and reflects light in the yellowish end of the spectrum. 'Copper' paint is a compound color mixing reds, yellows, and sometimes green that is reddish/brown to yellowish/brown, a dark color.
Paints that are compound colors are very reliant upon light, and there isn't a lot of that quite a bit of the time underwater. Red is one of the first colors to disappear as light drops in the water column, so what color is that orange in firetiger in low light of down the water column? Same goes for any compound color and a lot depends on the mix of primary color paints. Contrast is key, light lure against dark background and dark against light. Look up what happens to color through the water column and then consider how dirty the water may be. |
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Posts: 103
| sworrall - 7/7/2024 2:27 PM
Muskies look 'up'...all the time. Eye placement. Most strikes eventually result from the fish seeing the lure above it, just like most fish.
If that's a fact, then what's the background against which the lure will be silhouetted?
The sky. On a dark day, it's a dark day because it's cloudy. Clouds are light gray to white. Dark lure contrasts nicely. Bright day, the sky is blue, and the further one goes down in the water column the sky goes deep violet due to refraction/absorption of light. Bright lure contrasts nicely.
Black is basically the absence of color. ALWAYS good. White is all colors present. Always good. 'Silver' metal is basically white if it's real, and a compound color if it's paint and is 'light' colored. Don't confuse chrome with silver, chrome is a mirror reflecting what light hits it.
'Copper' is a metal, and reflects light in the yellowish end of the spectrum. 'Copper' paint is a compound color mixing reds, yellows, and sometimes green that is reddish/brown to yellowish/brown, a dark color.
Paints that are compound colors are very reliant upon light, and there isn't a lot of that quite a bit of the time underwater. Red is one of the first colors to disappear as light drops in the water column, so what color is that orange in firetiger in low light of down the water column? Same goes for any compound color and a lot depends on the mix of primary color paints. Contrast is key, light lure against dark background and dark against light. Look up what happens to color through the water column and then consider how dirty the water may be.
Ok, I think I'll get a more natural color then which would be a white/silver color |
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Posts: 1245
| Or try this. might be cheaper and just as effective. For each lure, get a white one, a black one, and a light/dark contrasting one, and call it a day. Don't need to fuss so much about what color, as most colored lures are shades of gray, most of the time, underwater. |
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Posts: 32860
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | TCESOX - 7/7/2024 5:48 PM
Or try this. might be cheaper and just as effective. For each lure, get a white one, a black one, and a light/dark contrasting one, and call it a day. Don't need to fuss so much about what color, as most colored lures are shades of gray, most of the time, underwater.
This. |
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Posts: 1300
| Steve is right on the color thing. red turns to black in a hurry, light blue is the best for fishing very deep.
I have a lot of lures in lots of colors but sometimes the colors catch fishermen not Muskies. Sometimes the best color patterns may not be the best sellers. |
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Posts: 1231
Location: Walker, MN | The contrast and silhouette thing makes sense until the fish start seeing a lot of lures.
In the bass world, "ghosty' colors with a clear see-through belly and sides can seal the deal when opaque patters might not. Many of the highly refined Japanese lures have such ghosty patterns. Will we see muskie crankbaits in "Pro Blue" or "Ghost Wagasaki" someday?
It's possible that the lure that's harder for the fish to see clearly (contrast) could trick a fish, and get eaten first? I have caught a ton of muskies on white topwaters over black ones, which seems to go against most peoples logic. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | This is a good read (and says a lot of what SWorrall said). With illustrations m
https://www.mepps.com/mepps-tactics/article/color-technology-what-yo... |
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