My observation leads to a question on lure colour

[MSBruno]

I have been working a body of water which contains pike, smb, lmb, walleye, perch, bluegill, catfish, carp and crappie. I've now had success with xraps and have noticed that colour selection doesn't really matter as the pike and bass (as even a walleye) will hit a xrap in either the silver, clown or perch patterns. I initally had only used and had sucess on the clown and decided to start using other colours to see what they preferred but after trying the silver and perch, I've noticed no increase or decrease in the amount of fish ... All produce fish.

 

I understand this is a reaction lure, so does colour matter? Or am I feeding fish that wil just hit anything?

 

Thanks in advance,

Mark

[jediangler]

More colours = more profit for the lure company. In lakes that contain the species you mentioned, I always go with a perch coloured lure because amost all fish will eat a perch.

[pike slayer]

i've noticed the same thing with the xraps. i have every colour out there and have caught lots of fish on every colour. they are all flashy and fish love to attack cause of the action. but ive found on some days they prefer only one colour and wont touch the other. i feel when the bite is on it doesnt matter as long as theres the action.

[kickingfrog]

Of course lure colour matters. What else would we spend our money on? Fish at the market?

 

 

I know colour can make a lot of difference for angler confidence. The lure manufactures thank us.

 

I figure the slower a lure is moving and the clearer the water the more colour can play a role. The reaction factor, as you mentioned.

 

The pressure the lake/fish get can also play a role to. IE How many white spinnerbaits has that bass by the tree seen?

[aplumma]

While this is not a color answer it might help you decide some of your patterns and contrast.

 

 

The light color of a fishes belly is to help it hide in the lighted back round of the sky and the upper surface of the water when viewed from below. The darker back does the opposite and helps it blend when viewed from above. The breaking of the solid patterns by the lines or color changes on the sides breaks up the edges of the fish to make it seem to not be a fish shape on the changing back round.

 

At this point you need to decide if you have a deep diving lure or a shallow diving lure.

Then factor in are you trying to mimic the forage or going for a reaction bite.

The mimic is just as it sounds it is a close pattern using natural colors to match what the fish eat. Most of the time it is good for non aggressive or neutral feeding fish. The shallow version can be fish ( shad, walleye and perch) or frog which ever you like to paint.

The deeper lures can be fish ( Perch,Walleye,chubs, carp and other bottom feeders) and crawfish which live more towards the bottom.

The action of the bait should also be considered and the more life like it is the more of a natural fishing pattern is needed

 

The second type of bite is the reaction bite and that keys on fast I. D. of the lure and something that says food.

 

The choice of colors can be very bright and should contrast the mimic like dark belly's and light backs. The appearance of a focus point on the bait is required something like red gills. big eyes, tail spot or flashing metal or sparkles in the paint. These baits should have some resemblance of the forage in the patterns or the shape to start the process of the fish thinking it is food and not some kind of a hood ornament. These baits are fished fast or erratic to make the fish make a quick choice to either bite it or not.

 

Most things in nature have 2 main colors that blend into each other and other colors are just accents. The colors that are naturally in the body of water you fish are the first colors to blend out if the bait is the same shade. A green lure in the weeds is only using the attractant of vibration if it is the same color. The Tanic stain of Nippissing makes browns a less than perfect color unless it is a few shades off and your bait has contrast again. Since Red is easily absorbed by water and blue hangs in the longest consider using a mixture of color that blends from red to blue for the basic pattern to maximize a lure that floats but has a big diving lip. Once your lure gets deep below the level that natural light is abundant you are dealing more with contrast than with the actually color. You can put a white lure down deep and it will not matter if it is white or yellow or any other light color because without light to reflect off of it it becomes just a matter of contrast between it and the environment around it.

 

The final thought is that the first thing that any lure catches is the Fisherman. The lure that you believe in is usually the lure you will catch the most fish with. It usually gets the most swim time and you tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Many times I have cut the lure off my line and given it to someone else who saw me catch a fish on it and they will also start to catch fish with the proven lure.

 

 

Art

[LucG]

The final thought is that the first thing that any lure catches is the Fisherman. The lure that you believe in is usually the lure you will catch the most fish with. It usually gets the most swim time and you tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Many times I have cut the lure off my line and given it to someone else who saw me catch a fish on it and they will also start to catch fish with the proven lure.

 

Great post Art! I especially find that that part interesting.

[MSBruno]

While this is not a color answer it might help you decide some of your patterns and contrast.

 

 

The light color of a fishes belly is to help it hide in the lighted back round of the sky and the upper surface of the water when viewed from below. The darker back does the opposite and helps it blend when viewed from above. The breaking of the solid patterns by the lines or color changes on the sides breaks up the edges of the fish to make it seem to not be a fish shape on the changing back round.

 

At this point you need to decide if you have a deep diving lure or a shallow diving lure.

Then factor in are you trying to mimic the forage or going for a reaction bite.

The mimic is just as it sounds it is a close pattern using natural colors to match what the fish eat. Most of the time it is good for non aggressive or neutral feeding fish. The shallow version can be fish ( shad, walleye and perch) or frog which ever you like to paint.

The deeper lures can be fish ( Perch,Walleye,chubs, carp and other bottom feeders) and crawfish which live more towards the bottom.

The action of the bait should also be considered and the more life like it is the more of a natural fishing pattern is needed

 

The second type of bite is the reaction bite and that keys on fast I. D. of the lure and something that says food.

 

The choice of colors can be very bright and should contrast the mimic like dark belly's and light backs. The appearance of a focus point on the bait is required something like red gills. big eyes, tail spot or flashing metal or sparkles in the paint. These baits should have some resemblance of the forage in the patterns or the shape to start the process of the fish thinking it is food and not some kind of a hood ornament. These baits are fished fast or erratic to make the fish make a quick choice to either bite it or not.

 

Most things in nature have 2 main colors that blend into each other and other colors are just accents. The colors that are naturally in the body of water you fish are the first colors to blend out if the bait is the same shade. A green lure in the weeds is only using the attractant of vibration if it is the same color. The Tanic stain of Nippissing makes browns a less than perfect color unless it is a few shades off and your bait has contrast again. Since Red is easily absorbed by water and blue hangs in the longest consider using a mixture of color that blends from red to blue for the basic pattern to maximize a lure that floats but has a big diving lip. Once your lure gets deep below the level that natural light is abundant you are dealing more with contrast than with the actually color. You can put a white lure down deep and it will not matter if it is white or yellow or any other light color because without light to reflect off of it it becomes just a matter of contrast between it and the environment around it.

 

The final thought is that the first thing that any lure catches is the Fisherman. The lure that you believe in is usually the lure you will catch the most fish with. It usually gets the most swim time and you tend to give it the benefit of the doubt. Many times I have cut the lure off my line and given it to someone else who saw me catch a fish on it and they will also start to catch fish with the proven lure.

 

 

Art

 

I understand all that you have wrote (I think) and thank you for that, but my question is that all 3 colours produce the same, all fished at the same part of the lake, all at the same level and with the same technique. They are the same bait, used the same way, just different colour pattern.

[smally21]

The lure that you believe in is usually the lure you will catch the most fish with

 

i dont know why this is true but time and time again....

great stuff aplumma.

 

im not a fish whisperer but i beleive all these colors represent when worked with a certain speed is the flash of the belly or silver. watch pike or trout go after spoons, simply a shiny object. the other explanation is fish attacking from below, as most seem to, are simply attacking the shadow or silhouette of the bait. all colors/shades/patterns will simply appear as a dark shape contrasted against the surface. i think im just repeating the other post, maybe not as well.....

[aplumma]

What you were able to witness is a reaction bite that had a large window of acceptance as far as bait colors go. When you are using a slashing motion it is a short window for the fish to make the choice to eat or not when the lure pauses. The instinct is like when you see something coming towards your face out of the corner of your eye you raise your arm to stop the rock or the pillow both the same reaction because you did not have time to clarify the situation. If you had a helmet on and you knew it would stop the object you would be able to take the time identify it before it hit you and not waste the energy on the pillow. While this is a simple concept to a complicated reaction it makes the point from a different angle. The color of your lures would be more critical as the fish go towards a neutral or negative bite. The speed and type of retrieve will also factor into the fishes reaction to your presentation. I have found that two people can be in the same boat with the same lure and one will out fish the other just because he is doing something different..IE faster retrieve, pauses,slower,or smoking a cigarette. Have you ever cast out and let the lure sit while you got the sandwich or some other distraction to get a hit as you start winding in? It is because you appealed to that fish with that pause. One I have my contrast decided on for the conditions I then shift my presentation style or cadence till I get a bite then duplicate the pattern in other places in the lake that match the structure, wind driven shores, weed lines and depth.

 

 

Art