Seasonal and color correlation???

[robbor]

I dont get to fish crappie much, nor know of anybody here where I live who fish crappie, and we dont have crappie tournament or tv shows here so I figured some of you may know the anser to my question. Is there a correlation between color and time of year? I know there could be many different reasons like water clarity, light penetration, forage or what not. I was thinking that most people(that I herd of) usually use white year round or with a slight jump over to chartruce every now and then. I would like to hear some of your thoughts or observations.

[CrappiePappy]

But the main foodsource of the Crappie isn't "seasonal" .... at least not in coloration ! Shad aren't Pink in the Spring, Blue in the Summer, White in the Fall, and Green in the Winter. They're the same color all year long....!!

I've actually caught more Crappie on Chartreuse, than on White .... and on many different other colors, with Chartreuse, than on plain White. Maybe it's because I fish lakes that are generally stained to dingy, and not crystal clear. But, it's for sure that we ALL will catch "more" fish on the color we use "most often" ... :D !! Just don't be afraid to experiment with different colors .... unless, of course, you are "always" slaying them on one particular one :D !! ...........luck2ya .......cp

[crappieseeker]

i agree with crappiepappy on that one.

[ncnat]

I use minnows, they're allways the right color.

[robbor]

we all know or have heard of how color sensitive crappie are supposed to be. The other day when every body was using white I switched to black and blue and cleaned up. Why make any other color than white??? They make a hundred colors and yes I agree if you use one long enough you will catch fish on it. I was just wondering if anyone who fishes crappie alot had one color that worked really well bacically all spring but a different color worked better say all winter? Just thinking out loud. Why go to bright colors on bright days and dark on dark days? I'm with you guys also the best crappie waters I have found have had stained water, one that I used to fish did not have any bait fish in it other than baby gills/crappie/bass. And very often I would see thes fish frenzy at the surface on insect hatches even during winter, but it was almost imposible to get a bite that time of year? I have never been able to fish minnows but was planning on doing it this next trip in a week. Not legal in the county I live in.

[CrappiePappy]

Crappie CAN be color "selective" at times - but, I think it has more to do with their ability to "see" the bait, than any particular color "choice/preference" on their part. I've used "blue-silver metalflake/char" tubes practically year round - with equal results. That brings me to one of your "points" ... bright on bright days, dark on dark days .... that's supposedly for visibility purposes. Dark colors in dark water are supposedly more visible, as are light colors in clearer water....due to the light penetration factor, and the color spectrum, etc. That's why I like the blue/char color combo ... it gives me contrast on the bait itself, dark color & bright color for all around visibility, and the metalflakes add a touch of "flash" to catch their attention.

It would be extremely difficult to "test" these "theories" ... you were catching fish on blk/blu, while users of white failed ... did that mean the fish had a preference for blk/blu over white, or could they "see" it better, or were you on fish and the white users weren't ??
Crappie are sight feeders - they generally look ahead and up, contrasting the outline of the "food" against the sky/water surface/overhead obstacles. Again the "visibility" factor comes in to play. And there's been plenty of times that two people in a boat, throwing totally different colors, were catching equal amounts ... and other people in other boats, using totally different colors than them, are catching them as well !! (just come to one of our tournaments and you'll see this quite often :p ) Does that mean the fish had no particular preference that day ? Or could it have been that the fish were in a feeding mood and weren't so choosey ? Maybe it was the fact that the anglers were just so good at finding concentrations of fish, that some of those fish just happened to like the colors being presented ? See what I mean about "difficult" to pinpoint a consistant reason !
Catching Crappie on any one color or style or type of bait, probably has as much to do with confidence and continued use, as it does with that color/style/type being preferred by the fish.
If any one color WAS preferred by Crappie, over any or all others, then we probably wouldn't have so many choices. Collectively, I don't think Crappie prefer any particular color over another .... but, individual fish may, at times, be prone to hitting one color - then again, it may just be that the bait got into their strike zone.
It's a good question robbor ... fuel for much discussion. I just don't think "seasonal" factors have much to do with it. As you said, it's more likely water clarity and other conditions.

The insect hatch "feeding frenzy" in Winter situation --- try a "wet fly" or "dry fly" on a tiny float (match the size & color of the insects) !! I'm wagering these Crappie were Black Crappie, which are more prone to eating bugs and aquatic vertebrates .... but, with no "bait fish", even White Crappie may feed opportunistically on whatever was available.

If "minnows" are illegal on a body of water - pay heed to that fact, and don't introduce any to it. The balance of an ecosystem is dependant upon the population feeding on the young of the other species present ... keeping their numbers in check, while allowing a controlled number to grow large. Introducing another species, or food source, disrupts this balance and allows too many fish to survive. Then they eat themselves out of "house and home" and grow "old" but not "big" ! (I'm saying this for the benefit of ALL who read this ... and not specifically aimed at you, robbor)

...........luck2ya ..........cp