yes they do work. i was on a pier fishing with a few others and the bite was non-existing. a guy handed out a couple to us on the pier and said give them a try we all started to get a few bites. Now we didnt catch a lot of fish but it sure did improve from nothing at all. there has been other occasions where i have used them with some degree of success. i think it adds a little bit of sent to help trigger strikes. as far as color i have used pink and yellow. get a can and try them out you never know