Found a new soft plastic that slayed them yesterday (along with my own design)

[Spoonminnow]

A new fishing acquaintance gave me some 2" Mr Crappie Joker grubs in a few colors in appreciation for me giving him some of my Spoon Minnow grubs and showing him how to use them. The Joker has three tails with balled ends on the back of a ribbed grub body. Yesterday I fished a lake I was totally unfamiliar with even though I fished it over 25 years ago.

The sun was going down and I gave my partner two in different colors rigged on 1/16 oz ball head jigs. Man, did they catch large crappie in 5' of open water near pads! The largest was over 13"!

The sun was going down under heavy clouds and the water temp up a bit from 50. It was slow going most of the day only catching fish of different species scattered in different areas. (using mine and another of a major company)

I will always suggest lures that work - mine or others. I wish I had a mold for the Joker but I'm sure Strike King holds a design patent. Of course it might have be a fluke that they worked so well, especially in a school of better than average size crappie. But seeing is believing and a reminder that what I think can't possibly catch fish, my be one of the best designs produced.

(Hope I didn't violate site rules mentioning the lure)

["D"]

Mr. Crappie is a sponsor.(see bottom of page) We recommend using sponsor products and enjoy success stories. "D"

["G"]

Yes....Strike King and Mr. Crappie are major sponsors of this site. I fish the Jokers a lot and they are very good. My favorite fish catching color in them is blue/white pearl tail

["G"]

[INTIMIDATOR]

Hey G,
It has been proven that fish do not have the ability to see BLUE or colors in that Spectrum....care to explain to the viewers, why a Blue bait would work?

[Dollfly]

It may be true about the blue color, I use blue thunder and blue ice in BGBS and have never been disapointed yet!!!!

[CrappiePappy]

Hey G,
It has been proven that fish do not have the ability to see BLUE or colors in that Spectrum....

I'd like to know specifics on that !!! Blue is visible at depths greater than most other colors of the spectrum, so it stands to reason that it can be seen as it's true color (blue) long after the other colors of the spectrum are no longer visible or seen as "grey".

... cp

[INTIMIDATOR]

I'd like to know specifics on that !!! Blue is visible at depths greater than most other colors of the spectrum, so it stands to reason that it can be seen as it's true color (blue) long after the other colors of the spectrum are no longer visible or seen as "grey".

... cp

Only in gin clear water, but most freshwater fish can't see it anyway...Ocean fish tend to see the long spectrum, freshwater the shorter.

For educational purposes only....other research on Crappie was posted on other threads!
Characteristics of Largemouth Bass Vision
Author: Todd Driscoll |
I am frequently asked about the visual abilities of largemouth bass. Most often, the questions involve some aspect of color vision (i.e., Do bass see colors? - Do bass interpret shades of colors the same way that we do?). Unfortunately, bass vision has not been a highly researched topic. Most practical fisheries research has focused on enhancing fishing quality either by maximizing numbers of catchable bass or increasing trophy catch potential. However, enough is known about the eyesight of bass or closely related species to provide a brief summary.

Although largemouth bass do not have eyelids, other major components of the eye are similar to ours (i.e., the cornea, pupil, and retina). We also know bass use the same type of light-sensitive cells that we do (rods and cones). However, since bass have eyes on each side of their body, their visual field is much wider than ours with blind spots only limited to directly above, below, and behind their bodies. But this increased visual field affects their depth perception, which is highly dependent on binocular vision (viewing a single image with both eyes). Since bass only have binocular vision directly in front of them, we speculate that a bass is more successful attacking prey directly ahead when compared to reflex strikes to its left or right (monocular vision only).

Research has also indicated that bass do not have the ability to quickly adjust their pupil to varying levels of light, taking 20 minutes or longer for bass to adjust from changing light conditions at dawn and dusk. However, most of the smaller baitfish species take even longer to adjust to changing light, which may explain why fishing is typically good early and late. Due to the difference in adjustment times, bass would seem to have a sight advantage over their prey at dawn and dusk, increasing their aggressiveness and feeding efficiency. Additional evidence indicates that the eyesight of bass increases with fish size, which could partially explain the increased difficulty of catching trophy bass on artificial baits.

However, the characteristics of the underwater environment in which they live hinder the quality of images available to bass. Due to the increased density of water when compared to air, light is both highly absorbed and scattered under water. The degree of absorption and scattering increases with depth, causing images to be blurry and unclear and limits the distance of vision. In the clearest of water, bass can see an object at a distance of approximately 50 feet, but focus best at a distance of 10 inches. Of course, most freshwater lakes range from slightly off-color to muddy, which severely limits the maximum sight distance.

We know that the characteristics of water increase the difficulty of interpreting images, but are bass able to distinguish different colors of light? Evidence does suggest that bass do have color vision. Cone cells are responsible for color vision, although biologists believe that an animal must have at least two different kinds of these cells to perceive color. Humans have three cone types. It is unknown how many cone types bass have, but similar freshwater fish are known to have two cone types. This fact, coupled by some recent studies on bass, suggest that bass identify all of the colors we do, with the possible exception of blues and violets. This research also indicates that bass seem to see shades of green, yellow, and orange exceptionally well.

However, even if bass have the ability to recognize many different colors, water clarity and suspended matter affect the distance that different colors of light penetrate into water. For example, in clear unfertile lakes blue light penetrates the deepest and shades of orange and red are absorbed quickly. In this case, orange and red fishing lures will only appear as such close to the water surface. In deep water, these orange and red baits will appear gray or black to bass. In fertile lakes like Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend, green and yellow light tend to penetrate deeper, due to the presence of suspended algae and zooplankton, but again, orange and red colors are quickly absorbed. In extremely muddy water, however, all colors are absorbed quickly, but oranges and reds are the most visible under water.

Hopefully, this article sheds some light on the visual abilities of bass, but much more information can be found in “Knowing Bass: The Scientific Approach to Catching More Fish”, a book by Dr. Keith Jones, lead researcher for the Berkley Fish Research Center. If you have questions or concerns about area fisheries, please stop by the Inland Fisheries office at the Jasper State Fish Hatchery or contact us by phone (409-384-9572) or email ( [email protected] e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). Good luck and good fishing!



Todd Driscoll is a district fisheries management biologist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department where he has worked for 10 years. He received a B.S. in Fisheries Biology from Kansas State University and a M.S. in Fisheries Management from Mississippi State University. His primary responsibilities include fisheries management of Sam Rayburn and

["G"]

Well some days I cannot get them to bite anything but blue/white pearl.....thats all I know......other days they like green pumpkin or maybe electric chicken.

[huntinslabs]

I love Blue/chartreuse combinations for Crappie and blue worms, lizards etc for bass. It is a very good color trolling offshore here for dolphin and wahoo, and blue mackeral jigging spoons are great for amberjacks and grouper. So I woild say something with blue is very visible to fish. Whether or not they see blue as we do, dont know, dont care as long as it gets bit.