Color: an old topic but fun to visit ever so often

[Spoonminnow]

This year, spring fishing has been incredible with numbers and fish size off the charts! As y'all know (and I'm from NY), I make most of my soft plastic lures. I've cast (with mold and fishing rod lol) many shapes you've never seen - or maybe similar to ones you have. I keep photo records of what I catch fish with, many that I share with crappie.com members. One non-color that woke me up from a colorful sleep was making lures in clear plastic. I catch as many fish with clear soft plastic as any colored lure. Light tints have also have done excellent!

Another topic discussed ad infinitum is why fish strike lures. We all believe what we we believe (like politics or religion) and I would be the last person trying to change anyone's mind. All I can do is profess that when it comes to lures: ACTION AND FISH CAUGHT SPEAK LOUDEST!

By action I mean body and tail action promoted by angler input - the retrieve specifically. My lure designs require certain retrieves - none that are steady - or the lures catch far fewer fish. In the last 5 outings my partner and I, or me solo, have racked up the numbers. Yesterday was a perfect example!

This one lake I fish has a spring wee pattern that hasn't changed since I fished it for over 40 years. A certain weed grows on the bottom but only within 4' of the surface. It's like fishing in 4' all over the lake until they die to the bottom in June. Individual fish or schoolies are caught once found - which goes for any water/ anytime. Fish exhibited an excited smash & grab pattern, meaning no nonsense strikes on the first cast or multiple strikes on repeated casts to the same fish.

All size fish were caught (as in this other lake we have been hammer'n) from 4" panfish to 3 lb bass and 2 lb pickerel. Even the panfish, by those lake standards, have been on the large size: 11-14" crappie, 9" sunfish and yellow perch. All species have been caught on this clear plastic thin-tail lure:
Attachment 427214

and this stick shape:


curl tail:


cone tail:


bulbous tail:


and this clear plastic tapered tail (fish caught yesterday in a school of mostly crappie):


This new design was a shocker: double-taper stick wacky rigged:


As I said, numbers and size speak loudest. 93 caught yesterday in 5 hours - me solo, 186 fish caught between the two of us last week and 150 fish caught by me in over two consecutive days . Granted, the pattern was shallow water near or over weeds, so locating fish following that pattern was easy. But most important was casting the lures posted - each with unique actions - in different colors, with lure sizes the same depening on the lure design. Jig head weights averaged between 1/32 - 1/16 oz. with hooks to match lure body size - another thing more important than color.

[DockShootinJack]

Those clear lures are certainly interesting. I have followed your use of them over time. You do very well with them

[BobC]

Great report and photos, spoon. A nice variety mess o’. fish.
Bob

[BuckeyeCrappie]

, great report for everyone

[jay the baptist]

To say you are creative don't even scratch the surface.
Do you ever give names to your lures?
You are one fisherman that has mastered plastics, and you have no need for hair jigs. LOL

[Spoonminnow]

A note on the wacky rig stick (last photo). The 6" Senko introduced the wacky rig for bass and it produces big time on the vertical drop!
But I've been catching fish on the wacky for three years on much small sticks such as this one that I caught fish with:


This one was made by melting the ends of two curl tail grubs together):


Also catches fish using the usual rig:



Color choice? Why not clear plastic?!


The tips quiver like crazy with rod tip twitches and pauses as the jig sinks the lure.

[Spoonminnow]

To say you are creative don't even scratch the surface.
Do you ever give names to your lures?
You are one fisherman that has mastered plastics, and you have no need for hair jigs. LOL

I have given names to different designs based on shape and action. Here are some examples:
The Mojo Grub name was from the company that made the mold:


When I dip the body into hot plastic to thicken the body, I call it the Chubby Mojo like these:


A mold that produces this tail shape I call the Tapered Tail:


The Knob Tail or Bobble Butt (for it's unique action) was produced by cutting off 1" off the front of a Softy Worm (company name) - lure on the left or
cutting off the body of a Mojo Grub and melting it together to a smaller body - a curl-tail grub body in this case:


* BTW, the Chubby Mojo and the Bobble Butt did fantastic yesterday!

Fin is a fin cut from another lure and added to a segment of plastic - French Fry stick in this case:


Magnet Tail is made by adding a Crappie Magnet tail to another body - one larger than the original for the visual effect.


Mini-stick:


Spike Tail:


Cone Tail:


Claw made by cutting one off and adding it to a body:


Caterpillar - two grub bodies joined after curl tail removed:


Believe it or not, but there are others as well as modifications and your're right - I have no need for hair jigs.
Many of the above caught 110 fish yesterday bringing the total for two days to over 200 fish. I noticed yesterday because of the bright sun, how clear the water was yet fish bit like crazy all over the lake within 3-4' of the surface above the thick weeds. A 20 mph wind helped in place of a cloud cover!

Also take note that many of the lures were made using clear plastic proving that shape, size and action were far more important in getting strikes than color - especially in clear water.

Again, all fish species in many sizes bit these lures making them universal unlike many lures that are not.

[DockShootinJack]

Very nice baits

[Ketchn]

nice ketches and cool baits , color is often important here , maybe not so much there , no clue about that water body is me ....

[Spoonminnow]

Today we fished the clearer water and murky water parts of the lake. Many of the above lures were cast and all caught fish and especially the clear plastic curl tail in murky water. Like yesterday with my 110 fish catch, we totaled 203 fish due to spawn related stacking in shallow water flats near pads. Many colors worked and fish attacked a 2nd time after missing.