Does color really matter is the question ?

[Spoonminnow]

Need to change colors all the time promoted myth by bait makers and their prostaff in my opinion . They can't make enough money selling one or two colors. I bet most fishermen only use less than 5% of the various jigs/colors they carry .

I still remember the pro's on TV after winning a tournament, mentioning this or that color lure that helped them win. Guess they didn't just win tournament money.

On the one hand I can name 5 colors for each lure I cast and have full confidence in every one. That's why my 15 pyrex cups for melting plastic and making lures are sitting collecting dust. Plus, because of the wire grub grip I discovered that keeps plastics up on the jig, few lures need to be chucked or remelted even after 15 fish caught.

I run thru most of the colors, tail sizes, jig weights that I carry trying to find a combination that works.

That's what I'm talk'n about! Catching fish consistently IMO is about combinations and not just regarding lures. Where and how used needs to determine one's choice of lures - the better the fit, the more strikes.

[Les Young]

Color matters to my fish. Seen days where this was very evident. Same lure, same technique, one color getting bit, others ignored.

In my opinion color matters in crappie fishing just like it does in bass fishing a lot of times.

[Les Young]

What I meant was that just like in bass fishing if they’re really biting color doesn’t seem to matter as much to me but if they’re bring realm finicky it definitely does from what I can tell or if the normal water colors off too.

[KRW]

I have never fished in really stained to ‘chocolate milk’ water. If you fish the clearwater lakes in Arkansas, You bet color matters.

[Les Young]

I have never fished in really stained to ‘chocolate milk’ water. If you fish the clearwater lakes in Arkansas, You bet color matters.

Ours are usually real clear too.

[gabowman]

I think color matters when the water turns from clear to muddy, from sunny days to cloudy days, etc. And Ive even seen where one color gets bit ALOT more than any other color I'm fishing (longlining pulling 14 jigs at a time.) There has been a handful of times where I saw it so drastically that I added a couple more of that same color in the spread and all 3 of those jigs with the same color KILLED the fish whereas the other 11 jigs only caught a few fish compared to those 3! That hasnt happened very many times though. Two weeks ago in the real muddy water any color with red or orange tails got the most bites. All I use is southern pro hot grubs which is 2" curly tail plastics and Charlie Brewer sliders.

[Micanopy]

Fish are fickle creatures. When I was surf fishing, the right bait was the key to catching pompano. Sand fleas, shrimp, clam, crab, and FishBites. There were days any of these would catch fish, and there were days that only one of them would catch fish. So I took to packing all of them just so I could catch fish. They want what they want when they want it. That was before the days of Death Scope, so…….

[up2specks]

As in Life, ALL of us typically should prefer the low-effort expenditure for SUCCESS aka HOT BITE = ANYTHING GOES! Happens to me only SELDOMLY. I'm an advocate of always keeping your playbook(tackle box) "OPEN".

[Spoonminnow]

ALL of us typically should prefer the low-effort expenditure for SUCCESS aka HOT BITE = ANYTHING GOES! I'm an advocate of always keeping your playbook(tackle box) "OPEN".

When it comes to colors, hue is not the color fish see, especially from more than 3' away in any color water that is much less than clear in warmer months and after a heavy rain. That said, location many time dictates the type of bite we might expect, which dictates the kind of lure used.

Color aside, activity/sensitivity levels range from ignoring all lures to jumping on lures that p.o. fish the most. Color may play a part such as, if I saw a dude in a bright pink suit with chartreuse polka dots, I'd wished I had a bat to put him out of my misery. Same for fish. They don't expect a lure cavorting near their heads, but to stop it moving they have to bite it. So lure action speaks - always. Does color enhance lure motion? Which colors enhance the most? Considering a fish's amazing eyesight and lateral line, does color enhancement even matter? It brings up the following:

Getting back to hue. No one has mentioned color brightness, metal flakes nor laminate colors. In each case, the first thing seen is how dark or bright a lure is as well as stripes, dots, side-by-side colors and sparkle or flash. Ever change lures having any of those qualities and comparing them to the color-of-the-moment.

Getting back to sensitivity. Fish sometimes strike one type of lure vs another. (Note, I didn't say prefer because that would indicate a eeny meeny miny mo choice between lures cast.) Rather, my choice of lures range from subtle tickle-their-senses types to poke 'em and piss them off type lures. Lures with the most of anything visually fall into the latter category; lure types like trout flies and those having small action parts and are small in size, fall into the former category.

So rather than insist color was the reason for greater success, what about the types of lures used - types as in plural & by-comparison. The range is big and maybe only a few will get bit far better on a particular day - regardless of color.

By far the reason I fish is to discover superior lure designs that get struck more often - even lures within the same design category. Not all soft plastics are equal in catching fish in most situations. For example, some curl tail shapes on average are far better in my experience. Same for many minnow shape bodies/ tails. Color is far down the list when chosing those lures. My many photos posted on crappy.com demonstrate the above.
Example:
Since March 14, this lure has caught bass, y. perch, crappie and sunfish

1. four colors (could it be that the four colors are better at times?)
2. pearlescent plastic
3. both enhance lure action and contrast against any background

So, while simplifying the reason -[color]- that fish strike a lure, while not taking into account lure contrast which usually contrasts-with-nature, leaves all other lure choices on the table. Most days catching fish on 5 different lures in different colors, is proof enough that more can be better.