Color selections

[smoka929]

I'm sorry I'm sure this has been posted before but I couldn't find any relevant posts. I fish mostly stained to muddy water and was curious what colors you guys use? i fish mostly soft plastics and crankbaits. I do fish one clear lake so any tips on that would be helpful too.

[keithdog]

When fishing stained water with soft plastic, I prefer darker colors like black/blue flake. Inserting a small rattle into the soft plastic bait can be helpful here too. For crankbaits, I like something brighter and with some flash. I have a crank that has bright blue back with some chartruese and silver with silver flake. It works good in off colored water. I also have done well with a bright orange fire tiger shad rap I got from Cabelas. It was an exclusive color for Cabelas. Chartruese is also a favorite crank color for stained water by many. Clear water situations I try to go with something more neutral like bluegill patterns, olive green, and so on.

[bamabassman]

if i may..take a look at ZOOKER'S post and threads. look at the pictures he posted. zoom in, he fished muddy waters ALL the time with cranks.other than that, i also go wtih keith's statements.

[carolina-rig-01]

In dark water I like:

Crankbaits

Firetiger

Citrus Shad

Chart/Blue

Chart/Black

Red Crawdad

Jigs and soft plastics

Black and Blue

Junebug

Missouri Craw




In clear water I like:

Crankbaits

Sexy Shad

Citrus Sparkle

Tennessee Shad

Chrome/Blue

Chrome/Black

Brown Crawdad

Green Crawdad

American Shad

Ghost Minnow

Soft plastics and jigs

Green pumpkin

Watermelon

Watermelon Candy

Pumpkin

Pumpkin/Chart

pretty much any natural color


I am sure I missed some but right off the top of my head this are the ones that came to mind.

[Jrob78]

I would say C-rig pretty well nailed it. I like darks and brights in dark water and natural, earth tones and shad/bluegill colors in clear water.

[everettvet]

i am with what Kory said!

[walkeraviator]

I am eith C-Rig for the most part. Only addition I would make is to pay attention to ambient light conditions. In muddy water, chartreuse is great on a sunny day, but if it is cloudy out and the water is muddy to boot, i would look into dark colors. Fish it like you would night fishing. Have a few crankbaits painted solid black with wide wobble and loud rattles.

Also look at Black Neon (Black/Red Fleck) to add to the Black/Blue and June Big in soft plastics.

[CamG]

So far I agree with what has been said. The only thing that I'd add is in clear water, I really like smoke, or clear with glitter for soft plastics when shad or minnows are being chased. In darker water, I'll use white or white chartreuse in the same scenario.

[DVT Mike]

All good color suggestions, but don't forget sound and vibration in stained water. Colorado blades, rattles and wide wobbling baits help get bites.

[BBD]

speaking of color selection, as of 15 minutes ago I wanted to see if color mattered and decided to throw a couple different colors. I just caught fish with all the senkos in the pic. I was fishing a semi dark watered pond but it was one of those dark, clear waters if you get my drift.

[walkeraviator]

I believe BBD is talking about Tanic colored waters.

[smoka929]

Thanks guys. I'm just trying to get my tackle box a little more organized for the upcoming season and just wanted some opinions.