Color Selections

[midlifefun]

I'm new to bass fishing, but what I was wondering is there a general rule for selecting colors for soft plastics and as well hard baits such as cranks.Any help I can get will be appreciated thanks.

[Marty]

Not everyone agrees and many think color is not near the top of the list of factors to consider. My personal opinion is that colors aren't that important. That opinion has been shaped by 40 years of catching and watching others catch fish on every conceivable color, very often in contradiction to "conventional wisdom.".

For crankbaits I feel two will do you fine. Something muted, such as shad or bluegill, and something loud, like firetiger.

For soft plastics, also two. I use black and a second color might be pumpkinseed or some variation of green, like watermelon.

Since you're new to bass, I'd advise you to keep it simple. Don't load yourself up with a bunch of colors; the more you have, the harder it is to decide what to use. After you gain some experience and form your own ideas about the subject, you can then buy accordingly.

Good luck!!

P.S. Conventional wisdom might say muted colors in clear water and loud or solid black in murky water.

[3dkicker]

Originally Posted by Marty

For crankbaits I feel two will do you fine. Something muted, such as shad or bluegill, and something loud, like firetiger.

For soft plastics, also two. I use black and a second color might be pumpkinseed or some variation of green, like watermelon.

Since you're new to bass, I'd advise you to keep it simple.

Good advice to follow. I agree completely with the colors on crankbaits. We do throw some additional colors that match some of the baitfish on the tidal waters we fish as well. Keep that in mind and do a little research on the bodies of water you fish.
Keep your color selection for plastics down to a minimum on colors. Here would be my top colors.
Green Pumpkin
Pumkinseed
Watermelon
Purple (w/ green flake it's called Junebug and w/ blue flake it's Blue Fleck)

[keithdog]

Martys advice was pretty much right on target. And 3d added an excellent point. Get familiar with your bodies of water you fish. First off, find out what the main source of prey is that the bass feed on. Is shad a main source of food, or is bluegill the main food source. Once you know that, then making a choice of color for a lure will be much smarter and easier. Also, take a good look at the water clarity of the lakes you fish. Lakes that are off color are usualy going to be better fished with lures that show up well in those conditions, such as a black/blue jig. However, in water that is very clear you'll want to try a lure color that is more natural such as green pumpkin or watermelon. Lastly, I'll add this little rule of thumb. Periods of low light conditions, such as overcast days or at night, darker lures are recommended, while on bright sunny days, brighter lures are usually recommended. That being said, be willing to break "the rules". Often I find going against the standard rule of thumb brings success. One lure color I've found to be true for me anyways regards spinnerbaits. You can't go wrong with a white spinnerbait with gold blades. That works great for me regardless of water conditions or bright or dark skies.

[danielbasspro]

I use greens, whites, green pumpkins, grey in clear water. Muddy I use brighter or darker colors-black,brown, purple,junebug,chartreuse,orange.For cranks in the clear water try to match the hatch but muddy use something that will stand out