# Help on Lure colours



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

Greetings all!! Im a new member here and this is officially my first post.. i really hope i can get many helps from all members in this forum 

well... i have been using lures in less than 6 months... mostly i used live prawns... but after i got my first big fish for my record using poppers (i.e. Barracuda of 7KG) im starting to have more interests on lures and i bought few colors of different types of lures since that day... 

Well... to make things straight... we plan to go fishing this Sunday, its my first time on boat and we plan to go to some island called Pelumpong (its's in Brunei).. So basically im gonna go there in the morning... and the water condition can be a bit yellowish and not clear... (well we dont have clear water here, if u mean by "clear" is that u can see the bottom.. lol usually green or yellowish muddy)

Well i have read about lures colors, i.e. 1) to choose natural during bright days if the water is clear (is it mean the water is crsytal clear?, cause surely we dont have it here if u plan to fish onshore)

2) to choose bright colors during dingy

3) dark color if it is muddy..

so im confuse here... what is the difference between dingy and muddy ... cause our water condition is usually something that color.. and i have hard times differentiating my lures colors which is consider bright, natural and dark..

this place im going to is famous for its barramundi and mangrove jack and i dont want to lose this chance by bringing in the wrong color of lures... can u all help tell which of my lures are consider bright, dark, and natural? really appreciate your help... (I have attached pictures of them)

Hoping to get replies soon...

Warm Regards


----------



## Intimidator (Nov 25, 2008)

With you fishing in the Ocean the same rules will apply especially if the water is stained by Mangroves or other Tannins (organic material) around the island, coves, or bays.
I hope this helps.

Think of clear water as clean crisp bottled water, or water you can easily see the bottom in...light penetrates all the way down! You need natural looking colors that represent natural prey!

Stained water can have a tint to it or may have reduce visibility...colors are effected and natural light can be filtered!

Muddy has little or no visibility...you need to draw the attention of the fish in different ways!





COLOR RESEARCH FOR "FEEDING" FISH!

Colors underwater never appear the same as they do in your hand...the sayings about "colors catching fishermen" are very true!

The three fish I mainly researched, Bass, Walleye, and Crappie, can see colors, they actually see the yellow, orange, red, green, better than humans. They can tell the difference between smoke and smoke with red flakes or silver glitter, pumpkin and red pumpkin, watermelon and red or black flaked watermelon. They also have better visual acuity which helps at dawn or dusk. Research has also shown that sometimes they will scrutinize colors before committing to eat...they will pick a color that they are presently eating (match the hatch).

Since most of my fishing is in stained water I made it easy and used just the info FOR STAINED/FERTILE WATER LIKE CJ.

*If the STAINED water has a visibility of 5 feet anywhere in the lake, Fish can see FLAKES well, Natural colors are a must...Silver, Gold, subtle greens/browns.
*If the water has a visibility of 1-3 feet, use brighter colors like firetiger, Fluoresents, citrus shad.
*If the water has less than a foot of visibility use dark colors, dark patterns, brite craw patterns, Black/Blue. 
*Contrast is key, you need to make it stand out, to get them to "See It"...contrast the rocks, bottom, water color, cover, etc!

BLUEBIRD SKYS offer another problem...in stained water, high "Bluebird sun" CAN MUTE NATURAL COLORS, so go brighter (Fluoresent, and add flash).

On cloudy days!
* shiney colors lose their effectivness under cloud cover...silver and gold turn gray, use white and pearl instead.
* Natural colors cannot be distinguished ON THE BOTTOM, use brown, black, blue/black, or other dark combos that contrast. 
* Cloudy stained water filters out RED...it appears to turn into a lighter shade of Black!
* Hot Orange in stained water appears Black from 10-15 feet away, as you get closer at 1-3 feet it is Hot Orange again.
* Firetiger stands out in all conditions, Black, and Fluoresent/pearl colors, also.

WATER COLORED BY ORGANIC MATERIAL absorb blue wavelengths, causing blues and purples to look light black or gray.

WATER COLORED BY ALGAE BLOOMS absorb the red, orange, yellow, wavelengths, causing those colors to look light black or gray.

WHEN FISHING DEEP IN STAINED WATER, color choice is a moot point, lure size, shape, and action IS KEY!

TOPWATER FISHING IN THE DAYTIME is the same (doesn't matter), with the light behind it a topwater lures silhoutte is gray or black, concentrate on flash, vibration, noise/commotion....dark colors work well at night (contrast)!

SHAD AT CJ WITH LIGHT PENETRATION TO ANY DEPTH will appear silvery, with subtle greens, blues, purple, and gold....on a cloudy day they will look light gray with a darker back!

GOOD FISHING AND CHOOSE YOUR COLORS WISELY!


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

wow thanks for the information... it is very helpful... so basically since u said clear water is like the clear water bottle... we dont have it here.. lol.. most of our waters are like this (attached pic)..

and if i am planning to use poppers or topwater lures, do i have to refer to these colours as well or any colors will do?


----------



## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

It's hard to tell from the picture but that looks like pretty clear water. Keep in mind there are many factors that may or may not attract a fish to your lure. As an example the clearer the water the more likely it is that a poorly chosen line could spook the fish or noise in your boat or dropping the lure too heavily on the water. By far the most important variable is putting your lure where the fish is. If the fish are biting I don't think color matters a lot except in certain situations and one of those would be the question you asked. With something like a popper I always go with black but I never use a popper unless it's over submerged weeds or stumps or something like that. What do you see better when you look in the sky at a helicopter? A black one or a white one?


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

Ahh okay.. i always had a vision that clear water means crystal clear water like those blue water at the beach where u can see the bottom... so that picture with sort of green also considered clear.. thanks to clarify that..



> What do you see better when you look in the sky at a helicopter? A black one or a white one?


great that makes a lot of sense... 

and usually how many tries should i do, i mean i usually cast my lures around 10-15 mins and when i dont get any bite.. i tend to give up and wait until atleast there are splashes on the water then i will try cast again.. without even considering changing the lures or others.. i know this idea is wrong.. any tips on this?


----------



## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

Again there are so many variables that can affect your fishing success on any given day. If you know something about the body of water you're going to fish you're ahead of the game. If you don't you are very much handicapped. 

Variables: Color, retrieve fast, slow or in between, windy or calm, rainy, cloudy or bright sunshine, weather fronts, where are the fish in the water column, how deep is the water, what is the bottom made of, what kind of structure if any, water temperature, season of the year, available food, is there a thermocline, etc.

When fishing for your species of choice do as much research as you can. What is the forage fish where you're going to fish? What type of areas do the forage fish like to hang out in? What type of areas does your species of choice like to hang out in? If it is predominantly a deep water fish don't fish shallow water. You have to put your bait where the fish is to be successful and that's the hard part. If they're biting just about anything in the strike zone will catch a fish, if not you have to entice the fish to take your offering.

So as an example lets say I want to fish a bay that is mostly 10 ft. deep and the shoreline drops off pretty quickly and is covered with rock. I would start by getting my boat close to shore and start throwing a shallow running (2' - 4') floating plug like a Rapala out of each side of the boat. You can cover a lot of water this way. Make a few casts on both sides each time a little farther from shore. If nothing happens move out a little and do it all over again with something that runs a little deeper. Next time you'll want to get your bait on the bottom which usually means plastics. By this time you can have explored some of the variables. Your research can eliminate some of the areas. Each time you change lures you can change colors, exploring that variable. On each cast you can vary your speed and retrieve style exploring that variable. If there is structure like trees fallen over into the water or large rocks or stumps or weeds concentrate on those areas the heaviest. Put together your strategies before you hit the water and don't change them unless you have strong evidence something else is working. Otherwise you'll wind up with no plan at all and just using hunches.

Hope this helps some.


----------



## triple_g (Dec 22, 2012)

Good advice, thanks


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

woah thank you!! thats a very helpful information... lol yesterday i went fishing on an open space river and keep casting randomly and not getting any bite... so disappointing... i guess tHose variables you have mentioned may have caused this.. i really hope youre here and teach me more how to do it especially where to throw the cast and sort..


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

and one more thing... im using braided lines and the leader im using a monofilament... a thick one i guess around 0.70mm cause (connect them using FG Knots) im always fishing on rocky areas so im afraid if using a thin ones will easily cut off my leader and losing my precious lures.. so what is the best leader you are suggesting? to avoid easily cut-offs?


----------



## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

I'm not a leader guy but there have been lots of posts on here about leaders. I'm sure the overwhelming favorite is fluorocarbon because it's invisible in water. A word about line thickness here. Line diameter will affect how deep a bait runs and depending on the lure could affect it's action. Also mono floats and fluoro sinks, another variable.


----------



## Bassbme (Mar 11, 2012)

Intimidator, and Shaggy have you dialed in for sure. I'd like to add a couple of thoughts, if I may. For leader to braid connections, I like to use back to back Uni knots. It makes for a nice compact knot that flows through guides pretty easily, and I've never had a problem with them slipping or breaking. If you do a lot of casting where the knot will be continually passing through the guides and tip top, you may want consider retying a new leader on every so often throughout the day, just because the pounding of the knot passing through the guide can weaken the knot. 

Also, my feelings on top water lures is a little different. Black is a great color for top water lures, but I only use it for top water lures that are in constant motion. If my lure of choice is making commotion on the water (like a buzz bait) I like black, because it helps separate the lure body from the splash of the blade. Otherwise I pick my top water colors based on sky and water conditions. Dark cloudy skies, I like bright colors like chartreuse or white. Sunny or water with a chop on it, I like darker colors. If I'm fishing a hollow bodied frog over heavy weeds, I'm not worried about the underwater visibility of the lure. I want a lure color I can easily see. I don't set the hook on that kind of lure until I can see if the lure is still on the top of the water, after the strike.

And don't be afraid to try some bright colors in clear water. Bubble gum pink and bright chartreuse can be killer at times. Especially if you are fishing around weeds.


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

Thanks Shaggy and Bassbme .... for the wonderful tips.. i will keep everything in mind.. will give the lures another go next time and i hope i can catch more fishes this time


----------



## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

Bassbme makes a couple of great points. A few final tips if I may. Don't get locked into colors. You can't hold up a light meter, get a reading and then look at a chart to pick your colors. Size of your bait is also important. I have two different sizes of almost all my plastics and spinnerbaits. Some days they'll want a larger meal, some days a smaller one. And finally if you catch a few fish and the bite stops suddenly try changing colors or size or put on a different bait. Leave the area and try coming back to it an hour or two later and if the water's fairly shallow definitely come back at dusk.

Good fishing to you.


----------



## d_animality (Dec 20, 2012)

okay thank you so much for all the tips that had been given here... it is very helpful... im gonna get a fluorocarbon for my leader tomorrow.. i really hope i can find a .70mm with affordable price or might just go for normal mono.. LoL... thank you again.. really appreciates it!


----------



## DMinn Angler (Feb 13, 2012)

My rules for Color selection is simple. If the water is dark or cloudy, I go with bright colors and flash (Spinner or spoon).
If the water is clear, I try to match the color with the underwater surroundings. Most baitfish have the camo going for them, so if the weeds are green, I go with green lures, if it is sandy, I use light brown, etc. 
Seems to work good for me


----------

