How many colors do you need?

"The road to success is always under construction."


I was taking a little bit less tackle but was driving my own car so I could pack it with "just in case" stuff. It's normal to ride with your partner, but I didn't want to risk my partner getting upset that I brought so much crap. After work I would spend 2 or 3 days culling down what I thought I was going to use for the next tournament. I would take around 100 bags of different soft plastics for different situations, and my car would have another 500 bags or so. In the car, every different type of plastic was separated and labeled in large zip lock bags.

     There were a few occasions where I saw a slight variation make a big difference in the number of bites I got. One instance was on Lake Wheeler last June. In practice, I was fishing a Zoom Super Hog around shallow grass. I was getting bit early on green pumpkin/ blue flake. I only had one bag so I kept trying different colors and every other color I tried (Green Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Watermelon, Watermelon/red flake. was getting ignored. I was out catching my partner Sonny 3 to 1 with that Super Hog. I gave Sonny some Baby Brush Hogs in that same color and he started catching fish to. We probably caught 30 or 40 fish but could not find any bigger fish. We had dialed in the right color but we were fishing in the wrong area. After the tournament I did some research on crawfish in the Tennessee River and found out that after the spring, they lose a lot of their oranges and reds and have hues of blues and greys.

Did color make a big difference? Yes, but I didn't get the quality bites that I needed to place high in the tournament, so in the end it didn't matter. As time has gone on I have narrowed my choices down to just a few colors. I honestly think 90% of the time you could get away with 4 colors or so.


Here's my basic break down:

In trick worms, curly tail worms, senkos,craws,lizards, and creature baits- I use green pumpkin, black, and watermelon. Black is my go to color, if I don't have black, I'll use any dark color. I don't think it maters that much since I throw this in stained or dirty water and low light conditions. If it's bright outside and the wind is blowing depending on water clarity I will use either G.P. or Watermelon. Clear water watermelon gets the nod.  When in doubt, match the bottom color.

Grubs, Flukes, and Tubes - usually I am fishing these baits higher in the water column and trying to imitate shad or baitfish, so I use all of the colors above but add white and a minnow color. In flukes I really like Arkansas Shiner and in tubes I almost exclusively use Net Bait's BK tube in Lou's Special.

Frogs- White, black, Watermelon.


Swimbaits- White or any minnow color


Rules and Exceptions:

*Translucent baits: they work well in clear water because they are slightly camouflaged by taking on colors of their surroundings. Once the water has some color to it this camouflaging effect is a little to effective and an opaque color will create a better silhouette for bass to find.

*Glitter or flake: shiny flakes like red, blue or silver can make a positive impact in sunny weather if the fish are active but can scare them away if they are in a neutral mood. or if the water is to clear. The flake also can make the worm look more lifelike by reflecting light in all directions just like many baitfish. Black flake will make a bait look more lifelike in low light conditions, especially on the bottom.

*The colder the water, the more subtle you want the bait.

* I like baits with salt and scent in them and also use Smelly Jelly to make sure my scent isn't on the bait. Bass do not have the ability to smell oily scents. They do not possess the receptors necessary to take oil molecules and translate them into useful information. The molecules are to big. The great part is that by using an oily scent, you are able to completely mask any offensive smells. Water base scents like Berkley Gulp will fit their receptors but disperse so fast you would have to continuously apply it and fish a confined area for it to make a big difference.  The smelly jelly also helps the lure slide through cover.

*Shakey head worms- I will use red bug and also chartreuse as well as GP and watermelon. Spots love chartreuse and will usually start with that. Not sure why I like red bug but it seems to work under 10 feet. Deeper than that and red is almost invisible to bass

*I will use a white, pink or yellow trick worm for a top water presentations since it's more of a reaction bite.

* I will also use a white lizard if I am sight fishing since it's important for me to keep visual contact with the bait.

* Also the deeper your fishing the darker the worm I use, since the bait is just making a silhouette.

*With Spike-It Dyes you can make all the other combination's you need. I keep chartreuse, orange, blue, and red markers in the boat, but rarely use anything but chartreuse.

Emergency button!!!-If you can't get bit- throw a black or green pumpkin trick worm with a light weight (1/8th oz or lower). If you don't get bit with that you need to move.

I know it sounds like a lot but this just scratches the surface.