I love nothing more than catching a nice fish on a surface lure. I get such an adrenaline rush when a fish comes flying out of the water to land on my plug! Ever since I was a young boy and I discovered the world of Jitterbugs, Hula Poppers, Atom Poppers, Atom 40s and of course the venerable Zara Spook; I was forever hooked on fishing topwater offerings. If being addicted to those products wasn’t enough, later on I fell in love with needlefish, Danny plugs and over the last several years the Slug-Go has made me rethink the world of soft baits.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world and have tried surface swimmers, cruisers, poppers, propeller accented splashers, wake lures, and a variety of walk-the-dog plugs from Midway Atoll to Costa Rica. I’ve targeted sailfish, dolphin, stripers, cubera snappers, barracuda, giant trevally, snook, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, pike, and golden dorado and a host of other species, all with the hopes of watching them explode out of the water.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time videotaping what lures and flies look like underwater and lately I’ve been shooting a lot of photographs of surface swimmers. Without running the risk of over analyzing a situation, I ask you this: If a fish is coming up from below a lure – no matter what the angle might be – does it really get a chance to see what the top of the lure looks like? Is the color on top of a lure that important? Do eyes on a topwater plug really matter?

What do you think and why?

No in my opinion color way is over rated.
Someone told me long ago all colors are good as long as they are black or white.
That being said I cannot anwer to U as why I have thousands of plugs in every color of the rainbow.

36 views an one reply.
I'll add to this.Sometimes darker colors work in the daytime.
If u think about it.
There are times when I have done very good throwing a black plug.
In the daylight.

Hello,
I feel that eyes on a top water plug are effective if the are placed in the proper location. Most top water plugs ride/swim with the back end of the plug in the water and therefore eyes placed rearward will be noticed by the fish and they will target that area during a strike.

As far a color/detail on the top of the plug, It would depend on the action of the plug. If the plug darts/dive/rolls on the surface during the retrieve then it may add some attraction to the fish otherwise it will only add attraction to the angler which truly is half of the battle.
Regards .....

[QUOTE=Smellfish]Hello,
I feel that eyes on a top water plug are effective if the are placed in the proper location. Most top water plugs ride/swim with the back end of the plug in the water and therefore eyes placed rearward will be noticed by the fish and they will target that area during a strike.
QUOTE]

Been saying this for yrs.My Pencils when I make em have the eye in the rear.People think of em as squid plugs.But if u hold it from the middle u will see they ressemble the nose of a bunker.Fish don't know what direction its going in.they just eat it.

I've heard the color on the belly should be lighter than the top.
(I agree, in nature, most anything that swims is patterned that way)
I've heard the all black, or all white thing too.
75% of the time, I don't think it matters...
then you get a month, where if it isn't say "pink".. they don't bite..
(saw that last fall).. :huh:
Maybe it's all confidence, I dunno.. but it sure is spooky if you have 5 guys throwing the same plug, and the three with pink catch, and the other two don't, until they throw something pink....

I agree any color is great as long as it's Black or White , I also think that putting eyes on your plugs makes a big difference .

just my .02 ,,,sorry .04 (price of fuel )

What matters?

Paint job detail ....no.

paint job color...yes

Shiny vs dull...yes. Which is best depends on the day , water clarity , light , etc.

Eyes , defintely yes.

I’ve always been a big fan of pearl, bright white, black, and yellow with a red head at dawn and dusk.

Several years ago I was filming Lefty Kreh working his deceiver fly off Sakonnet Point in particularly clear water. After getting the slides back both Lefty and I were amazed at how none of the color (white and yellow with a touch of chartreuse and a tad of red near the throat) was to be seen when I shot the fly from directly below. All you saw was a silhouette of the fly and it appeared black. We both agreed that ACTION, first and foremost draws attention and strikes followed by size and shape, then finally color. Oh yah, sound is probably even more important than color…and EVERY lure makes sound…sound and vibration that most deffinately stimulates the lateral line of any predators in the area. Even a slow moving Danny makes noise – you would be amazed at how loud a clanking sound is generated by the simple swinging back and forth of treble hooks.

However, there a days when color does make a huge difference -- how do you explain that? Especially when you’re dealing with a topwater offering that seldom if ever leaves the surface. I have a theory…let me hear yours before I post a few revealing pictures.

Mike ,
What have you seen/think about the Eyes ? As I stated above I think the eyes are very important.

First off, I'm new to the site, fish and live on Long Island but love fishing for stripers so I decided to join this site to talk more about 'em. Anyway enough about me, colors. I too have most every color of everything and use black and white the majority of the time. Color may be important at certain times which may be LOW light times of day such as sunset, sunrise, and overcast days and during these times yellow and chartreuse seem to do very well. my reasoning is:

Bright Days/nights whatever bait you seem to see in the water appears to be white or pearl colored based on the bright light and the angle you are looking at them, so suspeneded bass my have the same angle and see the same colors. If they are on the bottom and looking up into the bright light I would assume they see the same I may see looking up into bright light which is a black silloutte which is why black may produce during the day but white would give the same silloute with the added advantage of the looking at its sides where color may matter.

Dark nights everything looks black,shadowy, sillouttes, so throw black plugs as there is not enough light to create the reflections of color and light.

Cloudy days/sunset/sunrise you don't have the bright sunlight to create the strong reflections you get on bright sunny days which washes colors out, if I remember correctly from art and science classes while in school white is every color, black is absence of color, so less or softer light of overcast days may not be so harsh to wash out every color into a pearl and allow more "color" or one particular color to be visable and that colors seems to be a chartruese or yellow.

Thats my idea. Excellent site by the way.

TSPS,

I've recently been filming a new Tattoo offering for freshwater. It's a surface swimming, metal lipped offering similar to a classic Danny style plug. It has a slow roll from side to side that we wanted to capture on video as well as photos. The pictures revealed something I had observed last year while filming Jim White working a Slug-Go near the surface.

It's true that if you look up directly below a lure, all you see is a silhouette and no matter what color it might be, it looks black. However, if you look up at almost any other angle, you get a mirror reflection off the surface…the calmer the water the more you get a cloned image of the top of the lure. Even in rough seas you still get a reflected image of what’s on the top of the lure…eyes and all. I’m a big fan of eyes and a splash of red on all lures and flies. I’m convinced that it’s the action, noise and shape of the lure that first rings the dinner bell, but when game fish show a preference for one particular prey item they may be looking for that reflected color, or the position of a big eye to determine whether or not they should commit the energy for a strike.

What do you think? Have I been down too long? Am I all wet? Does this theory hold water?

Here are a few pictures that give you the fish-eye view looking up at surface offerings:

The noise that is created in the water is unique for all that moves in the water as identified by a sonar signature. This could be anything from shrimp snapping their tails to submarines. This being said, a bunker will admit a unique sound that the bass can identfy. Therefore if a plug is designed (size, shape, movement) to generate the same sound signature of the bait, the greater chances the bass will investigate the forage that the plug is simulating.

Another couple of Fish_Eye observations:

my .02 say's color does matter...seen it make a world of differents at different time's....even tested it when offshore and the beach...threw the same shape bait in 6 different color's...what works today/night is often dead the next time out.We had a can't miss [night]spot till the seals moved in..every nite was a different color[bomber]..one nite pearl..next clear redhead...black....green...yellow...green with orange belly..you took everything you owned or lost out.

I always thought placing eyes on the top and bottom of a plug as opposed to either side might be more effective figuring that the fish might see the eye more readily. From a color perspective I can recall from a physical ocean science class that red is the first color in the sprectrum to disappear as something red is submerged, but it is an enormously popular color on surface lures and swimmers. As you said Mike the smoother the waters surface is the greater the clarity, but the biggest fish I have ever landed on surface plugs were caught in the worst weather. Sometimes being so bad that I have no idea how the fish found the plug to hit it in the first place. A now deceased anti-fishing co-worker of mine said a few years ago after a visit to a tackle shop with his grandson that the colors on those fishing lures are meant to attract you into purchasing them first and catching fish second. Thier is some truth to that.

Color does matter, don't exactly know why, especially in the dark. What I do know is that you have captured perfectly the effect known as Snell's Window. That is how fish see anything on the surface. They can feel or sense it long before it comes into there circle of vision created by light refracting on a 45 degree angle when it hits the water. Depending on depth and clarity of water ( our northern waters being so rich in plankton etc that's why it's green in appearence) the fish have less range of vision to the surface. the shallower the smaller the cone around them. You can see them at fifty yards but often they can't see you until right near your feet or just shy of the boat. Works well in flats fishing especially when wading and sneaking up on fish. All you have to do is stay low to the water. It works especially well in Striped bass as they spend most time looking up. It's the way their eyes are positioned on thier heads and add the semi binocular vision. Cool pics thanks!:btu:

Color Matters, But I always start with White.

Color in my opinion matters but I believe mostly fish see shades of light and dark aka contrasting shades. Some days fish will annihilate yellow over white and not even look at anything else! As for eyes.....I do not believe in the eyes in the rear mentality.....many of the plugs I fish I catch the fish on the belly hooks as opposed to the tail hooks....I believe fish strike the head first or at least stripers anyway!

Oh yeah, Snell's Law. For example, the boundary between earths atmosphere and outer space which are two different mediums would require a space shuttle traveling at a calculated percise angle (using snells law equation) so that the transition from one atmosphere does not result in the shuttle bouncing back towards earth or the shuttle deflecting in outerspace. The "window" angle is when the entry angle at the boundary is the same as the exit angle on the otherside of the boundary. This angle is a combination of the critical reflection coefficients angle of each of the two sufaces.

This applies to any two different mediums for example "water and air".

If the top of the plug is on the boundary of air and water then snells window does not apply because the light rays will bounce into the air and not the water. However, if submerged well that may be when color gets reflected into the water and snells window will apply

Oh yeah, Snell's Law. For example, the boundary between earths atmosphere and outer space which are two different mediums would require a space shuttle traveling at a calculated percise angle (using snells law equation) so that the transition from one atmosphere does not result in the shuttle bouncing back towards earth or the shuttle deflecting in outerspace. The "window" angle is when the entry angle at the boundary is the same as the exit angle on the otherside of the boundary. This angle is a combination of the critical reflection coefficients angle of each of the two sufaces.

This applies to any two different mediums for example "water and air".

If the top of the plug is on the boundary of air and water then snells window does not apply because the light rays will bounce into the air and not the water. However, if submerged well that may be when color gets reflected into the water and snells window will apply

Cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:think:

Rocket science?!?!:doh:

Rocket science?!?!:doh:

Larry if Redsoxticket and I were in charge at NASA we wold be on Mars by now.:topic: oops, sorry fisheye:point: Bigfishes point and I could not resist.

I couln't resist either just needed to expand on flaps previous thread to mine regarding "snells window"

Arnold Schwarzenegger got to Mars already. :usd:

Sorry, I meant flaptail's not flaps

But I couldn't remember the name of the action, Snell's Window. If the angle of decent into earths atmosphere is off just a couple of degrees the shuttle will burn up. I thought it was one of the most interesting things I briefly studied in college.

All you need is white.... I just like a creamy silvery white with slight hints of rose and yellow gold :jester:

97*
is the angle.I think,be sure to have that checked in the event ur flyin a shutle back into our atmosphere.
It's amazing that they(fish)make contact.
Mike,So if u pull that plug down 10 inches u get basically 2 images one of the plug an one of the reflection.
What happens at night with limited light entry.

Mike,

Just a quick reply: All white works 90-95% of the time. Occassionally we will use blue/white, yellow/white and red head/white but there is always a lot of white.

What hasn't worked for a lot of us here in LI: mack patterns (blue or green), olive, green back/white even though we get a lot of sand eels, spearing and bunker which have these colors.

I know guys who fish the Yo-Zuri surface cruiser exclusively for top water and they take it out of the package and spray paint it all white, right then & there.

Eye's make a difference for strikes and the bigger they are the better. I buy big doll eyes and epoxy them over what comes with the plug usually.

Just my 0.2 cents.

Kadir

How do Lime green bucktails work out there?
i NEVER Ever use mack patterns.we rarley get em.
There was this one time a small mac bottle was the ticket that was maybe 8 yrs ago.
They love that Mackeral stuff in the ditch.

I’ve always been a big fan of pearl, bright white, black, and yellow with a red head at dawn and dusk.

Oh yah, sound is probably even more important than color…and EVERY lure makes sound…sound and vibration that most deffinately stimulates the lateral line of any predators in the area. Even a slow moving Danny makes noise – you would be amazed at how loud a clanking sound is generated by the simple swinging back and forth of treble hooks.

However, there a days when color does make a huge difference -- how do you explain that? Especially when you’re dealing with a topwater offering that seldom if ever leaves the surface. I have a theory…let me hear yours before I post a few revealing pictures.
I think Lateral line is huge ..When I get on a blue/white kick I may carry a bunch identical blue/white needles, only one may be favored by the fish.. Now I have confidence in that one so I put more time in with that one than the others.. all the same color ? Now I wondering if its the color or the attitude/slant versus feel in the water .. Tried wading up on a pod of bait last night to get a better look .. I move ,, it moves,,I move ,,it moves..You ever watch bait off a pier (sorry,no boat) ,, one turns ,,they all turn ..one jumps ,,the whole pile jumps,, This happens in a micro second ,.. That line must be super sensitive. To feel vibration and have the message sent to the brain and react that quickly is amazing .. I wonder how far can they feel vibration in the water,, How far can they see.. What about stationary objects in the water ? Do they know they are there from the current pushing against them vs acutally seeing them .. If you fish the same spot what makes them make a b-line for that same boulder to wrap around 25 yds away . I think there's more than meets the eye going on here...We don't have lateral lines so we can't relate to that only imagine . Maybe they like the feel of something and it just happens to be that color ? Many things over the years have happened to make me think this .. fishing a 3 hook rebel ,, fish on every cast .. I can't even hardly work the plug,they're on it soon as it hits the water. The hook ups are messy though. Three trebles on a little plug ,,yuk .. So I remove one belly hook .. You guessed it ,, not another fish ,, not one ,, bouncing off there heads .. what happened ? color didn't change.. I'll shut up now . geeez :uhoh:

How do Lime green bucktails work out there?
i NEVER Ever use mack patterns.we rarley get em.
There was this one time a small mac bottle was the ticket that was maybe 8 yrs ago.
They love that Mackeral stuff in the ditch.

How many chartreuse fish have you ever seen? I never saw one and fish chow that color. And though you don't get many mackerel down there the bass know them well from there travels ( kinda like ethnic foods, or Chinatown versus Little Italy, no schezhuan in Little italy but no eggplant parmesan in Chinatown either but in your travels your going to pass through and stop to eat whatever is on the local menu!

How many chartreuse fish have you ever seen? I never saw one and fish chow that color. And though you don't get many mackerel down there the bass know them well from there travels ( kinda like ethnic foods, or Chinatown versus Little Italy, no schezhuan in Little italy but no eggplant parmesan in Chinatown either but in your travels your going to pass through and stop to eat whatever is on the local menu!


True, but I'm not getting mu-shu in little italy or god forbid, eggplant parm in china town.

I've caught fish in Moriches and Shinney inlets on every color bucktail imaginable. The last year I fished Moriches regularly, the hot color was purple, with a red trailer. Lime green had its moments. I remember a couple of times I wrecked fish in Montauk on lime green. Yellow used to be hot in June when the blowfish came in.

My really secret weapon for Moriches was an Upperman head, tho. Plenty of times I was outfishing guys 3-4 fish to 1 when I was using an Upperman and they went with the SB. I would never let anyone help me by landing a fish--I'd hand them the rod and climb down to unhook it myself ;)

Tried wading up on a pod of bait last night to get a better look .. I move ,, it moves,,I move ,,it moves..

Tagger you're observations show the schooling ability of bait when they sense (feel/hear) a threat.

Baitfish such as herring, alewives and anchovies are considered “hearing specialists” because their swimbladder, lateral line, and inner ear are all connected and they also have a pair of prootic auditory bullae which acts as pressure-to-motion transducers. This helps explain why when one moves they all move simultaneously. Recently they proved that American Shad can hear ultrasound of 180 kHz and Gulf Menhaden also have ultrasonic hearing. What does this all mean? Don’t drop the tackle box in your tin boat when you’re trying to snag bait, or don’t crank up the Aerosmith tunes or you’ll drive away the fish.

Stripers have medium hearing yet their lateral line can determine the direction of the current and the presence of nearby objects, as well as sense vibration. Their lateral line functions best within the zone nearest the sound source, the inner ear performs best in the far edges of the near field and outward. Their lateral line does not respond directly to the acoustic-pressure component of sound fields. In the case of vibrating sources, the lateral line is only directly stimulated at very short distances from the source where the generated acoustic field behaves like an incompressible flow. Unless your lure or live bait offering is close to the striper it is likely to depend on its inner ear to detect and direct it to the source of the sound. Therefore, in dirty water a popper, spook, or lure that creates a lot of surface splashing and vibration will be first heard, and then “felt” as the striper locks in on it and then strikes.

Bait such as herring, alewives and anchovies have a distinct hearing advantage over stripers however, at periods of low light, and changing lighting conditions like dusk and dawn, the striper’s excellent vision gives them an upper hand (fin).

And yes, stripers spend lot of their time looking up for prey.

Im a believer that it does matter. When your using a spook for example, it doesnt always ride perfectly strait, it flashes and tips and turns, exposing the color on the back of the plug. Ive seen one color outperform others too many times for it to not be a fact. Altho rare one color can also be the ticket while all others fail, theres gotta be something to it.
yellow is huge for surface plugs, and i think it has something to do with the contrast, but god only knows.

,,, I think different things matter at different times and sometimes nothing matters .. I think color does matter,, What about Stan Gibbs and friends slaying fish on purple and pink plugs they painted themselfves before there was such a thing during squid run . Soon nothing will matter,, when the feeding is competitive you can throw anything in the water an catch ,,, see it every year . .

,,, I think different things matter at different times and sometimes nothing matters .. I think color does matter,, What about Stan Gibbs and friends slaying fish on purple and pink plugs they painted themselfves before there was such a thing during squid run . Soon nothing will matter,, when the feeding is competitive you can throw anything in the water an catch ,,, see it every year . .

Yup, i remember one year i hit upon eureka, by chance, with green and white dannies. They caught for me all year long, couldn't miss till October than 0. Never caught on them again but silver/black mega bait and everything else worked that fall.
Another time the difference was between a 5in yellow stillwater and 5in shool bus red fin with nothin on the red fin and nonstop on the stillwater.
Three years ago it was chartruse storms out fishin the pogie storms 10 to 1. Next year it was the pearl storms with a worm rattle.
A blue/black stillwater, black mombo or bomber almost always brings a hit at last light. Color seems to matter at different times of the day and year.

All i know for Sure is, Fish_ Eye always has awesome threads, and uze guys keep me learnin. :btu:

I will go thru a few plugs in my bag an not be overfished.I mean sure guys might do me by one or 2 fish that happens.I'm talkin where some guy has "THE" hot plug or color an smokes me 7-1 Never happens.How do u explain that.I go thru this all the time with guys an the hot color.I don't buy it.I am stubborn that way.I think if u think something is hot u thro it with confidence.It means everything.

Fish are impulse eaters, they see something that looks like food and they put it in there mouths if they don't like it they spit it out, I think it only has to look like food for them to put it in there mouth, thats why storm shads are so hot.

[QUOTE=NIB]How do Lime green bucktails work out there?
[QUOTE]

Very well :drool:

I totally agree with NIB, keep it simple. We are talking about fish! Fish don't care if it is pearl with a strip of pink and a black fog around the eye. Black at night is all you have to know and if you are catching fish during the daytime 90% of the time color definetly does not matter.

I'm talkin where some guy has "THE" hot plug or color

I've seen it happen .. Years ago one fall morning on a Sandwich beach berfore day break guys were lining up and casting plugs. Word was out fish had been hitting at daybreak . There had to be 40 guys there arms length apart .. One guy in the middle keeps hooking up.. He got 7 fish .. Everyone eles got skunked except for one OTW writer got 1 fish . Stan Kuzia was there,, also Ron Arra and Carl Johanson ,,so its wasn't a matter of guys not reaching the fish . A bunch of other heavies I didn't know . After all the dust settled got a look at the guys plug . It was a Polaris popper Pogy color ,, That light gray with the black false eye .. Only thing that color was not available in stores and he got it from Gibbs himself .. Must have been the plug .. Either that them other guys don't know how to fish .

How do Lime green bucktails work out there?
i NEVER Ever use mack patterns.we rarley get em.
There was this one time a small mac bottle was the ticket that was maybe 8 yrs ago.
They love that Mackeral stuff in the ditch.


Mackeral patterns are the one that I have absolutley zero of. There's a spot here in NJ that used to get filthy with tinker mackeral every summer. Bass and weakfish would go ape**** on these things and if ya snagged tinkers, ya caught fish. Well I got the notion to try a mackeral finish bomber, the small one, and could not for the life of me catch a fish on it. Goto the schoolbus or chicken scratch and catch fish. Go figure eh? Even up in New England waters, i tried mackeral and couldnt buy a fish.

And I agree with Habs, color matters and I also always start with white. Even with shad bodies, if you aint tossing the right color you will get squat. NIB, how many times do you see guys with the McKala shads up on the bridge and the guys using all pearl are outfishing the guys with blk/pearl 5-1? Granted technique plays alot in to it all, as does skill, but I'm a firm believer in the right color will catch more fish.

Hello there,:wave:

Some friend told me about this and here I am. This is a great topic and if you don’t mind, I like to interject. I’ve culled many bass on just about every imaginable color and I have to concur will a few of you. White is the primary color and whenever in doubt, toss white and you will be okay. Now, as per Laptew’s questions… Top lure color, does it really matter? I like to think it does. My motto is to match the hatch (daylight action) and for the night bite, use the scale to adjust to the proper hues. For example, if we are fishing the mid moon, I like the “grey” and if we are closing into the new moon… I go darker. ;-) But the truth of the matter, does it really matter? I don’t know but if it adds to my “confidence” level and it makes me fish harder… than it does.

All in all, this is all good. It keeps you thinking and most importantly, thinking out of the box. Regarding this topic, I have some basic rules and I am sure some of you agree. Here it is… if I am fishing the darker nights, I go dark, if it is a bright night, I switch to brighter colors. In the event the water is dirty, I got with chartreuse and in the other hand, if the water is gin clear – I switch to the natural colors (pending if you are aware of the current foray).

Given this, I strongly believe that noise is equally as important as color. Do I dare highjack this thread and ask about the lateral line and its noise factor? LOLOLOL…

Anyhow, got to catch a tide, tight lines and be well.

“Crazy” Alberto
NonStopFisher@Optonline.net

Given this, I strongly believe that noise is equally as important as color. Do I dare highjack this thread and ask about the lateral line and its noise factor? LOLOLOL…

Anyhow, got to catch a tide, tight lines and be well.

“Crazy” Alberto

NonStopFisher@Optonline.net

Hijack alert :usd: :uhuh:

Ah, yes. Why does a bucktail jig have to be working on the bottom to catch fish most of the time? Is it because the fish are holding tight to the bottom, or in a hole that breaks the current slightly? Or is it because they have to hear it bouncing off the bottom structure with their lateral line before they can zero in on it? ;)

How many times have you had a jig hit the instant it falls off a mussel bed, a ledge, or a bar into deeper water, before it can even reach the bottom of the new hole?

Some of the bestfish I have caught on a jig where not near the bottom at all.A slow retrive up current kinda like trolling.Instantainious Rod Bending Monster like hits.I like em on the bottom don't get me wrong.Gives ME a sense of what is going on.Most jigg hits come on the drop After I pop the rod.In a 5 Knot current that can be 10' easily who knows if the bass heard the last tick or not.I think they feel the disturbance an it gets their attention.It looks like food they have a millisecond to decide to eat it. (like a batter at the plate with a 95 MPH fastball comin on, or is it the changeup?)which mechanism does a bass use to zero in on a jig at close range inner ear or lateral line.Which noises effect these motion detectors best.It is important to pay attention to what happens when a fish strikes.That I do know.

As always a lot of great input from a lot of talented anglers out there.

I would have to agree with most of what’s been posted and I’m inclined to go along with everything Crazy Alberto suggests.

On those bright sunny days a plug from directly below is just a silhouette to the fish as shown in the picture below. But remember the reflection will give them a perfect mirror image of the top of that lure when they come in from an angle.

Good stuff Mike.U now how to get a bunch of fisherman o think.That last pic tells me I have to lighten my line, remove the clip, an the tail hook.:err:

As always a lot of great input from a lot of talented anglers out there.

I would have to agree with most of what’s been posted and I’m inclined to go along with everything Crazy Alberto suggests.

On those bright sunny days a plug from directly below is just a silhouette to the fish as shown in the picture below. But remember the reflection will give them a perfect mirror image of the top of that lure when they come in from an angle.

That one pic says it all! Thanks!

IMO color is for selling more lures. If a fishermen thinks it works, then he is convinced. Like most of you I have lots of colors. If I had to rank the properties of importance 1) Action 2) profile 3) contrast 4) color
Fact is at night bass can't see color. So it does not matter. During the day they can see color but their eyesight is so bad that they have to be really close to it to see it. (THis is one theory why they tend to be more active at night) Also, the direction a fish is looking has something to do with it too...looking up agaist the black night or bright daylight puts completely changes the way it looks.

Also there are two good books on what fish see and how sea water absorbs color and it changes at different depths.

For more info check out:

1) What fish See: Understanding optics and color shifts for designing lures and flys by Colin J. Kageyama, OD., F.C.O.V.D.

and

2) Through the fish's Eye: An anglers guide to gamefish behavior by Mark Sosin and John Clark.

Kind of geekish but if you read these it will change the way you think about color and lures.

Color is important. But we get sidetracked with creating lures that look like the real thing or multi hued beauties that make collectors drool. Trouble with that is that all one needs is solid white, solid yellow or solid black and one can catch most anything with a plug painted in those tones and I don't really by the eyes thing. My various beachmaster plugs have caught tons of bass with nary an eye on 'em.

Silhouette and motion, especially in the dark means more to me then the overall paint job.

Opinions?

Day or night....white...and you`re right.... black and yellow are fine fellows :boots:


many old plugs had no eyes..... feeding bass and the right motion :humpty:


Though as a person with addictive qualities I have many baits of all colors :smokin:

Sandman,

We've talked about this before and I agree with your line up of key factors in drawing a strike. However, I would include one other consideration and that's "size". In your order of importance I would stick size in right after profile -- I think general shape is more important than size, but size does matter. Many knowledgeable anglers feel that stripers are among the most size selective feeders in the world!

Dare I bring up the subject of fluorescent, phosphorescent, ultra violet, and bioluminescent considerations?

Dare I bring up the subject of fluorescent, phosphorescent, ultra violet, and bioluminescent considerations?

Bring it on- I looked at the kageyama book and, from what I can understand so far, he is saying that "true" fluorescent paints reflect more than one color of the spectrum underwater- much more so than ordinary paints, which would give your lure a much better chance of being seen and tracked visually... although he is primarily a steelheader, and I hear that steelhead are wild about fluorescent colors. Anyhoo...

Also, I read somewhere else that polarized light is critical, specifically how an object in the water reflects polarized light...as for bioluminescent and phosphorescent, well, haven't gotten that far into it yet...but willing to go down that road. Why not, its still January...lots of time left in the winter...

I think colors take a back seat when it comes to reflection & vibration(sound/ action) & smell. Striped bass (& other game fish & animals for that matter) have adapted to pick up on these things.

If you eat at night you better have a few tricks up your sleeve when it comes to finding food. I think evolution has taken care of this with most animals by giving them other means of finding prey rather than relying on only sight.

Or to be politically correct, "God" has given animals these abilities since the creation of earth. :D

Yet I still prefer to fish white plugs or other light colors, since they are the most visible.

you weren't kiddin' about the new Tatoo plug havin some "roll" in it were ya- that thing is flat on its side in the second pics!!

I agree with the color being important... I am not so convinced on the eye part either. I have done pretty well with plugs that have no eye at all. I also have seen many sand eels come out of the belly of fish and their eyes are tiny.

I am totally convinced that the sound and vibration play the biggest part in getting the attention of the fish then motion, action and finally the color make the fish decide.

If the fish is hungry or in a frenzy they eat anything.......

First a big thanks to Mike for starting one of the most interesting threads I have read in a long time. Also, thanks to all the other contributors. Lot’s of good info here.

As you can see by my avatar I have been around for awhile. After a long time away from Striper fishing I am back relearning our great sport.

Talking popping plugs, which I love to use, sometimes I think I use them too much. But I can’t help myself. I think color is somewhat important but that action and sound is more important. I own many wood plugs by some of the best makers and love ‘em but my “go to” plug is one of those plastic things with rattles. In the river, for schoolies, these seem to out-fish those nice wooden ones.

Interesting observation on the noise that treble hooks make too.

Now Mike, about that “size does matter”?

Think Spring, Al

IMHO, color is waaaaay over rated, yes there are times when a certain color will outfish others, it is my belief that it has more to do with light penetration and what "shade" of color the fish are more able to see, that said, again IMHO, the movement and size of the bait or lure is far more important than the color..

Do bait fish and juvy fish not have colors to hide them from predators?....Eels are black when they are on a mud bottom.. what color do they turn in a white bucket?

Even Mackerel in a white tank loose some of their darker hues.

Ever see a trout on a stream bed... they blend in pretty well with their surroundings.....

My point is ,those pretty colors may hide the bait fish by breaking up the outline of the bait.. does this happeen to a fancy paint job on a plug?

I paint my plugs lots of pretty colors, just because black, white and shades of blue or green are boring... but when I seriously go to war, black, white and shades of blue are my weapons of choice... because IMHO, those are the colors most visiable to fish under most conditions....

Tight lines
Roc

I think that flashy colors and eyes are primarily to catch fisherman, but I also believe that they sometimes do make the difference. example: My son and I were fishing for largemouth bass - he was consistantly cathing fish on a red and yellow plug while I just watched. I started picking up fish as soon as I switched to the same color plug. They were evidently keying on yellow perch. It pays to have a variety of colors. I don't think you need eyes but I believe they will help with finiky fish.

HELP!! It took me three times to post my above reply. I log in but when I try to make the post I'm told that I'm NOT logged in. I am a slooow one finger typer so this is making an already crazy fisherman even crazier.

This is indeed a thought provoking thread with lots of great commentary. It seems a lot of folks favor the approach that it’s as simple as black and white…light or white during the day and black at night or overcast days – no doubt about it, it’s a tried and true formula and a great way to start any fishing trip.

IMHO, I favor pearl over white (the subtle hint of other colors seems to trump straight white…perhaps because so many bait fish have a pearlescent sheen when light reflects off their scales) and black with a little glitter or flash seems to outperform straight black. When it comes to dawn and dusk I personally choose lures with a yellow body and a red head, especially if they are surface plugs or shallow running swimmers; I’ve observed many species of bait fish at this time of peak predation and the low angle of sun reflects off their side and produces a golden glow. I like a red head because I simply feel most lures and flies benefit from a touch of red. What fish, no matter what its coloration, doesn’t show a flash of red when it flairs its gill plates? It has been proven that stripers see a range of colors from red to blue…with chartreuse being right smack in the middle of their range…so when the visibility is horrible and the water is the color of coffee or chocolate I turn to chartreuse, it is the easies to see color for both humans AND linesiders.

The one exception to my basic MO above occurs when my offering is suppose to mimic a squid, that’s when I turn to bright pink or hot orange. Stripers apparently don’t see ultra violet but weakfish do, therefore if I were targeting squeteague on a cloudy day or at night, I would definitely use lures or flies that had ultra violet highlights.

In fresh water I’ve found that a gold lure with a fluorescent orange stripe is the most effective color combo for every fish I’ve ever gone after…well, except for suckers, hornpout and carp.

I favor action over color any time of the day or night. But, when I need a solid excuse for why I’m not catching fish, it’s always easy to say, “I just didn’t have the right color lure with me.” :wiggle: :laughs: :spin:

All you need is white.... I just like a creamy silvery white with slight hints of rose and yellow gold :jester:


yup all you need is white - with a little pink shot down the sides that's my confidence color.

How about colors when fishing at night under the lights? Where I am at, the answer is always gold gold gold and more gold...

at night under the lights we use pink pink and more pink

and i was told to use a red lights at night because it doesnt penatrate the water surface very far and spook em. but what do i know?

"to look right thru the fishes eye, lure color should match the sky"

"to look right thru the fishes eye, lure color should match the sky"
Where is that from?
I tend to agree with it