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.

Color my world.
 

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:

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"

Where is that from?
I tend to agree with it