Plug Colors Part II
 

Ok here’s part 2 of my plug color quest…. all input is greatly appreciated :wiggle:

We established on the last thread that these colors are a must….

White/Pink or Wonderbread?
Yellow/White
Black or Blurple (what’s more important?)
Parrot type color
Metroblurple

Now I’d like to hear what you guys have to say about baitfish patterns. Which ones are most important? What gets your eye vs. the fishes eye?

Here are the baitfish I generally try to replicate help me weed a few out or group some together.

Bunker
Peanut Bunker
Sand Eel
Eel
Mackerel (Blue or Green?)
Mullet
Alewive
Blueback Herring
Spent Herring
Shad
Squid

Then we have a few elaborations
Purple Pogie
Chartreuse Sand Eel
Black/Red

We are also currently working on a new soft plastic bait that, if it works will blow you guys away. And I’m working with some coatings experts to bring you the most durable wood plugs on the market. If all goes well. Thanks for all your help. Look for new things to come from Surf Asylum in the coming weeks and months. New lines and colors for 2007 are going to far exceed what we’ve done in the past :kewl:.

-Dave

Dave,

I know it's not natural looking at all but I'm a big fan of the blue/pink/white traditional herring paint scheme.:uhuh:

Luds

Dave I am a big fan of pink mac.

I'm a big fan of free plugs do we get to test the finish for you?

eel

Sorry Bob. I'm the tester.:rotfl: :wavey: :lasso:

Don't stop making the one on top.

After reading this post I sighed and had to have a smoke :btu:

With the rubber thing.... love to see an all black weighted internally and pre rigged with two heavy hooks that won`t rust and rubber very durable....maybe 13"?

Another plug color thought ....dark pink metallic as a 4 to 5 ft deep swimmer.

I like natural/baitfish colors but more because I just love plugs than because I think that they will work better, love fishing them and just having them. And I agree with luds, the light blue/pink/white is a must have, especially in swimmers and spooks. That's one I'd consider adding to the "must" list, along with white (my must's are white, yellow/white, herring in swimmers, olive in needles, and blurple).

Personally, I'm not a huge believer in matching a baitfish exactly. I think they look cool, but when/where I fish it doesn't seem to help to have an exact copy of the color scheme. For example, on the spring herring run that I fish, my best colors are solid black or solid white in swimmers, and yellow/white for poppers. One season I did extremely well on gold foil/black back/orange belly bombers during the herring run, but never since that season. I think if you get something somewhat close, you will do well. Fancy paint jobs do more to sell the plug than to catch the fish. It goes back to my response in the other thread, how you work the plug pays out better than how the plug looks.

call me simple, but i am a big fan of all white...and i agree with tlap in that it is the action not the color imo...

Canal man you ask a lot of questions. Try live bait instead.

Alewife or Herring ,

But I feel White w/pink stripes would have those two covered.

And Bunker in the fall. BTW, If you need a tester up here in Maine, drop me a note!:wave:

Doc...remember in Gansett that afternoon....it was size and color.....white! Remember?

No matter what builder or plug this color pattern sells AND works.

...i guess that is true larry...white was certainly the color du jour that day...it is my go to color anyway...but i was thinking that size that day was what brought the vicisousness...who knows...man, i miss fishing...

size and color was the key imo.

Actually I am a dyed in the wool eel fisherman, but I fish plugs in the spring and fall and I sell plugs under the Surf Asylum name. I'm just trying to gather opinions as we prepare to change our line. Sorry if I bothered you :huh: :)

-Dave

OK... well I feel like I've gathered a lot of useful info so far. For me, color has never been of huge importance, maybe because I always fish at night. But the other day when I was fishing among schools of bluebacks during the day with a friend. I threw one of my Danny's in Blueback pattern, and he threw everything he had, beachmaster atom in white/pink, beachmaster danny in black/gold/white, pencils spooks, we both caught a lot of fish but the larger fish came after my Danny. Could've been luck, color, action, or just that my retrieve style was what was on the menu that day. But if you look into my bag, you'd see, black, white, yellow and bunker that's pretty much it most of the time. I ask these questions in the hopes of understanding what more people than just my friends and I think a plug needs to be. For me durability is 1st and after a year and a half of trying to figure it out on our own... we've decided to seek professional help. I used these threads to help narrow down the color color field and streamline what we're going to offer. And yes we will be looking for testers I'll let you all know when the time comes.

Thanks Everyone,
and keep the input coming!
-Dave

Dave,
Exact color patterns on plugs as it relates to baitfish has never been that important to me. I generally go with a light shade or dark depending on conditions. That said I completely understand why plug builders try to painstakingly match forage - it may not make a difference but it SELLS PLUGS. Beautiful color patterns catch more fishermen than bass. A sign of good marketing.

I've always been impressed by the fact that Bob Glauda markets his plugs without hooks attached - as a builder he understands that there are many different ways that casters like to rig them.
As an avid caster I've always been looking for the major plug builders to offer their plugs unpainted and without hooks. This would cut down costs and LOTS of labor on the part of the builder. Many of my plugs catch mighty fine with a coat or two of hardware store spray paint. When they get ratty looking I just give them another coat of paint. In short - you don't need a pretty plug to catch bass.

DZ

this year I bought a tsunami popper yellow with a orange strip down the middle of I tell u this they banged the hell of of this thing but my all time favorite color is white swimmer needle or popper .all r great

I've done very well this season on a black/silver scale pattern.

Of course i am a advocate of the BASICs.i have been saying white,Yellow or black are the three basic colors u needfor a long time...
When I make a bag for the evening.I try work a few different styles off of that basic color scheme.U can only have room for so many choice's.That being said I tired seeing of backhanded remarks about Fancy paints an top of the line components.One author made references to having no affiliation with any builders or lure makers.An kinda went out of his way to put down some of the fine products out there today.Well good components are good for us.Just Like Simms Waders an tops.If someone is willing to put the time into a nice paint an finish It also tells me he has probably spent the time on the R&D of the plug.This thread has a familiar ring..It's almost like u all read the same rehashed plug article that was in the latest rag..Well u would be doing yourself a great disservice not to try some different things.Like yr's ago on the cape with the pink plugs.What hardcore die in the wool surf caster would even own a pink lure if it did not work..Better than white or black.. In the spring like Peter an Dave said if Ur gonna plug U NEED TO HAVE THE HERRING PATTERN IN UR BAG..In the fall Yellow an Black, black an gold.Blue an silver,olive,something with a orange belly.Are all colors I try to incorporate into my plug bag.Lots of times color makes more of difference than style of plug.I wish it was purely as simple as black an white but sometimes color makes a huge difference..

I'm getting tired of the same old thing I read in the mags..BlaBla Bla.Anyone with a few yrs of knowledge can write how simple plugs selection is.I read the reviews here an I thought i was gonna see some great revelation in this months mag.Wrong, same old thing.BlaBla Bla.A good article would be to break down the different lure styles,metal
lips,bottles,darters,plastic finish swimmers,poppers an needles. An thats just Ur hardbody lures.What they do an when an how to use em.All the little details on how to get the most out of em.An some of the other Little"secret"tricks that sometimes make a difference.But then again u would have to know something about fishing em an not just be a #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&...

I read this over an it seems my post on plug colors turned into a Bashing of Bill Nolans article in OTW..
I don't know how this happens.i could have changed it But I wanted to appologize to Bill.It's not just U personally. I think Magazines in general feed us this warmed over stuff all the time.I Know u probably worked hard on ur piece an for me to critisize what I have never tried myself is unfair.There is only so much info u can put into a few hundred word article without spinning heads..There was a theme of the article that seemed to put down some of the newer great things that are available today.At least thats how i saw it.It was my take an my opinion.
U know what they say about opinions..
There are some very good writers in OTW.Along with some very good articles.Bill U really need to do one on ur eeling thing for us, a real breakdown on how u do..i struggle sometimes with hookups..i would love to see that article..
Sorry,, it was before i got my coffe in an i must not have been thinking right..

If you are talking about plugs you will be selling, I know I'm a sucker for a nice dark mackeral pattern. I even pay the extra buck on big Gibbs plugs.:bl:

Bingo! Half the fun of plug fishing is buying and trying different colors and types of plugs. Even if I know I'd do better sticking to white, yellow, or black,......so what? I also know I'd do better sticking to eels, chunks, or live bait.........but I don't. Granted, at night (in anything less than a full moon) it is hard to get too worked up over what color I'm throwing, but by day it is a major part of the enjoyment of plugging.

There is also the often ignored fact that most plugs are bought as luxury goods............because they make us happy.........not because we need them. In that context, color becomes crucial. So please DO NOT make a dark green back, silver side, white belly, red chinned color scheme.......lest my family goes hungry. Thanks.

Hey whatever, this stuff seems to always happen. Everyones entitled to there opinion. As far as eel articles , I have done them several times...more so for the Fisherman mag...so, there out there.

What we really need are some more of those swell articles where a guy and his wife take a trip, hire a charter, and then write thrilling things about how the captain/guide put them on fish and they saw a big one and maybe you should go too, even if you can't write it off your taxes like they did. That's how I learned most of what I know.

dave,
if you looked in my bag, you'ld swear you were colorblind

white
white/pink
bone
white/blue
black
blurple


mostly whites and blacks



when situation justifies, the herrings and bunkers come out

I hear ya Jim. Wow this thread really went awry....