How important is the color and detail on the top of a surface plug?

[Fish_Eye]

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?

[NIB]

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.

[NIB]

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.

[Karl F]

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)..
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....

[TSPS]

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 )

[Fish_Eye]

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.

[TSPS]

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

[Fish_Eye]

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:

[Treble Crusher]

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.

[Redsoxticket]

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.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Fish_Eye

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

[libassboy]

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.

[Mr. Sandman]

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.

[bobber]

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!!

[Rockfish9]

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

[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.

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 .....

[NIB]

[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.

[Saltheart]

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.

[Swimmer]

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.

[Flaptail]

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!

[JHABS]

Color Matters, But I always start with White.

[BigFish]

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!

[Redsoxticket]

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

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by Redsoxticket

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BigFish]

Rocket science?!?!

[Rock Hopper]

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

[NIB]

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.

[Flaptail]

Originally Posted by NIB

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!

[JFigliuolo]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

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.

[Mike P]

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