Thread: Do you think color matters?

Yes color matters. But the color changes frequently and is relative to light, water clarity, current, bait, and possibly many other factors.

It is also true that changing color back and forth is helpful. But this, I mean will keep trying different color baits until I get a consistent bite. Then sometimes when the bite stops for a while, I'll throw another color and immediately catch a couple. And then I'll switch back and forth with these two colors and always catch more than those around me. I am pretty consistent in my presentation and retrieve so the difference in color helps get their attention again.

YES COLOR MATTERS !!! If you want to try a new color always try it when your catching fish not when they're not biting or you will never have faith in it.

Yes, some days it is very important. Some days not so much. All the information given is right on a given day. You just have to find out what works best for you.

Done and read all this several times and I have learned again more in one evening reading than I would have in years of trial and error fishing. Anyone that crappie fishes and they are not a member of crappie.com doesn't know what they are missing. I have read and asked questions and have learned tons on this web site. How crappie change their eating habits as far as size,presentation, speed or movement, as well as depth and color. I have noticed that about 99% of people use chartreuse in most of their color combinations. With most having black/chartreuse as their most used goto color. I have also noticed 1/32 and 1/16 is a very popular weight jig head. Crappie like slow presentations in winter and faster ones in the spring and early summer. Now if I can just remember all this when them crappie refuse to bite next time. Thanks for asking this question Livemusic and thanks everyone all the information and still reading.

As one who if not fishing is thinking about fishing and as one who retired their 5000 dollar tackle box and now uses one 8 by 10 plano box.......you need black/green and yellow/white.

The rest of it is presentation and above all things the weight of the jig is very important. Generally the lighter the jig the better the bite. Kinda depends on how you are fishing, what method you are using, but lighter jigs that fall slow always most of the time do much better than heavy jigs. For example to me a heavy jig is 1/32. I throw many lighter than that, and all those standard 1/8 to 1/4 one day I threw them all in the trash can. I do not wish to knock out the fish, I wish to present a slow fall to them this is what triggers the bite, hey do bait fish come in pink and yellow dots? Or tangerine orange and purple.............chuckle.

Originally Posted by Kit Carson

As one who if not fishing is thinking about fishing and as one who retired their 5000 dollar tackle box and now uses one 8 by 10 plano box.......you need black/green and yellow/white.

The rest of it is presentation and above all things the weight of the jig is very important. Generally the lighter the jig the better the bite. Kinda depends on how you are fishing, what method you are using, but lighter jigs that fall slow always most of the time do much better than heavy jigs. For example to me a heavy jig is 1/32. I throw many lighter than that, and all those standard 1/8 to 1/4 one day I threw them all in the trash can. I do not wish to knock out the fish, I wish to present a slow fall to them this is what triggers the bite, hey do bait fish come in pink and yellow dots? Or tangerine orange and purple.............chuckle.

You say black/green and yellow/white. Do you think it matters where the color is? Black on front, green on tail? Or vice versa?

YES! Colors change throughout the day.

Originally Posted by livemusic

You say black/green and yellow/white. Do you think it matters where the color is? Black on front, green on tail? Or vice versa?

Unless there is some special tied jig, for the most part all jigs in Black/Chartreuse have black body and chartreuse tail, or yellow body and white tail, and some plastics are muti colored and have solid body and two color tail. I do not worry about it much and the jig I use most is black body with chartreuse tail. Now I may change from plastic to marabou or deer hair depending on water temp and or rate of fall I want. Mostly I use cheap jigs with an hook eye I can slip a small rubber band into the eye and slightly ben the hook a bit and hook the rubber band(the kind used for braces on teeth) over the barb. My fishing style is shooting docks or fishing right in the middle of heavy cover. So I spend more time trying to not lose my jig than worry about color. I suspect I could use a green, pink, yeller, black and orange with purple spots and so long as I shoot it way back there in the shade a crappie or big bluegill is gonna jump on it. I am a firm advocate of the fish are always biting, if not it is the fisherman doing something wrong with the presentation. I know this to be so as I have lost the day simply over the weight of a jig, lesson learned use as light a jig as you can use for the conditions of that day. You know you can also use pre made pork leeches in white is the color they come in or if you catch a white perch cut a strip of the white belly skin and use that. That works very well sometimes also when the bite is slow and you know the fish are there. If I really want some two pound crappie that is a very good way to catch the really big ones that hide under the dock and are gunshy.