Printable View
I been using one color of jigs for many years . I feel anything they can see will work . Profile and presentation is what matters most in my opinion . Any dark color/chartreuse but I use purple/chartreuse almost 100% . Saves changing jigs for people when guiding when one catching more fish . I verticle jig or two poled tube jigs for years before livescope . Now I just put one pole and one jig on their nose no matter water color . Just posting a poll
for those guys that jig fish .
Yes I think color matters. I do agree presentation and profile matter as well. To prove my point, went with Pete recently at the NC/SC Clash and we trolled basically the same lures but different colors. While some caught fish there was one clear color combo the fish preferred. This color outperformed the others easily. We also had some colors that caught none. I do think sometimes color isn't as important and they will hit whatever but other times I think its the difference between being skunked and catching fish.
Color matters. It's just hard to say how much. It is a part of the puzzle IMO, not the biggest part tho.
Right weight and hook size and sharpness is paramount. Color smolor. Have a fishing partner that swears by color tho.
Sent from my E6810 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app
Sometimes color don’t matter on some lakes but I have seen it really make a big difference On other lakes at certain times . For example . Just this past weekend I caught 20 plus fish from under a dock on a blue ice color bait that bait finally got destroyed so I just put on a different color that I had laying out and nada so I switched back to blue ice and it was on from the next cast until I left them to try another area ! :twocents
Try longlining. 8 poles, 16 jigs, 16 colors. Certain colors will get bit. Some colors will not catch a fish. You adjust the colors to get the bite.
Light availability in water vs. color has always brought up the question of what color is best to use. Sunlight or a cloudy day vs. the depth your fishing at can fade colors out. Throw in clear water vs dirty water and it. Will affect the color of the lure the deeper it is fished due to the light available decreasing color. Here is a article to red on color of fishing lures. View From Below: Does Lure Color Matter Underwater? | Fix.com. This goes back to when the color selector was invented and we could buy it and use to determine what color triggered best activity towards lure color selection. I have a zillion colors of lures, but only use age old favorites and then when fish aren’t hitting colors I like to fish with, it’s time to try different colors to see which will trigger a bite or even change the type of lure and presentation.
Years ago I have seen one pole out fishing the rest even with minnows . When livescoping presentation is most important , they will bite a bare unpainted jig head atleast part of the time .:twocentsQuote:
Originally Posted by arkcrappie
Attachment 386927
Seen some guys change baits with livescope when fish don't react . I have put a bait on a fish several times before they moved . They got to see it , I just keep dropping same bait on them . :deadhorseQuote:
Originally Posted by cevans
Everybody has argued about color since the lure makes started selling lures. Different colored lures are made to get fishermen to buy them. In the late 60’s when I was a kid and started strip pit fishing for bass, I could only afford couple of lures, one was a black rubber jig quarter oz, other was a number 2 mepps spinner with a white buck tail. Changed lures when the sun didn’t shine. Guess which color was used when it was a cloudy day? Black was the favorite.
Unpainted jig head is what is used on one of my most productive jigs the Gray ghost, which imitates baitfish very well. Silver gray in color.
I do see a difference using different colors working better depending on water clarity when using crankbaits as crankbaits do immatate fish. Some colors will strike a hit when trolling cranks over other colors. So here I am, contradicting myself but fishing using a different style of presentation of the lure to the fish.
In the winter here in this area often times certain colors wont get a peck and others will fill the boat .
If I only had one color to use it would be a total lack of color ,day in and day out a straight plain old white jig is hard to beat .
Other days I might swear by straight up bright chart though :Rofl
Correct me if I'm wrong. Wasn't the question: Does jig color matter ?
None of the hundreds of photos I've posted show painted jigs and no future pics ever will. As far as lure color goes it matters but not as much as other lure related factors such as lure action, speed and presentation for example. IMO Jig color is a distraction from the lure regardless what it's made of.
arkcrappie pretty well covered the issue.
I agree completely. That's what I was trying to say he worded it better. To me that clearly proves color matters.Quote:
Originally Posted by trypman1
it never matters until it matters as once said by a wise crappie angler i know rather well
Couldn't have said it better Ketch. Confidence is always a part of the equation when choosing lures and color. Doesn't matter if you're on fish or not if confidence in a location and everything else is missing. Just because I favor jigs, lures and colors doesn't mean they are right for everyone - unless we are fishing from the same boat LOL.
All the things I have read here on this thread have merit. I fish with one ol boy has 3 colors and the rest he say is to make us feel good about a lure. His jigs are unpainted head with either black, white or yellow/Chart tail. He does fish many stiles and sizes tho.
I think it matters around 20% of the time based on my experience.
I was listening at a crappie seminar, and the
speaker said there are two basic crappie colors,
chartreuse and 2nd color doesn't really matter !!!!
LDS
I say chartreuse and any dark color , the rest are to catch fishermen . One tackle manufacturing rep told me once . Been preaching this for years about colors being important . We can't make money selling one color !:fish I use purple/chartruse except when I use bigger tubes with 1/4 oz insert heads cause they don't make them so it's orange/chartreuse . Had some guys say swap colors if they don't bite . Using livescope I have pitched same jig to them as many as 5 times before they move . If they don't move they usually don't see it yet IMO . Most will bite if they see it and you don't bump the fish or move it too much . Livescope has opened lots of eyes . But if you believe in colors or whatever then keep doing what works for you . Just remember stealth , never knew fish could be so spooky at times . I have seen open water slabs on livescope spook in deep water just because livewell kicked on !Quote:
Originally Posted by Great Scott
I almost always use the Dinner gitter set up, always the correct color and smell. When using plastic generally either back and yellow(muddy water) or solid yellow.
didn't read all responses but yes, jig color is a major factor
I think size and presentation is more important than color. When I change jig color it is more from a dark jig to a light jig to a neutral color clear jig. My most productive jigs are a tube jig with chartuese tail, black or red body and blue jigs with silver or gold flash in the tail.
Haven't said that, a good friend of mine who is much better at catching crappie than I am, believes that color makes a difference. But I am not a purist nor set in my beliefs. If my friends are catching and I'm not I will quickly switch to whatever they are using. :)
Lievescope has made a difference in seeing how crappie react to different presentations of the jig.
Early this year my partner and I boated over 170 fish on one outing - none on painted jigs. Solo, I had many days after that outing where the numbers caught were between 40-60 fish - none on painted jigs. But hey, if it gives you more confidence in what you're casting - use them. Confidence is key using any lure.
Hey, Spoony .... I believe the question was in reference to the color of the "plastics" (or feathers, etc. ???) and not the color of the jighead. :donoQuote:
Originally Posted by Spoonminnow
But I'm with you on unpainted jigheads. :ThumbsUp
pollQuote:
Does jig color matter ?
Quote:
Caught two dozen fish on a windy day in 42 degree water. Only unpainted jigs were used and man did the crappies slam them using my own soft plastic designs - of course !) (Also caught on the three designs were perch, lm bass and sunfish.) I do have a theory why they caught fish that the other body shapes couldn't, but then again that's not the subject being discussed.
Yeah, that's why I distinguish between "jig" and "jighead" .... some call the jighead a "jig", others even call the plastic bodies as a "jig", and in some cases a "jig & minnow" or "minnow tipped jig" is nothing more than a jighead & minnow ... no feathers/hair or plastics involved. To me it's a "jig" if it's useable as is, and a "jighead" if it has no feathers/hair/plastics or dressings of any kind (just lead/hook).Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoonminnow
When someone asks me what color jig am I throwing, I tell them the colors of the plastic body I have threaded on the jighead, not just the color the lead head is painted (which in my case is the color of lead, because they aren't painted). :twocents
Nimrod - what was your original question about color referring to: jig heads or the bodies attached to them or both ?
"When livescoping presentation is most important , they will bite a bare unpainted jig head at least part of the time ." (Nimrod)
"Unpainted jig head is what is used on one of my most productive jigs the Gray ghost, which imitates baitfish very well. Silver gray in color." (CrappiePappy)
So would I be correct in saying, I use colored jigs on my unpainted jigs?
I've always referred to jig heads as a piece of lead molded around a hook and whatever is attached to them as either soft plastic [name], feathers or fur, live minnows, finesse lure, etc.
The question has been asked many times and now I'm wondering what the questioners were referring to. :dono
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoonminnow
Spoonminnow:
You bring up an interesting topic.
When someone says "jig" I always think of the item that has the hook and weighted head. The poured plastic item that can easily hooked onto the jig head while out fishing is what I refer to as "the plastic, plastic, or the bait".
It seems on this forum the term jig refers to the plastic part of the unit. It is just something that I have gotten used to when reading the threads on this site.
I would like to hear other anglers opinions on this. Is this a regional thing, an age thing or what?
ClearCreek
I think it's just a "learned" thing :donoQuote:
Originally Posted by ClearCreek
Had a conversation with my buddy, Slabeye, about calling his Slabanator plastic bodies ... "jigs" ... and his reply was that was what he learned to call them. And in a roundabout way that kinda makes sense if the "hook/lead" is called a "jighead" : the head of the jig :scratchhead (which would mean the "jig" is the body and the lead is the head of the jig, and the hook is just a given.
Suffice it to say that the common term "jig" seems to have several different meanings, depending on whom you ask, and like most "learned" things in life ... you're not going to get people to change what they learned to call something, very easily. (taking for instance the pronunciation of our beloved fish's name : The word crappie comes from Canadian French crapet “sunfish.” Speakers of English borrowed the word first as crappé [krop-é], pronounced like “crop-ay,” which then spawned the variant croppie [króp-e].)
I see.
Ebay and all other sources for jigs list many types of jigs: leaded, stand-up, weedless, silicone skirted bass jigs, Ned Rig, Arkie, tube, round head, tear drop, specialty jigs for certain lures and the list goes on. All show bare hooks. (BTW a living rubber or silicone skirted bass jig is not complete until a soft plastic trailer or body is added, same for crappie jigs that have different body types added.) Many designs of drop-shot soft plastics are nose-hooked for crappie - no jig head is used.
If NIMROD means lure color and not jig head color, than I do have favorite colors for different lure designs that seem to work better than others.
But again, unpainted jig heads - ALWAYS.
When I say "jig", I'm referring to the jig head AND the body. That's probably because I grew up fishing marabou jigs tied by my dad. You can't separate the head from the body in that case.Quote:
Originally Posted by ClearCreek
Other than marabou jigs, what are other jig names that describe what they are or represent?Quote:
When I say "jig", I'm referring to the jig head AND the body.