Eric Gates @ Juno Bait and Tackle Juno Beach

                                              Lure Colors

Last week we talked a little about picking out the right lures for the right situation.  Just to re-cap last weeks article, you are trying to choose a lure that is the right size for the forage in the area, stays in the strike zone, and most importantly one that you have confidence in.  Now we are going to get into color selection.

1)   You can’t go wrong with a natural color.  You’ve heard it over and over; match the hatch, a simple but effective way for choosing the right color. The hard part can be finding out what exactly the fish are keyed in on.  The solution, ask your local tackle shop.  If it has been a while since the last fishing trip, ask again, the forage tends to change a lot throughout the year.  Don’t forget about the food chain, if you’re watching guys catch ladyfish on glass minnows a large imitation ladyfish makes a great lure for targeting the larger species.  DDX makes a great soft plastic ladyfish imitation that can be rigged for slow or fast current situations.

2)   Low light vs. high light situations.  I have always done well in high light situations with natural colors that flash or have flake in it that reflects a lot of light.  D.O.A.’s clear holographic (382) is great for clear high bluebird skies.  I have seen many summer days when snook will hit the #382 shrimp or cal plastics out of aggravation before they will touch live bait.  On the other side of the spectrum on those pitch black nights a dark color moving slow will get the job done when it come to ambush predators like snook, trout, bass, and others.

3)   Water condition is another factor that comes into play when selecting a color.  In water with low visibility you want to use a color that will stand out, like your chartreuses or whites.  On days or nights when the water is brown and there is almost no visibility I have always done well with a large white swimbait.  Storm’s Wild Eyed Shad is a good choice, and size is important.  If it’s early in the season smaller is better.  One of the other things I have noticed over the past few years is when the water is that milky green color and there is a lot of seaweed around a lighter colored soft plastic with red flake in it will out fish other colors most of the time.  When it comes to flairhawking, don’t be afraid to throw yellow or chartreuse in clear water…it will get bit.

Every day is different and the fish’s mood can change at any time.  It’s a good idea to carry a few different size and different color lures with you and experiment.  Start small and light and work your way to larger lures until you find what the fish are in the mood for.  If you are getting a lot of bites on small lures and that stops suddenly, break out the big lures and try to catch that fish of a lifetime!