THE RANKING OF COLORS
When searching for soft baits in your local bait shop, the first aspect that usually catches our eye, is the color of the baits. There are combinations of colors with solids, translucents, laminates, and of course all of these colors, with an endless amount of colored flecks. So that means color is the most important feature of a bait? Right? Does color catch the eye of the fish as the first attractant or is color an attractant for anglers, from begginers to pros?
the first attractant of a bait we like to sell is the presentation aspect of lifelike features of the baits, scents, and then colors. But why do we offer over 120 plus different combinations of colors? Color sells man, bottom line, but is it color that catches the fish? Or what other factors are involed besides the almighty color?
In my book, (and each of us has a book of information that we have collected over time through our fishing experiences), I am going to use the chapter of opinionated facts. Opinionated facts sounds like an oxymoron, just like jumbo shrimp. Face it, we all have a chapter of moronic instances, feats, and opinions about fishing. It is the memory of our book whether written down or locked in our memory banks, that reminds us of how we caught our very first fish to our last fish. But at home we often forget when trash day is! We remember how we caught the fish, where we caught the fish, the depth where we caught the fish, and the type and color of bait we used to catch the fish. Wait, I thought color was the most important feature! Color is the first thing we see when we are out of our element at a bait store with cash in our pockets. But color is not necessarily the main ingredient of catching fish when we are on the water, our playing field. Once we get onto our playing field and into our element on the water, the rules change. In my book, of the infamous opinionated facts, I have put in order the importance of certain functions and qualities of baits, to where they are ranked when we get on the water, our playing field. You will be suprised where color of the soft bait ranks.
In my chapter I have ranked the importance of color using soft baits on catching fish, 4th on the list of functions and qualities. I picked the soft bait for the reason that fished properly, the soft bait can act and look like any natural bait that fish are feeding on or any enemy that invades a fish's territory.
The first function and probably the most difficult at times is locating the fish. On locating fish we rely on wind, seasons, temperature, time of day, and of coarse the best locator is electronic sonar. All of these factors help us remember where fish are, but the sonar helps us confirm that we are right or wrong on locating the fish. Although we have located the fish and the sonar confirms that there are fish down there, does it mean that we can catch the fish? No, as we all know and have experienced the frustration first hand. But hey! We have the color of the bait to catch all of those fish below, Right? NOT YET!
Presentation of the soft bait or any bait for that matter is the first key after location. For the soft bait, the lifelike action grabs the attention of the fish to come over and investigate. Sometimes this all happens within a second or two or over a few minutes, depending on if the fish is hungry or in the defensive territorial mood. Then once the attention has moved forward into action, then texture and scent is the key to a fish taking your bait or spitting the bait out. The lifelike feature of texture allows that fish to accept the plastic with the feel of it's prey or enemy such as the salamander, worm, baitfish, frogs, snakes, etc. Thus, biting in and feeling what the fish naturaly feels towards it's prey. Then the fish possibly holds on to the bait longer for proper and deeper hooksets. Another contributing factor for the fish holding on to the plastic or spitting the plastic out is the taste of the plastic. This is all due to what the fish tastes or smells. Will the plastic smell like the wrong natural scents that we carry in our hands, gasoline, oil or other foreign smells that fish despise and will spit the bait for sure. Or does the fish taste the right amino acid from the hand or an attractant of some sort or natural prey scents such as crawfish, shad, baitfish. and cover scents that the fish undoubtedly like such as anise, garlic and salt. Then inhale the bait for it's liking. So Color has to be the next main part of presentation, Right? Well not yet exactly!
Size has power over color. The old adage of match the hatch, is so incredibly important and that has a lot to with the size of the prey that the fish is feeding on. When OLE' Bucketmouth is feeding on small 2 inch baitfish, they are content to feed on small 2 inch baitfish regardless of what color they are. Actually, a fish will go after a strange looking or different looking fish just because it is different in color, but they are still focused on that 2 inch size. That is why being aware of the surroundings of certain baitfish that fish are feeding on, or finding that certain bait that fish are feeding on, such as crawfish, insects, etc. can be so important to the tournament angler. But the size is a key factor of the bait. This is another aspect of site fishing. Site fishing, just does not focus on looking for the fish that you want to catch, either in the weeds, or where a fish jumps. Site fishing is looking for the size of crawfish, insects, or baitfish the fish are keying in on. That is one reason that we downsize our baits, especially when the water gets cooler. The bass may want the smaller baits because they are easier, and may have less experience in evasiveness, thus, they are easier to catch. Plus, when the cooler weather arrives the insects all but have disappeared. By throwing some smaller baits either plastic or hard, the bass may just be looking for an insect as a treat, therefore the smaller bait may be the ticket for the offering. The larger baitfish are harder and more experienced at evading it's hunters. Now this is where color has it's place on the water.
All of these factors that I have listed all have their place, with locating, presentation, size and color.I am not going to get into, do fish or don't fish see color? Or what colors do they see or at certain depths the spectrum changes, Not here!, That is another whole story in itself. Lets just say for the sake of arguement, that the fish see shades and lightness and darkness of black and white.
There are your ordinary producing colors that match the bottom of the lakes or streams such as rock bottoms and forage, where blacks, browns, pearl and mossy colors of greens. Colors baits that match, such as clear colors of shad, highly sparkled or flecked to imitate the flash of scales. Plus there are a multitude of colored flecks to match the colors of sunfish, bluegill or other flashes of scales on other baitfish. For instance orange, chartreusce, blue, gold and green flecks. The red flecks may have more of a significance. Red may mean blood, injured, or dying prey. Bass can see red, Maybe just for this reason, makes you wonder? All of these colors seem to be based on feeding time. What about reaction of bass to certain colors? The reaction colors for feeding such as some laminates,( 2 colors on one bait). These match colors of insects, like bees- yellow/black, grasshoppers- green/ brown, flies- grey/green. The bass needs to react fast to get a meal.This is probably done by identifying the bait by size, color and sound within a split second. Then there are the territorial reaction of red shad, tequilla sunrise, green,black, etc, that imitates egg stealers, the natural enemies of bass. Bass will kill the salamander and frog without eating them. The frog, green/black, where the frog eats the same food as a bass does. Then there are the highly bright colors like bubblegum, pearl, glow, lime that spur just reaction strikes.
Always remember, regardless of color, it is always how the bait is presented that counts.
There are other factors involved in catching fish, that involve rattles, no rattles, thick tails, smooth tails, man, when does it all stop? I hope never!
This is why there is no written book on fishing. Sure there are guidelines on what rigs to use, baits to use, the how's and when's. When you think you all have that book read and figured out, another chapter has to be written.
Example:
Your buddy that is on his way fishing has to stop off at Walmart to get his fishing license halfway through the season. Then he puts on a Budweiser beer can crankbait that tumbles in the water because he has five year old 100 pound test shark line, with a big ole brass swivel. Then he proceeds to pull in the largest bucketmouth that you have been trying to catch your whole life. Go figure!
You can agree or disagree on all or part of what I said, but there are no rules when it comes to bass fishing. Think of that Budweiser beer can crankbait. I think we all can agree on that.
Bearpaw
