what are your favorite colors for lures when the water is very stained,close to muddy?

Dark colors like black or JuneBug

BLACK

(Absorbs most ambient light = Produces best contrast)

Roger

I'm with RoLo.  Anything thats creates a contrast, i.e. Black, Black Blue, Brown Black.  Also consider how the bait displaces water because that factor is huge in a bass' ability to locate the lure.  Rattles may come into play as well.

Thats my specialty, stained water Dink whisperer nailed it. Any variation on junebug. also dark blue, black, and maybe red. White and chrome are the bluejeans in any shade of clarity. oh yeah white isn't a color.  :

dark colors and/or chartreuse

Man, you must be fishing the same waters I am! The closest I've come to establishing a pattern (so far) is placing a jig or spinner bait precisely under a floating or submerged piece of a tree or a lay down.

They haven't chased anything yet. Water temp is still in the mid 50's.

well billme,it is tough here also on my river.my prob. is trying to fish fairly swift water with alot of heavy branches and other junk on the bottom,and thats where the fish are.for every fish i catch i give up a lure.so happy when the weather warms up and i can run my lures at med. depth.

Stained and muddy are two different things.  For stained, I don't change much, maybe a little brighter, but for muddy I look at sound and displacement as important factors.

Like most have mentioned:

Black/Blue or Junebug - soft plastics or jigs

Chartreuse or Firetiger - crankbaits or spinnerbaits

having luck on green pumpkin right now in the stained stuff can't get bit on bnb.

Black, junebug, chartreuse, fire tiger, purple, pink.

Black, junebug, chartreuse, fire tiger, purple, pink.

X2

In fishing the Achafalaya Basin mostly, I've found that Junebug, Candybug, Red Shad/Green Glitter, and Black w/Powder Blue Tail work best in heavily stained to muddy water. Also, a Gene Larew 4" Salt Craw in Black w/yellow claws will sometimes produce.