Hello,

I have a big tournament coming up on a body of water that I am unfamiliar with and I am trying to out together a little gameplan for the days I get to prefish.

From what I've heard, the water is really tanic, or tea colored, has tons of smallies and is really deep. I was wondering which color patterns were more likely to be effective in this color of water. I've always had better luck on darker colors in muddy or stained water, so should I expect the same principles to apply to tanic water color?

The lake is an impoundment on a river system that is well-known for it's smallmouth fishing in the spring. Sounds like they become pretty hard to find during the summer months.

Green pumpkin!!

Never mind about which color, when the visbility is poor make it loud, make it shiny, make it fat, make it vibrate powerfully and the bass will find it.

Tannic water is often very different from stained water. You can usually see through tannic colored water for quite a ways, it's just the color of tea. 

 

I seem to have a lot of luck in tannic water on gold colored baits. Either spinnerbaits with gold blades, gold colored cranks, or plastics with gold like golden shiner or sand colors. 

Florida has a lot of tanic colored water - can't go wrong with golld / gold flash colors and Junebug in soft plastics.

Yup. Gold and dark is your answer. Tannic water as mentioned above is actually really clear, its just tinted.

If there are smallies chartruese and bubblegum are almost always good choices

White is another good flavor

good advice - gold, chartreuse and bubble gum are all colors smallies love to attack

I'd have to go Black blue jig and green pumpkin purple/gold rage menace on a shaky head.  Cranks I'd go with something black back with chart sides.

Pink or bubblegum color will work best.

What these other Guys said, A staple for me in Fl. Has always been Gold... Rattle baits, Green Pumkin Gold Flake,Straight tale worms as well as chrome rattletraps and black ribbon tales...

Good luck on you're Tournament

Firetiger;  spinner baits, crank baits, soft jerk baits   FIRETIGER.

Gold, chrome, chartreuse, white, black & blue, red & black, and firetiger are all good colors. 

I should add.. That my earlier post was same water color, and Gold flash excells at it, as well as chrome, however that was LMB, as far as Smallies? None in Fl. That I ever caught, so Mr. Hottle is a smallmouth Fisher, I would pay attention to his color choices, most Defiantly.

If there are smallies chartruese and bubblegum are almost always good choices

White is another good flavor

Ditto!  Did this last weekend.  Not just for Smallies..pike and Largies too. 

I really appreciate all of the information, guys!

I really appreciate all of the information, guys!

To add to the White and White/CHT colors.  Normally this lake is gin clear, but this year for the first time it was tea color (I think it has to do with the rain we are getting..getting a lot more than normal).  Anyway, I was worried about the White skirt on my SB.  So I checked how it looked underwater, to me anyway it looked like the white was actually a bit yellow (cht) instead of white.  I was like if this is what I see, I wonder what the fish sees.  I was worried for nothing, I used white ice super flukes too and caught fish.  

I fished a lot of tea colored water when I lived in Florida. For soft plastics, red shad, and junebug were the best producers for me.

For smallmouth I go with the green color that roboworm uses in their "aarons magic" colored worm, or yamamoto "Watermelon 042". Its darker that what I view as traditional watermelon, it pops pretty good in brown tinted water and we all know SM love green. I don't like green pumkin or pumkin just because I feel like they match the water color and dont pop. Looking at your bait if you cannot see it likely they cannot either.

 

When I am fishing largmouth in the same type of water its a very easy choice of junebug or some type of plum color or something close, no need for anything else. Black wont get the nod unless we are talking less than one foot of visibility or very low light conditions.

Thanks to everybody!

Late to the party, but I'll give my experiences. One lake here gets real tanic late fall (surrounded by oak trees). Anything white or gold lights up like a light bulb. 

If there are smallies chartruese and bubblegum are almost always good choices

White is another good flavor

Lol I picture you chewing on bubble gum senkos

Lol I picture you chewing on bubble gum senkos

Lol...to be honest i have only one pack of senkos...they are watermelon pepper and have been in the boat for five years lol

When i was in maine i loved a bubblegum fluke for smallies...almost like bobber fishin..watch the fluke dissapear and set the hook! Lol

Lol...to be honest i have only one pack of senkos...they are watermelon pepper and have been in the boat for five years lol

When i was in maine i loved a bubblegum fluke for smallies...almost like bobber fishin..watch the fluke dissapear and set the hook! Lol

 

Went out and had to see for myself. Water is clear but stained and tea colored, tried a bubblegum D-shad on a keel weighted EWG 3/0. Lost one first cast, got this one on the followup. Hard stikes, color looks great in stained water. You guys made a believer outta me haha

Went out and had to see for myself. Water is clear but stained and tea colored, tried a bubblegum D-shad on a keel weighted EWG 3/0. Lost one first cast, got this one on the followup. Hard stikes, color looks great in stained water. You guys made a believer outta me haha

Cool! Neat looking fish, been awhile since I caught one that color.....