There is a reason custom color hand poured soft plastic worms got their start in SoCal...Florida strain LMB in clear deep structured lakes. FLMB out west are very difficult bass to catch using tactics common for NLMB.

It was thought for a few years FLMB could only be caught on live bait because we were use to catching NLMB that were easy to catch by comparison.

Tom

For me- black and motoroil is all I use in softplastics...wait pbj as well!

 

anyhow, what I think is more interesting is the FLMB vs NLMB.  I am not sure one is harder to catch than the other however:  FLMB native to shallow vegetated lakes in FL with millions of years evolving then transplanted into deep lakes outside normal habitat.  Shallow active bass will be more wary than deep and evolve so. 

  In one study however: To sum up the points below, FLMB preferred deeper water further from shore (even after evolving in shallow water), and they had smaller home ranges.  Long story short,  strain matters little to me, fish where the fish are.    To me, color is overrated quite frankly and while there have been times it made a difference, presentation to the fish matters first and foremost. 

Fish are opportunistic, we have to remember. 

 

A study done in Lake Tawakoni, a 37,000-acre reservoir in Texas,

12 NLMB and 12 FLMB were obtained from a state hatchery and tagged with ultrasonic tags.

They were all released in the same area of the lake at the same time. Their movements were then checked with a radio receiver every two weeks for an entire year.

NLMB spent 75 percent of their time within a 54-acre area and 95 percent of their time within a 165-acre area.

FLMB spent 75 percent of their time within a 48-acre area and 95 percent of their time within a 110-acre area.

FLMB spent 83 percent of their time and NLMB spent 95 percent of their time in water shallower than 7 feet, even though water 40 feet deep was close by.

The deepest water that NLMB moved to was 18½ feet. The deepest water for a FLMB was 22 feet.

“FLMB showed a distinct movement pattern toward shallower water as surface water temperatures increased. No such pattern was seen for NLMB.

“FLMB were located significantly farther from shore than NLMB. FLMB averaged 44 yards (maximum 226 yards) and NLMB averaged 10 yards (maximum 101 yards) from shore.”

 

I will also say however, as a man of science, fishing is one of those things that sometimes experience trumps science for me at times.  especially on the flmb vs nlmb issue.  Color, to me is neither and more marketing these days though.  

Also, jealousy since we don't have stocked flmb all that close to where I live.

This one seems like fun ... Here goes my list.

 

• Soft Plastics (general) - Green Pumpkin, Black/Blue
• Soft Plastics (shad imitators) - white, or a perch pattern of some sort (yellow with flakes)
• Soft Plastics (topwater) - Black, White
• Topwater  - Translucent white, white, chartreuse
• Lipless Cranks - Sexy Shad, Chartreuse
• Shallow/Medium Cranks - Sexy Shad, Chartreuse
• Deep Cranks - Chartreuse (like citrus shad, cht blk back)
• Jerkbaits - pink, chartreuse, white
• Jigs - green pumpkin, black/blue
• Spinnerbaits - white
• Buzzbaits - white
• Chatterbaits - white, black, green pumpkin
• Frogs - white, black, chartreuse