Now before i get attacked by everybody for asking an extremley general question with a million possibilities, let me give you a little bit to narrow it down. The situation is this- you are going fishing tommorrow, to a lake that is very lightly fished and quite clear, with a moderatley sandy/weedy bottom, and is fairly shallow through out, 20' or less. You dont know much more about the lake. The weather has been stable the last 3 days, usually sunny and mildy warm, the next couple days are supposed to be the same. You are now anticipating the day ahead, tying on a lure for the next day, to narrow it down even more, its a jigging type lure, not a horizontal, aggresive lure. (jig, tube, worm, etc. etc. NOT crank, spinner, topwater). Now, with the little information that you are prepared with, what color will you tie on to give you the most confidence in your first couple of casts?

Hmmmmm, the lake i fish is exactly as you describe.  I LOVE to throw DARK colors in CLEAR water.  My most effective colors have been greens and browns all with black flake.  Nothing shimmering or flashy.  A dark watermelon color would be my first choice, followed by BLACK.  Really deep dark black, then if all else fails, something thats a rich brown color or pumpkinseed.  Good post by the way......

Ben

When in doubt, "punt". In bass fishing, "watermelon" makes the best punt.

Green lies in the center of the color spectrum, so it caters to the most lighting conditions.

Roger

Black or brown would be my choice.

watermelon or green pumpkin

Watermelon/red flake in soft plastic.  For a jig, I'd use what Denny Brauer calls "Texas Craw".  It's a combination of dark/lt brown with a strand or two of black tossed in.  Trailer can be either brown or black.  In clear water it was always a killer for me.

Clear water and weeds =Green pumpkin and/or Watermelon. You just described about every lake I fish, and that is what works for me.

Watermelon/red flake in soft plastic.

I have to second this choice.

Another good choice might be black/red flake. Pretty dark, but those flakes grab a lot of attention.

If it is a worm I would probably throw watermelon or green pumpkin. If it is a jig some combination of brown.

well the results are about what i expected. But my favorite is one that i havent seen yet. It is a watermelon/purple flake. Another close one is called sandy candy, its my favorite tube color, which consists of a pale green with purple and blue flakes.

Watermelon, Watermelon, Watermelon.

#1 Texas Rigged Gene Larew 7 ½ Salty Ring Worm Cinnamon Pepper Neon/June Bug Laminated (Camouflage).

#2 Oldham's Lures Trailer Hitch Jig, 3/8 oz Black/Blue, Gene Larew Salty Hawg Craws in 6 with 1 ½ cut off the tail

jig:   strike king bitsy bug in green pumpkin w/ an appropiratley sized watermelon/red flake curly tail grub as trailer.

worm: natural shad or watermelon red flake 5" senko rigged texposed.

CLEAR WATER = STAY NATURAL!!!

Pure, straigt black

Key thing to remember...

CLEAR WATER = NATURAL COLORS

so watermelon, brown, green, etc.  8-)

i like to fish a watermelon or pumkin seed first and if thats slow then go to black or this color one of my  partners makes himself called lagoon its a weird brownish greenish color with an almost pearlescent look to it