Is this a thing? Are they predominantly a clear water deal?

There was says that I didn't catch anything on any other color, Once I changed the worm to smoke color with same technique I got bites, So it is effective really specially when you have baitfish(shad) near shallow. Ive had wacky the smoke color and have good luck.

and yes water was clear in all the time that I had good luck with smoke color.

Mostly for me, but they also work well if they are feeding on shad.

 

I’ve used them at night just because it was already tied on. It fought fish. So I didn’t change it. 

“Was” a thing back in the earlier days of finesse, and popularized by guys like Zaleski and McKinnis, as well as some of the TN smallmouth gurus ...and yes, was almost always associated with clear water. You still hear about it every now and then, like the Ozark guys who soak their smoke grubs in water overnight to give a milky hue, but popularity seems to have switched to many of the more modern color patterns.

Smoke sparkle ring worm with chartreuse tail on a slider head.

In the 70’s west coast hard pour worms, reapers and grubs were primarily basic smoke color with various color flakes and blood lines. Salt & Pepper is smoke with silver and black flake, popular for the past 4 decades. 

Zank, John Zankowski, came up with neon blood line in blue, purple and gold combined with the salt & Pepper smoke soft plastics in the early 80’s. 

Difficult to maintain a consistently even hand so Roboworms were created to automate the hand pour consistently.

You can say smoke is and was popular out west and Japan.

The 1st Gitzit tubes were smoke and S&P. Garland being pro from Lake Mead, Mojave area added red flake to the smoke.

To this day purple thunder a smoke with fine S & P with gold flake and purple neon vain is my go to worm color. Lightning Shad is the same as purple thunder except gold neon vain,

Tinting the smoke with translucent cinnamon brown with purple neon and red flake is Roboworms Oxblood red flake.

Basic smoke with pearl neon is hologram Shad. 

So many smoke choices so little time to use them all.

Tom

 

One of my most deadliest worms for night fishing was a 7 1/2" Ring Raschal, the back was a dark smoke, the belly a nearly clear smoke, with a ton of silver glitter.

 

It was called Starry Starry Night!

Smoke purple, smokin blue and smokin green zoom finesse worms are the bees knees. Even the smartest bass can’t help but eat one of those rigged weightless sinking very slowly. Powerbait makes a smoke tube that is very good also 

The Bass Pro generic brand curlytail grub comes in a Smokey gray color and I have caught some huge smallmouth on it in super clear water. It is a very natural color that still has the slightest bit of pop to make it stand out from the surrounding underwater terrain and vegetation. As for the worm part, the roboworm has some pretty good smokey colors. 

plain smoke and smoke purple. i still use them sometimes in clear water when fish are super focused on shad. like now.

Reins made a Baitfish and Bluegill color that was like a matte smoke that wasn't translucent, gave it a real natural look not to mention it was a unique color.  For whatever reason it appears they have changed it to a more translucent color that everyone else makes which really sucks.   

Smoke with black pepper grubs still catch a lot of fish for me.....particularly in super clear water.

Yamamoto natural shad which is smoke with a little gold and black flake is my best clear water color. 

 

This is been my #1 spinnerbait color all year. 

 

Allen 

OK...so its not smoke...but I been loving this.

I have done good with smoke purple and bluegill (smoke with blue, gold, and silver flake I believe) in clear water. Also Zoom has a sexy shad color (Milky white bottom with gold flake and minnow grey top, that has worked too for me. That color appeared to be a special run in the finesse worm because it doesn't show that as an option for that color on their site.

 

Talking tubes, smoke and many different options for flake colors work great. Again smoke red, smoke purple, and blugill are can't miss. 

 

Mostly use them on clear water but if the bait is heavy on the smoke color they can do well in some darker water conditions.

12 hours ago, Chris Catignani said:

OK...so its not smoke...but I been loving this.

I’m not into smoke worms but when the river gets clear (late summer and fall) Smoke grubs work best for me. As others mentioned great baitfish imitation. Blue, purple and silver flake. Would like to try a red or green flake in smoke. 
 

The worm should work good for you. If I were to rig it up it would most likely be on a Slider for river Smallies. 

On 10/3/2021 at 3:45 PM, DitchPanda said:

Is this a thing? Are they predominantly a clear water deal?

Yes, and not exactly.  I like smoke w/ purple flake in a lot of water that isn't clear at all.  The bait has a vibration profile that's larger than it looks, and the glitter provides a glimpse of flash in discolored water.  I get bit using it.

Guys, what is smoke?  I mean, it seems like it's a milky dark grey color?  Having a hard time finding these.  Are there any smoke colors for Roboworms?  Thx.

I tossed this little ditty around at the rock quarry the other day, got a fish on the first throw. Bad luck? Nope got one on the second throw too 

55 minutes ago, Smallies said:

Guys, what is smoke?  I mean, it seems like it's a milky dark grey color?  Having a hard time finding these.  Are there any smoke colors for Roboworms?  Thx.

This is the smoke purple flake I use, not sure about Roboworm:

1 hour ago, Smallies said:

Guys, what is smoke?  I mean, it seems like it's a milky dark grey color?  Having a hard time finding these.  Are there any smoke colors for Roboworms?  Thx.

A lot of lure companies are using the term smoke to mean  a lot of different things...

The OG smoke basically starts out with clear plasitsol with just a hint of black added.

It will be pretty translucent.

This is a smoke Mr. Twister

Got it, thanks guys.  @J Francho is that a Senko?

Yep