Top lures of the 2024 Classic - Bassmaster

 

Besides swimjigs I have always said you only need 3 colors in general for jigs; black, brown, and green pumkin or a combination. If you scroll through the link above shows the baits the top guys used in the Classic. The 3 colors I mentioned are what 95% of the jigs listed are colored along with the trailers. You can also see that most of the spinnerbaits were white with some accent colors. I bring this up to reenforce the fact that you do not need 15 colors of jigs or spinnerbaits to catch bass. Now I know there is going to be that one odd color or combination that works well in a specific body or water. Generally speaking I would feel confident  fishing anywhere in the US with only a few colors.

 

Allen

I will add you need purple in jig skirts and trailers when fishing water with clarity over 5’ deep. 
Green pumpkin is a good choice in soft plastics and silicone jig skirts. 
Can’t over look black/blue in low visibility water or night, it’s #1.

My personal choice is Black-purple-brown combinations in jigs because it works where I bass fishing.

Tom

24 minutes ago, WRB said:

I will add you need purple in jig skirts and trailers when fishing water with clarity over 5’ deep. 
Green pumpkin is a good choice in soft plastics and silicone jig skirts. 
Can’t over look black/blue in low visibility water or night, it’s #1.

My personal choice is Black-purple-brown combinations in jigs because it works where I bass fishing.

Tom

 

Is the purple color a local thing or have you fished it in other states? The reason I ask this is because when I spent 17 weeks in Missouri the local crayfish were brown with a purple hue to them. PB&J really worked well there but once I came back to Maryland I couldn't catch anything on that color. None of our local crayfish have a purple hue to them.

 

Allen

I doubt the bass care, but I prefer my lures have some purple in them.

I have used black-purple-brown coast to coast, Mexico and Canada.  It maybe because those colors are present in bluegill and crawdads.

I started using that combination in hair jigs  because I could change pork rind colors black, brown or purple without changing jigs, the combination worked with my pork trailers.

PB & J doesn’t include black.

Tom

Interesting, I appreciate this conversation.

3 hours ago, WRB said:

 

My personal choice is Black-purple-brown combinations in jigs because it works where I bass fishing.

Tom

I dig this! I don't use jigs but I think this applies to bait color as well.

 

Gorimiso Black is one of my favorite colors. It's black/blue on top and brownish/purplish bottom. Maybe this is JDM PB&J?

 

Either way, I throw this color a LOT. Dirty water here. And I believe in contrast where possible, however dark.

 

Love this color! 

I’m sure glad you guys can catch fish on jigs with purple.  If I had a dollar for every fish that I have caught on pb&j, I couldn’t buy a hamburger.

Bluegill are basically purple shimmery.  I actually do pretty well on PB & J swimjigs when I remember to toss them.  I usually like some subdued chartreuse strands on the belly.  Henderson Craw from Siebert is great for this look.  His 'bull gill' skirt also is an excellent more subdued bluegill imitator with some purples in it.

Agreed with the purple! I have purple on my jig 98% of the time between the jig or the trailer. Have my best days outside of jigs with purple worms, and some trace of purple on my chatterbaits. Those three things account for over 90% of my fishing.

Black Blue and purple is my favorite jig up here on Champlain. 

Last year I found a color that has worked well.  Zoom trick worm Okochoobee Craw, 1/2 blue and 1/2 green pumpkin.  Haven't used a purple anything in 30 years, maybe that's why I don't catch fish.

Jeez Tom @WRB stop talking about purple anything, lol. 
 

Seriously though, that's about the worst kept secret. 
 

I think you can get by with the oversimplification of color choices, but let's face it, that can be boring. Don't let it hinder you from trying a few different colors. Besides, it's good for business. 

Red has always been great on grand, like in Texas lakes.  You see a couple of guys knew this.  

On our trip to Headwaters in Florida where a purple worm is king, they wouldn’t touch it.  We threw one color for an entire week and it was the only color that worked….a green pumpkin laminate Senko with some red in it.  I did catch one that spit up the worm in the pic and believe me I had a Plano full of purple Yamamoto worms 5”-6”-7”, Fat Senkos and both of the new big worms but they would eat the 5” in the green pumpkin/black/red laminate all day every day.  

Not to be a stick in the mud, but it's been proven that largemouth have dichromatic vision and can only distinguish two colors, red and green.

3 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

Not to be a stick in the mud, but it's been proven that largemouth have dichromatic vision and can only distinguish two colors, red and green.

 But we fisherman don't and I've always felt that's why the companies produce so many color variations and patterns.  Sales!

I actually caught 3 smallmouth on pbj jigs today but 19 on mud minnow TRD.

6 hours ago, Bass Rutten said:

Not to be a stick in the mud, but it's been proven that largemouth have dichromatic vision and can only distinguish two colors, red and green.

 

 

Proven? Who interviewed these bass?

 

And why do bass like purple? Ask this guy.

 

Great use of AI haha

One of the best lures I've used when fishing the south end of the Atchafalaya Basin and the marshes below Morgan City, LA is a purple spinnerbait with purple blades. And a buzz bait in the same color combination will produce at times.

 

Also, I have had success when using a black, blue, and purple jig with a Flippin Purple Zoom Big Salty Chunk.

 

My brother-in-law swears by a Tequila Sunrise worm which is black and purple. I'm not sure if he has used any other color for years.

 

 

Ok! So we're basing our color selection off the results of one tournament held on Grand Lake O the Cherokees, Tulsa, OK?

 

How do we know those aren't local colors?

1 hour ago, Catt said:

Ok! So we're basing our color selection off the results of one tournament held on Grand Lake O the Cherokees, Tulsa, OK?

 

How do we know those aren't local colors?

Thats the biggest trap that most fishermen fall into. 

Thats why they have bags of plastics that haven’t been touched because some guy did well somewhere so it’s gotta work everywhere for everyone. 

 

It don’t work that way. 
 

I’ve said before…

To me it’s the first and only rule…

Learn your waters first,

only then give em what they want, when, where and how they want it. 
 

 

Mike

5 minutes ago, Mike L said:

Thats the biggest trap that most fishermen fall into

 

Even some of the Pros do!

 

Y'all ever see Hackney tackle selection in his truck?

5 or 6 years ago, 'Fisherman's Source' sent me an email about clearance Yozuri baits.  It was weird...hadn't ordered from them before and don't know how they got my email.  Oh well...$4.97 Yozuri jerkbaits sound good, and I like the flat sides.  Picked up several 110's and 95's.   Who knew I was scoring one of Hamner's classic winning baits 💥💪😎