Hey I just bought a bunch of paddle tails like rage swimmer in 4' and 5' I was gonna throw them weightless and t rig them but then I got to thinking that we really don't have white bait fish that pike and bass feed on here in northern nys. So I was wonder if you guys think I should still use them as planned and think I'll have success or should I just go with another color all together and what's your preferd way to fish theses things. Thank you in advance and happy fishing!

P.s I fish mostly lakes from the bank 

Fish are more interested in what looks edible than what color it is. White is pretty visible in the water and stands out against most of what you find in the water. Because they can see it easily, they can come from a distance to get it. I’ve always done well with white for most species regardless of what bait the water may have.

White works well for me when I visit a clear lake/pond. I rarely catch anything with white in my favorite muddy colored pond. Black and darker colors work well there. 

 

How's the water clarity where you're going to fish? You're good with weightless and T-rig. I also fish some of my smaller ones on jig heads if I need to cast further and not too worried about hanging up.

More Pike have been caught using a Johnson silver weedless spoon with a white pork rind strip then any other lure.

White is a basic fish belly color.

Bill Murphy “In Pursuit of Giant Bass” has a chapter on lure colors. Bill was a dental technician an expert on matching white colors. Bill decided to test 10 different manufactures of the same tone of white. The test was to paint 10 of same mfr diving crank bait white from each paint supplier and fish them. 7 of the 10 lures performed poorly and 3 caught bass consistently. All the lures looked the same shade of white to Bill’s trained eye.

What was the difference? It turned if under ultra violet light the 3 white lures were the same shade and the other 7 were all different shades.

To the bass white isn’t always white.

After painting all 10 lures with the most successful white they all caught bass.

Proving we don’t  know how bass brain interprets see colors,

Try the white soft plastics and let the bass decide.

Tom

 

48 minutes ago, OmegaDPW said:

White works well for me when I visit a clear lake/pond. I rarely catch anything with white in my favorite muddy colored pond. Black and darker colors work well there. 

 

How's the water clarity where you're going to fish? You're good with weightless and T-rig. I also fish some of my smaller ones on jig heads if I need to cast further and not too worried about hanging up.

Often time the waters are not super coudy but often times after some rain get kinda Murkey but most the time you usually see the bottom from the banks a couple feet out. It's only my 3rd year of fishing I'm trying to teach myself from yputube and what not some I'm familiar with "inches of visibility" from sight just yet but I do somewhat understand the importance of it 

You should be fine. 40 years ago I was told to throw darker lures in muddy water and lighter colors in clear. I've always stuck with that (keeps it simple) and it usually has some merit. It's really one of those things we probably overthink- when it all depends on what the fish want that day. 

 

I've never fished for pike, but from what I've read here and seen on YouTube, they'll bite anything. Good luck! Let us know how it all turns out.  

If everyone in the place you are fishing is throwing the usual color baits for bass (green, blue, etc), then the bass might be more inclined to bite the white paddle tails you are throwing.

Bass, pike, and every other species of fish need to eat to survive.

They are very opportunistic fish, if given an easy meal they will take it if conditions are right for them.

White can represent quite a lot tho, do you happen to have trout? White can resemble its stomach (whether rainbow, brown, or brook trout). White's also great for imitating crappie's.

A set of coptic markers would change everything.

I fish the northern waters and white is an excellent color.

My sons, myself and my sons friends have done extremely well on white and chartreuse spinnerbaits and chatterbaits so far this year. Talking REALLY well. All white worked OK, WHT/CHART out fished 100% WHT by 5-6/1.

My advice is through a bunch of different colors and let the bass tell you what they want, Bass so far by me want little to do with willow leaf blade SPs but are hammering tandem Colorado.

I was throwing a 3/8oz WHT/CHART tandem Colorado W/white/chart 3.8" sparkle flake paddle trailer and was doing great, my son was using the same exact spinnerbait but in blk/chart with no trailer and caught nothing. We switched setups and his first cast he caught a 3lb+ LMB. We were using identical baitcasting setups. I was using BP Max Action Speed Shad as a trailer I partially dyed chartreuse.

He went on to catch 5 more bass that moring.

White lures catch fish!  I've caught fish on green pumpkin jigs with white trailers and white jigs with junebug trailers and basically all manner of color.

 

Lots of things matter a lot more like where you cast the bait and how fast it's falling/how bulky or compact it is etc.

I caught quite a few pike last year on a 4.8" white paddle tail swimbait on a white and chartreuse chatterbait here in Ontario. They work well. The Jackal rythym wave versions hold up really well for pike.