I previously threw either a tandem or double willow with gold/silver blades and a white & chartreuse skirt.

 

I have seen a lot of people throwing the classic chartreuse double willow with chartreuse skirt who swear by this, and say it is more visible in stain. What are your preferences for different stain levels?

I prefer colored blades most of the time especially in stained to muddy water, but I do have success with them in clear water too.  One Chartreuse and one white blade is my favorite, but I have had good luck with all white, all chartreuse, and different combinations of pink, red, and orange.

     The bass in my Avatar was caught on one with a double willow, with a #3 gold, and a #5 chartreuse blade.  The water had 1.5 to 2 foot of visibility.

 

 

  I went yesterday and the water had maybe three inches of visibility. Started off throwing a chartreuse skirted bait  with gold Magnum willow blades . Missed a few bass and caught two under the chin . When    bass are hooked under the chin that means they are hitting the blades.  I switched to a badly tarnished gold willow and copper Colorado , chartreuse skirt and no more blade strikes. It doesnt flash as loudly so the bass hit the bait instead of the blades..

I have often been known to take some fine grit sandpaper or Scotch Brite and take the shine down on a gold or a nickel blade.  🤫🤫🤫

I always use white or chartreuse painted blades in really stained water. It about doubles my strikes.

Stanley makes a dirty water spinnerbait with red-orange blades.   I can't buy a bite on it.  I have a spinnerbait or two with chartreuse blade... but I honestly think one gold and one silver is nearly always the best answer,  no matter the visibility 

In 50 years of bass fishing in Florida, I have yet to catch a bass on a spinnerbait with orange blades.  I once had a customer from Michigan who pull one out of his tackle.  I remember making some foolish statement like "Florida bass won't eat that".  He proceeded to make me a liar.  There are times when chartreuse blades work better than any other color.  I learned about this in a national tournament on Okeechobee. I was standing in line to use the phone (no cell phones in those days), when I heard one of the top pros tell his wife to buy all she could find.  I found two Chartreuse bladed Lindy's Spins at a local tackle shop.  They got me a nice check in that tournament.  They seem to work well on rainy and/or dark days.  I suspect they do because they stand out against the background.  The craziest color that ever won a tournament was a spinnerbait with chartreuse blades and a chartreuse and bright orange grub for a trailer.  It was in Kissimmee on a day where it rained all day.  Black with chartreuse blades works well in those conditions as well.  As I no longer fish in bad weather, I use gold blades almost exclusively these days. 

Painted white blades on an all-white spinnerbait are the only ones that have worked for me. Guess I need to try other colors?

 

Allen

Painted blades for me are so inconsistent I don't carry with me.

 

Double Willowleaf Gold

Gold Willowleaf rear, Silver Colorado front.

 

White skirt or white/chartreuse/blue 

Im going to say something odd, in slightly dirty water with between 5"-1' of water visibility ive done really well with an all black and blue spinnerbait. The blade was black with blue glitter. Ive not had much success with whites, golds, or chartreuse in the one lake ill actually use a spinnerbait alot.

Sometimes the lake is clear down to a foot, and sometimes it looks like the chocolate protein shake i just had.

sunny days and dirty water of 5-6 inches ( not chocolate milk) IE the saginaw river i like bronze blades and chartreuse spinner skirts .  

 

cloudy and same water visibility i like black and bronze. 

 

straight chocolate milk i like painted blades. 

 

sunny clear water 2-4 visibility  nickle blades or nickle and bronze blades and natural forage looking skirts and body 

 

2-4 ft visibility cloudy weather i like chartreuse and bronze blades brighter skirts. 

In dirty water I like a copper Colorado blade.  I've had success with painted blades, but it's a situational thing for me.