I am listening/watching a podcast from Science of the strike, and they are saying that red works the best in very dirty water. Has anyone else found this to be true?

Not sure about it being the best,

but I've had some success with brighter colored baits in dirty water.

And that does include some that include red.

The first fish in this clip liked it.

https://youtu.be/eGeAS26LB3w?si=z0tp6aQ_8ZBeXRpz

A-Jay

I like red/chartreuse (bleeding shiner) spinner baits in dirty water.  I’ve never used straight red.

It works

52 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

I am listening/watching a podcast from Science of the strike, and they are saying that red works the best in very dirty water. Has anyone else found this to be true?

Are they saying red is better than other colors in dirty water, or red is better in dirty water than in clear water?

They said that red, because it's the most visible to bass, would be better in dirty water than other colors normally associated with dirty water like chartreuse or black.

Thanks.  I’m not familiar with the podcast, but that is what the science says.

I have found red to work and not work in all manner of water clarities and conditions and slow and fast presentations and all seasons and I think it has more to do with whether the fish are around and active and whether you’re presenting the bait where they want it at the speed they want it than the color.

^^I agree.  Because a color (bait) is more visible is no guarantee it elicits more strikes.  I could be a good starting point, though.

3 hours ago, Jig Man said:

I like red/chartreuse (bleeding shiner) spinner baits in dirty water.  I’ve never used straight red.

I like that. 
 

I stick to chartreuse in muddy water but it sounds like I’ll have to give red a shot too.

I think the big takeaway for me is, that I wouldn't throw red except in the winter and spring normally. So, at the very least I will try it in dirty water, if not all the time now.

For me I throw black and red in the fall when it comes to jigs and sometimes crankbaits with a craw pattern. In dirty water I usually throw black with blue flake or a bright colored crankbait or jerkbait.

 

Years ago a red hook trend came about because a supposed study. It prompted a lot of anglers to switch out their hooks to red ones. It also got guys to throw red hard baits or so called bleeding baits. This never really worked for me but for some I guess it did because red hooks are still around. I guess it depends on your level of success or confidence.  

5 hours ago, FishTank said:

Years ago a red hook trend came about because a supposed study. It prompted a lot of anglers to switch out their hooks to red ones. It also got guys to throw red hard baits or so called bleeding baits. 

The trend peaked within a few years of a line manufacturer advertising its red line as being invisible to bass.

   My position was influenced (stolen?) from something @WRB-2.0 said 12 or 15 years ago, and several times since; paraphrasing here, 'even if I know definitively what colors a bass sees best, I'll never really know how that fish interprets the color, or will react to it'. 

   I have used red spinnerbaits in murky water.  But I have to admit that I don't really believe that spinnerbat color makes any difference whatsoever in low-viz water....what with blades spinning, wires vibrating, skirt flapping, trailer trailing... color probably doesn't matter, except to spinnerbait manufacturers who tell you to add another color to your tackle box. 

16 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I am listening/watching a podcast from Science of the strike, and they are saying that red works the best in very dirty water. Has anyone else found this to be true?

I use a colour often found in JDM baits: Scuppernong. It's red-ish

 

And it works. I use it often.

If the crawdads in a lake are red, than I will at least try red in any water clarity.  If there are no red crawdads, then I prefer chart. white, and black for dirty water.  I fish a lake where there are lots of red crabs.  When I fish around the rocks where the red crabs live, red colored crankbaits work well for me.  When I fish around the weeds and tulles, I fish shad colored spinnerbaits and swimbaits.  When I fish worms they are Junebug, because I always fish Junebug worms.  I always catch bass on this lake, but I don't know if it is because of the baits I throw, or because it is  loaded with dumb bass that have never seen a lure.

😎 

 

4 hours ago, Choporoz said:

 

  … I have used red spinnerbaits in murky water.  But I have to admit that I don't really believe that spinnerbat color makes any difference whatsoever in low-viz water....what with blades spinning, wires vibrating, skirt flapping, trailer trailing...

Exactly!  In low-vis water or low light conditions, receptors for color vision (cones) can become significantly less sensitive, even stop functioning, and bass can’t help but rely on the receptors (rods) that ‘turn on’ in those conditions and are sensitive to shapes, movement, brightness and contrast.  We may catch fish on a red bait and think “that’s the ticket” when, in fact, the fish is responding more to its shape or movement or contrast than to its color.  

There are better choices than red to exploit this behavior and @king fisher mentioned them.   I would also add blue.

 

 

7 hours ago, Team9nine said:

😎

 

 

I have no idea what that chart represents.

1 hour ago, RRocket said:

I have no idea what that chart represents.

 

That is the main panel of the Color-C-Lector, first introduced in 1984, and created by Dr. Loren Hill/Lake Systems. It was a tool that would measure the available light in any color of water, and at any depth, and then tell you what color(s) fish could see best for those conditions (based on largemouth). The industry bit HARD on the concept! It was on all the big TV shows (Dance, Roland, Lindner, Houston, etc.). Lots of arguments on whether it really worked or didn't at the time, but in a lot of cases, it verified what seemed like the best, or at least most popular, colors used by anglers in a variety of situations. 

I bought one, however back then I about anything that was going to help me catch fish. When it broke I did not replace it.

Red is not a popular choice for me. I do have a red toned crankbait that kills it at night. In dirty water I have had luck with orange which is close to red. A black jig with bright orange pork frog was my go to lure in chocolate milk.

22 hours ago, Team9nine said:

 

That is the main panel of the Color-C-Lector, first introduced in 1984, and created by Dr. Loren Hill/Lake Systems. It was a tool that would measure the available light in any color of water, and at any depth, and then tell you what color(s) fish could see best for those conditions (based on largemouth). The industry bit HARD on the concept! It was on all the big TV shows (Dance, Roland, Lindner, Houston, etc.). Lots of arguments on whether it really worked or didn't at the time, but in a lot of cases, it verified what seemed like the best, or at least most popular, colors used by anglers in a variety of situations. 

Do you or anyone know what the general consensus of the chart is nowadays? 

2 hours ago, woolleyfooley said:

Do you or anyone know what the general consensus of the chart is nowadays? 

 

Spike It was the last company to own and sell it. I believe it has been discontinued. You don't see much talk about it these days - haven't for a while. It is fun to play with, and there are plenty of old ones available online. My general impression is most of the colors I threw in certain situations tended to match up with the charts, so I eventually stopped using it because it took time to constantly be checking every time you moved, the water color changed, or at various times of the day, etc. You can still make some assumptions just by using the chart itself as a reference.

I bought (still have) a color-c-lector 3/4 oz. zara spook. Blue (fluorescent?) with a black belly. Probably bought others, but i only have the zara left.     never bought the unit

That's real interesting.  I generally try what others say you should at any given conditions, but I also try other stuff too, knowing it's not the norm.

I often throw a chrome trap in dirty water and in low light. And I get bit on it. My theory is, shad don't change color with the conditions, so a natural pattern will work all the time.