Only been fishing a bladed jig for a couple seasons. I’ve really dialed in my setup now. But I find I’m often unsure on colors. I like throwing 1/2-3/4oz just for castability, but how do we decide on colors? Obviously light colors when around bait but when might I throw black/blue vs GP? I’ve never fished black/blue and only GP variations a few times. Since last year I am usually throwing red as I find it seems to be a big fish color. So when do I grab blk/bl or GP over red?

I am a fairly huge user & abuser of those baits.

Settled 100% on the JH and some of its variations.

My color choices are based on the same factors that

I would consider when selecting the color of most any bait I throw.

Pretty sure you know what they are.

Interestingly enough, I do not throw a bright red bait.

Might need to revisit that.

Either way, below is a decent sampling of some solid producers for me.

I neglected to mention that I'm targeting the brown ones ~

A-Jay

Sometimes no skirt is the best option

I've settled on like 3. A dark green pumpkin, a golden shiner, and red. Red is pretty self explanatory I fish them in the spring mostly and with a craw trailer. Green pumpkin I just find to be super versatile. You can change how the bait looks with the trailer. A lot of times I like the GP/Chartreuse mixed trailers especially if the water is a bit dirtier and something with more kick. Can also do black/blue or GP/Blue and it still matches up nice to the main bait just makes the overall profile a bit darker. Clearer I'll go to more of a straight GP and maybe a more subtle trailer. If I know they're chasing shiners through the vegetation I'll go to those colors.

Personally I'm a bit more of a spinnerbait guy than a bladed jig guy, so if the water is very clear and they're chasing schooling bait or I'm fishing deeper water I'm usually either going with that instead or a tailspin/underspin. So I don't really have a ton of silver/white chatterbaits.

52 minutes ago, Swimbaitstud said:

So when do I grab blk/bl or GP over red?

Blk/Blu is my #1 color across the board and it isn't even close. However, one of my best fish came on a shad colored CB, and we don't have shad around here, but that was a one-off. Never got another fish on it. Not even a bite.

Use black and blue for muddy water. They have the best silhouette for bass to key in on in murky conditions. You can also use white with a silver blade in muddy water, even if baitfish aren't present. I would use green pumpkin or white in clear water conditions, depending on the forage Im trying to mimic (bluegill or shad). If I were fishing Clearwater and the fish weren't biting red or white, I would tie on a green pumpkin. Red can catch them like crazy, but my big ones have always come on white. Fish dont follow rules, and if you're consistently getting good bites on a specific color, why switch? A lot of the time, fish are more dependent on vibration than color in muddy water anyway.

I fish black/blue plenty here. Mostly because of dirty water.

In clear water, I've had great success with purple/pink the last couple seasons.

I fish a lot of different bladed jig colors, green pumpkin is pretty low on my list of colors I reach for. Black and blue is always a good choice in low light conditions, regardless of water clarity, and in stained to dirty water. When I go for GP, it's usually when I feel like the fish are feeding on gills or craws. I fish the reds/oranges a lot in colder water and in dirty water. I agree that it does seem to be a big fish color.

Of course the solid blue is another of my favorites. It's another really good one in low light conditions and is really a standout when the algae blooms start in the summer and the water gets green. Something about it just really seems to work in those conditions.

This is a color I just started doing last couple years and I guess I'll let the cat out of the bag. My buddy Jon and I were working the local weeknight boat circuit over with it. Clear water, lots of grass, bass that eat tons of gills. I call it Watermelon Jelly, but the bass call it Dinner.

Another one I fish a ton in lakes with lots of tannic acid in them is this color I call Golden Shiner.

4 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

This is a color I just started doing last couple years and I guess I'll let the cat out of the bag. My buddy Jon and I were working the local weeknight boat circuit over with it. Clear water, lots of grass, bass that eat tons of gills. I call it Watermelon Jelly, but the bass call it Dinner.

Giving up the juice.

13 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

This is a color I just started doing last couple years . I call it Watermelon Jelly

Great Name !

When the pike chew the paint off my GP blades, which they always do.

Totally going with the purple Sharpie, instead of the black.

Thanks

A-Jay

I think a bladed jig is more about making the right cast and having the right speed/depth and less about the exact detail of color. I've come to the position that 3 colors and 2 sizes will basically cover everything for me- 3/8 and 1/2 in blackblue, GP, and white/shad. From there, I will pick a trailer color so that the total package is what I want. I just took 3 pounds of bladed jigs out of my box in doing this. I dont need a GP, GP over white, and GP over chartreuse jig in 3 different sizes.

For trailers (basically all spunk shad), I have the corresponding 'matching' solid color to the jigs themselves (GP/BB/white(shad)). I also have GP chartreuse, chartreuse and white, a 'sunfish' which is like a GP blue flake over a more muted yellow mustard type, and a green shad which is basically GP over silvery white. Bluegills are the main forage around me in most of the lakes and the water is usually clear- 2' or more. So that pushes me to GP as a base most of the time and normally a GP/Chartreuse or the green shad trailer. I really like the chartreuse when they are keyed in on bluegills to the exclusion of most all else. Otherwise the green shad.

If it is lower light or dirtier water then I'll go to the BB - first as a trailer on a GP and then as the total package of both in BB. Algal blooms get me to BB really quickly, almost definitely with a heavy metal flake. If I know there is a bloom ahead of time then the blue saphire trailer comes out though I don't carry many in the boat.

I have some GP-red that will ride along early season as will the fire trailers that can just go on a GP jig anyway. I'm going to experiment with some 1/4 oz this year for a couple places. If I really want to work it shallow I might throw a rage menace on the back but flat, not vertical to give a planing surface (same if I am throwing into wood). But those are all edge cases in the < 2% of casts.

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Great Name !

When the pike chew the paint off my GP blades, which they always do.

Totally going with the purple Sharpie, instead of the black.

Thanks

A-Jay

Our smallies love purple. That candy purple I use on those blades cut down on some of the flash but don't kill it completely like GP or black paint does. Gives a combination of purple and flash, sensory overload for a smallmouth 😂

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Our smallies love purple. That candy purple I use on those blades cut down on some of the flash but don't kill it completely like GP or black paint does. Gives a combination of purple and flash, sensory overload for a smallmouth 😂

Z-Man will be pumping the new "Jelly" line of purple bladed JKs any day now.

Don't expect any "credit."

😁

A-Jay

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

Giving up the juice.

We're not planning on fishing that circuit anymore. It's $100 a year for me to buy a permit to fish that one lake and the only reason I get it is to fish those tournaments, and it's not even a very good lake. We decided it's just not worth the hassle.

Most of the time I either use white, or green pumpkin. Once in a great while I will fish with white / chartreuse color.

I think blade color matters sometimes as much as skirt color. I like a gold blade like on the Brett’s bluegill color for cloudy conditions. The matte blade on green pumpkin seems to be better for bluebird days. Then mix in your whites. Black/blue when it’s stained or if you’re looking for a big fish (just seems to be a big fish color).

I too have noticed SMB prefer some purple here.

I thought it was just me...but seems like others are finding the same.

Black blue

Green pumpkin

Chartreuse Shad

Perch

I use three colors. Black/Blue when the water is murky or overcast days. Green Pumpkin when the water is clear and sunny, and White in the fall when they are feeding on shad.

I catch a pile of fish on bladed jigs but there is only two colors that work for me. White(or some kind of variation) and Black/Blue. I can't seem to get bit on any other color but I can take those two colors and catch them in almost any condition.

A white/Shad pattern works best for me over the widest spectrum of water clarity, different bodies of water, and seasons. The vast majority of my chatterbaits are white/Shad but I also keep a couple GP and BB on hand. GP for very clear water and skies. BB for muddy water (chocolate milk) or nighttime (chatterbaits are an underrated nighttime lure IMO).

I use white, bluegill, and red for the most part.

Try to match the color of the forage present. Red is an outlier but it does work sometimes.

The Jhammer is pretty much all I throw.

Black and blue for dirty

Tackle Warehouse’s bama bug for clear

Only one that has worked for me is a 1/2oz bluegill colored one. Going to try some smaller sized ones in Baitfish colored ones this year though.

Allen

As most of my baits, my color selection is very limited. I throw Green Pumpkin, Chart,/white and Red/Orange early in the year.