So as I’m expanding from ponds to actual lakes this year. I’m noticing the lakes here are low visibility. Not so much muddy chocolate water but say 12 inches green water maybe 18 inches max.

I’m really wanting to work bladed jigs and spinnerbaits hard this year. What color skirts and blades do you generally use in water like this?

Feel free to offer any kind of plastics or other bait colors as well. I’m honestly a lot more used to pretty clear water with good visibility. So it all helps.

I fish stained to muddy water almost all the time. I will usually start out the year throwing spinnerbaits that are chartreuse, white or a combination with gold ,magnum willow blades . Everybody will be throwing the same thing for a few months and the bass get conditioned to them. Then around the spawn I change to more realistic, less beligerant baitfish patterns with smaller willow /colorado tandems in gold/chrome . Sometimes I'll use gold/copper around bluegill beds with a bluegill patterned skirt. June bug soft plastics always seem to work.

It ain't no use if it's not chartruese.

40 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I fish stained to muddy water almost all the time. I will usually start out the year throwing spinnerbaits that are chartreuse, white or a combination with gold ,magnum willow blades . Everybody will be throwing the same thing for a few months and the bass get conditioned to them. Then around the spawn I change to more realistic, less beligerant baitfish patterns with smaller willow /colorado tandems in gold/chrome . Sometimes I'll use gold/copper around bluegill beds with a bluegill patterned skirt. June bug soft plastics always seem to work.

34 minutes ago, king fisher said:

It ain't no use if it's not chartruese.

I was thinking white and chartreuse. But I always have the urge for dark colored skirts. I am gonna have to get some Colorado/willow leaf combo blades. And get some skirt material to make white and chartreuse bladed jigs.

I do love junebug for plastics I’ve got plenty of that lol

42 minutes ago, king fisher said:

It ain't no use if it's not chartruese.

There is a lot of truth in that quote. I stray away from white and chartreuse often, but that combo seems to work the best for me in stained or dirty water. I have found a few bluegill pattern spinnerbaits that have produced in those same conditions as well, just not as well as white/chartreuse.

6 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

I was thinking white and chartreuse. But I always have the urge for dark colored skirts. I am gonna have to get some Colorado/willow leaf combo blades. And get some skirt material to make white and chartreuse bladed jigs.

I do love junebug for plastics I’ve got plenty of that lol

Purple skirts on spinnerbaits and bladed jigs work well. Purple and chartreuse skirts on spinnerbaits at one time were very popular, they still work, but don't tell anyone.

Green stained water, I’d throw white/pearl. Great contrast and still maintains a natural baitfish look. Black and purple together would be a great darker, more subtle alternative. I love purple!

Brighter colors in darker/stained water, natural colors in clearer water.

I posted this just a few hours ago:

7 minutes ago, gim said:

Brighter colors in darker/stained water, natural colors in clearer water.

That’s what I’ve always lived by but it’s been darker colors in stained water. I’m quickly seeing I need to try more white and chartreuse

1 minute ago, Glenn said:

I posted this just a few hours ago:

Oh I missed that. Thank you so much Glenn gonna watch now

Your water color is classified as Iowa Standard! I use black baits most of the time. Copper or gold blades on spinners. Black CB, black swim jigs, black or GP jigs and plastics.

I should use white more often but I'm too busy catching bass to change (I don't mean that to sound arrogant, but it's true...)

Hear me out... baits with a lot of contrast. Black back Chartruese for example. They're going to hear/feel the thing no problem. But black->Chartruese->black-> Chartruese flickering gets their attention. It's sort of step beyond the Chartruese or pearl colors. Remember bass see colors different than we do. So contrast (bright/dark) gets attention.

1 hour ago, Lottabass said:

Your water color is classified as Iowa Standard! I use black baits most of the time. Copper or gold blades on spinners. Black CB, black swim jigs, black or GP jigs and plastics.

I should use white more often but I'm too busy catching bass to change (I don't mean that to sound arrogant, but it's true...)

Thank you so much. Iowa standard I like that. Sounds like I need to tie up some black swim jig and blades jigs and jigs.

Not arrogant at all! We aren’t known for huge fish here and man do you ever find huge fish!!

1 hour ago, webertime said:

Hear me out... baits with a lot of contrast. Black back Chartruese for example. They're going to hear/feel the thing no problem. But black->Chartruese->black-> Chartruese flickering gets their attention. It's sort of step beyond the Chartruese or pearl colors. Remember bass see colors different than we do. So contrast (bright/dark) gets attention.

Excellent point. My PB I caught last year was on a black/chartreuse jig I tied.

Black and blue jig is hard to beat in green water. I always use a rattle too. bladed jig….red craw.

22 minutes ago, Swimbaitstud said:

Black and blue jig is hard to beat in green water. I always use a rattle too. bladed jig….red craw.

One of my favorites even in Clearwater.

3 hours ago, Joedodge said:

One of my favorites even in Clearwater.

Fished a tourney with a young guy last year who told me how he hates a black and blue jig cuz it’s so over-fished. I proceeded to catch all of our fish on a black and blue jig that day lol

4 minutes ago, Swimbaitstud said:

Fished a tourney with a young guy last year who told me how he hates a black and blue jig cuz it’s so over-fished. I proceeded to catch all of our fish on a black and blue jig that day lol

Sounds about right lol

Black and blue is all you need in highly stained water. Black and blue works Even over cast days in semi clear water.

I'd definitely still use black or other really dark colors for a good silhouette. White, silver, and chartreuse could also be good options.

There is more BS in lure colors than there is in a Kansas feedlot.

2 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

There is more BS in lure colors than there is in a Kansa feedlot.

Everything I own is basically green pumpkin/watermelon red or junebug/black And blue.

I’ve never really fished white or bone or all chartreuse or anything. I’m

Pretty dang simple. Even my topwater baits are just solid black.

The stuff bass eats in general is little flashes of silvery white with maybe some greenish grey and then brown/black. I think a lot of bass eat things that are much smaller than the lures we tend to throw.

A good lot of the things bass eats are moving away at blinding speed and I don’t think bass are seeing much except profile and movement and I think moreso what makes a bass eat a lure are how it’s moving and where it’s moving to or from.

That being said - I’ve never fished any water clarity where they wouldn’t eat green pumpkin/smoke/black and blue/white. Some spike it markers and you can get little details like orange pincers or chartreuse stripes / tails/ blue back.

16 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

The stuff bass eats in general is little flashy of silvery white with maybe some greenish grey and then a lot of brown/black

In general the things bass eats are moving away at blinding speed and I don’t think bass are seeing much except profile and movement and I think moreso what makes a bass eat a lure are how it’s moving and where it’s moving to or from.

That being said - I’ve never fished any water clarity where they wouldn’t eat green pumpkin/smoke/black and blue/white. Some spike it markers and you can get little details like orange pincers or chartreuse stripes / tails/ blue back.

Well said Pat. Thank you

Black and blue jigs, black and blue with a black blade bladed jigs. If the water is green like you're saying, that's when sapphire blue really shines for me here. White spinnerbaits with an orange kicker blade and gold or copper main blade is good one too. Junebug or any kind of purple plastic seems to usually work well in that dark water.

2 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Black and blue jigs, black and blue with a black blade bladed jigs. If the water is green like you're saying, that's when sapphire blue really shines for me here. White spinnerbaits with an orange kicker blade and gold or copper main blade is good one too. Junebug or any kind of purple plastic seems to usually work well in that dark water.

Thank you! That’s a great help. Some real good comments on this post. Do you fish Colorado or willow for your main blade on that type of condition?