What i do is look at the clearity of the water then the color of the water and the color of the cover i am fishing. I also consider if its cloudy skys or low light conditions.

Then what colors do you pick based on those observations?

       > I do not give much thought to color. I just try to match what the fish are eating. I think that red hooks help some though.

Pond Pro, I am with you on the red hook theory. That's all I use anymore.

As far as what colors I use, my method of selection is very basic.

Dirty Water or Cloudy Days = Dark Colors

Clear Water or Sunny Days = Brighter Colors

For spinnerbaits:

Dirty Water or Cloudy Days = Gold or Painted Colorado blades.

Clear Water or Sunny Days = Silver Willow Blades.

JT Bagwell

Let me show you something. Water by itself is clear its the things in the water that cause it to become colored or murky. Things like silt or algae bloom. If you have red lure with red line in red water around red cover can the fish see it? nope It blends in with its suroundings. The key to color is to use one that stands out from the colors that its being fished in or around.

Blue water color use yellow or chartreuse

Green water color use purple

blue/green water use red

Brown water orange is seen better

Blackish water whites and silver

Clear water use any color

Here is another way to figure it out

80% visibility or greater use red

60% visibility or greater use purple

40% visibility or greater use orange

30% visiblity or greater use yellow

20% visiblity or greater use green,white,black

15% visiblity or greater use blue

Where did that come from?

JT Bagwell

I only know what works on the river that I fish and JT and I are very close in color selection. The only slight difference is that in clear water, I'll use more "natural" colors that the crayfish and helgramites are showing in the river. Our spinner selection is the same.

And Chris, that list must work for you, I just never heard of it before. If I ever go out by myself, I may try it.

The top list is based on color contrasts the bottom list is based on color wave lengths and how water filters out wave lengths at different depths.

On this topic of color. I have never used red hooks before. Do you feel this alone really increased your strikes. If so by what percentage? 5%-10%-50%. Been doing this guideing thing for 24 years now. This year we boated over 4500 fish, 90% were smallmouth bass. But if I can catch more by just a color change in hooks, this old dog will learn a new trick. Or is it just a confidence thing in that it don't seem to hurt and it might help. Even for a 5% increase, I'd switch, thats 225fish!

I would say yes it might catch you more fish to what degree i don't know. I do know that i have fished with guys and caught a truckload more fish than the other guy and i was using red hooks. Also i feel the shine of hooks don't look natural and red gives the fish a singnal that the lure might be hurt or bleeding

In your first statement about red use a red line red bait bass  can't see it because it blends in with the red surrounding.  So, you are saying, if I used green line Green Bait  in green cover.  Bass are not going to see it because it blends in with the surrounding.

In Clearwater use any color. Pleased defined  Clear water and just what color is Clear water.

Please translate visibility percent as to how far down You can see a bright lure using the visibility percent.  You have posted.

I shouldn't have posted it i knew it would stir up some ____ but since i did....

[in your first statement about red use a red line red bait bass can't see it because it blends in with the red surrounding. So, you are saying, if I used green line Green Bait in green cover. Bass are not going to see it because it blends in with the surrounding.]

-true a green lure will blend into the surroundings if its weeds. thats when shade of color comes in if you change the shade of your lure to a lighter or darker shade the fish can pick it out from the weeds better also green lures that have color glitter in them will help the fish see it in the weeds better. Like watermelon black flake, or watermelon red flake. most of the time fish see movement or hear the bait and hit it even when they don't see it. example how many fish see a rat before they hit it ontop of moss? few but they still hit it because of movement.

[in Clearwater use any color. Pleased defined Clear water and just what color is Clear water.]

Clear water would be tap water 100% visiblity. I would say if the area you are fishing if you can see the bottom or your lure on the bottom that would be considered clear. For the purpose of color selection would be the percent of light that penatrates the water at a given depth. 80% would be like weak tea color. Its still clear but has a tint of color to it. but its not considered clear or stained. I just broke it down further than clear,stained, and murky

[Please translate visibility percent as to how far down You can see a bright lure using the visibility percent.]

-Yes-

0-20% is 0-1 ft deep

20-40% is 1-2 ft deep

40-60% is 2-4ft deep

60-80% is 4-6ft deep

80-100% is 6ft or beyond

This year we boated over 4500 fish, 90% were smallmouth bass. But if I can catch more by just a color change in hooks, this old dog will learn a new trick.

Do you catch 4500 bass every year? I doubt it, I imagine your results vary, sometimes up, sometimes down, for a variety of reasons. So if you switched to red hooks--and I'm not saying they're good or bad--how would you determine their effect?

OK Marty, you got me. the exact count was 4583 fish boated this year. By law all Pa. guides must keep a detailed record of the fish caught and this must be sent in to the Pa. Fish Commission before we can get our new licence for the next year. If you would like to see an exact daily record of what my boat caught go to www.ldguideservice.com and go to my newsletter.  It will even give you the names of the good people that fished with me. This year was a slow year due to the high muddy water and what seemed like constant floods.

This only averages out to about 45 fish per day, I'm sure many anglers do much better than that.

Remember this is also two or three people on the boat at a time.

Now if I can learn something to increase that count I will certainly try. I enough fishermen thought that it helped them, then it should be something I should try.

                                   Best Regards

                                       L.D.

L.D.

I don't think Marty was questioning whether or not you and your clients actually caught that many fish. If I am understanding his question correctly, he is asking how you would be able to determine if "Red" hooks played a vital role in your catch numbers because the number of fish "everyone" catches year to year fluctuates.

For example:

If you had the following numbers (these are just fictional numbers) -

2004 - 4,583 fish

2005 - 4,600 fish

2006 - 4,200 fish

2007 - 4,657 fish

2008 - 3,985 fish

2009 - 4,005 fish

2010 - 4,585 fish

How would you determine what role the red hooks played in your catch percentage when there are so many different variables?

That is how I interpretted the question anyway.

Personally I love Daiichi's Bleeding Bait hooks and that is all I use when fishing with any kind of soft plastics. I have yet to convert my hundreds of Crankbaits over to red hooks. For me I personally believe that the hooks make a difference but I have never actually done a "scientific" experiment to back my theory.

JT Bagwell

Thank you JT, thats enough for me to try them. And you're

right, the vairiables are endless with any tackle. Anytime someone comes on my boat and does well with something new, you can bet it will be  added to the tackle boxes at least to try it, however no one has come on board with red hooks yet, thats why I asked.

L.D.

I'm sorry Chris, I don't agree with your method of selecting colors.  But I do agree with JT, where did that come from?.

I have this booklet that came with my Temperature Plus Oxygen Meter made by Environmental Concepts in Ft Lauderdale Fl

Thats where i came up with the color thingy

Chris,

If that color section technique works for you, by all means keep on doing it. I sure won't knock something that works for someone.

JT Bagwell

Chris I. will echo what JT said.  By all means use white color process works of you the best.  This is what Bass fishing is all about, trial and error.  Through this process, we discover and learn what works best for us where we fish, what we fish, and how deeply we finish it.

This is what's great about the forum, sharing knowledge techniques, presentations and general concepts in our efforts to help another fisherman to put one more fish on the hook.  We know, what we present may not meet the needs of all or even a few but if one can adapt it to his or her way of fishing and  to  puts one more fish on their line, we have met our objective.  If we do not have the concern to share and learn from others.  We would not be here on the forum.  So don't let someone that does not agree on a concept  to change what you know, that works best for you, it just means that that information may not work for them.  Over the years that I have been Bass fishing.  I have not found  many things that you can do wrong.  It's a matter of doing it at the right place at the right time.  That is what can be the tricky part.

I base all of my color choices on local forage, I try to match the hatch as much as possible.

Sometimes Green Pumpkin will catch Fish....IF that doesn't work, Junebug, Black or blue, or Houdini.