The majority of anglers have a formula they use when choosing buzz bait/spinner bait blade colors, configuration, and skirt color based on water clarity and sky clarity. This formula works fine in most scenarios but it is not written in stone because only the bass know for sure which they prefer on a given day.

I read on this and other websites a lot of recommendations for gold, silver, or black blades with little mention of brass, black nickel, cooper, yellow, or red.

Many times it is not about flash but contrasting colors especially in off colored water where a chartreuse blade/s with white skirt or a florescent orange blade/s with an orange, green, and yellow skirt can be the difference between skunked and a limit.

Am I the only one here that uses hammered, scaled, or diamond patterned spinner bait blades?

I also find little mention of blade configuration when it comes to buzz baits; these blades come in different sizes, clockwise turning, counter clockwise turning, blades with holes in them, aluminum, plastic, single configuration, triple configuration, and even quadruple configuration.

One can go through life with only gold, silver, or black being totally satisfied with the limited number of fish these colors produce or one can venture out to the wild side and experiment while increasing productivity at the same time.

Just some fuel for thought

I agree with experimentation but there are limits to how much you can experiment.  I tend to use gold, silver, black, hammered, brass, and black nickel the most and I wouldn't say I catch a limited number of fish as the spinnerbait is one of my top lures.  If I have counted correctly, you mention 19 different lure characteristics concerning blade color, blade configuration, and blade texture.  Add into that the skirt color, the length of the arm, the size and shape of the head, different blades in multi-blade configurations and you get an enormous number of permutations that would tax the abilities of an angler fishing every day to perform a thorough experiment with all combinations.  I think that is why fishermen try a few and find the ones that work for them.  There isn't enough time to try every combination.  And if someone out there thinks they have thoroughly tested all the combinations, revisit your permutations formula from statistics class.  

Speaking only on the spinnerbait side, I do experiment with different blade combinations: double willow, willowleaf/colorado, oklahoma and singles (willowleaf and colorado). Blade color is another medium I tweak as well. Gold/gold, gold/silver, silver/silver, chart, white and metallics (red, blue and purple). These combinations do make a difference on certain days for sure! My top 4 or 5 spinnerbait bass have all come on baits that had either 1 or both blades that were the metallic red I mentioned above. Reading through your list, it appears I need to add a couple more colors to my stock! Hmmmmm, time to visit Stamina's site I believe!  ;D

The point being there are more options available than simply gold/silver, willow/Colorado.

There are so many it isn't even funny.  I read ***s write up on spinner bait blades and spinner bait heads and let me tell you what my head was hurting when I got done.

My main spinner bait blade combos are either double willow or willow/ colorado or Oklahoma/colorado.  In either silver or gold colors patterns.

I have caught fish on watermelon colored skirts, red, orange and chartruse as well as the standard all white, white/chartruse etc...

I believe the fish will hit whatever and whenever and there is no real set pattern.  It is is simply trial and error to see what the fish like.

After reading ***s article I am going to try some of the different blades and see what happens.

Later,

Not me...

3/8 oz Cavitron Black on Black.

8-)

The point being there are more options available than simply gold/silver, willow/Colorado.

That's a good point to make, Catt.  I hope my previous post didn't take away from that point.  There are a number of options on spinnerbaits and we should all be willing to try what we can when given the opportunity.  For example, I have found that in very muddy water, a large copper or brightly colored single colorado blade works best for me.  On some occasions under the same circumstances a double colorado has worked better.  I guess some days the bass like a different vibration even under the same muddy conditions.  Only the bass know why.    I honestly need to try more variations with buzzbaits as I never use them that often.  

HMMM. The whole idea is to catch as many fish as possible and to increase your catch ratios.. Listed above are the variables for spinner baits and buzz baits -now throw into that equation how many more fish would hit or strike another bait like a crank bait ,worm, jig ect that wouldn't hit those buzz baits or spinner baits. There are endless combinations of components that can be changed to increase your catch -as Catt stated -only the bass really knows what they want at that particular time, and condition. Then you have to factor in those conditions-weather-barometric pressure -how aggressive the fish are-striking out of hunger or aggression.. Its a puzzle-the angler that puts the pieces of the puzzle together better or fine tunes it has the best results.. I find when an anglers strongest style of fishing fits that scenario he does well-BUT the anglers who can also adapt to the change also do well- the guys that cant adapt- not so good. Thats why when you go down the isle of the tackle shop you see so many styles and configurations of baits- they will all catch fish under certain conditions. think about the fish you caught -now think about the fish you could have caught.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been!' Whittier

"The worst thing we can do as human beings and fishermen  is close our minds and settle--DARE TO DREAM"  By My Pen