Crankbait/plug colours

[M.K]

Hi all,

What colours do you all sugest on these lures? I have read in a book that pink and white are good for pike, but I would also like to know about perch...

 

Oh and does 100% orange work? Never used it but looks ^"uGLy"^

[steeplejack]

i've used many colours and had success with each.through my fishing,canals and more fished areas tend to like your natural colours,say greens and silver paterns.rivers and drains i tend to use any thing bright,unusual or just plain daft.

[steeplejack]

sorry,forgot.i also tend to use crank baits as a sort or gental jerk bait.i get better results by puting a few twiches in.it's no good just casting and retriveing at a steady,unaltering pace.make your lure an easy unresistable target not just another fish swimming by

[grahamdaubney]

Two of the local lure anglers I know swear by red/white and yellow.From my own experience the best results have been on a black/silver magna strike grandma.

[Steve Burke]

This really needs an article, but I find the best colours depend partly on the species of prey fish present (which it can be a good idea to copy), and partly on the underwater light conditions. In other words there's no one "best" colour.

 

Bear in mind also that in deep water colours appear different than at the surface. Indeed, divers will tell you that at depth blood appears not red but green! This is because light at the red end of the spectrum is absorbed as you go deeper, leaving just blue and green.

 

US & UK books tend to disagree on colour, with Americans advocating light colours on bright days and vice versa, with some of our older authors suggesting the opposite. I suspect the difference is that, until comparitively recently, we used mainly spinners and spoons, whilst in the States painted plugs were very popular.

 

With the metallic finishes used on spoons etc I go along with the British idea, whereas I follow the Americans on painted finishes. The difference is that the metallic finishes attract by flash rather than colour.

 

I also like lures of any type to have at least 2 colours, including spoons. This creates an intermittant flash for instance with spoons, and (as any lighthouse keeper will tell you) an intermittant flash stands out more effectively.

 

I also find that very often it pays to match the colour of the water. This is especially so in murky water. For instance in water stained green by algae I don't use orange as commonly recommended. This is because all light other than green is being absorbed. Rather I choose flourescent green as this stands out best.

 

Flourescent colours seem to work best in stained water, when they can be very effective indeed. In clear water though they can spook the fish. Indeed, I've seen pike veer away from flourescent lures in clear water on a lot of occasions.

 

Finally, if you're not catching it's always worth trying something ridiculous in colour. Sometimes for some reason this can be the only way of catching!

[steeplejack]

i was going to say that,but i picked the easy option due to typing skills.i remember reading somewhere,surface lures especialy prop baits,sould be used on calm,flat water,sunday was howling,big waves down the drains near me.took 3 pike to 9lb on my "wood chopper" rules can be bent,but still proper information and good advice sould be taken in. thanks steve burke,nice report

[M.K]

Oh yeah annother question, I very often cast into the trees on the other bank and find snapping my .28mm mono a chllang (do get it dun no problem fcourse) and I want to get some braid, wht braekage strain do you suggest??

[Newt]

PowerPro in a .28mm diameter is 20lb and should do you nicely if you normally use that diameter mono. It will be less stiff and practically no memory so should cast a bit better.

 

Or you could go with 30lb which is .36mm and will be closer to the stiffness of your present mono. Still not as stiff but closer.

 

As to the color question - pretty well answered but I will add that it is a very depth-dependent thing.

Shallow - to around 5 feet - I would try to match the hatch most times. Perch pattern is good as is a pike pattern.

Deep - from 15 feet down - I would go with bright colors to make it easier to see down there.

Medium - will very much depend on water clarity and the mood of the fish that day.

 

Also it matters quite a bit how fast you work the lure and what the action is like. A plug that has a wide wobble and if fished fairly fast will be pretty much a blur to the pike so pattern doesn't matter much and most any colors are fine.

 

Shallow and slow and clear water, you will do best usually with one of the lures that has a holographic paint job and looks like it should be swimming in the fish tank at home. But you will pay for the finish.