TAKEOFF
THE DEAL
COOL
REGIONAL
COLORS
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By Curtis Niedermier
bass is a bass no matter
where it lives, but that doesn’t
mean we fish for them all the
same way. Seasonal variances aside,
most regions of the country have
their go-to baits and tactics, and over
time the local anglers have narrowed
those down to the point that, in
some regions, there’s a small palette
of bait colors that quite often out-
produce everything else. Sometimes
the hottest local colors are common
knowledge; other times they’re
secrets. To give you a better idea of
what works in different regions, we
asked around and put together this
basic list. It doesn’t cover the entire
country, but you can extrapolate
what you might need to use on any
type of fishery or region based on
the pros’ accompanying comments.
1. NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Shad/Ghost, Brown/Purple
“We throw a lot of the ghost, char-
treuse shad and American shad
because of the clear water. For jigs,
brown or brown/purple is popular.”
– Keith Bryan, Novato, Calif.
2. CLEAR LAKE, CALIF.
Hitch
“There’s a baitfish called hitch, so
they make a lot of baits in that color.”
– Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif.
3. CALIFORNIA DELTA
Red Craw
“It’s pretty much a staple there,
whether punching, flipping, throwing a
Rat-L-Trap or square-bill. The water is
usually pretty stained there, so that
dark red shows up, and the crawfish
are super bright red.”
– Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif.
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4. ARIZONA
Morning Dawn
“The most popular color in Arizona,
especially on a drop-shot, is morning
dawn. We have clear water predomi-
nantly here, so a lot of us use morning
dawn with chartreuse tail.”
– Joe Uribe Jr., Surprise, Ariz.
5. OKLAHOMA
Firetiger
“For crankbaits, it’s a sleeper, and it
has worked forever.”
– Scott Ashmore, Broken Arrow, Okla.
6. EAST TEXAS
Watermelon Red
“That’s a staple here in Texas. Literally,
choose the [soft-plastic] body style or
shape, you really want to have watermelon
red, especially in the eastern part of Texas
where you have some tea-colored water.”
– James Niggemeyer, Van, Texas
7. CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Green Pumpkin Orange
“As far as a jig goes, it’s our by-far
No. 1 seller [at progeared.com].”
– Evan Barnes, Hot Springs, Ark.
8. THE OZARKS
Plum/Redbug/Cherry,
Phantom Green
“It’s kind of a staple for worms, any-
thing cherry or plum. For crankbaits
phantom green is big. I think it match-
es the colors of our crawfish the best.”
– Joey Cifuentes, Clinton, Ark.
9. TIDAL WATERS OF THE
MID-ATLANTIC
Chartreuse/Black Back
“In the spring we throw a lot of
chartreuse/black back crankbaits,
because it’s usually muddy.”
– Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa.
FLWFISHING.COM I APRIL 2018