mouth of an 8-pounder or off the end of my thumb thanks to an 8-ouncer burying a treble hook into me , and either way , it ’ s a gorgeous work of art .
… Which , more often than not , doesn ’ t make one bit of difference . That ’ s not a knock on your favorite painters ’ talents . But let ’ s think about the reality of the situation .
Do you really think a bass has the time to scrutinize the scale pattern on a crankbait as it burns by at half the speed of sound ? Heck no ! It ’ s a blur , and the fish ’ s pea-sized brain has a nanosecond to decide whether or not said blur looks edible .
Now , anyone fishing smallmouth on the Great Lakes might take offense to this assertion , as it ’ s clear there ’ s a certain color of the OSP Blitz DR crankbait that seems to get bit quite a lot . Same thing goes for a specific hue of the Megabass S Crank on Lake Murray . You could argue those colors catch more fish because someone caught a big bag on them once and everyone else joined the bandwagon , or perhaps those examples point to another truth about color …
water clarity
Ever tried to read the label of your K- Cups to figure out which one is French roast without turning on all the lights in the kitchen ? Not exactly an easy task .
Welcome to what a bass deals with all the time .
While we have the benefit of viewing the world through clear air ( unless you ’ re someplace like Los Angeles ), bass view it through water . And most of the time , it ’ s stained water .
So , thinking back to the coffee example : You ’ re more likely to identify the right coffee pod by the contrast of colors on its top versus the detailed writing on the label , especially in the dark . Bass are no different in stained water . The dirtier the water , the more likely that contrast will win out over detail . However , in clear water , like on the Great Lakes or lakes like Murray , there are definitely times when that extra realism pays off . That ’ s because ( I hope you ’ re sitting down ) the fish can actually SEE it . The better look bass can get at the lure , the more they can scrutinize it , which leads us to … jerkbaits , swimbaits and other snails
Want to drop $ 20 on a gorgeous paint job and make it count ? Put it on a jerkbait .
Why ? Because when a jerkbait is sitting suspended in the face of a bass , it has to hold up to intense scrutiny . That ’ s when that periwinkle-blue gill plate may actually be the thing that convinces the fish to open its maw .
Swimbaits are no different — at least when it comes to the large , slow-moving ones . They offer a lot of surface area to scrutinize and are generally fished at a pace that allows bass to get a good look , especially ones that follow the bait for a while . Spring for a bait that looks the part versus a cheaper option . Or try …
custom painting soft plastics
Seriously , how is custom painting soft plastics not more of a thing ?
We go nuts over custom-painted hard lures , but when it comes to soft plastics , the biggest color “ advances ” seem to be adding glitter or laminating two colors together . Even when it comes to soft plastics that are already painted by the manufacturer – frogs , swimbaits , etc . – most still just settle for whatever colors the company decides to release as opposed to thinking up their own custom hues . Why the discrepancy ? Sure , people dye tails and claws of their soft plastics all the time , but there are numerous options for both airbrush and hand painting that can turn a plain pearl swimbait into a living fish or a frog into something that truly stands out when it comes off a lily pad . Yet , few people think to do it like they would a hard lure . It doesn ’ t make sense . Then again , not much about bass fishing colors does . The only two rules I ’ ve found that consistently hold true : Whatever color gives you confidence is the right color , and most colors were made to catch fishermen , not fish .
A sampling of the crazy quilt of colors that bass may see on a given day .
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 27