# Lure Colors



## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

What colors lures do you guys use most inshore for trout and reds? Do you try to mimic the bait fish in the area or throw bright/off the wall colors? Just trying to get some ideas going for some paints, and my creativity sucks 

I fish extremely clear conditions for the most part, so natural colors have been the deal. Green has always topped the list, but blue and bone both work well. I mainly try to mimic mullet, but a croaker pattern is next on the list. This is not an add and I’m not trying to sell baits or paint jobs, just a hobby. Here’s a couple of my patterns and a few fish caught on them.


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## lobsterman (Sep 30, 2007)

Incredible colors and awesome fish.


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## etrade92 (Jul 30, 2015)

That is a great Ayu color scheme you have going, and one of my favorite colors to fish with. I do prefer natural color more so than anything. If you decide to start selling some let me know!


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## Walton County (Aug 23, 2016)

You know you're doing something right when a black drum eats your jerk bait. 

I always try and throw something with a bit of gold in it.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

For soft plastics I prefer a root beer jig. Clear to slightly dirty water. Almost always at early or late light.

No preference, but I almost always use a red jig head. Just what i grew up using.

I've ALWAYS heard about red head/white body mirrolures. I have tried and tried with them both topwater and mid-level lures. Never had any luck.

Jim


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## lsucole (May 7, 2009)

I think your answer ( and proof ) is in your pictures !! Don't fix something not broke !


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## phutch (Aug 22, 2015)

I have way better luck with more natural colors as opposed to flashy ones and the colors that work for me are usually greens, blues, bone, and Pearl personally. Im always looking for lures essentially the exact way you seem to have been painting them tbh. One negative color ive found is around the greater pensacola area I find that red color in lures never does me any favors inshore fishing.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

etrade92 said:


> That is a great Ayu color scheme you have going, and one of my favorite colors to fish with. I do prefer natural color more so than anything. If you decide to start selling some let me know!


Thanks, Ayu is definitely a deadly color, and that pattern has been sightfish approved  Good to know on the patterns. If I do start painting more I’ll let you know. Those scale jobs take some time, and free time has been hard to come by.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Walton County said:


> You know you're doing something right when a black drum eats your jerk bait.
> 
> I always try and throw something with a bit of gold in it.


 That was definitely a surprise. Thanks for the feedback, think you are on to something there. Been noticing lots of gold on our mullet lately.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

jim t said:


> For soft plastics I prefer a root beer jig. Clear to slightly dirty water. Almost always at early or late light.
> 
> No preference, but I almost always use a red jig head. Just what i grew up using.
> 
> ...


Thank you Jim, you have given me some ideas. I know a lot of people like the red head/white body, but I’m in the same boat and haven’t had any luck with it. I think a version with a little more detail would look cool though, definitely something to mess around with. Maybe some kind of rootbeer/chartreuse paint job, that one will take some thought. I appreciate the inspiration, helps a lot!


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

lsucole said:


> I think your answer ( and proof ) is in your pictures !! Don't fix something not broke !


Lol, No doubt. I love to paint a color and then take it out and sightfish with it and see how the big trout react(they are the most picky so what better test). Sometimes just a small tweak in color can make the difference. Those colors have been perfected and won’t change, but always room for more!


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

phutch said:


> I have way better luck with more natural colors as opposed to flashy ones and the colors that work for me are usually greens, blues, bone, and Pearl personally. Im always looking for lures essentially the exact way you seem to have been painting them tbh. One negative color ive found is around the greater pensacola area I find that red color in lures never does me any favors inshore fishing.


Good to know, seems those have become the popular colors. Surprised no one mentioned purple. Appreciate the feedback. Been staying away from red as well. I’ve see the red head/white body work, but never had luck with it.


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

Your lures/color scheme are spot on and proven which is even better.....Maybe a red gill pen stripe...? That and maybe some sparkles mixed in the clear coat just because you can,lol.....Awesome paint jobs....


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## Catchemall (May 8, 2018)

Good looking stuff!


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## phutch (Aug 22, 2015)

JeffBfishing said:


> Good to know, seems those have become the popular colors. Surprised no one mentioned purple. Appreciate the feedback. Been staying away from red as well. I’ve see the red head/white body work, but never had luck with it.


Ive also seen the red white work for people but i feel like it's conditional and where i fish its definitely the wrong pattern...ive seen my brother in law have luck with purple,but to,be quite honest i havent tried it personally....i find mixing in the gold really helps if im targeting reds but I havent really had luck with gold on the bigger specs and as you mentioned they are the pickiest (i fish for on the regular at least)


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

fairpoint said:


> Your lures/color scheme are spot on and proven which is even better.....Maybe a red gill pen stripe...? That and maybe some sparkles mixed in the clear coat just because you can,lol.....Awesome paint jobs....


Thanks! It’s hard to get it in the pics, but I used a lot of Pearl colors on these baits(pearl Gold, Pearl Blue, Pearl Lime Green, Pearl White) so they definitely have some sparkle. A little glitter would be nice addition though. I definitely need to practice with some details on those gills!


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

phutch said:


> Ive also seen the red white work for people but i feel like it's conditional and where i fish its definitely the wrong pattern...ive seen my brother in law have luck with purple,but to,be quite honest i havent tried it personally....i find mixing in the gold really helps if im targeting reds but I havent really had luck with gold on the bigger specs and as you mentioned they are the pickiest (i fish for on the regular at least)


I agree on the red/white, it’s been around so long that someone has to be crushing with it though  Purple is a winter color for me. We tested it years back against green, black and blue and it wasn’t even close, like 10:1 in favor of purple. Gotta be a bait fish thing at that time of year. 
Adding gold into my Ayu pattern seemed to be one of those small changes that made a huge difference. Traditional bright gold I can agree isn’t the best for trout, but adding a light coat of gold to give a little shine at certain angles was the deal. Mullet on the sand definitely have lots of gold on their shoulders. These mullet came from different areas. One has the brown back, one is green, but both have that gold. 
Appreciate the replies!


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

You and those Monster Trout are KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Speaking of purple, just finished this one. Been wanting to try a Croaker pattern for a while since we all know Trout and Reds love their Croakers.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Boardfeet said:


> You and those Monster Trout are KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!


 We have a solid fishery here, and it’s almost that time of year when they are ready to bite. They will be waiting!


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

I hunt those things relentlessly and cannot find anything near the caliber fish you catch on a consistent basis.
I guess I just suck at it.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Boardfeet said:


> I hunt those things relentlessly and cannot find anything near the caliber fish you catch on a consistent basis.
> I guess I just suck at it.


There’s a reason they are known as THE trophy fish inshore in our area  I’ll post up some info soon on some of the things I look for. I really do things different than most, and some of the small details make the biggest difference. Figuring out some patterns throughout the year has made them easy to find, but not always easy to catch, and that’s where those details come in handy.


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## sailor (Oct 29, 2007)

Are you painting those by hand? They look incredible


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

sailor said:


> Are you painting those by hand? They look incredible


Thanks! I’m using an airbrush to paint these


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

About 6 months ago, I took a big step and decided to paint lures full time. It all started to click all of a sudden, and was able to take my patterns to the next level. Invested quite a bit in my setups to be able to produce nice paint jobs quickly, and it has paid off. Was told there is no money in it, but I would argue that’s not the case if you put your time in and strive for perfection. They aren’t cheap, but as with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Most of the stuff I paint now are natural patterns, stuff I would use day in day out to match the baitfish in our waters, but have also done stuff for guys in every state on the Gulf and the Atlantic coasts that have Speckled Trout and Redfish. Some of those patterns are different, but all have worked great for the user. Some of these might look very similar to the older pictures, but figuring out how to layer in the detail has really brought them to life. Heres a few pics of some of my work, hope you enjoy the pics:


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

A few more:


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

Awesome looking baits Jeff!
Thanks for posting.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Boardfeet said:


> Awesome looking baits Jeff!
> Thanks for posting.


Thank you sir, it’s a lot of fun, and nice to finally be able to make a living doing something I enjoy.


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

JeffBfishing said:


> Thank you sir, it’s a lot of fun, and nice to finally be able to make a living doing something I enjoy.


I sure would like to purchase a few.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Those look amazing Jeff, I watch a guy on YouTube, Marling Baits, he makes and paints his own plugs and soft plastics, makes some great stuff, your paint looks better. Do you have a website or a place where one might buy some?


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

DLo said:


> Those look amazing Jeff, I watch a guy on YouTube, Marling Baits, he makes and paints his own plugs and soft plastics, makes some great stuff, your paint looks better. Do you have a website or a place where one might buy some?


He really does some amazing work, but with those one day builds, it seems like it would make it hard to spend the time needed on the paint jobs, although I think his are pretty impressive with the way he just runs through them and makes it up as he goes along. Usually takes me a few tries to get a new pattern where I want it to be. Dudes got some serious skills with the carving knife!
I really appreciate the compliment, it’s been a lot of work and always evolving with new effects and paints. I don’t have a website set up yet, working on that. Lots of bases to cover with domains and just setting up the layouts and stuff. Been selling on my FB page, and it’s been keeping me extremely busy.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

JeffBfishing said:


> He really does some amazing work, but with those one day builds, it seems like it would make it hard to spend the time needed on the paint jobs, although I think his are pretty impressive with the way he just runs through them and makes it up as he goes along. Usually takes me a few tries to get a new pattern where I want it to be. Dudes got some serious skills with the carving knife!
> I really appreciate the compliment, it’s been a lot of work and always evolving with new effects and paints. I don’t have a website set up yet, working on that. Lots of bases to cover with domains and just setting up the layouts and stuff. Been selling on my FB page, and it’s been keeping me extremely busy.


Just curious, have you tried carving baits, I've been tempted to try, but haven't done it yet, plus I would have to get an airbrush setup and I have more hobbies than I can handle now, that's probably on the back burner for a while.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

DLo said:


> Just curious, have you tried carving baits, I've been tempted to try, but haven't done it yet, plus I would have to get an airbrush setup and I have more hobbies than I can handle now, that's probably on the back burner for a while.


I have messed around with carving a little. I have an idea for a twitchbait that I’m working on, but it’s quite a process to get everything dialed in. Body shape, amount of weight/ballast, positioning of weight, line tie location…a lot of testing involved to get it right. I mainly used my Dremel with a sanding drum to shape it instead of carving though and it’s worked well. Getting all the equipment is the biggest step, and it’s definitely not cheap. Band saw, belt/disc sander, drill bits, lead pouring equipment are some of the things that the pros use so there’s some substantial cost involved. Then add on paint equipment costs and it goes up and up. I have around $700 investment in my painting setup and paint, and could honestly spend a few hundred more to add more colors and paint types. Then add on terminal tackle cost and clear coat, and the investment is substantial for something that seems so simple. I’m glad I started out as just a hobby painting for myself, so a lot of that cost didn’t make as much difference to me, although I’ve more than broke even on all of that.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

If there one thing I’ve learned is all you really need is…super glue and baking soda, I’m looking forward to seeing more baits, keep them coming


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

DLo said:


> If there one thing I’ve learned is all you really need is…super glue and baking soda, I’m looking forward to seeing more baits, keep them coming


Very true, it does work great! Thank you, working on a few new patterns, so there will be more to come.


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

I think that's fantastic Jeff. What's your FB page? I am not on FB but my wife is, I will get her to save it or tag it or whatever so I can check it out! Awesome work, man!


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## MaxP (Jan 31, 2008)

As everyone else has said, your work looks fantastic. Last year you said you were experimenting with the croaker patterned baits. How did that turn out this year? Please give us a link to support your efforts.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

SurfRidr said:


> I think that's fantastic Jeff. What's your FB page? I am not on FB but my wife is, I will get her to save it or tag it or whatever so I can check it out! Awesome work, man!


Thanks Sam, my health was declining for a while(nothing to serious)so I knew I had to do something besides construction work. It all just fell into place and is a nice change of pace. 
My FB is just my personal page now(Jeff Brown) and have been doing everything on there for now. I’m working on getting the business page set up but haven’t published it yet. Will post a link as soon as it’s ready.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

MaxP said:


> As everyone else has said, your work looks fantastic. Last year you said you were experimenting with the croaker patterned baits. How did that turn out this year? Please give us a link to support your efforts.


Thank you sir. I’ll get the link posted in the next day or so when the business page goes public.
Croaker pattern has been the top seller for sure. Redfish and trout love it, and a buddy even caught a tarpon on one recently. Have 2 croaker patterns and they both work as intended.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Here’s a few catches on my baits. Mainly targeting big trout, and they have loved the 110.


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## nelebell (Mar 15, 2012)

Your lures are beautiful. Nothing like catching trout on top water lures. Trout and reds show up around my light about March and stay until Oct. most years. It is interesting to watch them feed. Every night is different Have you ever tried a needlefish pattern? Big trout seem to love them.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

nelebell said:


> Your lures are beautiful. Nothing like catching trout on top water lures. Trout and reds show up around my light about March and stay until Oct. most years. It is interesting to watch them feed. Every night is different Have you ever tried a needlefish pattern? Big trout seem to love them.


Thanks, appreciate the compliment. Started my fishing years ago sitting on a dock fishing the light, and remember it well. Some nights so thick you could walk across them, other nights only a few show up. Definitely fun watching them blast small baits though. 
I haven’t done a needlefish, but it’s coming up soon. Had a Ballyhoo request and figured a needlefish is similar enough to do them at the same time.


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## JeffBfishing (Jul 17, 2020)

Couple new patterns:
Bull Minnow















Baby Trout


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## Boardfeet (Sep 27, 2007)

Those are impressive Jeff!!


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## SurfRidr (Apr 24, 2012)

Those are beautiful, Jeff!


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## Capnmichael (Sep 18, 2015)

Great work and some sweet fish! Did you ever get a business page up id like to buy a couple for this fall.


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