# Need help selecting lure colors



## AME0219 (Jun 1, 2014)

I'm pretty new to fishing artificials inshore. Normally I just use live shrimp. I have no idea what color lures to buy. I have some soft plastic jerkbaits in new penny and some mirrodines in electric chicken and the 808 color. I rarely use them and only caught a couple of fish on them. What I want to know is in what situation would you use a natural color lure over an unnatural color like electric chicken. Also when would you use chartreuse tail baits over baits without a chartreuse tail? I've heard some people say chartreuse for murky water and some say for clear.
Also what are good color choices for topwaters and whats an overall rule of thumb to selecting the right lure color? I mostly wade fish over grass for trout and redfish.


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## oysterman (Jan 23, 2012)

Edit


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## USMCEOD (Oct 9, 2013)

*Anything Chartreuse!!!*

you'll get a bunch of opinions, so here's mine.. I generally use a shad assassin type bait with chartreuse tail / body on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz. chartreuse jighead. Usually go with lighter, glittery colors for clear water and a darker one for murky water. But, this is what I throw 85% of the time. Hard body lures, usually go with natural fish patterns.

Chartreuse is that kinda neon green flavored bait...


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## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

scoff at chartreuse if you choose. Fish like it. That's all I need to know. ain't nobody out there throwing peanut butter colored baits for a reason.


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## Salt Lines (Apr 4, 2013)

My $0.02
Lots of people seem to say that you use lighter colors when the water and skies are more clear, darker colors when the water has less visibility or its overcast. I think its easy to overplay the importance of color though, and I dont think you need tons of lures in every color combo. Finding fish when they are feeding is more important, feeding fish will often hit most decent presentations. 
Mirrodines like the ones in the link below, in black/white/silver luminescence are great. I fish a lot of soft plastics, sometimes with a chartruese tail, but in general visibility here is so great that I shy away from chartruese and try to stay with more natural colors. If you want to make it easy though, just get gulp shrimp, in new penny color. Put is on a 1/4 oz jig head (I use the short shank jig heads b/c I use smaller shrimp imitations). Putting them under a popping cork can help "call in" the trout. Cast and retrieve, vary things up. For topwaters I'm not sure it matters that much b/c the movement and commotion of a topwater attracts fish, and they look at the lure backlit, so most lures are mostly a shadow. People I know who fish here swear by white top waters. The real key is learning to "walk the dog". To make that lure jump sideways, bob the tip of your rod up and down as you retrieve (not side to side). There are useful youtube videos, search "walk the dog fish"
With any bait, your goal is to fan cast, covering water and looking for fish. Once you get a hit, work that exact area. I think its more worthwhile to learn when the tides are moving to indicate when to fish, than it is to spend lots of time worrying about lure color. 
You could go out with a silver/black mirrodine, a white she-dog topwater, a gold spoon, and some new penny gulp shrimp on jigheads, and you have everything you need for most situations. 


http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/s...W9LdeJhFDAvUwc34KEol4b1rmgq3kOSrQITwdWW7w_wcB


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## AME0219 (Jun 1, 2014)

Also, another thing I was wondering was when would a high pitch lure like the Mirrolure She Dog be better than a low pitch lure like the He Dog or the Top Dog?


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## AME0219 (Jun 1, 2014)

USMCEOD said:


> you'll get a bunch of opinions, so here's mine.. I generally use a shad assassin type bait with chartreuse tail / body on a 1/8 to 1/4 oz. chartreuse jighead. Usually go with lighter, glittery colors for clear water and a darker one for murky water. But, this is what I throw 85% of the time. Hard body lures, usually go with natural fish patterns.
> 
> Chartreuse is that kinda neon green flavored bait...


you mean a completely chartreuse bait, or just the tail? :001_huh:


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## Aze0008 (Mar 20, 2014)

http://www.captaincarichardson.com/2014/01/24/why-lure-color-can-make-fish-bite/

Here is an article Captain CA Richardson posted on his blog about selecting lure colors.
CA is the host of the show flats class on the Sportsmans network.


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## Aze0008 (Mar 20, 2014)

In my opinion, when the water is murky and has more stain use a darker color bait because its not the color of the bait its the hue of the color. 
In mobile bay the water is always pretty stained so I use a rootbeer color or new penny color, and if the water is really dirty (like now with all this rain) ill use the same colors but dip the tails in chartreuse AND use a chartreuse jig head. When I run over to FL side and fish the grass flats like you're talking about I choose a natual color (natural shrimp color for shrimp imitations or browns/rootbeer for crab imitations, white/bone for hardbaits when mimicking mullet)
Also, the species matters too if I'm targeting trout I want a brighter, flashier bait since trout use sight to feed vs. reds who use smell and their horizontal lateral lines to feel vibrations of their bait. That's why the bait redfish magic use a single Colorado blade on their spinner bait. 
Just my thought process on bait selections and colors.


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## USMCEOD (Oct 9, 2013)

AME0219 said:


> you mean a completely chartreuse bait, or just the tail? :001_huh:


Most of the time I will use one with the tail chartreuse and a light or dark body depending on clear or dirty water. I have some with a chartreuse back and silver glitter belly that work well.


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## AME0219 (Jun 1, 2014)

Thanks everyone, helpful advice


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## dabutcher (Apr 19, 2008)

This is what I use.

Bone colored super spook jr.

Mirrodine 17 mr - 808, silver with dark green back, silver with black back, and the pearl/silver with blue back. The dark green back has been by go to bait lately.

1/4 jighead with a slayer ssb in the golden brim color. 

I have not used any different colored lures since early April.


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## Desert Eagle (Apr 25, 2012)

I'm with Salt Lines!!! Find the feeding fish and colors and lure types are way secondary. Sling beer can tabs and you'll get hits. When the action is minimal, pick and choose colors and lure types until you start catching fish. I take 5 rods with me every time I go out and they are all rigged differently...


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