Posted by JOHN G on 08-24-2003 09:31 AM:

Interesting T-rig Worm observation I made this Season.....

having fished t-rig so much in the past, and then having shelved it for several years in lieu of other methods, last year and especially this year, it has returned to the forefront as a preferred method....

after hours of doing this and having my boat partners use it also, I have come up with an interesting observation:

it seems that lighter colors will work better earlier on in the day, then you find going into mixed colors is great, and then finally before the day is over, straight ol' black is their preferred color.....

now: I say "preferred" based solely on who is pulling the damn fish into the boat! LOL.....in other words, with everone on the boat's technique and rig being basically uniform thorughout the day, you will reach plateaus where if they or you do NOT switch to the "NEXT" color, you or they will NOT pull in fish!!

have seen this far too many times this season for it not to make an impression on my observation red flags and such.....

Has anyone else noticed this phenomenon??

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Posted by JOHN G on 08-24-2003 09:32 AM:

keep in mind please that I am not too much of a bug on colors except in general, that is why I simply stated "mixed colors", meaning that at that juncture, say, a Camo or June bug would work equally well......

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Posted by basseracci on 08-24-2003 10:32 AM:

I never thought about it from a "time of day perspective" but I do use light to translucent colors when the sun is high and bright and I also try more metal flake patterns to pick up as much as possible...

John, I don't know if i would solely equate this color phenomenon to T-rigs, but i understand where you are coming from, having done so much more of it these last two seasons...But, I think it holds true for all my plastics fishing including senkos...

As far as colors, toward the end of the day, I always go to darker colors, even at the objection of some of the guys I fish with...I just think that they get picked up better sometimes depending on cloud cover and the progressively declining sun penetration into the water...

Other times I will throw on the brightest thing possible to see if it gets noticed better at the depth I am fishing...You just cant pinpoint the amount of light penetration at every depth...

Who knows?...Those fish are probably down there saying, "Oh look Bill, another motoroil powerworm...Do you want it or should we wait for the junebug?"

Also, it seems that I, like many of you, have every color known to man...But I have a precious few colors that I use repeatedly at one time or another no matter what water I'm fishing...

mark

Posted by earthworm77 on 08-24-2003 01:05 PM:

Interesting obs. John. I can relate to it but at times I don't think color is all that inportant....like if I threw a blk/blue or watermelon SS, I know I'd catch them if they were biting. There are a few lakes where I would throw certain colors that I might pass up at others.

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Posted by HugeFish4 on 08-24-2003 04:27 PM:

It is all in your head!!!!

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Posted by Bassin Dude on 08-24-2003 07:05 PM:

Interesting John,

Did you note any variations due to different water clarity conditions or perhaps sunny versus cloudy days?

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Posted by joe p on 08-24-2003 07:20 PM:

I use this basic colors...

Watermelon
Green pumpkin
blue/black
black

But when the sun is out, I like my plastics with flakes. Gold flakes or pepper flakes....

This season, the more Im beginning to think that colors aint that important ....

So, thats why Im sticking to the basics...

Joe

Posted by NoWittyHandle on 08-25-2003 08:14 AM:

John, I've never noticed your observation about the best colors to use as the day progresses. I'll have to try that some time and see if it works.

I have heard that plastic baits with metal metal flakes work best when the sun is shining, though to be honest with you I haven't ever put this knowledge to the test.

I believe that the biggest determinant of what the best water lure color will be is the water color. For example, green is far and away the best color to use for plastic baits in clear water, not something we generally have a lot of in this area. I also believe that color does matter. I once tried using a bright pink tube in clear water (probably the worst color I could have used) in a small pond and caught one fish. I then went back over the same water with a green tube and caught eight fish in about 45 minutes. None of the fish had any size to them, but it did conclusively prove to me that color does matter (thought subtle shadings probably aren't that important).

I believe that what makes a color a good choice is that it is most visible to the fish, without being so outrageous that the fish can tell that the lure is fake. Other factors that can determine the best color to use include the time of year (more sunlight penetrates the water during the summer months), the time of day as John alluded to, and whether the day is sunny or overcast. The color background will also have a big effect on how visible the lure is, such as whether the lure is being viewed against the bottom or the water for a crankbait or spinnerbait.

There is a very good book called What Fish See that explains color visibility under water. While it is geared primarily for steelhead fishing, it still makes interesting reading.

Sorry for the long post.

Posted by Charlie on 08-25-2003 08:35 AM:

I think there are so many other factors to bring to this question John, that simple light in the morning, dark in the afternoon is too "open".

"Earthy" touches on a point that I too believe. If they are eating, they will hit anything that moves (within reason) and as HugeFish4 said, it really is all in the head!

If you have confidence in what you have found, stick with it!

My own color selection is based on SO many factors that I probably get too wrapped up with it, but the fact is, I have switched lure colors 10 times in an hour then gone back the the first color I thought they wanted and damn it didn't they inhale it!

As I have said many times before, these fish do not read the same books we do!!!!

Tight Lines!
Charlie

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Posted by Bink on 08-25-2003 09:59 AM:

I really picked back up the worm rod this year too and have been very surprised. I think it's lack of use by the Senkoahalics has left it as a less seen bait than say 5 years ago. Interesting color observations.

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Posted by joe p on 08-25-2003 10:57 AM:

this year, Im having the best worm bite since 5 years ago...a 7 inch blue/fleck powerworm has been great....

Posted by HookUp on 08-25-2003 01:02 PM:

Color

It only matters when it matters

(I think I picked that up from someone on this sight)

I'll usually change baits before I change colors

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Posted by carpecarpium on 08-25-2003 01:15 PM:

It may be "All in your head" but what's in our heads does have some connection to how successful we are as fishermen. It could be true that color does not matter--unless you think it does. If you have confidence in a certain color you'll probably be more alert when fishing it and catch more fish simply because you're not just going through the motions. Or you'll catch fish simply because you fish a certain color most of the time.

I think color sometimes matters and sometimes doesn't. How's that for a firm position? Part of the fun is figuering out what matters and what's irrelevent in a given situation.

Posted by wnybassman on 08-26-2003 08:26 AM:

quote:

It may be "All in your head" but what's in our heads does have some connection to how successful we are as fishermen.

That statement couldn't be any more true!!!

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Posted by HugeFish4 on 08-26-2003 09:19 AM:

My point about it "being all in one's head", is that each of us has different color preferences for plastic worms under different conditions. Just fish what you're confident in and you will be fine. For example, Joe mentions that he has success with Blue Fleck. For some reason, I throw mainly Junebug Powerworms which are very similar to Blue Fleck, but I don't have much success with Blue Fleck. Most likely just a fluke, but I will continue to throw Junebug just because. In one body of water I fish, I happened to throw on an Electric Grape powerworm, because I was "trying to get rid of several packages". Well, it turns out that I have great success with that color in that particular lake, so now I continue to buy them. I am sure any other color will work, but I don't tinker with results. It is all "in my head"!!! LOL!

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Posted by JOHN G on 08-26-2003 08:00 PM:

Tony: the only real variant is ambient light, the waters are very similar in water color and weed situation.....

again, this is not so much a "color" observation as it is a LIGHT-DARK observation......

if it is in your head, can it be in someone else's head too? If they switch to the darker color which is currently producing for you, and then catch fish, have you gotten into their head also? Now, also, keep in mind, I am talking about 3 different people on the boat: not so easy to get into two other people's heads.....

as I said in the first post: an observation, not a rule...and a current observation for this particular summer season.....

repetition of observations and remembrances of them are sometimes the little things that make a difference.......

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Posted by HugeFish4 on 08-26-2003 11:28 PM:

John, you mean you brainwashed two people on your boat? LOL!

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Posted by Senkosam on 08-27-2003 06:41 AM:

Yesterday I used rootbeer/green-black flake Senkos from 11 am to 5:30 pm and found the bite to be consistent. I also used chartreuse and b.gum tubes, all day, and found those colors to be productive. The sky was overcast and the water brownish- green, so the castaic choice (color) Brush Hogs should not have worked according to the above theories, but they did!

The most difficult thing was finding scattered fish all day, but once found, the strikes were hard. Considering the bright, hot conditions lately, yesterday should have been excellent and not just ho-hum.

FrankM

Posted by JOHN G on 08-27-2003 07:09 AM:

Hell Huge, I have even brainwashed YOU!! you just don't know it yet! LOL....

Frank: I have always found that type of consistency with senkos throughout the day, yes......keep in mind that these are plastic worms being jigged in mostly 12 to 15 feet of water on the bottom.....

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Posted by NoWittyHandle on 08-27-2003 08:06 AM:

Depending on the conditions, several different combinations of colors might be effective. Under water, colors frequently turn either black or white. Any combination of colors that turns black and white will provide good contrast and be very visible to the fish.