Just curious ...... what has been the most non-productive color for you while fishing the BWCA? Mine would probably be Blue.

Ha - Blue is probably my most productive.

Crawdad (brown) and green.

I know color matters in some circumstances but I’ve always wondered how much? When we fish we use different colors, then one person seems to do better we all switch. Was that color better, or because we all switched it was a self fulfilling reality?

Then you have confidence colors. Colors that seem to work better per a person. If you are more confident do you give it more time? Work it harder. Use it more often…all of which would give that color an advantage and play into personal bias.

I am not changing what I do…too much fun but I do wonder in the winter :)

T

Gold/silver are not that good for me. Blue-orange have been good. Green is my money color.

Green and orange have not been good. Prefer more neutral natural colors.

Color is a confidence game and purely subjective. After reading the book, ‘Knowing Bass’ by Keith Jones, you learn that all the empirical data pointed toward it being a sales tactic.

That reminds me of my favorite saying on the subject… “some lures catch fish, most lures catch fisherman.” :-)

I don't think color matters.

I used to not think color matters. But then one day we were trolling for trout on a certain BWCA lake and could not even get a bite. A buddy happened to tie on this ugly, mustard yellow crankbait for the hell of it. Immediately hooked two lakers. We all tied on yellow lures and got into 'em. It was the weirdest thing. Never had it happen before or since.

Love all the different replies ...... very interesting thus far.

SummerSkin: "I used to not think color matters. But then one day we were trolling for trout on a certain BWCA lake and could not even get a bite. A buddy happened to tie on this ugly, mustard yellow crankbait for the hell of it. Immediately hooked two lakers. We all tied on yellow lures and got into 'em. It was the weirdest thing. Never had it happen before or since."

The internet is full of anecdotes like this one and collectively they are often cited as proof… “see, color matters!”

I am more in AJ’s camp. Color isn’t meaningless but I think it’s less important than Rapala wants you to believe and I think anglers know a LOT less about fish behavior and than they think they do.

scottiebaldwin: "Color is a confidence game and purely subjective. After reading the book, ‘Knowing Bass’ by Keith Jones, you learn that all the empirical data pointed toward it being a sales tactic.


That reminds me of my favorite saying on the subject… “some lures catch fish, most lures catch fisherman.” :-)"

I agree 100% , Confidence is everything , my least affect color has been blue like gquall but I know many love the blue , but with little to no confidence I don't use that color very often but I'm still trying .

It's not scientific at all, just my experience... I've noticed that the clearer the water is, the more neutral toned I use. The more cloudy the water, the more color I use. My number one lure is perch colored. My number two is brown....

The Rapala perch color...it just doesn't work for me but then, I don't really like it either which supports the 'fisherman bias and confidence' preference.

As far as great colors, I have 2 colors and lures that I go to when nothing else is working: black jigs and clear zara puppies. If fish are biting other things, these don't work. If nothing else works, and only after all hope has faded, I tie on one of these and catch fish.

Only Harry Potter's sorting hat understands the magic involved but, know this, defy that formulation and you will be skunked!

foxfireniner: "The Rapala perch color...it just doesn't work for me but then, I don't really like it either which supports the 'fisherman bias and confidence' preference.


As far as great colors, I have 2 colors and lures that I go to when nothing else is working: black jigs and clear zara puppies. If fish are biting other things, these don't work. If nothing else works, and only after all hope has faded, I tie on one of these and catch fish.


Only Harry Potter's sorting hat understands the magic involved but, know this, defy that formulation and you will be skunked!


"

That's funny...the perch colored rapalas are probably my favorite color lol. They seem to work when other colors don't. And black is my personal least effective color across lures and fish species.

shock: "

scottiebaldwin: "Color is a confidence game and purely subjective. After reading the book, ‘Knowing Bass’ by Keith Jones, you learn that all the empirical data pointed toward it being a sales tactic.



That reminds me of my favorite saying on the subject… “some lures catch fish, most lures catch fisherman.” :-)"

I agree 100% , Confidence is everything , my least affect color has been blue like gquall but I know many love the blue , but with little to no confidence I don't use that color very often but I'm still trying ."

All the paint taken off from walleye teeth

thegildedgopher: "

SummerSkin: "I used to not think color matters. But then one day we were trolling for trout on a certain BWCA lake and could not even get a bite. A buddy happened to tie on this ugly, mustard yellow crankbait for the hell of it. Immediately hooked two lakers. We all tied on yellow lures and got into 'em. It was the weirdest thing. Never had it happen before or since."

The internet is full of anecdotes like this one and collectively they are often cited as proof… “see, color matters!”


I am more in AJ’s camp. Color isn’t meaningless but I think it’s less important than Rapala wants you to believe and I think anglers know a LOT less about fish behavior and than they think they do.
"

Of course just sharing one anecdotal outlier that shows that, under some circumstances and with some variables, which I cannot define or quantify, color does seem to matter. How often, how much, and how frequent or rare this is all are up for debate.

However in my lifetime of fishing, I've not been able to replicate this except for one other time when I was a kid at a farm pond in TN.

I have no idea. I only use highly productive colors. :) hahaha….. seriously I’m kind of stumped on this question.

I think lure size, speed, action, and sound are most often more important than color.

There are times, however, that color absolutely matters. I spend a LOT of time trolling for walleye, often after dark, in central MN. Most often, color just needs to be "close" -- dark color or light, shiny or dull -- and that's good enough. More often I see trolling speed and lure size be the major factors, along with action -- slower wobble vs. faster, tighter wobble.

But I've also had countless days and nights when everything else is equal, and one color massively outproduces everything else. I'm talking amount of line out, kind of line (mono vs. braid), lure manufacturer, size, speed, etc. Everything except color.

Most often this is after dark, so it's almost unbelievable, but a Rapala with silver sides and a purple back will outfish silver sides with a black back 10-1. Or, if you're familiar with Rapala's color patterns, the "Shad" color (matte finish, grayish) will outfish every other "Natural" color pattern a dozen to one. Seems crazy but I've seen it a hundred times I bet.

And I usually have the exact same trolling set up, with line counters using with the same line, same leader length and material, same everything as close as I can possibly get it.