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Today, we’re going to talk about crankbait colors. I carry a lot of different crankbait colors. If you look into one of my crankbait boxes, it looks like a rainbow. I’ve got red ones, yellow ones, chartreuse ones, shad-colored ones, and more. It can be a little bit mind-boggling when you start looking at all the different types and different little nuances of crankbait colors. So, when do I pick which one?
The number one factor is going to be water color. Many of the lakes that I grew up fishing are more like highland reservoirs, so they typically have clear water. In those situations, I will go for a more shad-type color or even some of the transparent shad colors. Especially on bright bluebird days in clean water, those shad-color crankbaits are going to work really well.
Now when I get into more stained water, not necessarily muddy water, just stained, that’s when I’m going to start going to more of a yellow-type color. Basically, something that is going to blend in a little bit better. Think toned-down yellows, reds, oranges, things like that.
When I get into more muddy water situations, that’s when I throw the bright oranges, bright reds, bright chartreuse, things like that. If you’re in really dirty water, you’re going to want a bait that really stands out.
Another big thing to keep in mind whenever you’re picking your crankbait color is: what do you think those fish are feeding on? There are really two ways to go about this. Do you want to match that hatch, which is a good way to go about it, or do you want to go opposite the hatch? That is something I’ve had a lot of success doing. Think of it like this; if the fish have been feeding on shad for the past week, if I put a big old fat juicy crawfish in front of them, they’ll probably eat it. It’s no different than us. Someone could feed us filet mignon every single night, but eventually, we’re going to get tired of filet. You put a juicy ribeye out there, we’ll probably take a bite.
Most of the time, you’re probably going to have to try 4 or 5 different baits until you find that one that they really, really like. And here’s the telltale sign; when you catch a fish on a crankbait and he’s got that bait down his throat, keep throwing that bait and that color. I hope this helps you with choosing your crankbait colors. Good luck on the water.
