hi guys, I have heard from a lot of guys that different color lures work differently at different depths. For instance orange works better at 30ft down than a blue that works better in a 50 ft depth. I was just wondering if anybody could shed some light on the topic.
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it's really more about what colors are visible a certain depths of water - reds and oranges are used up high because as they get deeper they are the first ones to lose their visible color. But read that - and then feel free to ask any qestions you may have - it's an important topic to have a grasp on.
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t3pt6k, Thanks for leading me in the right direction, I just signed up on the sight and its great to finally hear people that are willing to give some straight answers. So glad to be aboard. But anyways on a typical day of heading out of the pier and you get to your depth you are going to fish, how do you pick what colors your going to use. That seems to be my biggest problem, i cant find the right spread to drop.
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there are always some go to baits that are great day in and day out every year. if you search the message board there are lots of posts on what worked best for everyone here from spoons to flashers and flies. if you read through them you will see a lot of the same stuff was great for everyone. get a good mix of those baits and you should be alright. general rule of thumb sunny days use brighter lures, cloudy or rainy days use darker stuff. some baits work well during both conditions.
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Boy if i had to choose 5 or 6 baits that I would use on a dialy basis depending on conditions I guess these would be them.
If you are going out in the morning before full sunlight I would be running blues or variations of blues. Including spoons such as the modified blue dolphin, blue spin doctors and blue or mirage flies. If as the day progresses it was cloudy I would stay working the blues and variations.
If it turns out to be a bright sunny day as the sun comes up I would start switching to brighter colors including greens and yellows.
If you're fishing deep you may still want the blue in the water down in the deeper depth and brighter colors at the intermediate depths.
If you're fishing a full spread for kings and maybe steelheads you may want to have a double orange crush up high in the top 30 feet of water on maybe a 2, 3, or 5 color core.
These ofcourse are just general guidelines and there are no hard and fast rules, but if I were in your position I would follow these general guidelines - dark colors for dark conditions, bright colors for bright conditions, and loud and bright colors for muddy or stained waters. There are a number of threads in these forums regarding best baits for seasons of fishing - I would deifnetly load up on those baits - you can't go wrong starting that way. Keep a log of what works in what conditions and pretty soon you'll have your own selection of spoons that work for you in any number of conditions.
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Also depends what side the lake your on.Some are the same colors. On the WI side we even have ports with different color patterns.Whats hot at Sheboygan does poorly south of Port Washington.. Pre sunrise I will run green or blue glows along with black/purple.The last 2 years a mag.Pro king black/gold glow ladder after sunrise has been the goto bait for core rods. What works one boat might not work on the next as proven with the oarnge easter egg,Brenda J verse Red Rider. Gregs choices due look good for starters.
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I agree with Greg. Great general guidelines and it will help a lot if you keep a log of some sort. It doesnt have to be too complicated, but include the conditions and if they change, port, lure and where it was in the water and what time of day. Eventually you can see some good patterns. I also try to make a point of taking pictures with the lures in fish's mouths and at the end of the day take a pic of all the lures that worked. I keep those pics on my screen saver so they pop up all the time for me. memory fades, but log sheets don't. write em down out on the water as you go and look back at them and like greg said, you will end up having a bunch of go to lures for any condition. I am also glad greg mentioned the cloudy water thing. Muddy or stained water can throw off the game plan. There is a definate color difference in stained water, or water with sediment in it. Basically comes down to light transmission through the water. Hope all this helps. Good luck out there and post reports of what you catch or dont catch.
www.salmonheadcharters.com
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Great info guys. I will also add a different type of situation at which Salmonhead assisted Bird Dog and I last year while we were fishing out of Racine during Salmonarama...
Our morning bite had shut down, and the lake was pretty flat, and we had hazy conditions...Paul called it "flat light." He recommended that we try spoons with a white back and also a trash can (flat silver) metal dodger with a white fly.
I think the trash can and white fly was in the water for about 7 minutes off a 150' copper rig when an 8# steelhead nailed it. We also took a nice coho on a green/yellow Silver Streak with a white back off a rigger just prior to the steelie.
Just goes to show that if you fish enough, and keep an accurate log (like Salmonhead does) you can adapt and adjust your spread to nearly every situation.
Hope that helps.
BFG
Official Ohio Delegate to Team Heavy Super-Sized Fishing Specialists bfg@educatedangler.com
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I dont know which color fades first but I do know that my best cut bait rig over 100 feet down is a clear red tape rig. I catch 75% of my fish on this rig when fishing over 100 feet deep.
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