Color is another primary factor in the success of using a swimbait because the swimbait must look like the forage that is present in the water. A predator is searching for food that will appear the same as the food that it consume in it’s specific environment. If the colors of the bait that is being used does not match the forage that is present in the water, the predator will likely ignore the bait.
However, if the color of the bait match the forage in the water, the predator is more likely to strike the bait. In order to determine which colors of bait will work best in the specific body of water that you are fishing, you must observe the forage that is exist in the water. For instance, using a silver-blue shad pattern will work best in reservoirs that contains shad, but might not be effective in pond that contain bluegill fish.
How to Choose the Right Swimbait Color
Bluegill have bellies that are orange in color and backs that are green in color, so using a swimbait that has those colors will be effective if you are fishing for bluegill fish. The specific style of the swimbait will dictate the colors that you should use on the swimbait. If using a hard jointed glider bait, the bait should have subtle colors like trout or shad colors.
A soft paddle tail bait will make a thumping movement in the water, so using flashy colors like perch or golden shiner will work best. Hollow body baits work best in areas with weeds, and using a red color for the bait will mimic a crawdad. Therefore, the color of the bait will work best with the movement of the bait.
The clarity of the water is another significant factor in the success of using a swimbait. If the water is clear, using ghost or natural silver colors for the swimbait will work best because the colors are subtlely. In cases where the water stains, using colors with more contrast will work best, such as bluegill orange or perch yellow colors.
When the water is murky, using all-white colors or burnt crawdad colors will work best for mimicking the prey in the murky water. The depth of the water will also change the way that the fish will see the colors of the swimbaits. As the depth of the water changes, the color of the swimbaits should change as well.
The color red is the first to fade with depth, followed by orange. The colors blue and white remains visible even in deep water. Due to the fact that deep water fish cannot see bright colors like fire tiger, it is not recommended to use these color when fishing deep water.
The size and the color of the swimbait must match the type of fish that you are trying to catch. Three inch swimbaits should use ghost colors in clear water so as not to spook the fish. Twelve inch swimbaits should use colors that emulate large forage such as gizzard shad since large fish seek out large meal.
The swimbait should match the size of the fish that you are trying to catch. Different fish species eat different types of forage so the color of the bait should match the type of forage that the specific type of fish eat. For instance, largemouth bass eat bluegill and shad so using bluegill or shad colors when fishing for bass will be more successful.
Smallmouth bass eat more perch so using colors of perch when fishing for smallmouth bass will be more successful. Stripers eat alewives so using silver colors will be more successful when fishing for stripers. Pike eat white fish and trout so using bait that has white or trout colors will be more successful for pike fishing efforts.
Musky eat tilapia or gizzard shad so musky bait that includes tilapia green or gizzard shad colors will be more successful when fishing for these fish. The colors of the forage that fish eat also changes with the change of the seasons. In the spring, fish eat crawdads and bluegill so using bait that contains crawdad or bluegill colors will be more more successful when fishing during spring months.
During the summer the fish favorite forage is shad so you would use ghost colors when fishing during summer months. In the fall, fish eat perch so using colors of bait that emulate perch would be used when fishing during fall months. During the winter when fish are less active, using bait that contains the colors of white fish or trout would be the most successful with fishing efforts.
Another factor that will effect the color of the bait that you use when fishing is the regional forage. The forage that is found in one region of the U.S. May not be the same in another region. You must identify the forage that is in your specific area.
If you can identify the forage that is in your area, determine the water clarity and choose the correct scale of swimbait you use, you will have a betterer chance of successfully catching fish with your swimbait.