Shad and bluegill patterns.

best advice I got on crankbaits was one day fishing with James Biggs. We were both throwing some shad patterns on Ray Roberts and getting bit. The bite slowed down after we moved to dirtier water and we went a bit without a bite. I tied on a different color and in a few minutes had caught one or two more. I asked James when he was gonna tie on that color and he simply said shad don't change colors. Its all about location. Really stood out in my mind and I only carry 3 colors or so these days. I seem to catch more fish and probably throw a shad pattern 80% of the time in all conditions.

tenn shad or firetiger...

there is some truth to that, but if the fish can't see it they can't bite it. Plus I am a firm believer that bass get smart after a bit when they see the same crank going by them time after time. Change up colors when the bite slows down and you will get some reaction strikes just because it is something new.

Sexy Shad works year round for me. Along with Gold Sexy Shad. I would recommend Strike King's Red Eye Shad (in Sexy Shad or Gold Sexy Shad). I've noticed the paint on the Gold Sexy comes off pretty easily but it catches so much fish it's hard to argue with it.

I have always read and heard that you go to a chatreuse or dark colored bait or crankbait in muddy water yet the fish you catch and the baitfish you see in muddy water actually turn a pale shade of white. This is totally opposite of what nature does in my opinion if you throw brighter/darker baits. You cannot convince me that a bass just stops eating and will not not become more reliant on their lateral line to feed in dirty water.

I like Tenn shad or chrome with a black or blue back.

I too have read that you are to use a black(dark) or bright colored bait when the water gets dingy and muddy. I believe the reason for using such colors is to help have a bass see the bait. The lateral lines on a bass will help attract them to the bait, the dark or bright color helps them see it and be able to bite. A natural color bait would be hard for a fish to see and may not get bit as well. The dark and bright baits may not be the color of the bait fish in water but at least the basswill be able to see it

I think shad patterns are the most versitile. I love Rapala's shad pattern. I like Sexy Shad, but I haven't had as much luck with it.

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I agree. I think the reaction bite is more likely related to the fish using it's natural given resources (lateral line) to detect vibrations more than becoming dependent on sight.

Sexy shad, gold sexy shad, green shad, anything shad patterned. The ones I mentioned are all Red Eye Shad's.

Anything with Chartreuse.

Splatterback

Lots of good observations above. I used to have almost every color, but scaled back to get some type of red, some type of shad pattern and some type of craw pattern. This covers MOST of the situations.

On the other hand, I am a BIG believer of throwing something different. As mentioned above, putting differnt kinds of colorss on the bait, either with dye pens or even fingernail polish helps a lot. I am ALSO a big believer in CHARTREUSE. Nothing I am aware of looks chartreuse in nautre, but teh bass seem to like it. Bluegill is also another pattern that works well.

SHHHH Mark. I thouhgt I was one of the few that threw bright colors in muddy/dirty water. Works like a charm.

In other words, let the BASSS tell you what they want. And adjust from there.

Hope this helps.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Thad, have you studied the in depth comparisons of color vs. water depth. IN other words, what colors fade into shades of greys... and eventually what point in the water column all the lighter colors of the spectrum turn to grey?

Ronnie,

Ralph Manns and others have done a TON more work than I have on that. When I was doing the study, I found that quality of light played just as big a part as water clarity. Muddy water, the colors disappeared fairly rapidly. The clear water columns, the colors faded faster than what I anticipated. Red kind of surpised me, so did blue. I studied jigs, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Sorry, but I just have observations and no empirical data.

Wish I could help more.

Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Any color I throw I like to have an orange belly.Just seems to work well for me.

Clear water=natural colors like shad, or baby bass
Stained water=bright colors like Chart/purple back, Firetiger