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Darkman

Does The Color On The Jig Head Really Matter?

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Erick,

    I've tossed this idea in my head many times and I finally come to realize that some colors are lake specific. I use mostly blk/blu, brown/org, brown, red/ blk and green pumpkin. I can catch fish on these colors all the time with a trailer. I have also caught fish on jigs with no paint. When I make jigs with all the colors, I think that, that is more of a confidence thing than a bluegill jig looking like a bluegill and the fish hitting it. I also believe that the basic colors you picked are always winners as I fish them as well. However I have tried white and white/ylw chart. painted jigs and I've never caught a fish or even got a hit on those two colors. I don't know why. So in closing I think presentation is #1, jig trailer is #2 and then color of jig head #3. Just my opinion.

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Confidence!!! What ever gives you the most confidense is the best color you can use. Color only matters when it matters, which means that most times you don't need to worry about it but I do know for a fact that sometimes fish will react to certain colors which makes me think they can see various shades of greens. Last year with a buddy on a lake, I was using a standard green pumpkin jig, green pumpkin head, and skirt along with a green pumpkin trailer, my buddy was using close to identical color except my jig was new, I had made it a few weeks prior while his was one that was over a year old. I looked at them side by side and his skirt color was slightly faded as was the trailer but he was killing me, he has 4 fish I didn't have a bite, I ditched my set up and went with a watermelon colored jig with the same green pumpkin trailer and it worked, not as well as my buddy was doing but I was getting bit, and just as Cadman has told you, it turns out this lighter shade of green pumpkin has now become a lake specific color, guys that fish that lake know that you have to have a light green pumpkin in a jig or trailer if you want to catch them but so far it is the only lake that the color seems to really matter a lot. The moral of the story is to make a color that you think will get bit but don't over think it.

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I just finished pouring some footballhead jigs and was thinking of making them all one color (black,brown or watermellon green) no matter what skirt goes on them....do you think it will make a differance. just wondering out load

You've name the all the productive colors for jig heads. Use your experience and the colors of the lake crayfish for your silicone skirts and trailers.

 

That said,pay more attention to your jig head design/weight,angle and sharpness of your jig hooks.Some days rattles are the deal ,other days not. Your jig hook should float upright when the jig and trailer is on the bottom.Hold your finished jig perpendicular to the ground and slide the jig across the palm of your hand(also held perpendicular) . If you don't feel the sting of the hook  point,open up the angle(carefully) and repeat this simple test.

 

Did I mentioned fancy colored jig heads are a waste of time ?

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OK, I wanted to speak out on this one.  I think the basics have been covered, and in my list of what makes any bait work, color is never near the top, but is always on the list.  Un-painted IS a color, fresh lead a silver, oxidized lead a dark gray.

 

For walleye, color is extremely important, at times.  I have experienced this over and over where one rod has one color jig and worm, the second rod another, and one rod out fishes the other.  I often fish two rods from the front of the boat when moving very slowly searching for fish, each line almost directly under the boat.

 

Trout can be the same way, but bass seem to be a lot less color concerned.  Other species seem to have their own color issues.

 

Having said that, I find that eyes make a difference, but details like scales, gills, dark top and light bottom, etc., are for fishermen not fish when it comes to jig heads.

 

I tend to paint up the basics in jig colors.  I like to have some silver (fresh lead), some dark gray (oxidized lead), some white, some black, some olive, some chartreuse, and having some orange is always a good idea. Side note, how can I get that dark oxidized lead color quicker??????

 

I know that this is just my experience, but I experiment a lot, so good luck on whatever you decide.

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I think color is more important in clear water, where bass can see it much better.

You can always add accents on the water if you take along several bottles of clear nail polish with different colored glitter in each.  I would carry orange flake, purple flake, and green flake.

If you're not getting bit, try adding a quick coat of the nail polish.  It dries fast, and lets you change up without retying.

In off colored or muddy water, dark colors work best for me.

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This has been hashed out so many times and it is a one of those thing in which everyone is right. I, once again disagree with smallmouthaholic, fancy paint jobs on jigs are a waste of time to someone who doesn't believe in them but is an angler has confidence that the orange accent on his jig head is going to get him more bites then it becomes important. I've was on the river last year and I was using a black jig with red flake, aka black neon and I had a black neon craw trailer, my buddy was using the exact same jig and trailer only his was all black, I was catching 4 to his 1 and when he switched it instantly made a difference. I also had my arse kicked by the same guy when he was using an unpainted head, well it was a good jig that the paint was wore off so it was a gray color, but he just had a ton of confidence in that jig so he fished it hard. I use solid colors most of the time but I do make swim jigs with 2 and 3 colors and I will often add flake to paint to make a green pumpkin with black flake or watermelon with red flake, I think the added flash is a good thing at times. I guess you can say that making a fancy color is a waste of time but you could also say that even painting a jig could be as well but I think anything that will give you confidence is well worth the effort even if it means putting a fancy paint job on a jig.

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Not long ago i was fishing in ICW(saltwater). Saltwater the bright colors work better or seems to. The Blues were running. They can sure mess up your tackle. I was using white, orange and yellow jig heads. Was getting bites and fish. Got my line cut off by a blue. Put on a black jig head and nothing no bites, no nothing. After like 20 cast I took off the black and put on a yellow first cast fish on. I know this don't mean a lot, but I don't use black jigheads any more.

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use nothing but unpainted heads in saltwater. Just not going to pay for painted heads

 

I have felt redheads were nice...but then I married a brunette (but she dies her hair red at times)...and I said I wasn't going to pay for "painted heads"

Edited by garthsnooks
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This has been hashed out so many times and it is a one of those thing in which everyone is right. I, once again disagree with smallmouthaholic, fancy paint jobs on jigs are a waste of time to someone who doesn't believe in them but is an angler has confidence that the orange accent on his jig head is going to get him more bites then it becomes important. I've was on the river last year and I was using a black jig with red flake, aka black neon and I had a black neon craw trailer, my buddy was using the exact same jig and trailer only his was all black, I was catching 4 to his 1 and when he switched it instantly made a difference. I also had my arse kicked by the same guy when he was using an unpainted head, well it was a good jig that the paint was wore off so it was a gray color, but he just had a ton of confidence in that jig so he fished it hard. I use solid colors most of the time but I do make swim jigs with 2 and 3 colors and I will often add flake to paint to make a green pumpkin with black flake or watermelon with red flake, I think the added flash is a good thing at times. I guess you can say that making a fancy color is a waste of time but you could also say that even painting a jig could be as well but I think anything that will give you confidence is well worth the effort even if it means putting a fancy paint job on a jig.

 

 I'm tickled  pink you take the time to make 3 color swim-jigs w/ flake. I'm sure they're a work of art.I use swim-baits instead since i have found a good,3-4 color,laminated swim-bait will out fish them w/ a more realistic profile,color and adjustable swimming,sink rate.

 

Did I mention I only powder paint jig heads two colors?- Black or green pumpkin

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 I'm tickled  pink you take the time to make 3 color swim-jigs w/ flake. I'm sure they're a work of art.I use swim-baits instead since i have found a good,3-4 color,laminated swim-bait will out fish them w/ a more realistic profile,color and adjustable swimming,sink rate.

 

Did I mention I only powder paint jig heads two colors?- Black or green pumpkin

 

I fish my share of swimbaits but when bass are down in 8' or 9' of water in heavy brush I'll have a paddle tail swim jig rigged with small paddle tail swimbait and why you are trying to let your beautiful swimbait sink down far enough only to end up snagged I'll be hauling in fish as my paddle tail bait will be attached to 4wd that is painted to match the bait. I can be just as sarcastic...

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I fish my share of swimbaits but when bass are down in 8' or 9' of water in heavy brush I'll have a paddle tail swim jig rigged with small paddle tail swimbait and why you are trying to let your beautiful swimbait sink down far enough only to end up snagged I'll be hauling in fish as my paddle tail bait will be attached to 4wd that is painted to match the bait. I can be just as sarcastic...

Relax-

          I fish swim-baits on 1/16,1/8,1/4 ,3/8  and 5/16 oz heads and they can be rigged weedless and snagless- that means fished in weeds and submerged timber and horizontal ,underwater lay-downs.I don't need a fiber weed-guard jig to fish swim-baits.

 

Possibly you may wish to broaden your knowledge and experience w/ the use of swim-baits for bass located in sub-surface structure.Try something new- you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Every day on the water is a learning experience for all w/open minds and the willingness to learn new techniques.( no sarcasm intended)

 

 

 

edited for spelling

Edited by smallmouthaholic
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Relax-

          I fish swim-baits on 1/16,1/8,1/4 ,3/8  and 5/16 oz heads and they can be rigged weedless and snagless- that means fished in weeds and submerged timber and horizontal ,underwater lay-downs.I don't need a fiber weed-guard jig to fish swim-baits.

 

Possibly you may wish to broaden your knowledge and experience w/ the use of swim-baits for bass located in sub-surface structure.Try something new- you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Every day on the water is a learning experience for all w/open minds and the willingness to learn new techniques.( no sarcasm intended)

 

 

 

edited for spelling

 

I appreciate the tip, I have normally fished swimbaits on ball head jigs but weedless and normal heads and I have used the weighted hooks on both solid plastic swimbaits like the Gene Larew sweet swimmer and Keitech easy shiner and hollow bodied baits like the shadalicious and hollow belly but 2 years ago I got into swim style jigs with the swimbaits used as a trailer, I really liked it for largemouth but when I tried it on river smallmouth it was amazing and I never even thought it would work as well as it has. I figured that it would make the bait too bulky but it doesn't seem to turn away even small fish but one thing it did let me do is to bring the bait right through the water willow patches and almost every time you come out of the weeds the bait gets crushed, that is why I started to make them myself and I paint the heads and make skirts to match the swimbait.

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I don't think the color of the jig head...makes any more difference than the color of the soft plastic bait....

 

That's coming from a guy that just had to buy a new boat...to tow behind my current boat...to put all the tackle boxes of different color plastic baits in!   :?

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I don't think the color of the jig head...makes any more difference than the color of the soft plastic bait....

 

That's coming from a guy that just had to buy a new boat...to tow behind my current boat...to put all the tackle boxes of different color plastic baits in!   :?

Do you have a boat suggestion, mine is not color but type.  I think I will put the fishing partners in the second boat and keep my baits with me.  :halo:

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.......except my jig was new, I had made it a few weeks prior while his was one that was over a year old. I looked at them side by side and his skirt color was slightly faded as was the trailer but he was killing me, he has 4 fish I didn't have a bite....

May be it is a problem. Fresh, recently painted jig could have some odor that fish doesn't like. Or too vivid color looks not naturally (or like poison tropical fish).

Just guess...

Edited by ING
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