When you head to your local sporting good store to look for the best fishing lure you can find a key aspect is also picking which color.  There is always the option to go find a custom painted fishing lure, but as a general rule we still need to know which color(s) we are trying to mimic in order to maximize a lures effectiveness.  The two key things to keep in mind here are the clarity or color of the water and the conditions on the body of water itself.  To me it really leads to the same idea, being that what is the amount of feet that you can see a given bait into the water.  A windy day will stir up the water and lead to less clarity as will obviously the actual clarity of the water itself.  I tend to lean towards water clarity being the #1 aspect, but conditions in terms of wind, clouds and sun angle all play a role as well.

For clear lakes and days when the water isn't so churned up, the best idea is to mimic the color of the bait fish whenever possible.  Stay with generally darker colors.  Black is good in clear water as is brown color.  Both of these are natural colors that represent what is seen below the water.  I have had great luck with motor oil Berkley Power Worms over the years, as well as the Zoom Centipede in a pumpkin color.  For crankbaits I have written many times on here that I am firmly in love with the black/silver Rapala Shad Rap SR7.  All of the above are great lures to use in lakes with good water clarity.

On lakes with algae bloom (a dark green color) I have had the best luck with a colorful pattern.  The clown color of late has been good for me, but I have had great luck over the years on the firetiger pattern on crankbaits.  The firetiger color has been my best producer in these type of water conditions.  It literally outfishes black colors 3-1 in my experience.  However, when used on clear lakes it will get outfished badly by the standard colors mentioned above.

When picking a lure for your next cast, choosing the correct fishing color can make all the difference in the world.  What are your experience with fishing lure colors?

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait...

Another method to consider in pre-spawn is Carolina Rig.  Tie on a Carolina rig and pick a cove that has a nice drop off, saddle, or deeper flat.  Start by working from shallow to deep.  Tie on a watermelon or pumpkinseed Zoom Centipede with 2/0 hook.  Slowly drag this bait back to the boat.  Ensure you are using a rod that has much sensitivity, as you want to be able to feel every rock, twig, or fish biting.  The water will be cold, so move the bait very slow.  Cover every once of train methodically.  If working from shallow to deep doesn’t work, move your boat into the shallow area and cast to deep.  You can catch many fish you are floating over with this technique.

The centipede, sometimes called a French Fry, is a great bait to use in pre-spawn.  During this time bass are staring to move shallow.  On a nice warm day, one can see thousands of bass roaming the shallows.  The bass haven’t started to spawn yet, but when the sun comes out in early spring they bass love to go up into shallow areas and sun themselves.  The Zoom centipede can be a deadly weapon during this time.

Pick an area that is shallow, dark bottom, and preferable has some rocks.  These areas will warm up the earliest and have the most active fish on them.  Tie on a 2/0 hook with a 1/32 watermelon pinch on weight, 8 lb test line, and pumpkin seed Zoom Centipede.   Keep the boat back from where your casting and make extremely long cast.  This time of year the bass can be extremely spooky, any movement will send them swimming off.  Make long cast and wait.  Watch the line for any twitch.  If you see any movement in the line, set the hook.  This is the best time to watch your line, as you want to dead stick your baits as much as possible.  The bass don’t want to see a moving bait.  The centipede should sit still for 10 to 20 seconds.  It can be painstaking, but you can also load the boat with this technique during the pre-spawn season.

For beginners, the best baits to skip under docks long, round, solid baits.  The two best baits that come to mind are

Bass love to hide under docks

Yamamato Senko or Zoom Centipede.  I would suggest staring with the 5” Senko.  These weight slightly less, yet have enough weight to skip well.  If you pick a centipede, either use a 3/0 to 5/0 hook to give a little more weight, use a pinch on weight, or press a small nail into the tip to add weight.  Don’t add to much weight, as this will nullify the skipping ability.  Also, don’t use a Texas rig.  Either no weight at all or very light weight, less than 1/16 oz, Florida or peg to weight.