Does Lure Colour Matter?

By Joshua Davey

What is the best colour lure for X? A question as old as time and realistically, probably one without an answer. When walking into a tackle store, it can be daunting; I get it. Walls full of lures with differing shapes, sizes and then of course colours. So where do you start? 

Let’s take the Bait Junkie range for instance, each style soft plastic has its own unique assortment of colours typically tailored towards target species. These can be natural baitfish or crustacean patterns to even the most outlandish in your face colours you have ever seen. The common denominator, however, is that they absolutely all catch fish, and all have their time and place.

For simplicity’s sake, let’s use bream as an example. Ask most people what their favourite colour bream soft plastic is and I have no doubt that at least 80% would reply with either motor oil or bloodworm. One, an outrageous unnatural bright colour and the other a very natural subtle presentation. So, when and where should you use them? Everybody has their own answer, but for me I like to make my lures stand out as much as possible without going over the top. So, in clear water you will typically see me tie on something along the lines of bloodworm, clear gold or lemongrass UV. If fishing tannen stained, but still on the clearer side I will use colours such as mud blood, caramel candy and watermelon red to name a few. 

Finally in dirty water this is when I like to throw colours such as my personal favourite GP Chartreuse. Something bright, that stands out amongst everything else but is still natural enough of a presentation to get the bite. In the dirty water locally to me lately, this has been a standout colour and likely one that gets overlooked often. Realistically though, the number one key is confidence. If you are confident that your colour choice will work, that is all that matters. At the end of the day there are so many colour choices because they have each been tested and all catch fish, so if it catches your eye, no doubt it will catch the fish's eye too! Step out of your comfort zones, throw a different colour around and who knows, you may find a new favourite just like I have.