We sell ..a lot of colors

 

At the time of this writing, 32 to be exact.

 

Which is kinda funny, cause in the beginning we decided we
were only gonna sell like 12.. lol

 

One of, if not the biggest hurdle for artificial anglers is
color selection

 

With infinite choices and everyone shouting from the
rooftops about which one(s) they think are best and the endless stream of
contradictory advice, throw one color all the time, change it up, color doesn’t
matter, color is everything, etc.

 

It can get kinda confusing, but at the end of the day you
just gotta get out there and test different stuff and figure out what works
best for you!

 

So take the advice I’m about to give you with that grain of
salt, I really hope it helps you, but it’s far from the end all be all,
definitive rule, just letting you know what works for me.

 

I’m personally a big believer in the K.I.S.S. rule.

 

If ya don’t know, that stands for Keep It Simple Stupid, but
I also believe that you can dumb some stuff down too far, make it too simple
and you could leave out important factors that could make or break you, it’s a
delicate balance..

 

For example, I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “dirty
water-dark color, clean water-light color”

 

While this is a solid place to start, I really feel that it
is overly simplified, in that it leaves out at least 2 other important
variables.

 

But then on the flip side of that, you can take the advice
I’m about to give you and build on it further by factoring in the natural bait
selection in your area at the time and/or what time of year it is and/or what
species you’re targeting and/or if you’re trying to present something natural
or trying to put something crazy out there to draw reaction strikes, and the
list just goes on and on and on.

 

So, like I said, ya just gotta get out there and figure out
what works for you, I truly believe in the advice I’m about to give you, it’s
how I make my decisions on the water, whether you take it to heart or simply
use it as a foundation to build upon, it’s yours for the taking!

 

I have 3 main factors that I like to look at initially when
I’m deciding which color to throw and then I let the fish tell me if I guessed
correctly or not and adjust accordingly.

 

In no particular order of importance:

·      Water Clarity - Dirty,
Clean, or In Between

·      Wind - Howling, Dead or
Light Breeze

·      Light – Sunrise/set,
Bright Overhead in a clear sky or Overcast and Gloomy

 

Once I’ve got those factors taken into account, I like to
have 3-5 colors, I always try to carry a light, a bright, a white and a dark
color that match up to the conditions, plus or minus a couple depending on the
day,

 

I’ll do my best to be inclusive, but keep in mind that Ihave
a personal bias towards more natural colors, here are a couple examples of how
my theory works:

 

1.      Clear Water + Overcast
day + Light breeze, my light color(s) would be Pearl & Baby Trout, my
brights would be Chicken Shart & Pink Punch, my whites would be Golden
GinGlo & OG Blood Diamond and my darks would be Midnight Mullet, Texas
Broach, Toxic & UV Rootbeer.

2.      Clear Water + Sunny
Clear Day + Dead Calm Wind, my lights would be Baby Trout & Bro’s Gold, my
brights would be Money &UNTZ, my whites would be Golden GrinGlo(love this
one at sunrise/set) &Mansfield Magic and my darks would be Blue Crab, Toxic
Rootbeer, Purple Haze & The Beacon

3.      Dirty Water + Overcast
Day + Strong Wind, I wouldn’t really mess with light colors in these
conditions, my brights would be Pink Punch, Chicken/Bleeding Shart & Candy
Corn AFB, my whites would be Pink Colada, Red Glow, Mansfield Magic & OG
Blood Diamond and my darks would be Bruiser, Texas Broach, UV Rootbeer.

 

I could do on and on with combinations of conditions and
colors but I think you get the point(you can see all of our colors &
sizes here)

 

It may seem complicated all written out like that but in
reality, it’s a fairly simple lens to look at color selection through,

 

Keep in mind that this is just a simple formula I put
together to make educated guesses with, ultimately, the fish will tell you
whether your choice is right or wrong, if you throw a light and they don’t
play, try a dark or vice versa, until you find what they want to eat that day.

 

All in all once you’ve gotten some experience under your
belt, I really feel the best way to go about this is to just carry a handful of
colors/sizes that you’ve developed confidence in over time that you can rotate
in and out depending on the conditions and fish’s mood that day.

 

I really hope this can help demystify color selection for
you, so that you can spend more time fishing and less time worrying about
whatcha got tied on,

 

Thanks for hangin out, I’ll catch ya on the next one!

M.