Colors

[BoatGuy]

Some may use chartreuse, white and pink bucktails and/or teasers.

Each year, I try something new. New could be a "new" color (to me). I have been trying other color bucktails with limited success.

Glow is one that I have read works well. I have not duplicated others success.
Blue shad never took a hit.
Bunker never took a hit.
Mullet (a brown) never took a hit and was "retired"
I had high hopes for Zucchini, that never panned out.

Anyway, you see where I am going to try Spearing blue. We will see.

Do you experiment with different bucktail colors? Have any unusual other than the standard three above work?

BTW: When fishing with friends, Friend one may try white, friend two white and I might try chartreuse. Sometimes, depending on the bait in the water, they do show a preference for certain colors.

 

[Leprechaun]

You're asking me, right? If so, I have never seen a big difference in bucktail color being a determinant. Not in the deep water that I fish. I don't use bucktails anyway, as all my lures are lead heads with randomly-colored mix and match rubber skirts. All my jig heads are either glow white or chartreuse.

I'm much more concerned with using the proper weight, so that my line stays as vertical as possible. Scope is bad when buck tailing. On my rear-mounted stinger hook I put whatever color GULP! 4" jigging grub, 5" jerkbait, or halved (long-wise) body of a tail-ripped 6" grub that happens to be at the top of my small-bait GULP! container. Then a SLIM piece of fish belly, cuttlefish or local squid, around 4"x1/2" on the same stinger hook as that GULP!, and I'm good to go. Many fine fluke have hit my fillet table from that combination.

I DO see a big difference in my high-hooked 6" jigging grubs, however. On many (but not every) trip it seems that the fish DO key on certain colors over others. Funny how that works.

In recent seasons I've been getting away from dragging B/S rigs - if the conditions are right (or even marginal). I MUCH prefer to use my spinning rig to cast up-current with my HTLureco custom ball heads and a 5" jigging Grub or 6" Jerk Bait on it. I find it much more interesting to fish that way. If the current or drift is really working against me, then I will go with the Bucktail/high-hook B/S Rig. Not much choice when you need 6-8oz to stay on the bottom.

I can't say if any of this is good advice for shallow water fishing, as I haven't fished fluke in the shallows in many seasons. My friends that fish to the West do seem to prefer blue bucktails, fishing inside Jamaica Bay and over the shallower outside drops, I'll say that though. . .

 

[Flukinit]

While no expert I can only offer what Ive noticed had or have not had success with. 1st seems to me the color of the bucktail/teaser make more of a difference in the bays and Ocean in less than 40'. Guessing the sun makes the difference and brings the color of the bucktail or teaser out. Once in the Ocean 40'+ i go white or glow only on a bucktail or ball. On top deeper im using a 5/0 or 6/0 baitholder with usually a 6" jigging grub. While colors vary day to day usually find Pink Shine, Red Salmon and new penny are consistent producers. Again this doesnt mean a mackerel, white or something else wont catch.
To the West Jbay and east Shinnecock fish seem to like blue colors. One of my favorite teasers is from Tommy Teaser is one we call the Grey ghost with grey/pink in it is always consistent. Guessing fish think its a baby porgy or weakfish thing is a killer. While deeper if i go teaser I use Harveys Red head with white another consistent producer.
Just my perspective on the topic.

 

[captmike28]

The topic of what color to use in a given situation has probably been debated as long as men have fished and there more many opinions than the number of choices found in the tackle shop.

Certainly, there is a lot to be said for trying to closely match the local bait your target species is feeding on at the time you are fishing. There is also the consideration as to what depth you are fishing since, as we know, the deeper you fish the lees likely color will have a major impact on what one actually catches.

So, when if comes to Fluke and bucktails, I tend to agree with both Flukinit and Lep. IMHO, some advantage can be gained by using a color that mimics the available bait in water up to about 50" but beyond that it seems to have less of an impact. Strangely, my experience has been the same as Lep when it comes to the 6" Grub (worm) we use on the top hook. There is no doubt that having the "hot" color of the day or even a particular tide can mean the difference between scoring or getting skunked. So, it pays to watch the color worn the guy who is catching at a given time is using. I t also makes a lot of sense to change up the worm color often if you are not getting hits. You might recall the story I told at my seminar at Ward Melville. On one particular Montauk trip I was having all my favorite, "hot color" worms being destroyed by the Sea Bass. So, I decided to "sacrifice" my least favorite color, a white worm Sure enough, the next drift I caught a 10# Fluke on it! So, experimenting is a huge part of fishing.

Once again, I agree with Lep when it comes to technique. If you are not using the correct weight for the depth and drift speed, then not only will you have trouble presenting the rig properly but you also run the risk of far more hang ups and lost tackle. Another intangible to consider is your own level of confidence in any given rig. If you don't believe what you are using is very good that can quickly become a self fulfilling prophecy!

Finally, just to really confuse things I need to relate my experience when it comes to using bucktails on Striped Bass in Plum Gut or the Race. Here the water depth where we typically catch most of our fish is between 50-85' Also, the drift speeds are much faster than most Fluke drifts, Yet, here color can make a huge difference in who is hooking up consistently and who is not. Even more insane is that on most night time Bass trips it is actually the dark colors, deep red and even totally black bucktails that have the advantage here. On a moonless night with a black bucktail in 80' of water no one can convince me the Bass is actually seeing any color. Yet if I have 2 fares aboard on that night and one fishes white while the other black guess who is catching!

One of the great mysteries in fishing that keeps us scratching our heads and coming back to try again!!!

 

[BoatGuy]

While no expert I can only offer what I've noticed had or have not had success with. 1st seems to me the color of the bucktail/teaser make more of a difference in the bays and Ocean in less than 40'. Guessing the sun makes the difference and brings the color of the bucktail or teaser out. Once in the Ocean 40'+ i go white or glow only on a bucktail or ball. On top deeper im using a 5/0 or 6/0 baitholder with usually a 6" jigging grub. While colors vary day to day usually find Pink Shine, Red Salmon and new penny are consistent producers. Again this doesnt mean a mackerel, white or something else wont catch.
To the West Jbay and east Shinnecock fish seem to like blue colors. One of my favorite teasers is from Tommy Teaser is one we call the Grey ghost with grey/pink in it is always consistent. Guessing fish think its a baby porgy or weakfish thing is a killer. While deeper if i go teaser I use Harveys Red head with white another consistent producer.
Just my perspective on the topic.

I purchased some Tom Teasers at the show too. One thing I have noticed. When fish spit up small fish TINY teasers seem to be the hot ticket. The bigger teasers just don't work nearly as well.

Can you post a pick of the Tom Teaser?? I would appreciate it.

Also, if your using Tom Teasers, You may want to consider trying his "fuzzy". See Pic

 

[BoatGuy]

The topic of what color to use in a given situation has probably been debated as long as men have fished and there more many opinions than the number of choices found in the tackle shop.

Certainly, there is a lot to be said for trying to closely match the local bait your target species is feeding on at the time you are fishing. There is also the consideration as to what depth you are fishing since, as we know, the deeper you fish the lees likely color will have a major impact on what one actually catches.

So, when if comes to Fluke and bucktails, I tend to agree with both Flukinit and Lep. IMHO, some advantage can be gained by using a color that mimics the available bait in water up to about 50" but beyond that it seems to have less of an impact. Strangely, my experience has been the same as Lep when it comes to the 6" Grub (worm) we use on the top hook. There is no doubt that having the "hot" color of the day or even a particular tide can mean the difference between scoring or getting skunked. So, it pays to watch the color worn the guy who is catching at a given time is using. I t also makes a lot of sense to change up the worm color often if you are not getting hits. You might recall the story I told at my seminar at Ward Melville. On one particular Montauk trip I was having all my favorite, "hot color" worms being destroyed by the Sea Bass. So, I decided to "sacrifice" my least favorite color, a white worm Sure enough, the next drift I caught a 10# Fluke on it! So, experimenting is a huge part of fishing.

Once again, I agree with Lpe when it comes to technique. If you are not using the correct weight for the depth and drift speed, then not only will you have trouble presenting the rig properly but you also run the risk of far more hang ups and lost tackle. Another intangible to consider is your own level of confidence in any given rig. If you don't believe what you are using is very good that can quickly become a self fulfilling prophecy!

Finally, just to really confuse things I need to relate my experience when it comes to using bucktails on Striped Bass in Plum Gut or the Race. Here the water depth where we typically catch most of our fish is between 50-85' Also, the drift speeds are much faster than most Fluke drifts, Yet, here color can make a huge difference in who is hooking up consistently and who is not. Even more insane is that on most night time Bass trips it is actually the dark colors, deep red and even totally black bucktails that have the advantage here. On a moonless night with a black bucktail in 80' of water no one can convince me the Bass is actually seeing any color. Yet if I have 2 fares aboard on that night and one fishes white while the other black guess who is catching!

One of the great mysteries in fishing that keeps us scratching our heads and coming back to try again!!!

Thank you for the reply! You actually hit on something I was considering. A long time ago I was fishing with a friend whom I consider a much better fisherman than myself. We were fishing from shore and it was night. He was using black and dark purple lures. When I asked why and said using black at night made no sense to me, he answered with one word. CONTRAST.

Back to the topic of color. like many have mentioned, if fishing deep water color fades with lack of light. What about black?

 

[Leprechaun]

I've caught many, many good bass casting black or purple bucktails at night. In fact those are my night-time go-tos. A thin strip of red pork rind completed the presentation. Sadly, I don't do much of that fishing any longer. Too much drama with crazy night boaters boaters running dangerously hard all over my area for my taste. Not to mention getting a solid bite going and having them cut right over the "good" area, scattering the fish and killing that night's fishing.

Probably still a great way to catch on really crummy nights, but I ain't getting younger and so can no longer muster the drive to go out on such nights. Especially night time fishing solo - which I loved to do. I used to be much more determined and "brave." Eh, you don't ever want to get old, I'll tell you that . . .

Anyway, I've never tried black fluke lures, though I have had excellent results mixing in a purple skirt with some other brighter color on the same lead head.

Here is my Tommy Teaser collection. It was originally put together to fish the excellent fluke runs up on the North Shore, back some years ago. Nowadays it does ride with me every fluke trip, but I never use any of them. I just can't see sacrificing them to the deep rubble when there are other ways to fish there that are just as effective, if not more so. Probably A LOT more so, now that I think about it. If I ever fish in the Bay again, I would use something out of this Plano box.

And here's the Tommy Teaser pattern that Flukinit referred to, aka: "The Grey Ghost." My friends to the West swear by them, saying that they imitate young of the year porgies. Maybe so.

Finally, back when I did the teaser thing out in the ocean, I liked this pattern for early season fishing, on the (relatively) inshore open sand, in say 30-50' of water. I don't know what Tommy called them, but I always referred to them as "Baby Sea Robin." Very effective with a white or glow 3-4" jigging grub, hooked right between the eyes.

 

[captmike28]

Thank you for the reply! You actually hit on something I was considering. A long time ago I was fishing with a friend whom I consider a much better fisherman than myself. We were fishing from shore and it was night. He was using black and dark purple lures. When I asked why and said using black at night made no sense to me, he answered with one word. CONTRAST.

Back to the topic of color. like many have mentioned, if fishing deep water color fades with lack of light. What about black?

If you were fishing from shore, obviously in shallow water on a brightly lit night, then contrast could be the answer. However, if it was pitch black then obviously something else is going on. I suspect it has much more to do with the vibration the lure makes in the water that triggers the strike when visibility has little to no effect.

 

[Leprechaun]

After speaking with the scientists at NYDEC in Stony Brook on this very subject, they told me that certain species of predator fish have much better night time visual acuity than one would think possible. This enables them to pick out a dark lure against what appears to us to be a totally unlit background. I'm guessing that striped bass are in this category. What we see as "dark," with our somewhat limiting retinal rods/cones, is not the same as what other species see.

Here's what Lord Google states: "Rods are responsible for vision at low light levels (scotopic vision). They do not mediate color vision, and have a low spatial acuity. Cones are active at higher light levels (photopic vision), are capable of color vision and are responsible for high spatial acuity. The central fovea is populated exclusively by cones."

I guess we lack the quantity (quality?) of rods needed to see in the dark as well as bass - or some species of land predators that liked to eat us, back in the "bad old days" of pre-history.

 

[BoatGuy]

That is interesting. I have to wonder if Fluke and Bluefish are included?

 

[captmike28]

Now that you mention it, Pete, I do recall having this conversation with you in the past. If you think about it nearly all of God's creatures are designed with their own special skills to allow them to survive in the environment in which they live. So, fish that have to feed in areas where visibility may be limited must have a keener or more specially designed visual acuity (or other detection method) to allow them to find their food successfully. If I recall my biology correctly, certain fish use their lateral lines to sense vibrations near to them as either a feeding trigger or danger signal. We also know that Tuna can be very line shy, and biologists have suggested that they have excellent vision with those proportionally larger eyes.

So, to Guy's point, I would suspect that Fluke and Bluefish also have the ability to "see" well in what we humans would consider to be poor visibility conditions. Makes me think maybe we should be trying Black bucktails for Fluke on some of the deep drops. It also makes me ask the question has anyone noted any success under such conditions with the new Black Gulp baits just introduced? Who knows maybe the darker colors will be the hot ones this season!

 

[Leprechaun]

Yes you're right, I forgot about the lateral line thing. In one of the last conversations I had with the peeps at NYDEC, one of them told me that the lateral line acts as a broadly-receiving sonar which alerts the animal that something local is throwing vibrations, but its the eyes that they use for the actual targeting.

"So, fish that have to feed in areas where visibility may be limited must have a keener or more specially designed visual acuity (or other detection method) to allow them to find their food successfully. . . "

I strongly suspect, but cannot prove that Striped Bass have much better night vision than Bluefish. I base this on my extended experience of having Bluefish chewing the hell out of our casted bucktails and rubber bait tails while it was still twilight, but disappearing when night finally fell - at which time the Bass completely took over. Not a Blue to be seen from then forward, thru the night's tide. One reverse trips, fishing the early A.M. tides, it was all Bass until there was some light, then all Bluefish from then forward. This was very consistently the case.

Also, I proudly nominate YOU to give the black GULP! woims a shot and let us know the results thereof!

 

[BoatGuy]

Maybe not for shallow...

But on a deep fluke drop, I wonder if these might work. Only one way to find out.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

Maybe not for shallow...

But on a deep fluke drop, I wonder if these might work. Only one way to find out.

Yes, they will work, years ago my older son was fishing with me on the 7 B's out R.I.. We were in 110 feet of water off BLock.
I was using fluke strips and not doing much, my son came up to me and asked if this purple and red 4 oz jig would work, I said I don't know but it's a good combo for striped bass, as soon as he dropped it down he hooked up with a 7 lb fluke.
Many a bass trips on the same boat yielded quality size fluke on eels and this was at night dragging them.
I picked up several of the new 6" dark color gulp grubs and will be trying them out this year when I fish the wind mills off of R.I., I see no reason for them not to work.

 

[captmike28]

Maybe not for shallow...

But on a deep fluke drop, I wonder if these might work. Only one way to find out.

I always like and have often used both bucktails ad teasers with deep blue colors for Fluke Guy, so I think the left hand one is a winner.

I also think that Fluke Whisperer has somewhat confirmed our theory about dark baits for Fluke on the deep drops. Guess I will have to try some of the Black and other dark colored Gulp in the deep this summer. Field test results to follow come July!

 

[BoatGuy]

Anyone have a source and contact info as to where I can get black teasers to match the bucktails?

 

[Leprechaun]

I'd say Tommy Teaser, but he told me he was spooling his business down to almost zero. He might have some black stuff in his still-extensive inventory. If you want to get in touch with him, let me know and I'll PM you his cell.

Oh, one last point - I have been told by a diver friend that the color red shows as black, once you reach a certain depth.

So, the real question then becomes does an animal with a completely different (non-human) ocular physiology see red as black down deep? This I cannot say, as its a bit beyond my pay grade, as a (somewhat) humble fishing site moderator. ?

Just something to think about.

 

[BoatGuy]

What about YELLOW! I rec'd a Yellow SPRO as a gift. I was wondering if anyone ever caught anything on yellow.
I have never tried it.

 

[captmike28]

I have tried bucktails with varying amounts of yellow in the overall color scheme for Fluke with just average results. You would think those that trend more towards a goldish shade should work since Bunker are certainly a part of a large Fluke's diet. Interestingly, one of the somewhat newer colors in the Gulp Grubs, Blue Fuze, is a combination of Blue and Yellow has been pretty hot for me on many trips. I have also seen the "Curried Chicken" a kind of red/yellow combo Gulp Grub work well too A s I have said before, your own confidence in a given lure and the action you impart to the jig often makes a big difference.

When it comes to Striped Bass, yellow is a dynamite color, especially if they are feeding on Bunker or small Weakfish.

 

[pequa1]

The only keeper striper I caught last season (surf, boat fish don't count, lol) was on a yellow plug. Fluke and weaks in water 12 to 30 feet deep (back bay-kayak) were all on pink or white. Didn't bother to try other colors. In the past I did well on weaks with chartreuse/lime green. Over the years I can not recall catching anything on anything blue.