“Hey what’s your favorite color?” I’m requested this query on a regular basis in reference to many lure classes. I personally can get misplaced within the dazzling picks discovered on the partitions of favourite sort out shops that I frequent in my travels.
When it involves jig fishing, skirts are available any potential mixture possible. I exploit jig colours provided by my sponsor All-Terrain Tackle, however I additionally tie lots of my very own skirts and personal an enormous assortment of shade shades in a large spectrum of hues. But if I step again and pull my head out of the rainbow, I clearly notice that I solely actually need 4 fundamental colours of jigs to cowl each possible situation. Those colours could be black/blue, brown, inexperienced pumpkin, and white.
Now right here’s when and the place to make use of these colours:
Black/Blue. This is the primary jig shade that I started utilizing when beginning to study the secrets and techniques of jig fishing again the Nineteen Eighties. It nonetheless occupies trays in my tacklebox, however I now have a greater understanding of when it excels. The primary factor to recollect with this shade is — use it beneath situations of restricted visibility! This means situations of murky water, cloudy skies, or within the heavy shade of docks or overhanging timber/laydowns. Use it in tanic-stained waters as effectively. Black stands out higher than another shade in restricted visibility conditions, serving to the bass zero in on it. Other colours mix too effectively in limited-visibility situations and get misplaced.
I keep away from black/blue in actually clear water or vivid skies (until the water is muddy). That is as a result of your complete jig stands out, turning into too apparent as pretend, particularly when fished slowly. Common variations which might be interchangeable with black/blue are black/purple, black/purple, black/chartreuse, black/brown. As you possibly can inform, black is the important thing beneath the situations described above. Sometimes fishermen will add “accent” colours to the skirt, that means simply a few strands of a special shade like orange or chartreuse. And in fact, accents come within the type of metallic flake too.
Brown. Imagine a brown shade darker than cardboard, however lighter than a fundamental brown Sharpie marker. This turns into my major alternative in waters which might be someplace in between on the water visibility spectrum, particularly if the water is extra “brownish” than “greenish.” The hue is extra camouflaging than black/blu, however nonetheless is noticeable. I’ll put it aside for mid-day, sunny situations on intermediately-murked waters, however could set it apart for black/blue on the identical waters beneath low-sunlight situations. The shade can also be efficient within the heavy shade of laydowns and docks on sunny days in clear water, however I’ll go for black/blue if the water is muddy and I’m fishing these shady targets.
There exists numerous variations of browns. I normally select a skirt that has two totally different shades of brown and likewise has black pepper combined in, I really feel this skirt has an honest mix of camo but in addition continues to be noticeable. Recently, I’ve been trending with a variation that has blue accents, however not over-poweringly blue.
Green pumpkin. I choose this shade if the water visibility is evident or intermediate. I additionally stated to make use of brown in intermediate clarities, nevertheless brown is for brown-tinted waters, whereas inexperienced pumpkin is for green-tinted waters. Water typically takes on a inexperienced tint ensuing from an algae bloom. Note that if the algae bloom is excessive and clarities are beneath 18 inches, then I’m preferring black/blue. My inexperienced pumpkin skirts at all times have various shades/tints of inexperienced pumpkin strands. I additionally like black pepper, and accents of blue strands are a pleasant contact as are skirts strands with metallic flake. Lately, I’ve been trending with blue and inexperienced metallic flakes.
White. While all of the earlier colours I exploit each on swim jigs and bottom-hugging jigs, white I restrict to solely swim jigs. I exploit a white swim jig once I really feel just like the bass are consuming baitfish up within the water column. It doesn’t matter the water readability or shade, so long as bait is focused by the bass, then white is my alternative. The most basic state of affairs is throughout the shad spawn, that is the primary time to make use of white on a swim jig. Additionally, a sort of a distinct segment state of affairs for a white swim jig is when bass are consuming frogs.
Of course there exists many variations of white – snow white, off white, eggshell white, creamy white, and so forth. My rule of thumb for white is: decide the brightest white for restricted visibility situations and decide a blended white with translucent beneath excessive visibility situations.The blended skirt will comprise white strands and translucent strands containing metallic flake in blue, silver, and/or inexperienced. Chartruese is one other accent shade I’ll incorporate at a low quantity.
I at all times put soft-plastic trailers on my jigs and I choose that their shade matches and blends in with the jig skirt. An ideal match could not happen, however I wish to be within the neighborhood.
With the 4 fundamental shade jigs listed above, an angler can be ready for any physique of water, wherever. From right here the query turns into – can an angler enhance upon these fundamental colours by including the correct combo of accents within the type of flake or different strands? Personally I can’t assist myself from chasing that subsequent stage of perfection and that’s the reason I typically really feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of further skirt materials that I stick with it my travels!