Crankbait fishing is easily one of my favorite ways to catch a bass. Through years of experimentation, and a lot of work I’ve found some of the best crank bait lures out there. While there’s a lot that goes into lure color selection that I won’t get into. That being said, I have come up with five colors that really cover all your bases. It doesn’t matter what situation you’re in the following five crankbait colors should work for you.
Choosing a Crankbait
When I open my crankbait box it seems like I have a endless selection of choices. There are so many different patterns, colors and sizes. Which one is the right choice? That really is a good question that has two simple answers. You can either go into a period of mindless confusion trying to remember every fishing video you ever watched, or you could do what I do and narrow your selection to colors that are always going to work.
When choosing a crankbait color there’s only one thing that you really need to remember. At this given time what are the bass actually feeding on. If you’re answer is spawning shad than obviously choose a shad colored lure. During the bluegill and bream spawn go with that pattern. The bass in your lakes primary foraging pattern is going to vary by season. During the early summer and spring aim for bluegill and bream patterns, when bass start to suspend switch it up to shad. Being observant to your surroundings will really play a huge part in choosing the correct color.
Best Crankbait Colors For Bass
Crawfish Colors
Crawfish colors are more popular in the South around Texas then they are up north. That really is a shame because they work really well during the early spring bass spawn. You should also bring out your crawfish lure within three or four days of both sides of a full moon. There are a ton of manufacturers that actually make crawfish style lures, but I prefer a traditional set up. I’ve had a lot of luck this year with the Rapala Dives 3/8 Ounce Crawdad and Strike King Chili Craw. The Rapala craw is a little darker than I would like so I tend to favor my Chili Craw.
As long as you have a full moon or spring temperatures water color really doesn’t matter with a craw. When Bass are eating crawfish you’re going to have some good luck. Just try slow rolling your crankbait over rocks and transition banks to catch a ton of fish.
Fire Tiger
One of the most universal crank bait colors that should work in a wide variety of situations is the Fire Tiger. I don’t know who comes up with these color naming schemes, but they sure are creative. It looks more like a frog than a tiger to me but to each their own. A ton of different manufacturers carry the Fire Tiger color scheme and they all seem to work about the same. My favorites are the Bomber Deep A Fishing Lure and Berkley Flicker Shad. For a little more action you can try one of Rapala’s Jointed Shad Raps. All three of these lures offer perfect action at an affordable price point.
The fire Tiger color scheme works especially well in low light conditions and stained water. Whenever you come across muddy water you’re gonna want to use one of these bad boys. It has the perfect contrast for overcast conditions stained and muddy water. I’m sure you’ll find a place that you can use a fire Tiger lure.
Shad Colored Crankbait
No matter what time of year it is it’s hard to go wrong with the shad colored crank bait. It will obviously work especially well during the shad spawn, but it will work equally well throughout the rest of the summer. One other baits aren’t working shad colored crank baits should fit the bill. Something like the Strike King Sexy Shad Square Bill Crankbait is going to work well during the spawn. The square bill will limit your depth and allow you to cover a lot of water fast in the shallows. When Bass start to suspend after the spawn you’re going to want to use something like the Norman Deep Baby to get into deeper water.
Shad colored crank baits work as a failsafe when nothing else seems to work. Since bass eat shad year-round you can use this bait from the thaw until the end the fall. It isn’t going to be the best on overcast days and in stained water but it will work. When the shad colored lures really work is when you have about 1 to 3 feet of clarity.
Bream and Bluegill Colored Crankbaits
When you mentioned shad coloring you have to mention bluegill and Bream. Big bass love to eat bluegill and bream so there’s no surprise that this crank baits going to be effective. It’s going to work especially well during the late spring and bluegill spawn. There are a ton of great bluegill colored crankbaits out there so it’s going to be hard to narrow it down to just one. I’ve really been favoring my Strike King Shallow Square Bills this year. Strike Kings Natural Bream and Orange Bream have been bringing in a ton of bass. When I’m out fishing bluegill beds during their spawn I’m going to use the neon bluegill crankbait. Again the bluegill lure is going to be a shallow diver, because I wouldn’t really fish it for suspended bass.
You’re going to want to use the bluegill pattern during the very early stages of summer and spring. When the bass stop their spawning rituals and move out bream and bluegill take their place. The massive females that are trying to recover after the spawn are going to cruise around those spawning areas. That’s when these crank baits are really going to shine.