TackleTour

So we know black is one of the best, if not the best color for a frog. I use black almost all the time. Black is a popular buzzbait color too.

So why do we hardly ever use black with other topwaters, other than maybe at night? What about black spooks and poppers? I know most manufacturers offer black as a color, but how often do we fish it during daylight hours? Whereas if we were fishing a frog during the day we fish black probably more than half the time.

I suppose one explanation would be forage based, a spook is meant to imitate baitfish but a frog may look like something else. I'm not sure that's a complete answer though. Buzzbaits are a baitfish imitator and black is a popular color for those. I think a lot of the success of the black frog and buzzbait is based on profile and contrast. Is not using black spooks and and poppers just a cultural thing? We don't do it because it's not the custom?

Anyone have success stories using black topwaters during the day?

My favorite topwater is a big Super Spook, I'm gonna paint a couple straight black with red eyes (midnight walker!) and chunk 'em around for clear water mountain smallies next weekend. We'll see how this goes.

Legal_Bass wrote: So why do we hardly ever use black with other topwaters, other than maybe at night?

Speak for yourself.

Legal_Bass wrote:I know most manufacturers offer black as a color, but how often do we fish it during daylight hours? .

Constantly

Legal_Bass wrote:
Anyone have success stories using black topwaters during the day?

I have quite a bit of success during the day with black.

Legal_Bass wrote: I think a lot of the success of the black frog and buzzbait is based on profile and contrast.

I think color is highly over rated to begin with. Yes, it can and does make a difference at times and I don't discount color. But for the most part, I think anglers make way too much of color.

Black (over very dark) is a good option for a surface lure because of the enhanced silhouette they create, in my opinion.

Turn on all the lights in one room of your house. Walk into another room without any lights on at all. Have someone stand in the doorway between the two. How much detail and color can you see on them? They are too back lit to see well. This is very similar to what fish are faced with. Looking up into a bright sky, anything on the surface is severely back lit. Even a white object will appear as a dark silhouette. But, the darker the object the more the silhouette stands out, and remains visible as a clear silhouette as the fish approaches and the angle changes.

Thanks Mattman, totally agree. I know they'll work, the reason I thought this was post-worthy is that I think it's something that's largely overlooked by bass fishermen and the tackle industry generally. Black is probably by far the #1 selling frog, you wouldn't even consider releasing a frog bait without at least one and probably 2 or 3 versions of black, and several other dark colors too. But it's probably, what, the 10th, 15th, 20th best selling Spook and Sammy color? And it's not even offered in the Bowstick, Super Spook, One Knock Spook, Sexy Dawg, Repo Man, Rover, and lots of others. None of those lines have any dark colors at all, at least on Tackle Warehouse. (BTW I looooooove the Lucky Craft MS Black color with those scales, awesome).

My point is that this is one small area (of many) where the fishing industry in general is too set in its ways about the tackle we use and sell. We should be making and using more dark colored topwaters for the reasons you mentioned, particularly specific light conditions, rather than just stocking a dozen different versions of shad (where, I agree, the differences between one shad color and the next probably don't matter very much).

This is just one little light bulb that went on for me this year. Makes me think about what else I'm missing.

Legal_Bass wrote: (BTW I looooooove the Lucky Craft MS Black color with those scales, awesome).

There's a better color...but you can't get it stateside and it is hard to find.

I use black Berkley Frenzy walkers, Black Super Spooks, (the pattern is black shore shad), and black Cisco Toppers, at any time of day, always a good color.

It doesn't have to be a topwater only color either. I have good success fishing a black/blue Norman Deep Little N and black spinnerbaits in the daytime. I also like to use black swimbaits such as a Hudd, Osprey, Basstrix, 3:16, and Big Hammer during the day as well as at night. Its a color that I just have confidence in and always have with me.

Tokugawa wrote:

Legal_Bass wrote: (BTW I looooooove the Lucky Craft MS Black color with those scales, awesome).

There's a better color...but you can't get it stateside and it is hard to find.

Ok, you've peaked my interest. Is there somewhere I can look this up at?

great post... this will be an interesting read.

ive never had a fascination for black, or even thinking out of the box until late. i now tend to do the opposite of what 'everyone' would do or think. i mean why throw what everyone else is throwing. gotta change things up now - especially with highly pressured lakes.

... it works for me!

Bryanp292 wrote:

Tokugawa wrote:

Legal_Bass wrote: (BTW I looooooove the Lucky Craft MS Black color with those scales, awesome).

There's a better color...but you can't get it stateside and it is hard to find.

Ok, you've peaked my interest. Is there somewhere I can look this up at?

You mean this one? Called "Aurora Full Black," looks awesome. Japan has Aurora Full Brown and Green too.

I had a pair of Bull shads painted black, I also fish Hudd 68 and Hudd 8s in black and throw single black Colorado spinnerbaits day and night and most of my frogs are black. I have black and blue jigs and have caught lots of bass in clear water during the day swimming them. In my surf days I fished three colors - black, white and yellow in the crystal clear waters off Montauck day and night. It's all about contrast and black is one color that contrasts against many backgrounds. Technically, I don't think black is actually a color. Lol

As far as a true topwater, like a wakebait or a prop bait, I would think the fish only really sees the bottom of it, maybe a very small bit of the sides, if they are attacking from the side. Pair that with when looking at something from underneath, against either a sunny sky, or darkness, you really only see a silhouette, so it seems black is the color, or I guess, the absence of all color, as the artists say. That being said, I buy and own every color under the sun for my topwaters, confidence is really the key to a bait.

rico color volt is black and my favorite popper

Legal_Bass wrote:

Bryanp292 wrote:

Tokugawa wrote:

Legal_Bass wrote: (BTW I looooooove the Lucky Craft MS Black color with those scales, awesome).

There's a better color...but you can't get it stateside and it is hard to find.

Ok, you've peaked my interest. Is there somewhere I can look this up at?

You mean this one? Called "Aurora Full Black," looks awesome. Japan has Aurora Full Brown and Green too.

So how do I get my smelly hands on this Lucky Craft? $$$$$$$$$$$$

A black pop r is one of my favorite baits. Works great in all conditions.

just remember fishing lures are designed first and foremost to catch a fisherman its second job is hopefully catch fish and as far as color go's i pretty much just stick to certain 4-5 colors at most, for everything... plastics / cranks / topwater ect....... action trumps color 90% of the time on most waters. just my opinion tho.... guess i dont want to be stuck with bait colors that dont produce.