This suggests just how intricate the final part of the presentation equation can be for anglers who have progressed well beyond the basics. Even most astute anglers, though, dismiss this part of the game. Too many details. Too much work. They don't, because of their own lack of experimentation, believe fish can become so discriminating. To me, this part of the on-going experiment makes the puzzle that is fishing so much more challenging and fun.

Another overall factor is exactly what spectral colors actually are transmitted to what depths in certain water colors. Red, for example, transmits well in the type of moderately clear water that predominates in most fishing areas across the country. So, too, orange and green. In clearer waters, on the other hand, red is quickly filtered out and appears as black. In clearer waters, greens and especially blues transmit well, especially into deeper water.

As you know, some general color patterns predominate in certain regions, for the reasons we're discussing. "Rayburn red" works for bass well beyond Sam Rayburn Country, Texas, because, as I've said, red transmits well and can be seen well in the types of moderately clear water that predominates across most of North America.

On the other hand, various smoke patterns excel in clearer waters, with the astute angler adding various other colors to fine-tune the package down to exactly what some bass are looking for at a particular time of day and time of year, given the predominant forage, and the mood of the fish at that time. For bass, the astute angler might temper the fundamental smoke by adding silver, red, or green flakes. Or by adding a touch of overall tinting in some combination of one or several of those colors.

Pumpkin and watermelon also are universally productive colors in all but the clearest waters. It's common for great anglers in many parts of the country to begin with those fundamental colors and work the equation by tempering those colors by adding various reds, greens, and oranges.

One other problem in talking colors today, however, is that standards don't exist from company to company for exactly what constitutes a specific color. Pumpkin and motor oil might be the most universally standard colors of all, along with pearl, chartreuse, and yellow (a particularly overlooked color for smallmouths). Watermelon often varies from company to company. So, too, especially today, smoke.

Finally, only the most entrepreneurial companies offer enough various colors in any one lure type to allow the astute angler to do all that may be required to work a color equation to its best conclusion. It's hard to fine-tune beyond pumpkin, if pumpkin's the only pumpkinlike color offered. Often, therefore, it's necessary to have colors on hand from various companies to fill in gaps.

Granted, other presentation factors are fundamentally more important than color. Granted, too, that color may not always be an important factor, and that sometimes several colors may work equally well in some situations. Still, there's almost always one best (or better) color for the situation at hand. Whether the target species is muskies, stripers, bass, or crappies, over the course of a long season and a lot of tough fishing situations, identifying the right color combination is one factor that serves to separate the best anglers from their average counterparts.