Were you fishing for bass before crankbaits were “crankbaits?” If you called ‘em “plugs,” you can recall the many cycles and trends in color selection for this historic and staple category of bass baits.

Colors Trends Through Time

First came the red-white Pikies and the Lucky 13, then metal-lipped coach dog divers like the original wooden Bomber and plastic Smithwick Waterdog.

These creative colors were gradually supplanted by more realistic perch finishes, then the black-back silver-side white-belly motif ushered in by the Rapala Minnow in the early 1960s. Gold editions gained fame in Florida and other areas with darker water.

With the popularization of Fred Young’s hand carved and airbrushed Big-O in the early 1970s, new color schemes appeared. Parrot, firetiger, bone-orange belly, chartreuse-black back, and Tennessee shad captured fishermen and fish alike, though the new novel lure shapes were doubtless partly responsible for the exploding popularity of crankbaits at that time.

Crayfish hues rose to the top in the next decade with Bomber’s R Series baits, followed by Bagley’s balsa divers and Mann’s rattling cranks. Anglers began paying more attention to colors, feeding a luxuriance of new hues. The chrome-blue back and silver-chartreuse back emerged around 1970 and continue at peak popularity today. Color variety reached its zenith in the late 1980s with Storm’s Wiggle Wart, which was available in more than 100 colors.

The first of several shifts to ultrarealistic photofinishes came along in the mid-1970s, with high sales but less than overwhelming acclaim by the nation’s judges, the bass themselves. Still, the realistic finishes were made possible by new technologies like pad printing, which in its evolved form allows for today’s extra-sharp natural and bizarre patterns. Realistic gills and scales adorned Bagley’s Small Fry Series, making these balsa baits a top seller for the past 25 years.

Countershading entered the crankbait scene, contrasting a darker belly with a lighter back, the opposite of most natural prey. This attempt to stand out from the school demonstrated flashes of success, but the concept wasn’t long lived.

Hardbaits became flashier, too, with the advent of sparkle finishes created by suspending glitter in the gelcoat, a development credited to Lee Sisson. Those finishes, epitomized in Norman’s Sunshine gelcoat and Bill Lewis’ Spark-L-Traps, remain popular.

Trends Today

To be successful, the tackle industry must respond to color preferences of lure buyers. “In a way, it’s like reading the stock market,” says Brent Northrup, marketing executive for Bass Pro Shops. “We must anticipate demand and be ahead of it, which isn’t always easy in the fickle fishing world.”

Northrup notes not only regional trends in the popularity of crankbait colors, but also that climate can play a role. “During the drought in Texas and other parts of the Southeast the last two summers, reservoirs were low and water clear. That seemed to spur a greater demand for natural baitfish colors.

“In the past, wet springs and summers have boosted the demand for colors like firetiger and chartreuse-blue,” he adds. Northrup gets a good handle on the color preferences of American bassers. Each year, Bass Pro Shops sells about three million hardbaits. The company has its own line of crankbaits, and shoppers can select from the offerings of a dozen or so crankbait manufacturers.

“Many anglers are aware of the ‘Texas Red’ phenomenon,” Northrup notes. “Stores in East Texas can’t carry enough bright red Rat-L-Traps and Storm Mag Warts in spring. But other lesser-known regional color demands exist as well, like the furor over the Phantom Green Craw color of Storm’s Wiggle Wart in the Missouri-Arkansas region. Enough of this bait can’t be stocked. Now, PRADCO and Norman Lures have added this color to their lines.

The Natural Look

“Other trends are longer-lived, like the increasing popularity of ultranatural baits. Japanese products inspired this trend, as their lure makers have for long carefully imitated nature. Now, realistic scale patterns, natural-looking eyes, and even body contours are seen on many American brands.”

In the US market, manufacturers have sought to mass-produce natural-looking lures instead of the painstaking hand etching that makes Japanese baits so realistic, but pricey. Companies have turned to holographic tapes to imitate the iridescent scale patterns of baitfish. PRADCO has produced a 3-D look with a silvery insert called FlashBrite that shines through a SparkGel outer shell on Excalibur baits.

“We’re trying to make a bait that looks natural to a predator fish underwater,” says lure designer Jim Gowing who helped produce this new look. “Small baitfish have a translucent appearance that can’t be duplicated with traditional hardbait colors. Our new laser paper insert maintains that almost invisible appearance of a small minnow or shad. These materials also reflect various wavelengths of light as the bait moves through the water.”

“The large demand for holographic baits led us to introduce several such patterns in our most popular crankbait lines,” says Suzanne Newsome, spokesperson for Mann’s Baits. “We’ve added holographic models in the 15+, 20+, 1-Minus, and Loudmouth Series, in addition to the new Disco Dawg. They’ve been hot sellers so far.”

Dave Nichols of Nichols Lures confirms that holographic hues have taken over his lines of baits such as the Rattle Shad rattlebait and Pop-U-Lure topwater lure. “In our earliest attempts to use holograms, we removed the material from baseball cards and gel coated it onto some baits,” he reports. “The new heat seal process has made the lures more durable.”

But while fine color patterns certainly attract anglers, they’ll be one-time purchases if they don’t catch fish. That wouldn’t work for giant corporations like Rapala.

Research and Development

Jarmo Rapala, grandson of company founder Lauri Rapala, has been involved in the R & D portion of the company for almost two decades. “Before we consider adding a new lure type or color to the Rapala line, it must undergo extensive testing,” Rapala notes. “We have a staff of about 100 avid anglers in 14 countries who specialize in many types of fishing and provide input on all prototypes. Only those that catch lots of fish will reach the market. We must keep in mind our loyal consumer fishermen in 140 countries and provide lures to help them catch fish.

“Today, I see a constant emphasis on new products. Some in the industry equate ‘new’ with ‘better.’ That’s wrong. Some successful new colors, like our RapFlash holographic finishes, complement the original silver foil pattern but can never replace it.”

According to Tom Mackin, vice president of marketing at Rapala, the company annually sells about 20 million hardbaits, with another 3 million baits by Storm Lures, an associate brand. “I see a philosophy toward lure color that encompasses three categories of color,” Mackin says. “First, there are naturalistic colors that match the hatch. Second, striking colors like firetiger or fluorescent orange trigger instinctive bites by catching the fish’s eye or irritating it. The third category is the fluke of nature, colors that stand out like an albino animal, looking more vulnerable without protective coloration.

“Over the years, the creation of colors has been enhanced by breakthroughs in technology,” Mackin says. “In the early 1980s, the pad printing process enabled the new lifelike look on our Shad Rap SD. Now, advances in production of holographic tapes have allowed the boom in those colors.

“But Jarmo is right. The great ones can’t be replaced. A couple years ago, we discontinued our SFC (Silver Fluorescent Chartreuse) and GFR (Gold Fluorescent Red) colors. An avalanche of correspondence from fishermen followed, some messages desperate, wanting their favorite colors back. So we brought them back.

“In addition to correspondence and our field staff, we receive constant feedback from point of sale. That is, when an item is scanned at a store, we get data on the location of the sale, the color and model, so we can track regional consumer preferences. Our sales force also provides input on trends in their areas.”

Scott Stecher, lure designer and president of Reef Runner Tackle has strong opinions on crankbait colors, and his catalog contains some of the most extreme color combos. His original “wonderbread” hue features dots of yellow, red, and blue like the familiar bread wrapper.

“Multiple dots were my secret for several years,” Stecher says. “When Lake Erie cleared, that color outfished all others for awhile. I believe that multiple dots imitate a whole school of baitfish—each of the spots resembling the eye or body spot of a baitfish.”

Some of his original designs were based on the old “coach dog” pattern, with many bean-like spots. “But the reason for different colors is that each one is brightest at different depths based on their wavelength. In clear water, this effect is very important. Different colors also give the illusion of 3-D.”

Saltwater Colors

Another trend is the growing popularity of saltwater fishing. New color schemes to imitate marine baitfish have multiplied, along with special finishes to keep the colors bright and prevent hardware from corroding. Colors like dorado, pinfish, croaker, menhaden, and mackerel now are available. Though not intended for the bass market, many of the new patterns have proved their bass appeal, apparently offering a different look to the opportunistic bass.

Soft Plastic Colors

Al Fisher of Norman Lures describes yet another hot trend that his company has jumped on. “We’ve detected a strong demand for crankbait colors first popularized in soft plastics,” he reports. “In the hot bass centers of Arkansas and Oklahoma, anglers have been asking for colors like root beer, smoke-red flake, watermelon, and watermelon-red flake. We’ve produced these in our N Series baits, and they’ve been disappearing off shelves. Field reports indicate that they’re working well.”

Picking the Right Color

With the array of colors available today in many of the great crankbait designs, how can one logically decide what to throw? The first bit of advice is to listen to the fish. We’ve all heard that 100 times. But do we do it?

Plan to switch lure designs and diving depths, seeking the optimum strike window and also the vibration pattern and sound that bass seem to respond to best. Then color selection enters the picture. Toward this end, crankbait designer Tom Seward of Yakima Bait recommends using a #2 Duo-Lok snap to attach crankbaits.

“Snaps,” Seward says, “allow for quickly changing baits and also provide the best lure action. They also lack a groove that catches line as a split ring does.” He notes that the snap must be attached so the open end of the snap is on the left as you look at the lure. And lures with recessed line ties require a split ring.

Many bass pros fish more than 200 days a year, often relying on crankbaits to find bass and trigger bites. This basis of experience gives them a strong starting point in terms of color choice. Since most top anglers have crankbait sponsors, they can pick from the relatively limited array from that company. There are countless effective crankbaits on the market, produced by more than a dozen US manufacturers, with more Japanese imports entering the market annually.

Kentucky pro Mark Menendez learned his trade in the heart of crankbait country, that section of the mid-South dominated with structure-filled hill-land impoundments with little vegetation. Many lure designers refined their baits with the help of local experts, and many small luremakers in an area produce custom baits for a select few.

Seasonal Selections

Like many pros, Mark Menendez first considers time of year including water temperature, when choosing a crankbait. “During winter, reservoir bass subsist primarily on a shad diet, and those colors are strongest when water temperatures bottom out. Throw a chrome-black Tennessee shad, or white-based bait. I favor flat-sided baits like Bomber’s Flat A, which give off a natural flash when cranked slowly along main-lake points.

“As soon as bass start to move shallower in a prespawn shift, they seem to go on a crayfish diet. Crawfish colors, including Texas reds, browns, and similar hues begin to dominate. In natural lakes, bluegill and perch colors sometimes work well, if I can’t pattern the fish on crawfish. If the water’s dark, I choose baits with more chartreuse, going to firetiger in dingy conditions. Shad colors are a last resort once fish move to the bank.”

Menendez isn’t alone in his feeling that springtime is crawfish time, but the reason for this shift in prey is elusive. Though some anglers feel that crayfish provide extra nutrients for egg maturation and spawning, nutritional experts counter that crayfish are a poor source of calories, as their shell requires extra digestive energy and yields no nutrition. But who’s to argue with success.

The spawn isn’t prime time for cranking, as bass move shallow and presentations must be slow and precise. But once nesting is complete, Menendez and other crankbait experts get excited. “During the postspawn, I’ll have 10 rods out, each with a crankbait.

“Bass are hungry and dumb, so I fish brighter colors and larger baits to grab their attention. Pearl white, citrus shad, chartreuse-blue back, and Tennessee shad are my first choices. Another outstanding choice is a chartreuse bait with a green back, known in the pro circles as ‘Homer.’ Choose big deep divers and bang them into cover or along points, again to get the fish’s attention.

“After the postspawn frenzy, bass get choosier about colors. I’ve seen them just follow or flush a chartreuse-blue back bait with an orange belly. Change to a chartreuse-blue back with plain belly and they’ll bite. I do a lot of experimenting during the heat of summer.

“Once fall arrives in earnest, the annual shad migration up creeks begins, and bass follow. I target wood cover with medium-runners, banging the bait along. If the creeks are dark, I use bright colors—firetiger, citrus shad, and chartreuse-black back, and chartreuse-brown back. In clear creeks, more natural shad colors are my choice. Action in creeks lasts until the water temperature falls below about 50°F when bass move out to the main lake or secondary points, and winter patterns return.”

Menendez favors that same array of colors for largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. Some anglers, like Alabama pro Tim Horton, shift their color choices a bit when targeting smallmouth bass. Prior to turning full-time pro, Horton guided on Pickwick and Wilson reservoirs, famed for huge brown bass,.

“Smallmouths love chartreuse,” he says, “though by the way they sometimes hit it, they may hate it instead. In the murkiest water, start with chartreuse-black back, while in stained water, keep some chartreuse but go with a lighter back, like brown, blue, or green. An Excalibur Fat Free Shad in a color called Crawly Bottom is a killer. In clear water, I also fish shad colors, particularly in summer and fall. And in spring, I always have a crawfish color bait tied on.”