Color trends Vs Postion in your thread

[Hroonk]

I've been getting my offshore feet under me for the last couple seasons. I have learned a trendous amount in that short time and have had some decent success.

So I while trapped in my living room the other day with an outside wind chill of 15 degrees, I started thinking about spread strategies......I started out with the numbers Vs isolated bait debates, but realized I like to fill the water with as much crap as I can off an 8.5' beam boat. My SOP is to throw every thing I can out off of every rod I have available and then subtract one once things start to tangle

Then I realized that I just kind willy nilly throw colors out in different positions. I have a few baits that I always put out in the same position (b/w and p/w sailure w/ hoo off each long rigger) but for the most part, everything else goes out as I pull lures out of the cooler.

So, after reading my logs I realized that the few close bites we had last year were on dark colors....that lead me to my current bait theory for next season. I'm going to start by placing dark lures in the white wash so they're in direct contrast with the bubbles - purple black islander with hoo, blue/black sailer with hoo, etc.

For my middle baits (short riggers), I think I'll switch to something a little brighter since their in the cleaner water on the edge of the trail (maybe dolphin colored zukers and naked hoos)

For the long baits, I think I'll stick with the blue/white and pink/white lighter colored lures.

Of course everything will be built around a spreader bar in the middle with the horse hoo or B/GM on the shotgun.

Comments, suggestions? Any glaring holes in the this theory?

Oh yeah, I run a cat so the white water is pretty sizable.

[johnseafood]

Ok first off I personally don't like pulling plastics but there is a time and place to pull them. I'd rather pull blue/crystal witches with hoos over anything any day. Why?? They produce and your matching the hatch.

I found that when you mix every color you got with every kind of lure your number of shots goes down. Why?? How many times do you find one of each kind of bait fish swimming together??? Never, believe it or not but fish are smart and will key in on things like that.

If I were yo jump on your boat right now I would bring with me a splashbar, 15 blue/crystal witches, and 6 guac rigs. The reason for the guac rigs is for running off the flat lines attempting for a white.

Run the splash bar maybe 35 yards behind the boat or just outside of the white water and surround it will the witch/hoos. I personally will say you will catch more fish like that.

Keep it simple and natural, when adding all this other crap in the water all your doing is making yourself feel better that the 100$ lure you bought runs right but catches no fish. Now i'm not saying that they don't catch fish and there has been one maybe 2 times out of maybe 40+ offshore trips I made this year were plastics out fished the witch/hoo.

Look at the boys down in carolinas day in and day out pulling meat and witches and look at their reports. Its the same fish down there that come up here. Why do I fish that way?? Reports show that it works and day in and day out fishing that way. They wouldn't be doing it if it didn't

[capt. jakeg]

I'm not sooo much of a color vs. spread position man as I am a color vs. time of day man. Sometimes I find that as the day progresses the bites will go from lighter colors to darker ones.

[rich]

This is a great thread being I am just starting out. I hope some good input shows up here.

[johnseafood]

Second off what I missed was what are you fishing for?? Are you just meat fishing or are you targetting something in general???

[PurpleGold]

I have never really had a certain place for certain colors in my spread but i do try and keep things as simple as possible. I stick to the colors that have produced in the past and that is blue/white, pink/white, and blue/pink for the most part. When the dolphin show up, I always run a pink/white witch of the port flatline. I don't know why, I just do because I have caught a lot of fish there on a pink/white. I also run a red/black or purple/black witch on the biggest ballyhoo I have on the shotgun. This will sometimes entice a tuna or wahoo when they are scarce during the summer. Other than that it will be mostly all of one of the earlier mentioned color combos. hope this helps.

[Hroonk]

Thanks for the input guys. John, lets say we're looking to fill every cubic inch of every fish box we have with yellow charlie tunas.

I do like your theory of keeping it simple and natural.

[capt. jakeg]

Another thing is stick with what works but don't be afraid to change. What lures work and what gets bites changes from day to day. Tunas are especially known for this. One day you will get burnt up on the flats, no matter whats back there. Two days later you gotta be back 300 yards with flouro to get a bite. Four years ago the chunk bite was the ticket. Three years ago it was the green machine and bird. Two years ago here the heat on the tunas was the blue and white islander. Last year it was the rasta bar. It changes all the time every time. Don't be afraid to change and if you find something that works, stick with it. If the guy beside you is burning them up and you aint doing squat though, you better switch something.

[Baywolf]

Colors matter, like John said, match the hatch. If you are seeing flyers blue and crystal. Slit one open and see what they are feeding on. We caught a bunch of YFT's that were full of baby black fins and were pulling black and purple. Light has a play in this too, dark days full sun. If they are feeding on squid, purple and pink. Putting out a spread of 8 $15.00 lures is only going to make YOU feel better and I will catch more than you with my home made witches. I would try to keep my spread the same except for a naked bait or one odd ball. Pick one rod to change out. If you have the commotion up top they will come up and pick what they want. The key is to simulate a school of bait and get them up, teasers, spreader bars, hubcaps or CD's. Don't know if this helps but works for me.

[ocalex]

Ive heard about going from dark close to bright in the middle nad having lighter or matching the hatch on the longs. Overall i think everything works differently for different styles and in my opinion different boats. I fish mostly nakeds and little blue and white witches or kingbusters but also like to have at least one purple and black out there just in case and every now and again thats the first thing hit. I know alot of people here run that pink express with a horse to, i have no clue what hatch is being matched (squid swimming at full spead while eating a ballyhoo?) but blue marlin love that thing on the short rigger. That kinda goes with the darks close brights medium and light or matching the hatch on the long at least with the brights being off the short riggers. If you run different size lures i think that has just as much importance in placement as colors do, you defniatly want to keep your larger blue marlin baits closer to your boat. OH and by the way im out your way in hazard county md if there are ne other harco people on this board maybe we can have a get together in the BA