Blue…No Green… No Red…Aaaaarrrrghhhhh!
I am asked hundreds of times each year, “What colors should I get?” It occurs to me that I have a definite pattern that I follow relative to the three seasons of ice fishing.
First Ice
I start with red or white. Red is the color of blood or injury and most fish respond to a wounded or fish with a strike. White is kind of the opposite of red. While red is one of the first colors to disappear in the water table, white can be seen for long distances and can be like ringing a dinner bell under the water.
Mid Ice
Mid-season can be a tough time to fish. I attribute most of the mid-season blahs to the many hatches which create an increased presence of natural forage in the water. During mid-season I switch to natural colors: browns, blacks, motor oils, dark greens, dark purples and deep blood worm red. The whole “match the hatch principle” becomes a must do for me during mid-ice. Basically, anything that a fish throws up during this time I try to match that color and body form and my catch rates go way up even during the “tough” season.
Late / Last Ice
Well, at this point the weeds are dying or already dead. There have been a few melts and run offs/wash ins. The oxygen level is on the rise, and the fish are hunting for what is new in the water from all of the water movement. I like to fish bright colors during this phase. I like chartreuse, yellow, hot pink, bubble gum, glow and lures with a lot of prism flash, gold and silver.
This is the guideline that I follow when creating a color plan for the day’s attack but, we all know too well, our plan is not as important as the fish’s reality. So have a plan, a plan B and plan C, but in all cases respond to the “lessons from the fish”.
Help feed the next generation of fishers!
Scott Brauer an Ice Team pro. The Ice Team was at the beginning of the Ice Fishing Revolution . . . because they started it. Find out more about the Ice Team at IceTeam.com.