Difficult/rare Pattern

[Ichthus]

Hey y'all,

I had a friend contact me asking to paint a mudsucker/gobe pattern. I've never painted one of these and I'm asking for help along with other people to post their favorite uncommon forage species colors.

[mark poulson]

Most bottom dwellers have evolved so that their coloration imitates the bottom they live on, so they blend in and don't get eaten.  The ones that stand out get noticed and eaten more often.

So you paint scheme will depend on the bottom of the areas where he fishes.

[scrubs]

Try googling gobe and gobes in your state and look at the pics. Also you might contact your state DNR for info. And a lot of state universities publish books/pamphlets etc with related info.

 

bill

[Reelentless]

Here's a gobe.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Reelentless

[barrybait]

I agree with Mark.  Basic pattern here is a dark moss green back faded down the sides with a white belly.  The moss green can go more towards a ruddy brown and the white belly should be a dirty or bone white.  I picked up a live one that somehow ended up on the ramp last weekend and it had blotchy spotty back on it. Not all of them are that tectured.  When I start a new bait, I think it is a good idea to do a google search of the fish and you will get pages of images and variations of it. Otherwise ask your friend for a picture of the bait they want to imitate.

[mark poulson]

And I would bear in mind that most commercial lures are made with economical manufacturing in mind, so their paint schemes are easy to do and repeatable.

The photos above of the goby show it has a mottled pattern on it's back, so it is camouflaged from above.

I find that adding a random pattern helps make the lure seem more natural, but also makes it harder to see except in clear water, so bear in mind what water color he'll be fishing most of the time.  If it's off color or murky, getting your lure noticed is the most important thing, since bass are primarily sight feeders, so you might want to try brighter, more contrasting colors. 

[bass100]

The goby pattern is one of the easiest to do.  First you need to find out what color gobies you want to match.  We have several different colors here on Erie.  We have the light colored ones like the pics above, dark green pumpkin, brown and black.  The one thing they all have in common is the blotchs on them.  Spray your base color first black, brown, green pumpkin, etc.  Then add the belly color if you want one.  Then splatter the bait with any color that matches the blotches of your gobies.  Here are some goby blades I use here.  They are used baits but you get the idea.

 

[Ichthus]

thank you for all the help y'all! i really appreciate it! 

[mark poulson]

So....does the tan on my arms and face, and the age spots, mean I'm finally beginning to blend in with my surroundings?

I guess it's as good an explanation as any.   Hahaha

[A-Mac]

I've done some gobe patterns before, I used a toothpick and a toothbrush to do most of the painting (after I got the primary colors laid out).