Mylures Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Hi there, just wondering if some of you Muskie fisherman can help me out here. Whats the best color for the bottom side of a topwater bait? Is it a dark color or a light color. I have been told by a few that black is the best or for second it would be florescent Orange. Your help will be much appreciated. Thanks Ken Schmitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverMan Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Hi Ken, I like a bait with a natural white/off white belly mostly. It makes the most sense to me since virtually all bait fish have a white belly. However, there are probably times when the water clarity is such that a red/chartreuse belly may be more effective. The only time I go for a black belly is on topwater baits since black is likely to produce a better profile for predators approaching from below. Jed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodieb8 Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 hi ken. here on st clair the rule of thumb is clean waters wh/belly dark or dirty yellow belly. for natural baits as 9 dollar bass , baby bass and such we use a creme wh/ belly. rember musky can not see down only up and there vision they cannot see dead ahead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheesehead Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Ken, I'm not a muskie fisherman however I would try painting a sideways design so that your lure looks like a dying fish atop the water. As for color I wonder if it really matters? I see a lot of lures that are not even close to natural coloring, there's one with black yellow and red stripes how natural is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinner Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 I would agree with Cheesehead. I have usually seen this on glider type baits as opposed to twitch, jerk, topwaters, etc. I haven't used the sideways painted baits alot, so no opinion on their success yet. I will say it is on my radar to build and paint a few using this method. Wanted to build a few smaller versions for bass. That way I can check their success rate across a couple of species. Spinner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mylures Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Thanks for the replies everyone. From what I have gathered so far is that black or a dark color is best for a topwater as the fish can see the silhouette of the bait better than if it is white or a light color. More opinions are welcome. Ken Schmitz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
