What color crankbait to use? Crankbait Color Chart
I just love going into a Bass Pro Shops store and just staring at all the walls covered in crankbaits. Wow, it reminds me of driving through the streets on Christmas Eve and looking at all the lights. All different colors as far as the eye can see! It’s so hard to pick when I can’t decide between the red, yellow, white and blue ones. I mean, there are hundreds of different shades and colors! But what color crankbaits work best? And, what are the best crankbait colors so I can catch bass FAST?
The best colored crankbaits have to be matched to the water clarity, water temperature, and finally what forage species the bass are feeding on that that time.
Don’t worry though… you can take a deep breath. Cause I am about to provide you with a few rules you may want to follow if you are stuck in that position.
I’m going to walk you through all the best colors for every type of water clarity and during each of the seasons.
Key Takeaways
For most new anglers choosing the best crankbait colors can seem pretty exciting yet somewhat intimidating. Here is a quick and easy to follow list to help you get started fast!
- The clearer the water the more natural and transparent the bait color pattern should be. Silver colors work really well.
- The dirtier the water the darker or more opaque the bait. Bright colors also work well.
- Spring and summertime focus on shad and bluegill patterns
- Fall and winter shad and crawfish colors work well.
Getting Started...
If you’re like me, when I first started bass fishing I bought a TON of crankbaits! I didn’t know what the heck they did, but they sure looked cool.
LOL, that is when I realized that I kinda have a problem buying tackle! I mean I can start a collection of crankbaits that can take up a couple of rooms in my house!
After a while I started to listening to the pros and taking notes. Soon after I started to narrow down my collection to ones that are perfect for each situation. Now don’t get me wrong, I still have a large variety of different colors and believe it or not there is a time and a place for every color pattern.
So let’s get into it…
Best Crankbait Color Selection Chart
| Style Of Crankbait | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Style of Crankbait | Color Pattern | Opacity | |
| Water Clarity | |||
| Clear | Wake baits Jerkbait Squarebill Medium diving Deep diving Tight wobble Rattling |
Bream/bluegill - natural patterns green/yellow base with small amounts of chartreuse and orange highlights. Shad - white base with chartreuse or sexy shad pattern. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or “ghost” |
| Stained | Jerkbait Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Deep diving Wide wobble Rattling |
Bream pattern with natural greens/browns, but with highlights of bright colors Shad colors with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights *may get away with using black, chartreuse or even pink colored baits |
Translucent or opaque |
| Dirty | Squarebill Medium diving crankbait Wide wobble Rattling |
White, neon green, chartreuse, firetiger or black | Opaque |
| Season | |||
| Spring | Jerkbait Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Tight wobble Rattling Silent |
Bream/bluegill - green/yellow base with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights. Shad - white base with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Summer | Jerkbait Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Deep diving Wide wobble Rattling |
Bream/bluegill - green/yellow base with chartreuse and orange highlights. Shad - white base with chartreuse or sexy shad pattern. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Fall | Jerkbait Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Deep diving Wide wobble Rattling |
Shad - white base with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Winter | Jerkbait Lipless Medium diving Deep diving Tight wobble Rattling Silent |
Shad - white base with chartreuse, purple, or red highlights. Crawfish - natural colors muted with highlights of purple and blue. Black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Structure | |||
| Laydown & Brush | Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Wide wobble Rattling Silent |
Shad - white base with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Rock | Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Deep diving Wide wobble Rattling Silent |
Shad - white base with chartreuse, orange, or red highlights. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. Red/black and black/blue crawfish patterns also work great. |
Translucent or opaque |
| Grass | Jerkbait Lipless Shallow diving Squarebill Medium diving Wide wobble Rattling Silent |
Bream/bluegill - green/yellow base with chartreuse and orange highlights. Shad - white base with chartreuse or sexy shad pattern. Crawfish - natural with highlights of red, orange, or chartreuse. |
Translucent or opaque |
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Best Color Crankbait For Clear Water
Whether you’re on the Ozarks or on Lake Mead the water is very clear so you’re going to want lure that’s colored more closely to the local forage.
Moreover, there are a few things you want to consider:
- What type of forage is living at that lake?
- What is the most common forage at the lake?
- What size is the forage during that time if year you’re fishing?
Once you have those questions answered you’ll find a pattern that looks very closely to the small bait fish and critter that the bass eat. Furthermore, you’ll want it in a translucent or a transparent color.
Take for example the 6th Sense Cloud 9 Series Crankbaits, they’re made for shallow all the way to deep diving and feature some of the most realistic painting jobs on the market. The ultra real-to-life patterns are great crankbait for clear water usage.
Helpful Tip: Buy some shad or other small baitfish pattern crankbaits with a tiny hint of chartreuse, or a speck of blue paint it will most certainly be one of your top performing cranks.
If you know the bass are feeding on crawfish, look no further than Spro. Spro makes RkCrawler “Rock Crawler” 55 Crankbait. Not only do they make a great bait, but they make a bunch of different patterns to match whatever the crawfish forage looks like.
Here are some pictures some crankbaits that are great in clear water conditions...
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Stained Water Crankbait Colors
Moving on to stained/discolored water, or water that has a slight green tinge.
Most healthy lakes, ponds and reservoirs will have a slight green stain to it. That’s because of the plankton and algae in it.
In situations like this, natural forage patterns still work but the pattern has to be opaque, not transparent. On top of that, the natural color patterns also should include the color chartreuse, bright orange, or red. These work absolutely killer and will give your crankbait a little extra flash.
For example, the color pattern Sexy Shad has a little chartreuse lateral stripe and the color Phantom Craw has a bit of orange in it to give it a little extra pop. It’s just enough to get the bass’ attention, but not too much to spook it from biting.
Moving on, the color solid white or white-and-chartreuse are also great color combo on stained water.
The Secret For Stained Water Bass Fishing Is....
Okay, I really don’t like talking on this subject, cause I have managed to catch a ton of bass on it.
The color is called rootbeer, and it’s painted on the Spro Little John MD crankbait. I hear A LOT of pros are using this color on the down low.
A color like this features similar shading and patterns as a typical shad pattern does, however, it is colored a bit brighter and it stands out when you drop it into discolored water. It screams, “HEY BASS, COME AND EAT ME!”.
Another great crankbait color for moderate-stained water is the citrus shad color that’s painted on the Strike King KVD 1.5 Deep Squarebill Crankbait. This crankbait is small and can even dive to 9-feet!
As a rule, even if the water ends up being extra stained or mildly dirty, either of these colored crankbaits have more than enough flash for catching a mess of bass.
Here are some pictures of the baits I was talking about...
Muddy Water Crankbait Colors
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Straightway, it can be hard catching fish with a crankbait when the water is muddy. But it can be done, you just need to use the right colors.
One of best crankbait colors for muddy or dirty water is called ‘fire tiger’. That’s because fire tiger has great contrast in the color, and that’s perfect for when there’s overcast skies, along with dirty and murky muddy conditions in the water.
Surprisingly (or not), is another color that you may be using on you flipping jigs and that is black-with-blue glitter or black-with-red glitter.
Consequently, if the water is very muddy the bass will orient themselves right against a bank or a piece of structure, so make sure you slowly bump and grind that crankbait into the bank or structure because your target window is pretty small.
Other colors that will work are Chartreuse Black Back or all black crankbaits
Helpful Tip: And if the lake (or pond) is supper dirty, and it’s early springtime, and cold outside, think bright red hues. Yep, crankbaits that are the same red color like the fire engines you loved as a kid.
Here are some pictures some crankbaits that are great in muddy water conditions...
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Picking Crankbait Colors By Season….
Spring Crankbait Colors
One of the first colors that come out of the mouth of any professional angler would be to choose crankbaits that are crawfish colors and hues.
The manufacturers that produce some of the best crawfish shades normally will catch the most bass.
Crawfish normally have a brown or green base, but will also have deep hues of red, orange, or even blue.
Spring Spawn Crankbait Choices
The Spro Mike McClelland RkCrawler “Rock Crawler” 55 Crankbait and 13 FISHING – Gordito MR Crankbait, Berkley Digger Crankbait,and the Storm Original Wiggle Wart all are fantastic crankbait producers in lots of awesome crawfish hues.
You are sure to catch a few fish when you slowly roll the bait over the stones and boulders over transitioning the banks. It’s an easy strategy and you can’t really mess up!
Helpful Tip: Craw colors are fantastic when used a day or two before or after the moon is full.
Don’t neglect a shad pattern crank, especially if you catch a few bass and you see shad being thrown up. Using a shad colored crank in the spring works best when you have a foot or two of clear water, not when the water is murky or dirty.
As mentioned before if the water is murky, muddy or dirty try a fire tiger pattern or even a black/blue flake or black/red flake pattern.
The color of the water truly at times doesn’t appear to that big on an impact
It really centers on what forage is available and that’s shad and crawfish.
Lastly, as spring progresses and turns from spawn to post-spawn, you’ll need to invest in some crankbaits the same colors as bream and bluegill. The bigger bass just love to eat those during that time of year. Plus it works really great in the summer.
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Summertime Crankbait Colors
In the dog days of summer it can be difficult to find and catch bass.
Most of the bass have retreated to the deep water holding locations, and to make matters worse some days are incredibly calm. What to do?…
Simple answer: find the current first, then find the structure.
I wrote an entire section on how to fish for deep summer bass…
Click on this link: How To Find, Fish & Catch Bass With A Crankbait [This Is The Blueprint The Locals Want Keep Secret]
Your go to summertime crankbait colors...
In the summer, the best crankbait colors are hands down going to be shad and bluegill colors should be your go-to patterns.
The Strike King 6XD crankbait is the gold standard for deep summer crankbait fishing. Of all the color options the Green Gizzard Shad, Sexy Shad, and Pro Blue are colors you always need to have a couple of.
For starters this is a large crankbait. There are times when I need to fish using more delicate bait, and there are times I need a crankbait that acts like a bull in a china shop… and that is what the Strike King 6XD does.
Moreover, the Strike King 6XD is super efficient if you want to fish those deeper ledges, or the humps or mounds you find underwater. In fact try it anytime you see some sort of deeper structure you many times see out in the middle of a lake.
6th sense crankbait 300dd crankbaits lures are fantastic for triggering strikes because it scoots quickly and bangs along the bottom of the lake the whole time. If the water is stained or dingy they make the threadfin color that really stands out. Simply put, its perfect mix of metallic blue and gold.
The River2Sea makes the Tactical Bassin’ DD crankbait. Ghost DD Minnow and Metallic Shad are great colors for deep water.
In my opinion, it’s similar in design to the Megabass Deep-Six, but a slightly pronounced wobble. This makes it even more versatile, because now I can be used in the summer and winter for my deep water crankbait fishing. It’s arrow-like design quickly dives deep and stays in the strike zone.
Helpful Tip: You’ll get the best results from deep water crankin’ during the summer afternoons if you find deep water structure and if there is current. The bass will be found schooled picking of bait fish as they swim by.
To give you a sense what these baits look like here are some pictures...
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Fall Crankbait Colors For Bass
Finding the shad is the key to finding fall bass. This can be easily done using a dependable sonar unit.
Once you find the shad, look for nearby structures such as stumps, rock piles, or a channel swing.
Most of the time bass will follow close behind the shad.
When the water temps are still hovering around 70 to 80 degrees in early autumn, you should try searching for piles of brush near the mouths of a cove.
Many professional believe that bass can be caught with a deep water crankbait, but it mush have a thin-shaped body structure.
Early Fall - Deep Diving - Thin Body
Crankbait that will help you get 13 to 15 feet down into structure like the piles of brush near a drop-offs or ledges will prove to be the best this time of year. .
Once you feel the crankbait digging around into the bottom, slow down your retrive. Just as slowly just as if you were fishing a worm or jig.
The colors I would recommend would primarily be shad and minnow colors in the early fall.
Late Fall Crankbait Options
Cranking is crazy effective for catching bass while you follow their Autumn migration route as they head to a creek or cove, then to those rocky forty-five degree banks. All autumn you need to watch the baitfish in order to find the bass. If no shad are in sight, just accept it and move on the the next location that you have marked.
If you are fishing in those coves or creeks, focus about one to five feet down and pick the small to medium diving types of crankbait, even if those types dive down deeper than when you use larger crankbaits that are square-billed. That’s because the smaller one are the same size as shad, so you will nab more bass than if you use the bigger square bill kinds.
Shad-pattern colors like baby threadfin shad (the ones with a blue back and pearl on the sides) and Tennessee shad work the best if the bass are in backs of coves or creeks.
Helpful tip: If it’s late fall and cloudy, throw a baby bass color that has a little chartreuse in it.
Once the water temps hit around 50 degrees, it’s time to use a much slower retrieve and if temps hit lower than that, you need to crawl the bait on the bottom, as this causes the crankbait to grind against rocks.
When it’s sunny and later autumn, you can snag the bass using crawfish type crankbaits nearer to the shore.
Here are what these fall crankbaits look like...
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Wintertime Crankbaits
In the winter most fish and aquatic creatures colors are muted, and so should the baits being used.
However, there are expectations. Some creatures will prepare for the preeminent spring and will change color in the late-winter.
For the most part in the middle of winter dark green, dark brown, and blue or even purple should take the place of chartreuse, pumpkin-brown, and green.
As winter comes to a close adding lures with subtle highlights of chartreuse, orange, yellow and red can be incredibly effective.
The best crankbait colors for winter and color water should reflect what the bass are feeding on at the time.
If you coincidentally catch a bass, feel it’s stomach. If it feels mushy, its been feeding on shad. If it’s stomach feels like it ate a bunch of Doritos chips, it’s been eating crawfish.
Meanwhile, if you find yourself catchless, graph the area with your fish finder. If you see shad, then choose a shad color crankbait. If you’re fishing around rocks, go with a crawfish colored crankbait.
Below, I made a comprehensive list of all the winter crankbaits I feel are the best of class. This is not an all encompassing list, but long story short there are so many choices for any budget.
Here are what these fall crankbaits look like...
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-- Featured Article Of The Month --
Other Crankbait Related Articles
- What is a Crankbait? [A Complete Beginners Guide with Pictures]
- How To Fish A Crankbait [17 Essential Secrets To Catching Bass With A Crankbait]
- 15 Surefire Ways To Know Exactly What Crankbait Color Works Best… Even If You Have Little-to-no Fishing Experience!
- 15 Surefire Ways To Know Exactly What Crankbait Color Works Best… Even If You Have Little-to-no Fishing Experience!
- Best Crankbait For Shallow Water [12 Baits You Need In Your Tackle Box]
- Best Deep Diving Crankbait [Our Top 20 Baits For ANY Budget]
- Best Jerkbaits for Bass 2023: Top Picks the Pros Refuse to Talk About
- Buyer's Guide To Choosing LIPLESS Crankbaits - Bass Are TERRIFIED!
- Are Crankbaits Good In The Fall? [Little Known Ways to Get More Bites]
- How To Catch 10x Deep Water Bass Using This Little Known Lipless Crankbait Modification
- Where To Buy A Crankbait Rod and Reel Combo (And Get The Best Prices!)
- Best Crankbait Rods Under $100? (And Which I’d Buy On A Budget!)
FAQ
Why do bass love to crush bluegill crankbaits in the spring?
Because bass when bass are spawning they will kill bluegill in order to protect their nests. And when the bass are finished with their spawn, the bass will need to recover and will cruise on over to the spawning flats of bluegill and pick them off for an easy meal.
Can you use a swivel with crankbait?
It is not recommended to use a swivel or snap attachment when fishing with crankbaits. The swivel will cause the crankbait to track poorly. To make it even worse some snap swivels will cause the bait to rotate or spin! Your crankbait will swim and track naturally if you tie directly to it instead of using a snap swivel.
Can you troll with a crankbait?
Absolutely! I love trolling with crankbaits. In mornings I’ll fish for bass, however in the afternoons I’ll troll crankbaits to fish for striped bass, crappie, walleye or even trout!
Do crankbaits really work for crappie or even trout?
Yep! Sure do. You probably need to downsize the crankbait to a crappie sized crankbait. If you’re trolling for a trout dinner after fishing for bass try trolling a small crankbait.
Do crankbaits work in saltwater?
Yes they do. Just besure to buy a saltwater quality crankbait, otherwise the crankbait will surely rust out.
Can a crankbait work at night?
Yes. They are some of the best night fishing lures. They work phenomenally when fished around transitions where feeding ground flats meet the deeper water. Big bass can be caught coming or leaving the feeding ground. Look for a “deeper” channel and fish that first.
George Servinson
My name is George and I'm been fishing my entire life and love all things outdoors. My passion is helping anyone catch more fish. The newest things I've been doing lately is learning how to break down and clean all my reels, teaching my boy how to kayak fish, and bushcraft wilderness survival.
