Best Lure Colors for Clear Water

the picture and text above are taken from:

"Successful Walleye Fishing:

The complete hot-to guide for finding and catching walleyes year-round"

www.creativepub.com

If you fish walleye in lakes that are invaded by zebra mussels, you know how difficult it is to get the walleye to bite during the day. The water is so clear, they retreat to 30 feet or deeper yet, 40 even 50 feet of water for comfort. Walleye respond well to shiny lures, so leave the dull lures in the tackle box.

According to In-Fisherman Magazine (april-may 2005), other than shine, there are a few colors that will work better than others in conditions like these.

The most aggressive presentations are the easiest to see, if you need to make the walleye come to you from a distance, go with bright orange, red or green lures. For example, Cotton Cordell Fluorescent red/black, Firetiger patterns or Orange PowerBait soft plastics.

If the fish is biting relativeley well, stick to more neutral presentations such as perch patterns, gold, and pumpkinseed.

A subtle presentation for spooky fish would be blue, purple and smoke.

If you must remember just one thing, remember that walleye's eyes are very different from ours, and the colors they can see underwater are not the same, it doesn't matter that red is the first color to fade away for human eyes, the simple fact is that walleye will see bright orange, red and green better than any other color. Keep that in mind the next time you're having trouble getting ole marble eyes to bite and give those colors a try.