There's not an angler anywhere who won't tell you that the sky's the limit on the colors, sizes and types of soft plastics you can find in tackle stores everywhere nowadays. Figuring out the one that's best for you can, as a minimum, be challenging and, at most, intimidating. However, there are a few ways to narrow the selection process, starting with understanding water clarity.
One way to meter water clarity is to rig a white-colored plastic, such as a fluke or swimbait, on a weighted head, drop the plastic in the water, and stop the bait when it no longer can be seen. Then measure the amount of line submerged in the water. Though there are different judgments, one that often is relied on is a chart similar to the following:
Depth (Feet) Water Clarity Classification
0 - 2 Muddy water
2 - 4 Stained water
4 - 6 Murky water
6+ Clear water
With that sense of water clarity, let's take a look at how that information can be applied to making a color selection.
Let's all face one important fact to start with here. The infinite number of colors available in bass fishing all serve a purpose: to catch fish and the fisherman. Does this truism dismiss the fact that you may have success in your favorite pond with a black, blue, purple, orange, and red-flake worm? No! That's simply confidence. But narrowing your focus to two main color groups...natural and dark colors...for all water clarities will increase your chances of getting bit on different bodies of water, without buying a rainbow of soft plastics.
Natural Colors
When fishing clear water, natural- and translucent-colored soft plastics will excel. "What classifies as a natural color?" you may ask. This group includes shades that replicate or blend in with the fishery's probable forage or foliage. Natural colors include but are not limited to variations of translucent browns, whites, greys, green pumpkins, and watermelon-dyed soft plastics. Of these colors, the green pumpkin family is looked to as the most flexible and can be effective in most water clarities. The rule to remember is this: Always match the hatch when using natural colors, paying close attention to the color of the bait the fish are eating.
Dark Colors
When fishing murky, muddy or stained water, dark-tinted soft plastics do the trick. Some popular variations include junebug, black, and black-blue. The opaqueness of darker colored soft plastics allows the bass to better see the lure in low-visibility situations. As green pumpkin proves versatile in the natural color collection, black can be a good dark color in all water clarities.
There are countless colors to choose from, but understanding the two basic color families and their correlation to water clarity will maximize the number of bites you get.
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