Powder paint vs. vinyl jig paint

[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]THE EYES HAVE IT. A pun on a phrase for voting in meetings, but very appropriate when it comes to lure making.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]I have just about every color available in various paints and glitters (see attached pics), and I custom mix them to get my own colors. However, I only paint very few jigs or lures in solid colors...white, black, dark red, hot red, hot pink and hot orange. Even then, I usually glitter most of those, even if I do not include eyes. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]After studying fish and fish "triggers" for many years, I have come to believe that there are several factors that can increase the number of hits...or the aggressiveness of the fish. Eyes are probably the single greatest trigger among all predatory species. They often key in on a wide eyes of panicked or wounded prey. Even a motionless lure, with an eye that looks worried, can provoke a savage whack.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Just for the record, other "triggers" can be the actual colors. While some fishyologists claim that fish are color blind, I have proven to myself that there are days when one color will outproduce other colors by a wide margin. However, I believe that it is usually more a matter of visibility than an actual wavelength preference. Sight feeding fish hit what they can see best...in the prevailing conditions of light, water clarity, water temperature, etc.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That's why contrasting colors and patterns can make a difference in results. Many of my lures use bright contrasting colors...hot red and chartreuse, orange and chartreuse, red and white, black and white, pink and white, black and chartreuse, etc. During low light conditions, or in murky water, these combos are easier to see than "plain vanilla" monochrome lures. That's also why a lot of my "eyes" are of the contrasting colors. Double whammy.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Depending on the coloration of the predominant "prey species", there ar a couple of other triggers you can build into your lures. One is horizontal lines. Lots of minnows have dark backs over a lighter body...or even dark lateral lines of different colors. You don't have to have an exact match for the color to successfully duplicate the attraction of a horizontal line down your lure.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Another pattern trigger is vertical bars. Yellow perch, sunfish and other prey species have vertical bars on their sides. These supposedly act as camouflage for them to help when hiding out in vegetation. However, when they are out in the open the bars might as well be targets. Lots of fish key in on them. That's why one of the best lure patterns is a perch pattern...even in waters where perch do not occur.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]The "fire tiger" finish on lures combines all of the above. It incorporates hot orange, hot green and hot yellow with a dark horizontal back and bright orange horizontal belly...and dark vertical bars. Finish it off with a hot red eye, with a black pupil and you theoretically have the universal lure. I can tell you that it DOES work on many species during much of the year...especially in colder, murkier and/or deeper water. But, it also works during high noon, in the shallows, in the middle of hot summer. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]BUT...there are times when fish are finicky and may be turned off by too much glitz and glitter. That's when to serve up a small jig...all white, all black, all brown, all purple or some other "natural" color. Then, fish it slow and try to imitate a natural prey item. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]When the fish are finicky...in a neutral or negative mode...lighter, smaller and natural is the first place to start. But, if that doesn't work, then you can always bring out the hot stuff and try to create a "reaction bite".[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[signature]