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kimjensen

Most commonly used colors for baitfish patterns?

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So i'm starting to be dedicated to tying baitfish patterns and i would like to know what the most commonly used colors are. A permanent marker cost about as much as a bag of EP fibers, so i don't realy save that much Money, plus i think the marker makes the material stiffer for some reason?

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Kim - My take on that is that it is possible to tie them in any color you want. That being said, I prefer Olive over White, Gray over White, Black over White. While I say "White", what I am really referring to is a "Pearl White". Some times I will tie them with a Gold color on the bottom. Particularly, if I am tying a Gold colored Shiner or Perch type pattern. Just my two cents worth................

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Most baitfish can be represented by olive and white - I also use blue, chartreuse, and yellow quite a bit. The ink from markers will indeed make the fibers a bit stiffer, though I don't think it'll affect the action much. A good marker should outlast a bag of fibers unless you're using them a lot. I've got some that are at least 20 years old. If you're marking synthetics, the colors will fade relatively quickly, since synthetics aren't very absorbent and the ink will get scraped off. (dye-based inks will also fade in sunlight) Just mark them again if and when they fade.

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If I had to choose 5 colors for the waters I fish it would be white, black, chartreuse, olive, and pink. In the tannic waters of the gulf here, chartreuse and pink really stand out and draw hits. When in brackish (or even mostly fresh) waters of the back country, black or black and purple are great. In clear slat water of the Atlantic, all white or chartreuse over white are tough to beat. Olive over white seems to work everywhere as well.

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Rainbow colors! Whatever you can see in a rainbow, a fish will eat! Try it and tie it sometime. Tie a favorite fly with colors that you consider totally ridiculous and put it away in a safe place. Then one day when you are feeling cantankerous, take it with you and see what happens!

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That is tough. If I could only use one color for absolutely everything, it would be all white especially if I could "cheat" and use markers. In fact I pretty much only use brushed out white 4 mm Bonnie Braid for EP style flys. BB is the same stuff as EP Fiber as far as I can tell (comes in all the same colors too) but I can buy a lifetime supply for around $10, I just have to comb it out. For inshore saltwater (not deep in the mangroves) I use chartreuse over white 95% of the time regardless of fly style. For open freshwater olive over white or olive over yellow is though to beat. In the Florida Backcountry (salt or fresh/brackish) mostly/all tan rules in my world, again not just for streamers. There are exceptions and I do often get bored so I have different colors, but if I had to limit myself that is what I would choose. Your fishery is likely to be very different than mine. Talk to the local biologists and ask what the primary forage is across the whole year. Even if that forage is not usually available at a given time, fish will eat something that are used to seeing even if it is the wrong time of year. Sort of like reaching for a piece of offered Kringle ring cake before you remember you are on a diet.

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I think I've been trout fishing too long. I try to "match the hatch" Olive/White, Chartreuse/white, Pink/white are great attractor pattern colors, get the silhouette right and you'll catch fish. I have them in my box and use them regularly. Still I like to have flies that mimic the actual colors. For example, silversides, bay anchovies, rain fish or white bait are translucent. The back on a silverside seems to be a light green gray, light tan on the bay anchovy, with the distinct silver stripe down the side and a white belly. So add light gray/green and tan to the over white colors that work for me.

 

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Peanut Bunker are opaque. They have a dark back which would be only a small portion of the fly which fades into a mix of light olive, purples, then silver and a white belly.

 

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I blend flash(Angel Hair) into the Mirror Image that I use for my bait fish patterns. Purple, green, blue, pink, chartreuse, silver to batches of white hair.

 

 

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Basic white (and all the accent colors under the sun) are probably my go to colors - but basic black or black/purple also have their place from time to time for me. Although I do have a range of markers -I've gotten away from them since a marked up fly just loses its color far too fast for my liking....

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All white flys, all black flys should not be over looked, tye in different sizes. Of course the suggestions above are spot on but plain ole white and black have caught tons of fish.

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All black does work surprisingly well around here, from what the local fly shops and anglers say. More people here near Boston swear by the all black baitfish, than any other color scheme.

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I saw a presentation by Drew Chicone yesterday at the Fly Tying Fest he said he uses 75% white and 25% color

i'm not to sure about the ratio; but i am sure about using white in 99% of the bait fish flies i tie. as a shop owner once said to me; most every lure, plug etc. has a white underbelly. why wouldn't the flies we tie be the same?

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I use a variety of colors for various situations. I fish mostly salt so i tend to not so much worry about colors but more on presentation and movement. On dark nights I like deep purple and black, or a light green under dark green, Black over deep red. On bright nights white and red, yellow and white , blue ove white, olive over white, black over gold.Chartruse over white. hot pink over pink. it really is endless. The daytime is always bright colors over white, or just white. silver, and gold, Like Philly I try to match whatever is around with pattern/ profile, but color can play a part in causing a strike. I dont know if this helps you, but i suggest you start getting as many colors as you can, and try to match the patterns/profiles that of the baitfish your species prefere.

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