There’s a saying that the lure colour is for the fisherman, and the action of the lure is for the fish.
We’ll be the first to admit that this has an element of truth to it. We’ve definitely got lures in our collection that were purchased because they look great, and we have no intention of ever getting them wet. But it’s not always accurate to say that lure colour has no effect on a fish taking your bait.
When you’re picking a lure colour, a general rule of thumb is to go for the one that’s the closest to matching the prevalent baitfish in your area and a known food source of the species you'll be targeting.
In New Zealand, this mainly means natural colours, like shades of greens, silvers, blues, whites, etc. If you’re targeting kingfish (either trolling lures or stick-baits), you’ll be wanting to replicate fish like Jack Mackerel, Blue Koheru, Piper, and even Squid. For targeting Tuna (trolling or stick-baits), you want to try match food sources like Saury, Sardine and Squid, for example.
A few good choices for starting on New Zealand coastlines. Colours: Holo Ghost Shad Chug Norris 120mm, Squid Riptide 155mm, Fusilier Madscad 115mm, Holo Ghost Shad Dartwing 165mm.
Now while this is a great starting point, you don’t want to make your entire lure selection just these colours. The key to having a well-rounded tackle bag is having a good selection to choose from. At a bare minimum, go for one colour that matches the baitfish, and an additional lure that doesn’t. The idea here is to have options when you’re fishing. There are definitely times where fish can be a bit finicky on the bite and are showing a bit of interest in your lure, but not enough to entice a bite. In this situation, it’s good to be able to switch something out. Trying a lure with a vastly different colour, or different action is sometimes enough to get a fish excited enough to take a swipe at your bait.
The additional benefit of having brighter lure options is for use in different sea & weather conditions. A lure that stands out might prove to be more visible to fish in murky or overcast conditions, so it always pays to have that choice. Lures that have a reflective pattern are also well suited for these conditions, sending out flashes of light as they’re worked through the water.
The Pink Mackerel colour doesn’t match any New Zealand baitfish, but it was the winning lure on this day.
Our Purple Fusilier colour is about as bright and unnatural as our lures come, but that doesn’t stop a hungry fish from taking a bite.
There’s not a single colour in the Nomad Design range that hasn’t proven itself to be effective at catching fish, and some colours do seem to be more successful than others on particular days.
But that’s not always the case…
Conditions change, your target fish might be pickier at certain times of the day, or at certain tides, but the important thing is to have options. All of our lures have a well-refined swimming action that will attract and catch fish, so when you need to switch something else out, the lure colour is a good place to start.
Squid is a common food source for kingfish around shallow waters and reefs. Lure fishing is a game of imitation, so it can be a good idea to start with colours that resemble your targets natural prey.