Is This the Most Overlooked Lure Color for Inshore Fishing?

Only 8% of the Insiders we surveyed picked dark colors as their most trusted soft plastics.

That got me wondering… are we overlooking something?

So I took the kayak out with one rule: every lure I threw would be BLACK ICE.

Watch to see how the fish responded as I switched through different profiles, and why a dark lure might deserve a spot beside your favorite color.

Plus, I’ll share the four color categories I recommend carrying so you don’t need every shade in the tackle shop.

Watch Below To See How Black Ice Held Up.

Insiders: Put Black Ice to the test and claim ONE plug of your choice with this month’s Tackle Tester!

👉 [CLAIM YOUR BLACK ICE PLUG HERE]

Featured Gear

Here’s what I brought along in Black Ice:

• 2.0 Paddletail
• Polk County Tweaker
• The Mulligan 4-Inch Paddletail
• Moonwalker Topwater Lure
• Wake Mullet
• Skinny Lipper

The Flea Flicker was supposed to come along, too. Unfortunately, that one never made it into the kayak!

The Redfish Had My Attention

The trip started with a follow and a swipe at the Wake Mullet on my second cast.

Of course, I didn’t have the camera rolling yet.

Then I found a school of nice redfish, hooked one on the Tweaker, and lost it. That one hurt.

But shortly afterward, I spotted fish swimming right beside the kayak and hooked up again, this time on the 2.0.

That’s when things got REALLY interesting.

While I was fighting that redfish, its buddies stayed with it, competing for the lure. They were close enough that I seriously considered throwing another bait out while I still had the first fish hooked.

Tempting? Absolutely.

But trying to manage two hooked redfish by myself in a kayak sounded like a good way to lose a rod. I decided to land the one I already had.

Getting a bite was encouraging. Seeing other redfish trying to get in on it was something else.

One Color, Several Different Profiles

I wanted to see how many different Black Ice profiles I could get action on before the trip ended.

And the bites kept coming as I worked through the lineup.

A solid trout ate the Moonwalker. Later, I spotted another redfish and put the 4-inch Mulligan in front of it.

That fish took the lure, but I missed the hookset.

Then it turned around and came looking for it AGAIN.

That second chance turned into the last fish of the trip, a beautiful redfish I called overslot in the video. Lightning in the area cut the outing short, so I headed in after roughly three hours on the water.

Here’s how everything shook out:

That’s action on five of the six profiles I actually brought.

Three produced landed fish. The other two drew a strike or hookup, so I’m counting those as action, not catches.

For a short trip, that gave me plenty of confidence in putting Black Ice to work.

You Don’t Need Every Color of the Rainbow

Now, am I saying those fish wouldn’t have eaten a different color?

No.

I didn’t compare Black Ice against light or natural colors on this trip. What I did see was redfish and trout responding to it across several different lure profiles.

And that’s why I like having a dark option available.

When we asked our Insiders which soft plastic colors they trusted most, light and natural colors dominated. Those are useful options, but I wouldn’t let them crowd every dark lure out of the tackle box.

My recommendation is to cover four basic color categories:

• Light: Something like white.
• Dark: Something like black.
• Natural: Something that resembles the bait in your area.
• Bright: Something that stands out.

You don’t need every shade in every lure.

Cover those four categories, and you’ve got a simple starting point without carrying the whole tackle shop.

If all your confidence is tied to one color, give yourself a chance to build confidence in another. A trip like this is a pretty good way to do it.

Final Thoughts

Black Ice earned its place in my kayak on this trip.

Redfish competing for the 2.0, a trout on the Moonwalker, and a redfish coming back for the Mulligan gave me plenty of reasons to keep throwing it.

You can still love your light and natural colors. Just leave some room for a dark option, too.

What soft plastic color do YOU have the most confidence in, no matter the conditions? Let me know in the comments!

Want to try the lures from this trip? Check out the featured gear above and choose your next Black Ice profile. If you’re an Insider, remember to use your member pricing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do black lures work for redfish and trout?

Yes. On this trip, I landed redfish on the Black Ice 2.0 and 4-inch Mulligan, plus a trout on the Black Ice Moonwalker.

Did Black Ice outperform lighter colors?

This trip didn’t establish that. I rotated through different profiles in Black Ice rather than comparing colors. It showed that the dark color got bites, but it doesn’t mean another color wouldn’t have worked.

What lure colors should I keep in my tackle box?

I recommend having a light, dark, natural, and bright option. That covers four useful categories without needing every color available.

How many Black Ice lures caught fish?

Three profiles produced landed fish: the 2.0, Moonwalker, and 4-inch Mulligan. Including the Wake Mullet swipe and the redfish I lost on the Tweaker, I got action on five of the six profiles I brought.

Did you test the Flea Flicker?

No. I planned to, but accidentally left it out of the kayak. It wasn’t part of the on-water test.