Does Topwater Color Matter? On The Water Test – Light vs. Dark
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
This might seem like a bad idea.
Taking a perfectly good topwater… and painting it jet black?
No fancy pattern.
No natural color.
Just straight black.
But after seeing what happened on the water… it raises a pretty interesting question.
Does a dark topwater actually work better?
Watch the video below to find out!
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Featured Gear:
- Rod: Slot Machine Custom Rod
- Reel: Otis 2500
- Lure: Moonwalker Topwater
- Mainline: Diawa J-Braid 10lb
- Leader: Ande 15lb Mono Leader
FINAL THOUGHTS
One trip doesn’t prove everything.
But it does challenge what most anglers assume about lure color.
If anything, this shows how easy it is to overthink the wrong variable… and miss what’s actually driving the bite.
So now I’m curious…
Would you throw a fully black topwater?
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
Here’s what you’ll receive today when you join:
- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
- Weekly “spot dissection” videos that walk you through all the best spots in your area
- Exclusive fishing tips from the PROS you can’t find anywhere else
- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Tony, I have painted my own as well. One of my Mirrolures is black with a chartreuse head. Works fantastic! I can’t say one color is better all of the time for certain conditions. I decently think darker for very low light conditions. Another thing that seems to matter is rattle volume and pitch. (As Ed stated below) The more turbulent the water, I will throw a larger bait with a louder rattle.
Thanks for the video. Tight Lines
You’re welcome Fred! Yeah the sound of the rattle can definitely make a difference. Larger topwaters will usually have a lower frequency sound that travels further and also better in choppy/noisy water.
Can’t wait for the black top water. Looking forward to it.
For sure!
Hey Tony, I’ve been in the practice of using “black” top water baits for decades, and swear by using them. Also take note, that if using “black at night, it’s also good to either use the next larger size, or tie bucktail/ hackle to the trailing hook. This will enhance the performance “pulsing” through the water. Also, if using this pattern in flat calm/low-light morning or sunset conditions, it’s good to have some “modified” black baits…meaning to sacure/silence the rattles by drilling a hole into the rattle chamber, squeeze glue onto the rattle beads (to the back), then reveal the hole. This will work better for those spooky fish.
Good stuff Ed thanks for sharing!
Thank you Tony as always good intel! Dark topwater baits in low light conditions, and light baits (white/ or chart/white) in sunny or partly sunny conditions seems to be the adage for all kinds of different fish (redfish, trout, striped bass, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass). The contrast for visibility seems key, as you’ve pointe out before. Sooo funny that all of us had to modify a partially black lure (like a spook) to make it flat black. The black or bone whopper plopper is also good fresh or saltwater.
You’re welcome Mike! Thank you for the great feedback!
It’s funny I was just going to ask about putting out a line of black baits specifically a moon walker for night striped bass fishing here on jersey shore.
Coming soon!
Excellent video. Thank you .
You’re welcome Richard!
Thanks Tony…..will be interested in future trips with Black topwater. Have used many different color Zara Spooks fishing on Lake Erie and last year used the moonwalker to catch bass and muskie when I returned north for the summer!!
I have a prototype of our moonwalker in black with silver specks so i’ll be using it on the next few trips!
Great video Tony, definitely gives us more to think about. In my experience I just thought that most top water were just reaction strikes as long as the action of the lure was appealing to the fish. Have caught fish in white at night and darker colors during the day. I can see where it would matter to more finicky fish though, thanks for all you guys do Tony! Job well done!
Thanks Chris! I thought the same as well, especially in shallow water where the fish aren’t really directly under the lure, but drawn in from the sides or from behind from the splash and noise. Could be that they will see the lure last minute before a strike and decide whether they want to commit to it or not. Black could be harder to distinguish what it actually is through the splashing and produce more or an instinctive reaction strike. Just my opinion though. Trying to think like a fish!
Who would’ve thought black over white? Once again, great lesson from Tony.
Right? Thank you for the great feedback Craig!
Very interesting Tony.
Thanks Dale!