Gold, Silver and Copper : Metallic Colors

[AJFishdude]

Hey everyone. So here is an interesting question for you all. When you are out fishing with anything that uses a metallic/reflective sheen to attract fish, what colors do you go to and why?

The three colors I am really talking about are gold, silver and copper, but I'm not really limiting the lure types at all. Meaning, I'm talking about spinners, spoons, flashers and anything else that uses some sort of metallic reflector, even if other parts of the lure are colored in non-metallic or non-reflective tones in red, green, pink or blue, for example.

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I am sure that there are about 1,000 answers to this question depending upon where you are (river vs. lake), water conditions (unlimited visibility vs. 6"), time of year, water temp, local bait fish population and the type of fish you are going after (Trout, Salmon, Steelhead, Kokanee, Bass, Perch, etc.) just to name a few. But as general rules, what do you guys use? Do you have a favorite metallic color out of gold, silver or copper, and why?

And another big question here, what about the weather? Do you change the metallic color you use whether or not it is overcast, sunny, raining, early morning, evening, night?

If I can offer some of my own thoughts, for a long time I have seemed to tend more towards silver colored lures. However, within the past month or two I have been fishing gold colored lures and they really have been knocking the fish (trout specifically) dead, whereas it seems like silver just hasn't been working for me. I have also noticed that a lot of those days have been more overcast, or at least not direct sunlight on the water......but not all of them.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this seeing as I am still piecing the puzzle together myself.

[obryan214]

i use small gold silver and copper spinners and spoons for cuthroat and steelhead on the satsop. coho and whitefish and sometimes kings hit them too. gold seems to work the best followed by silver then copper. i've never really noticed a difference in time of day or overcast or not. after dark gold seems to out produce the others too.
in one of the tacoma area lakes i fish silver seems to produce more trout and bass then anything else. that lake has pretty stained water.

[Anglinarcher]

Interesting you say copper, not brass. A true polished copper is hard to find, but it is really different then brass.

My experience is that in super clear water, bright day, Bright Silver is best.

I find that in water with some color, gold will out produce. I need to define color some here. I do not mean muddy, I mean green, tannic brown, milky colored, water colored with organic materials. I do not seem to like it sooner then an hour after sunrise or after an hour before sunrise.

I find that a true polished copper works best for Brook Trout anytime, and please don't ask me why. But as for other species, polished copper seems to work best for me in highly stained water, lots of organic matter, or some mud. It seems to work well for me earlier and later in the day as well.

Last, Chrome is NOT silver, not polished silver, not silver with a clear coat. Chrome is a metal that gives a bright silvery type reflection with depth and brightness that silver cannot achieve. Chrome is actually my favorite color, which sucks because I make a lot of my own baits and I cannot Chrome my lures. Chrome takes on an almost translucent look in water, but still retains the most flash. It works in muddy water, stained water, and clear water. If there is light, it works.

Well, as they say, this is my humble opinion, or more accurately, my observation.

[obryan214]

I found a bunch of mcmahon spoons recently that are half copper half brass. they are about 3 inches, way bigger then the size 0 i usually use in the satsop. can't wait to try them. the half nickle half brass has been a pretty good color for me in the salt also.

[jonb]

Conditions:
Clear blue sky/sunny & clear water: silver
Cloudy overcast conditions & muddy/stained water: gold/copper

[troutfinatic]

I agree with JonB

[kingroobes]

There's a million intangibles when it comes to which to use, (species, weather, water clarity, water temp, etc). What it really comes down to is getting enough flash to induce a strike, but not too much to spook the fish.

[AJFishdude]

Great input so far.

What it really comes down to is getting enough flash to induce a strike, but not too much to spook the fish.

That is very interesting kingroobes. I hadn't considered thinking about it like that.

[Anglinarcher]

There's a million intangibles when it comes to which to use, (species, weather, water clarity, water temp, etc). What it really comes down to is getting enough flash to induce a strike, but not too much to spook the fish.

LOL, not that is a truism for sure.

But, when you get on the water, when you decide you are going to fish, how do you decide what you are going to start with? We know that with a "million intangibles" for every given day, what we end up using may not be what we started with.

Nevertheless, do you roll the dice, shake a magic 8 ball (now that dates me), consult a mystic, or do you have guidelines that assist you on getting started each day when you get on the water?

Not trying to stir things up, but I like to use the analogy of a fishing tournament. These guys have one to three days to find the right combination of colors, lures, techniques or they go home. For the PROFESSIONAL guy/gal, they had better find that combination or they end up unemployed and bankrupt in a hurry. These guys each have methods of reading the water. Perhaps most of us are not professionals, but we all want to catch like the professionals ...... so what is your method of "reading the water", at least as far as Metallic colors is concerned?

Enquiring minds want to know, well at least I do.

[kingroobes]

Since it would take forever to explain, ill give you an example of a scenario and what I would use.

One time I was fishing a small lake for rainbow/cutthroat. It was a lowland lake, with plenty of food. The water was very clear and fairly cold, I think it was early march. The sun was out and it the weather was good enough for shorts, so the trout were active enough to feed. My choice in this instance was copper. Why copper? Genuine silver has the most flash. It also carries that flash in deep water better than nickel. Genuine gold and brass have less flash but perform best in dirtier water. Copper has less flash than gold/brass, but still has some flash, especially under bright sunlight. Tarnished brass has barely any flash and a black blade has zero.

So in my situation under bright sunlight, silver would likely scare the fish. Gold might also spook them, but brass could work. However, the water was clear so the fish would be wary. The water was cold so the fish weren't super aggressive, but still feeding. I chose copper because it has some flash to attract the fish since they were feeding, but gold or silver would probably spook them. Sure enough, a few casts in I got a fish on the copper.

However, the sun was setting and copper stopped working. Cloud cover came in and the air got cold. The bite turned off. I switched to a bright silver to try and get an anger strike. I got one fish on the silver and then left.

You don't have to over think it too much for trout, they will hit almost anything. Salmon aren't too picky too, but there is some analyzing to do. Steelhead are a different story. Of course rivers are also different than lakes.

One thing to keep in mind is the fish's metabolism. Since they are cold blooded, really cold water will slow them to a crawl. In warm water they aren't ass active either and head colder areas. That is why spring/fall they are the most active.

[Anglinarcher]

Now that's what I,m talking about

[AJFishdude]

Great anecdote. Thanks kingroobes.