Jig Head Color

[Mark]

I didn't want to hijack the post about favorite lures which has generated much discussion. It's an excellent topic. But I have a related issue.

I've noticed that many respondents to that thread cited swim baits attached to jig heads.

I used white, yellow, red and black jig heads this year and frankly noticed no difference in their effectiveness based on color. I often left them on after they were dinged and banged up showing the lead underneath the paint.

Do you think the color of the jig head matters? If you make your own jig heads, do you paint them?

My guess is that weight is far more important than color when selecting the proper jig. But perhaps some of you have noticed a pattern in jig head colors.

Thanks,

[DanMarino]

I use plain lead jig heads most of the time. I have not noticed any difference in freshwater fish that I catch based on jig head color. Location of where I'm fishing the jig seems to matter most.

[JohnE]

I'm not sure if color really matters or not, but I generally only use red Bass Assassin jig heads in various sizes. They seem to be the best quality for the price--you can order 18 packs for about $12 online. For larger jig heads, I get them from Oceans East 2. They have them in bulk for .69 to .79 cents a piece and are very similar to the Bass Assassins. They seem to be very good quality. I continue to use them even when most of the paint has chipped off, but I will stop using them if the eyes are missing. I've been using red for a long time. Pretty much everybody seems to prefer red down in Tidewater area. I do have some in white and chartreuse, but don't use them much.

On the other hand, color of the swim bait does seem to matter sometimes. I mostly only use white and chartreuse, sometimes electric chicken or silver glitter/green.

[J.A. Veil]

I use unpainted jigheads all winter long for pickerel. They perform just fine. Throughout the warmer weather, I use various colors of jigheads without giving much thought to what I put on -- I just grab a jighead of the right weight and tie it on. The only exception is when I use heavy jigheads and BKDs. I don't worry about the color of the jighead, but do try to use a contrasting color for the BKD based on the jighead color.

Some anglers are very particular about color -- I think Shawn Kimbro favors jigheads with 2 or 3 paint colors. Other anglers believe that eyes (painted on or glued on) make a big difference. I have not noticed any difference in catch rate myself.

[ES Fisherman]

I try not to match the jigead color to the plastic body for a bit of contrast and tend to use jigheads with nice 3-d eyes. It probably doesn't do much but I like to have every advantage I can on the water.

[Mark]

Thanks to all who commented.