Don’t overlook gold in your tackle box.
If you’ve ever drifted a flat and noticed a pod of baitfish, they typically have a dark appearance until they flit or change directions and that’s when the shimmering silver appears in the sunlight.
But in tannic waterways like creeks or ponds in marshes, that silver flash is muted. Because of the water color the baitfish take on a bit of the darker sheen and aren’t as blinged out. Add some gold or orange in your baits to do the same.
“In those tannin-stained backwater creeks the baitfish will have a little gold shine to them,” Bryan Watts said. “The Aurora Gold Mud Minnow is a good choice for topwaters or jerkbaits, or really anything with some gold or chartreuse. When you’re in dirty water, those colors give off some flair and the fish can see it.”
Watts and his brother, Greg, have fished all over Florida and other states around the Gulf of Mexico. They’ve tried different lures in different places, but their ideas hold up. Gold or chartreuse hold up. Sometimes they get thrown a curve ball, though.
“There’s a lake in Winter Haven where we fish and the water is clear enough to see 12 to 14 feet deep,” Brian said. “We use the Aurora Gold Golden Shiner, which is gold-clear with a little gold back. But that doesn’t shine too much and they eat it better.
“It’s a big trial-and-error thing. If light doesn’t work, I go to a darker color. I flip-flop immediately from light to dark. Like at Okeechobee, if cloud cover comes over you better put on something dark like junebug. In the tannic waters if the water’s darker, I’m going to go with gold or chartreuse.”
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