After reading Rob's Rant about Red Everything, I got to thinking what would be the best color for hooks. I've thought about this before and have a few ideas which tend to be situation specific. I'd like to know what you like and why.
Please give your general preference in the pole and then post with any specific situations when you wouldn't go with the general answer.
By example, In general I like Silver hooks because I think they kind of blend into the bellies of most baitfish imitating lures. There are 2 specific situations where I've considered that different colored hooks might be good. 1 would be Bronze or Black on Craw imitating baits which tend to be darker in over all color. The other would be peach colored hooks on Trout imitating plugs to imitate pectoral and pelvic fins tinged pinkish peach.

Poll question: What color hooks?

Poll result (7 votes) Red (0 votes) Vote White (1 votes) Vote Black (4 votes) Vote Gold (0 votes) Vote Silver (1 votes) Vote Other (1 votes) Vote

I picked "black" but that's not exactly correct as I use GY's Sugoi hooks for my soft-plastics and I'd think they were closer to bronze as they are made by Gamakatsu.

Dan

In a perfect world, I'd like to have light matte grey, light matte olive, matte white, and probably some bronze and silver.

maybe a little white spray paint will do the trick? I've been pondering this for a while but I'm just to damn lazy to pull all my hooks off and give 'em a fresh coat of runs

I am not sure what gets bit more. I just have confidence in black. And as we all know: confidence = fish.

Damm Wade!

So many hooks so little time I guess?

Almost like I can't choose just one color for overall purpose.

Like Rob said one color here one color there?

Kind of wish we can color the hooks of the fly.

Although Red has been the fad of colors lately.

I'm going with black cause of its able to see its properties.

I'd rather have a fish see something than not see anything.??

Like seeing a bait fish with an underside white belly?
I think only to hope to avoid under a sky light back grown being seen easily??
Maybe a more of dark color bait is more likely to be targeted then light color bait?

I doubt knowing in hope some one can help in this theory?

Rob,
Eagle Claw accualy made some matte grey hooks for a while I think they were called feater light's, I would like it if Owner started to make some more styles of hooks and slash there prices to about half of what they are now. Does anyone else think owners are probably the best just over priced?

Hey Guy's,
This got me looking through my hooks I have been doing this for a couple years now for flukes I really like the added action and attraction it provides when fished fast I have also used it on senkos and cought fish. I think this is a bit cooler than a colored hook for a fluke because it hides the hook all together. I have used bucktails and marabou it all turns out nice. let me know what you think.

Taylor

http://www.calfishing.com/dc/user_files/3175.jpg

I do the same bucktail (white with mylar) treatment on my saltwater hooks, and I think it is effective. The bucktail also holds scent well. The paste scents (e.g., Smelly Jelly) last longer, but they tend to mat the bucktail so there is less fluttering than one would want. The liquid scents do not last as long, but they do not mat the bucktail. Mike's Herring is a good liquid scent in the salt. (My son also does well with Mike's Herring in freshwater, which I find surprising because herring are not found there.)
Bob

My 2 cents...

There's two things to consider...

1. Does the hook color blend in with the lure?
2. Does the hook color blend in with the natural surroundings?

Consider the MS Slammer light trout. It has a white belly, so you might think white hooks would work. But the hooks hang down away from the bait, and if they were white you'd see big white things hanging off the lure, which wouldn't look natural. In this case the matte bronze hooks like gammie trebles look better since they fade into the background making it look like there's no hooks at all.

Baits like the Huddleston are more tricky. Most people rig a huddleston with two treble hooks stuck into the belly of the bait. With the hooks flat against the belly, they would blend in well if they are painted white. However looking at the bait from the right angle you still see white spears coming off the bait, which doesn't look so great.

Another option with the huddleston is black hooks. Black stands out less than painted white when sticking out away from the lure. But since the huddleston also has black tinged fins and black dots on the belly the black hooks will also not look out of place against the bait.

So basically if the hook is protruding from the lure I want it to be as invisible as possible... light wire and dull finish. If the hook is streamlined against the body of the lure then I want it to match the color of the lure. And even better if you can get both at the same time.

You guys are really over thinking this. As much as we would like to think, fish simply are not capable of thought or reason. They have no idea of what a hook or lure is, or if looks natural, or if it's the right color. A fishes reaction to a lure is simply instinctual. If a fish is hungry and a lure acts alive and reacts in a certain way, under certain conditions, the fish will take it, regardless of shape or color. It's absurd to think a fish will take or refuse a lure by it's color or shape. How many real live, chartruese colored shad or live grape sparkle, neon striped, fluorescence pink tailed colored nightcrawlers does a fish see in it's lifetime. Not many, I think. Does the hungry fish think, as the grape sparkle, neon striped, fluorescence pink tailed worm swims by. "No! I think I will wait for the natural looking one to come by".

I think that any color hook works well in almost any situation, it's nice to have a red hook on drop shot just to have the added confidence that you can catch 1 extra cull fish in a tourney on a tough day, but black in reality, works just as well. But to say that that fish will eat any hook or bait all day every day is almost unrealistic. If a young 1/2 bass chases down a bluegill and trys to eat it and gets stung by stines on its back then naturally that 1/2 bass would most like shy away from bluegill for a long time, or if a bass goes to eat a crawdad and gets pinched on its nose, it will most likely shy away from a crawdad for a little while. Personally i think that it is same thing with as senko on a red hook and the bass eats that senko and immediatly gets nailed and is pulled 30 feet out of water, its gonna have the reation next time that, that red hook on that senko thing causes pain. Bass are probably smarter than a scientist or a regular fisherman would think.