Even though lures come in every imaginable color today, savvy anglers prefer coloring their own masterpieces because they know their artwork gives them an advantage over competitors.
You can also gain an advantage over other anglers by adding a dash of color to your favorite lures for a new look bass find appealing to the eye.

Innovations in marking pens and dip dyes can turn even novices into lure-coloring Picassos. A wide range of color combinations are available so any angler can become adept at marking or dipping soft plastic baits.

Dipping plastic worms in dye makes it easier for you to cut down on your color choices. You can buy four or five different color worms and then with those worms you can dye any color tail you want on the bait.

Choosing the dye color for dipping the tail of your plastic worm or swimbait depends on the water clarity you will be fishing. In murky water, dip the worm in orange, chartreuse or another bright fluorescent color to give the lure a bright tail. You can also dip the worm in lighter shades of red or chartreuse in clear water so bass can see the tail easier. You can also touch up your lures for clear water with more subtle colors such as watermelon, amber, black and blue or even tiny dashes of chartreuse and orange.

Fishing pressure has made bass more conditioned to certain lures and color patterns so changing hues on various parts of a lure can give you an edge. This type of lure coloring requires finer detailing, so you will need a marker pen such as a Sharpie or Spike-It Scent Marker for touching up your lures. The pen allows you to color just the pincer tips of plastic craws or tiny legs of plastic lizards.

When sight fishing with tube baits, you can add a dash of color to trigger a strike. If you get a bass you can see but it won’t hit, then put a stripe down the side of the tube, color the tip of the tail or draw eyes on it with the marker pen. A clear silver-flake or smoke silver-flake tube is ideal for drawing eyes, gills and black or blue stripes on the lure.

Your lure coloring probably won’t impress any art critics, but your work will present a new look that appeals to even the most finicky bass.