Jigs

How critical is jig color? Is a painted jig more effective? Does the thread color used to tie on the hair make a difference? Any input would be appreciated…
Tight lines

Lost one, read the posts from the guys working the Red Wing area and notice how often various colors of rubber works. Yes, color does make a difference. The real good sticks have color patterns pretty well worked out. Dark colors dark days light colors bright days water clarity has something to do with it also. I tie alot of 2 and 3 tone color hair jigs to try to cover more of color range. I mix colors like red white, black white, black orange, orange white, color mixes like that. I think in the river the sky is the limit on color combos. Hope this bit of info helps.

Gunde-Z71

This is not exactly a jig color response, but color can be extremely important on some days. I just had an experience using 3-way rigs where I used a glow white hook with 3 red beads in front, and my partner had the exact same setup only with chartruese beads. I was getting 3 fish to his one. When he switched to red, bite rate was about the same for he and I. This was in water with less than 6″ of visability at the surface, fishing 20′ down. Other days it does not seem to matter what color is out there, the fish will eat it. In my experience, on tough bite days the more natural colors will out produce bright colors. Murky water I usually go with brighter colors. The sky is the limit though, but a good tip is to watch what other guys who are catching fish are using, and try it for yourself! Good luck,
John