Bone Lures for Spring Bass

Bone is an iconic color for a few styles of fishing lure. In fact, some anglers consider it the “only” color for specific lures, which are most commonly topwater plugs. To a large degree, though, the virtues of Bone have been underappreciated and underutilized. That is changing, but more on that to follow.

Let’s take a closer look at the color Bone, considering why it is so effective and looking at some important spring bass fishing applications.

The key virtues of Bone can be summed up with two terms: “matching forage” and “enhancing visibility.” Most baitfish species flash whitish tones as the sun hits them from different angles, and Bone offers the same appearance. However, unlike many ultra-natural “shad colors,” which are subtle and sometimes translucent, Bone serves up superior visibility in a broad range of water colors, even in low-light conditions.

Bone excels in a wide range of situations, but it’s especially effective when bass are relating heavily to shad or herring. The high-vis shad-like color flashes from Bone baits call fish close and trigger strikes. It also excels under dark skies, in stained water and around vegetation and other cover that limits visibility for bass.

One of the most important spring applications, which is just around the corner in Southern waters, is the shad spawn. Bone is extra important during the shad spawn, which immediately follows the bass spawn, both because the fish are feasting on the shad buffet and because the best action occurs right at daybreak, when visibility is low.

Long before the shad spawn occurs, early spring warm snaps draw shad and bass onto flats. Whether the shad move to the warmth and bass follow to feed or both gravitate to the warmer water, the result is the same: bass relating heavily to shad. Sometimes the warmest and most productive flats have stained water from spring rains, making subtle baitfish colors harder to see and maximizing the benefits of Bone.

In truth, shad and herring movements largely influence the movements and feeding behavior of bass throughout the spring and beyond. The adage, “find the bait; find the fish” remains oft said for good reason.

The new Bone Series, which includes several key baits from both YUM & BOOYAH, vastly broadens the lure availability and applications of Bone for anglers. For whatever reason (or maybe no good reason), Bone has been mostly limited to hard baits – especially topwater lures but also including some crankbaits and other subsurface lures. The Bone Series brings all the virtues of Bone to spinnerbaits, jigs, trailers and select other soft plastic lures.

• BOOYAH Covert Series Spinnerbait – Available in Tandem and Double Colorado configurations and two sizes, Covert Series Spinnerbaits combine the virtues of Bone with the flash and vibration of a spinnerbait and open countless applications during spring and beyond.
• BOOYAH Covert Finesse Spinnerbait – The Covert Finesse Spinnerbait has a down-sized frame for coaxing strikes from heavily pressured fish and providing an edge in other tough conditions.
• YUM Covert Spinnerbait Trailer – This brand-new trailer, which was designed by Jason Christie to pair with his Covert Spinnerbaits, is available in Bone right out of the gate!
• BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig – Designed to cut through vegetation and shimmy irresistibly, the Mobster Swim Jig works wonderfully for covering shallow water quickly and finding feeding fish.
• YUM Pulse – A slender baitfish profile and subtle roll as it swims help set apart the Pulse, whether fished on its owns or as a trailer on a Bone Covert Spinnerbait or Mobster Swim Jig.
• YUM Craw Chunk – Many anglers’ most-favored Mobster Swim Jig trailer, which adds movement and bulk, is now available in Bone!
• YUM Hammer Craw – The Hammer Craw has very quick claw action that makes it an outstanding option as a trailer or fished on its own on a Texas rig or jighead.
• YUM FF Sonar – Jason Christie’s Classic-winning lure is available in Bone in all three sizes, opening many possibilities for this subtle-action minnow bait.
• YUM Swim’N Dinger – Heavily salted to sink and equipped with a big paddle tail for an exaggerated swimming action, the Bone Swim’N Dinger comes in 4- and 5-inch sizes.
• YUM Thump’N Dinger – The hard U-shaped tail on the Thump’N Dinger creates frantic action and a hard thump – constantly, when swam, or on the rise and fall when hopped along the bottom.

Although we’ve focused on black bass because they are the target species of most anglers using the baits that are part of the new Bone Series, the same baitfish-imitating virtue and high visibility that make Bone an excellent bass color also make it a fabulous choice for other predator species, including striped bass, walleye, pike, redfish, bluefish and speckled trout.

In fact, Bone ranks among the most popular colors for topwater lures that are used in the saltwater and for striped bass, whether in rivers and lakes or in coastal waters.

Among lures that are part of the new Bone Series, the YUM Pulse and FF Sonar Minnow are already popular and effective lures for the predator species mentioned above, and redfish anglers who are willing to pick up “bass lures” know that spinnerbaits and swim jigs absolutely have their place in the marsh.

• Heddon Spook – If you want to know how important a color Bone is for anglers who walk the dog with Heddon Spooks, just look at the color charts for different models. Of 15 different Spook models, 14 come in Bone, and a handful come in basic Bone and a couple of Bone variations!
• Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow – The Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow, which walks, glides and skips across the surface like a fleeing baitfish and is most popular for saltwater gamefish along the Atlantic Coast, comes in a great range of colors. That said, Bone is top selling Jumpin’ Minnow color year after year.
• Bomber 15A Long A – The Bomber 15A gets used a variety of ways, and different colors excel for different applications. Many bass anglers consider it the ultimate finesse wake bait, and Bone is undisputed top color for waking a Long A, which is extra popular during spring, just before bass begin fully committing to more aggressive topwater lures.
• Bandit 200 – Technically, the Bandit crankbait color, which is also popular in the Bandit Series 100, isn’t straight Bone. It’s Bone/Orange Belly, but the orange is just a splash on the underside. This color dropped out of the catalog for a while but was brought back by popular demand several years ago and is a favorite of many crankbait fishermen.