As anglers it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the color of our crankbaits as we constantly search for the “hot color” or “secret bait.” The question is, does color actually matter when it comes to trolling crankbaits for walleye? In this mini study, we put blue and purple against each other on a mid-summer day on Lake Sharpe near Pierre.
Water and Weather Conditions and Information
This mini study took place trolling crankbaits in the back of the stilling basin on Lake Sharpe, a Missouri River reservoir, near Pierre. Lake Sharpe is a walleye factory, with numerous fish between 12-17 inches present in the system, with the walleye production fueled by gizzard shad as a primary prey base.
The study took place July 27, 2025, fishing in extremely calm and relatively clear conditions. The water was extremely clear, minimal cloud cover resulted in abundant sunshine, and very little wind provided for overall calm conditions with little to no wave action. The study began at sunrise and occurred from 6:30-10:15 a.m. as the sun continued to rise throughout the day.
Crankbait Details
The two crankbaits at the core of this mini study was the Rapala Shad Rap, size #5 and #7, in the “Blue” and “Purpledescent” color patterns. These are balsa style baits, which also match the shad profile the primary forage for the fishery.
Tackle Profile: Rapala Shad Rap
The #7 Shad Rap was fished below an Off-Shore Planar Board, with 90 feet of leadcore line out below the planar board, then an additional 40 feet from the boat. The #5 Shad Rap was fished directly off the back of the boat with 150 feet of leadcore line out. Both baits had approximately a 12 foot 12 pound monofilament leader connected to the leadcore main line with a Spro Power Swivel.
Mini Study Details
To maintain a static controlled environment, the two colors were fished on alternating rotations between the #5 inside rod and #7 planar board rod. There were seven individual periods among these rotations, then a final period that featured both baits with #5 inside rods deployed directly off the back.
To minimize specific bait bias, multiples of the same bait were alternated throughout these periods to ensure the individual tune of each crankbait did not present any unintended bias. Fish had to enter the boat to be considered a catch, and bites and missed fish were not quantified as it would be impossible to determine species due to the amount of bycatch present in the area.
Speed was maintained as a constant throughout the entire study period, and location was randomized with a grid pattern in the back of the stilling basin across 22-27 feet of water. Specific routes and patterns were not utilized to maintain a randomized sampling location and avoid timing and location bias.
Two rods were utilized throughout the seven part period, with baits alternated between these to maintain consistent conditions between rod, leader, and other specific presentation components. A third rod, identical to the other inside rod, was deployed for the head-to-head final component. To maintain consistency, knots, leader length, leader material, and depths were mirrored as closely as possible throughout this period.
Results
Overall, Purpledescent caught nine total fish while Blue caught four total fish. Individual catch results by sampling period include:
Sample Period One: 6:30 a.m. to 6:55 a.m. One walleye, #5 Purpledescent.
Sample Period Two: 6:55 a.m. to 7:20 a.m. Two walleye, #7 Purpledescent. One walleye, #5 Blue.
Sample Period Three: 7:25 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. No fish caught.
Sample Period Four: 7:45 a.m. to 8:05 a.m. Two walleye, #7 Purpledescent.
Sample Period Five: 8:05 a.m. to 8:35 a.m. Two walleye, #5 Purpledescent.
Sample Period Six: 8:50 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. Three walleye, #5 Blue.
Sample Period (Head to Head): 9:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Two walleye, #5 Purpledescent.
Analysis
It can be safely assumed that color did indeed play a role in this particular bite. As a whole, Purpledescent doubled the total number of fish caught by Blue.
Diving deeper into this data, when changes were made between the inside rod and board rod, no fish were caught when the #7 Blue was on the planar board. By contrast, multiple fish were caught when the #7 Purpledescent was fishing on the planar board.
Additionally, when these baits were fished head to head Purpledescent produced two fish, while Blue did not produce any fish. This was as the bite was slowing down, and fish did not seem to be aggressively feeding.
Also notably, three fish on Blue came in a very short period, which could be assumed that as the bite was transitioning from a planar board bite to an inside rod bite there may have been bias for where the bait was particularly positioned and thus the quick three catches that occurred.
Final Thought
While color did matter in presentation, the greatest factor was the depth of the bait. There were defined periods that fish were biting shallower, on the planar board rod, and favoring the #7 Shad Rap that was on this particular set up. There were also defined periods that fish were deeper, on the inside rod, and favoring the #5 Shad Rap that was on this particular set up.
Color is an important factor to consider, but it should only be considered once profile, size, and depth are already established within the presentation. Good fishing!
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