A stud largemouth that couldn’t resist a green-pumpkin colored soft-plastic. (David Brown/)
There are only a handful of certainties in bass fishing. For example: When you ask someone if they can throw a baitcaster and hear: “You mean the one with the button?” That’s a hard “no.”
Equally bankable is the likelihood that if I fail to retie my obviously frayed fluorocarbon after that close encounter with a dock post, my next bite will be my nearly personal best, and I will watch that fish swim away when my line —and heart—breaks.
Granted, there is some degree of case-by-case variance here, but here’s a rock-solid statement that needs no setup: I can take a green pumpkin-colored (GP), soft-plastic bait and catch black bass anywhere they exist. That could be largemouth bass (Florida-strain or northerns), smallmouth, or spotted bass. But if you had to choose only one color for the remainder of your life, this greenish/brown design with the black specks is a safe bet.
Now, if you’ve already started writing the email, take a break and consider this important framing statement: We are not saying that green pumpkin baits are the best choice for every situation; nor are we saying other colors won’t work in scenarios in which GP also produces.
Nevertheless, green pumpkin is the most universally versatile color for soft-plastic baits, and there are a few compelling points to substantiate this premise.