Lure colour makes a good subject of conversation. I'm not sure of all the theories etc, but have noticed that some colours can be more effective than others.

The fish out here do not appear to be fixated on one colour, or one sized bait. And readily take lures of different sizes, shapes and colours.

I get a bit particular about my skirted lures, and probably pay more attention than is absolutely required. Its hard to talk about the colour, without mentioning the lure action and positioning.

Darker coloured lures, usually blacks, purples and dark blues, work best within the wash area. The closer to the boat you want to run them, the darker the colour should be. Match this colour to the shorter head, more aggressive action lures, and plan to run close within the wash.

Lighter colours, usually greens, lighter blues and fluro colours, work best wide and to the edges of the wash. Match this colour with the longer, less tapered head shapes, and plan to run at the edges of the wash.

If you plan to troll from a dory, you will probably only troll two lures at one time. So you need one to run close, probably the bigger, darker one. And one to run a bit further back, probably the smaller, lighter one.

In the case of the Laser Pro, below are the colours I have used with most success.

• H50 - Pilchard
• H69 - Bonito
• H52 - Fluro Green
• H58 - Mackerel
• H54 - Fluro Red

I primarily use Pilchard, Green and Red, plus the Bonito and Mackerel depending on the day.

It’s hard to say which of the colours is best, and they all produce fish. Pretty much I keep using the same one until it stops working. They take a bit of damage from the fish, and then it’s on to the next one. This is whatever color is in the lure wrap, or close to hand.

The hardest thing is deciding on which to run first! If I could only have one Laser Pro I would pick the Green, Pilchard and Fluro Red.

Running tremblers and other bibless in these colors is also effective. Of course, there is always the white with a red head. Seen that go down a few fishy throats, in Laser Pro and bibless.

One use of lure colour is to make your lure look more like what the predators are eating. So if the bait is mostly blue coloured, you might tend towards blue lures.

An area with varied sources of food gives you more scope for colour. The hardest conditions to fish for pelagics is when there is a single food source, if you don't look like it, they are not interested.

The predators out on these reefs have a fine selection of food available. They can prey on anything from small flying fish, mackerel, up to decent sized Tuna. These fish are predominately blue and silver. But often have a darker purplish blue, or a more greenie cast. So colours that imitate these surface bait fish are always worth a go.

Another source of food is small reef fish. They are often sucked out of the reef and forced to the surface by an up welling. The colours are generally pink and red, as these provide camouflage in deep water, but are highly visible near the surface. Pink and red lures are always worth a go.

The predators may be aware that this kind of bait is only available at the surface occasionally and for a short time. This may make them more willing to strike at it, given that the opportunity does not come along too often.

A lot of lures have a mirror or shiny finish. This can make light reflect off the lure, like from the sides of a fish. These lures are very effective, especially in bright sunlight. The conditions make best use of the flash.

Ever looked closely at a school of bait in the water, even if just on TV? The fish are shiny and the light does flash off them. But you will notice this is only when they are agitated, especially when disturbed. When they are happy and just milling about, you do not see as much flash.

Perhaps the flashiness of these lures helps to convince the predator that its an agitated bait fish?