Slam Shady vs Gold Digger: Which One Really Catches More Fish???
- By: Pat Ogletree
- on
- Found In: Artifical Lure Tips, Soft Plastic Paddletails
Curious about which lure color truly reigns supreme—light or dark? The debate among fishermen is fierce, but who’s actually hitting the mark?
Over several weeks, I pitted the Mulligan in Slam Shady against the Gold Digger in a battle for redfish and tarpon across varying conditions.
Yet, the outcome was far from straightforward. The winning color shifted with water conditions and target species. And here’s the kicker: without both colors in my arsenal, there were days when a skunked trip was almost inevitable.
Dive into the results to see which lure color truly makes the difference and when you should use each one.
Slam Shady vs Gold Digger Video
The experiment setup was simple—switch colors every 5 casts. From there, it’s all about the number of redfish each color caught and how many tarpon they hooked. Since tarpon are so good at throwing the hook, it didn’t seem fair to only count the ones I landed.
Stock up on Mulligans so you always have the right color for the conditions you’re fishing.
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Keys to Success
- Fish tend to take on color characteristics of the water they live in, and that includes baitfish in the area.
- In areas where the water is typically clean and clear, fish the lighter Slam Shady color to match the hatch.
- In areas where the water is stained or muddy, the darker Gold Digger is the better bet.
We Want to Hear from You!
How do you choose which color lure you use? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to drop any additional questions you have there as well!
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My experience i Jacksonville’s dirty water confirms your conclusions-Gold Digger and Alabama Lepracan catch more than slam shady.
I watched a YouTube video a few days ago, which included under water testing. In every scenario (aside from one) … the white lure was more visible than black lures, according to what the camera could pick up. This includes clear and dirty water, and sun shiny and overcasty days, white was more visable. However.. when the lure is floating on top of the water, and the camera was on bottom.. the black lures were far more visible. Just because a lure is more visible, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s more appealing to the fish. Short story long.. it’s always best to have light and dark color lures, depending on what the fish are in the mood for that particular day
Hi again Pat another great report. I’ve taken a break from active commenting. I’m still fishing Lower Laguna Arroyo City with my buddy Tony with Shallow Sport. We still have never caught a Slam. Few 5 times I’ve been maybe 2 reds 3 trout. He still fishes areas he’s familiar with & other locals suggest. He always catches 2 reds trout. He throw Chicken Boys on popper & I throw Slam Shady most of the time. I can’t complain being on his boat 6 hrs plus. I really think we stay too long in dead zones. I guess I just do some wading on my own. I have All Strong lures. Not giving up. Great job!
Slow down your speech. We are in the south and your information is awesome and professional but, your speech is annoying.
Great experiment Pat! And for any Insiders who watched this, make sure to check out the conclusion on the Insider version of this experiment because Pat lays out the main driver that was apparent in these tests that help us know when to use white vs. black… here’s a link to it: https://saltstrongdev.wpengine.com/fishing-tip/slam-shady-vs-gold-digger-mulligan-with-spot-analysis/
Well if you go by the old saying dark lures on dark days and light colored lures on bright days your pretty much in the good because that old saying wasn’t made for nothing who ever started that saying discovered it to be true at least for the most part now fishing in northeast fl where I live and fish because there is hardly a time when the water does become much clearer then it normally is being tannin stained about 80 percent of the year even though I have the slam shady color I rarely use it and the gold digger wins hands down at least for me it does what others use and works for them I can’t speak for only myself thanks for the info and all you do
I think for the most part the old adage is true but there are definitely times when it’s not and that’s when the fish key in on a different food source or in this case the water clarity changed over night but the food source did not.
I was fishing in North Carolina, their water is much like yours, and the gold digger color was working well for me for a few weeks. One day I did a color experiment after having a bad trip using the Gold Digger and Slam Shady. The Slam Shady flat out beat the Gold Digger by a lot! The reason is that there was a white shrimp run that happened at the full moon the days before and the fish were keyed in on lighter baits. I would venture to guess if I was there long term, the Gold Digger year over year would catch way more fish but there would be times a simple color change would turn a few bad trips into some really good ones.
It’s always good to mix things up when you’re having a bad day. You never know what might happen.
Thanks for watching and leaving your thoughts!
Thanks for the revealing comparison, Pat!
You are welcome James! Thanks for watching!