The Secret Power of Chartreuse

Happy Monday Spacefish!

What a wonderful weekend of weather we just had! After a cool-down in the temps, this weekend was one of those glorious times to be outside in Central Florida. It was bright & sunny, but not really hot. It was just a really nice time to be outdoors. Post-frontal conditions are not usually ideal for fishing, as barometric pressure is generally high, and bright sunshine, paired with bluebird skies, can make things difficult.

My goal for this weekend was to get some inshore fishing content, and not only did I get out & fish both days, I fished in two different places, and notched an inshore slam on both trips. We have a bye week in football and next weekend we will be gearing up for a home playoff game for round 1, so I may do one of these trips as a spot dissection report if I am pressed for time, and won’t be able to fish. Today, I am not going to break down any particular spot, I am going to talk about a color.

It’s a color that will mean nothing to someone who does not fish. I know this because I recently complimented a high school student on their new pair of “chartreuse” shoes. Their response was something like “Oh my God, you’re so weird. That’s not even a real color.” Well, joke’s on you, surly teenager, because it is in fact a real color, and it’s a color that could potentially help you on your next fishing trip, if you need a little extra juice! Because if you need some extra juice, then you need to find the chartreuse!

Origins of Chartreuse

Chartreuse is a bold yellow-green hue (think tennis ball color) named after a French liqueur first crafted by Carthusian monks in the 1600s. Falling between yellow and green on the color wheel, chartreuse blends the energy of yellow with the vibrancy of green. It ranges from bright lime or apple tones to softer pistachio or avocado shades. Its high visibility and punchy character make it a favorite accent in everything from fishing lures to fashion.

Sidenote…I have no idea what this liqueur would have tasted like, but I am not sure I would have wanted to drink some home-brewed concoction with that color. But then again, I used to drink a lot of Mountain Dew, so really…who am I to judge?

Purpose, Spots & Times

What I really wanted to test was can Chartreuse accents in a presentation could help to generate more bites. So for both trips, I launched just after Noon on one trip, and just before Noon on the other. I fished through the middle part of the day, and was off the water before it got to be that low-light period. Now I do think that adding Chartruese to lowlight fishing conditions would be helpful, but I didn’t want to throw any topwater.

I mainly wanted to experiment with fishing in dirty water on a bright sunny day. I wanted to choose natural-type color baits with Chartruese accents to see if this helped to generate more action. I also wanted to fish two different inshore bodies of water to see if this changes anything.

After all of the rain that we have experienced lately, the waters in the lagoon system have become pretty dirty. We’re talking chocolate milk color. Which is a shame, because earlier this year, the water was pretty clean in some spots, and grass was growing back. But, I digress. I fished one day in the Thousand Islands area, and the other I fished in the Grant-Valkaria area. Ramp Road Park is currently closed, but I launched from the kayak launch behind the golf course, close to Cocoa Beach High; for the other trip, I launched from Fisherman’s Landing in Grant.

Despite the tough conditions, both trips were a success. I caught an inshore slam both days, and also caught a few Mangrove Snapper, Jack Crevalle & Ladyfish as well. I caught more Trout than Snook in the Banana River around the Thousand Islands, and caught more Snook than Trout in the Indian River around the Mullet Creek Islands, but I caught 2 Redfish each at both places.

Why Does Chartreuse Work?

Chartreuse is one of the most effective colors in inshore fishing thanks to its high visibility and strike-triggering appeal. Its bright, unnatural tone cuts through murky or deep water, staying visible where other colors fade. On cloudy or rainy days, chartreuse stands out in low light – helping both fish and anglers see the lure. The color’s aggressive pop can trigger reaction strikes even when fish aren’t feeding, making it a proven confidence color for Snook, Redfish, and Trout. From topwater plugs to soft plastics, a touch of chartreuse – especially on a tail or at the head of a bait – adds just enough flash to draw attention and seal the deal.

Chartreuse shines brightest in clear or shallow water, where its vivid yellow-green tone pops with high visibility and contrast – especially when paired with white. But as depth or turbidity increases, the color fades fast, shifting toward a muted green-brown or even dark gray. Because water absorbs yellow-green light wavelengths early, chartreuse loses intensity in deeper or dirtier water. Still, its brightness makes it effective in low light or stained conditions, and UV-reactive versions can stay visible to fish even after the color disappears to the human eye.

Presentation #1 – DOA CAL Shad (Figi Chix) & Chartreuse Jig

So right off the bat, let me say, I have been using this Figi Chix color on and off for a while now. For those of us who have fished regularly for years, we all go through phases with baits. Back in 2020-21, I was on a big Figi Chix kick, but I used to fish it either weedless on a screw-lock hook, or on a Grey/Black/Red DOA CAL jig – I used to think too much Chartreuse was a bad thing. I actually caught a pretty nice Tarpon on the weedless version in the summer of 2021 in the Thousand Islands area on a hot summer afternoon.

One thing I really like about this bait color is that it is pretty natural; a lot of fish have a darker colored back and a lighter belly. So you add a natural coloration, with a chartreuse tail to give it an extra kick, and it’s a good inshore color to throw around.

For this weekend. I used a ⅛ DOA CAL Chartreuse jig for both paddletails, and I caught the most fish with this setup. I caught a bunch of Trout, 2 Reds, and a small Snook in the Banana River. The next day, I caught another Red and a few Snook on it while fishing around the Mullet Creek Islands.

I mixed up the retrieval speeds, I bounced it off the bottom, I dragged it slowly along the bottom, I retrieved it back with a steady, slow-rolling speed, and did the slow-roll with pauses and twitches as well.

All styles worked to generate bites. The Trout respond well to steady retrieves and pauses; they hammer it on the drop. The Snook tend to bite after well-placed casts in the mangroves, and a slow, bottom-oriented retrieval out of the target zone. The Redfish on paddle tails all came from bottom bouncing relatively close to the mangroves.

Presentation #2 – DOA CAL Shad (Mullet) & Chartreuse Jig

This section could be a little redundant, but to save time, let me say I used the same jig and used the same retrieval speeds & styles. I caught Trout, Ladyfish, and Snook with this bait. This one caught more overall fish in the Indian River trip, but I think with calmer water, the more natural, mullet pattern may have been better. I also spent more time targeting Snook in the shadowy pockets of the Mangroves, so maybe the darker profile led to more Snook in these areas. Regardless, both paddletails were pretty tit for tat being fished on the Chartreuse Jig.

Presentation #3 – Vudu Shrimp (Bayou Brew)

I saw this color on Friday, and immediately thought that it was brilliant. It’s called Bayou Brew, and it is a pretty natural looking, translucent Shrimp body, but it’s got Orange in the head & tail, it’s got some Gold flake, and then it has Chartreuse lines on it’s back, and Chartreuse eyes. I’ve always had good success with New Penny type Shrimp lures, that orangey type color does a great job of mimicking the Mangrove Tree Crabs that these fish that hug the mangroves are likely to eat a decent amount of. But it also has the natural Shrimp color with just enough Gold & Chartreuse to add some pop, and generate more attention.

The Vudu Shrimp is a really good lure. Technically, it lost to DOA in my first installment of the Inshore Shrimp Wars – (https://spacefish.com/byte/shrimp-wars/), but in the dirtier water, I like the Vudu, and it also offers a tough, durable body that holds up well when you’re making cast after cast in the mangroves, and catching a decent amount of fish.

The Bayou Brew Vudu performed well, especially on day 2. It generated bites from Snook, Redfish, Trout, Mangrove Snapper, and Ladyfish.

Final Analysis

I fished the Shrimp lure more in the Mullet Creek area, mostly due to the lack of wind and the stillness of the water. I got more windy conditions on the Banana River and opted for the paddletails due to the desire to create more vibration. I also noticed that the paddletail with a Chartreuse tail, paired with the Chartreuse jig, produced better in the choppier water, and the Mullet color paddletail with the Chartreuse jig produced better in the calmer conditions than the one with the Chartreuse tail.

But ultimately, this “test” is extremely flimsy and based on a very limited sample size, and if I brought this up to our esteemed Chemistry teacher, Dr. Murmer, he would immediately criticize the lack of a control group to test against, so please take this all with a grain of salt. Sometimes the most effective lures are those that we throw around with the most confidence. We cast our baits and retrieve them better when we believe they are going to work. I don’t know if there is any fishing equivalent to a placebo, but if opting for a Chartreuse jig instead of a Red, or Grey gives you more confidence & belief that more bites will occur, then go for it!

Also, I do want to make sure it’s known that I was constantly and consistently slathering my baits up with copious amounts of Pro-Cure. Shrimp for the Shrimp, and the Mogan Series Inshore Saltwater for the DOA Paddletails, because even though I am 35, I still want to be Blair Wiggins when I grow up. Also, I may or may not have been Blair Wiggins for Halloween.

We are all looking for the next tweak, or adjustment or little thing to buy to add to our fishing success, and much like a Chartreuse tail or jig that can generate a little extra confidence. Maybe a new paddle, or a new Fish Skinz shirt, or a new accessory for your kayak will give you more confidence. It can’t hurt to go shop for a new gadget/gizmo/accessory. As the holiday season approaches, make sure to swing into Kayaks By Bo in Cocoa and see what they have to offer.

Thanks for taking the time to read this report. I hope you have an awesome week. Stay safe, be happy, enjoy the fall weather in Florida, and go rip some lips this week! Until next time!