When to fish on the surface for bass and what lure colours work best in different conditions.

Over the last two years we have kept records of all the bass we have caught and what the condition and lure type we caught them in. We wanted to share this with you as this might help you with your surface lure fishing. Generally we only fish on the surface for bass when the wind is low and the water clarity is pretty clear but you can catch bass off the surface when its not too windy and the water is cloudy but you may need to use something that stands out with a loud noise or digs in to temp the bass from below. 
There are three weather conditions we want to cover, and they are bright sunshine with blue skies, Overcast conditions with cloudy skies and Dull, Misty conditions including Dawn and Dusk. 
Bright Sunshine is what we all love to fish in during the summer, the sun cream is on, the shorts are out, and sunglasses are at the ready. When you are fishing in bright sunshine its hard to catch a bass unless its literally boiling up in front of you with bait fish bubbling and birds diving. To temp out a bass in these conditions you need to use something subtle that doesn't stand out too much. Something transparent or see through has worked best for us. Below are a few examples of what we are talking about on our website:

When the conditions are overcast and there are clouds in the sky this is what we have all been told are great conditions. We have found that to get their attention when it is overcast you need to use something flashy that gives a bass a glimpse of where the lure is. A flash is enough to tempt a bass when the conditions are somewhat darker than normal for the predator. Types like the picture below are what we find works best with that flash in them. 

During Dull, misty conditions or even Dusk and Dawn you may need to use solid colours that fully stand out especially when its much darker conditions in the sky. We think that solid colours like a white really stand out and temp a bass from below to attach surface lures. The picture below are some examples: