Most of us have heard the “match the hatch” theory, well it sure does matter BUT not in all cases. Over the years I have realised that fishing is far beyond what we thing it is and I say this because yes there are lots of opinions from pros to the guy at bass pro helping you pick some baits, BUT in the end they are all just opinions.
The true test is trying stuff on the water, this does not mean that match the hatch is not an important thing, just means this does not need to be done all the time. What I mean by this is if you have never seen a brown species of a frog or toad on the water you fish, that is it will not work there is always a chance that something different will result in a strike.
What I am saying is that you should try baits that match the species of bait fish on that lake, example: you see lots of small fry perch well try some perch pattern baits. What I have found from my many hours on the water over the last several years is always try stuff !
The bright baits on sunny days and natural darker baits on overcast days is something that I know applies at times but I have also had the reverse produce evern more fish for me ! Overcast days using a chartreuse spinner bait has produced some crazy fish filled days for me, then on the flip side using natural colours on very bright days resulted in the same thing happening.
What I am basically saying is there are lots of opinions/theories you can read about or google and yes you should try them, BUT also try reversing some of these theories and see what happens !
I think we can be extremely arrogant if we thing we have found everything out about what causes fish to strike, in the end it is mainly out of reactionary instinct strikes, territorial and feeding that drive fish.