Clear. You can see well down into the water. Fish get a long, careful look, so they can be picky. Lean on natural, true-to-life colors.
Light stain. A slight green or tea tint, still mostly see-through. Naturals still shine, and you can start adding a little contrast.
Stained. Noticeably colored, with visibility down to a foot or less. Fish read the profile more than fine detail, so darker colors and a bright accent start to win.
Muddy. Chocolate-milk dirty, usually after rain or wind. Fish can barely see and hunt by feel, so go dark for a bold silhouette or bright/glow to get found, and add sound or scent.

Light & weather the columns

Bright sun. High, clear sky with lots of light in the water. Fish see everything, so give them realistic naturals that hold up to a close look.
Partly cloudy. Sun and clouds trading off. A little less light and a little less caution, still a naturals game with room to go bolder.
Overcast. Flat, gray light with less glare and less penetration. Fish roam and feed but see less detail, so more opaque colors that show a clean outline do better.
Night / low light. Dawn, dusk, or full dark. Almost no light, so fish key on silhouette and vibration. Dark solids for a bold outline, or bright and glow colors around dock lights.

Color families the cell color

Natural / Translucent: Imitates. The goal of natural and translucent baits is to look like real food. These colors mimic the look of actual baitfish, worms, and other forage, so a fish that can see the bait thinks it's the real thing and decides it's edible. This is why it's the go-to color family in clearer water and calmer light, where fish get a good look.
Dark Silhouette: Outlines. The function of a dark bait is to give a bold, opaque profile a fish can pick out against the brighter surface above it, or in the murky view around it, when the water's dirty or the light's low. A dark silhouette isn't trying to be the spitting image of any particular animal. The goal is to be findable.
Bright / Glow: Attracts. Chartreuse and baits infused with glow aim to be seen when nothing else can be. It's pure high-visibility, enough to tempt a hungry or curious fish, or trigger a reaction strike, when the water's too dirty or dark for anything subtle to work.

Weather & tide beyond the chart

The chart above sets your color by water and light. These are the weather wild cards: they shift how the fish are biting and where they're likely positioned, not necessarily which color or style bait you use. Use this chart in addition to the Sweets Sixteen charts to maximize your catches.

Tide and moving water. This is the big one inshore. Fish feed hard on a moving tide and mostly shut off on slack water, so fish the incoming or outgoing, not the turn. Work points, cuts, passes, grass edges, and the surf trough, anywhere the current funnels bait to waiting fish.
Before a storm. As a front moves in and the pressure drops, fish often feed hard ahead of it. Fish faster and cover water right up until the weather hits, then expect it to slow once the front passes.
After a cold front. Fish slide into deep holes, channels, and canals where the temperature holds steadier. Dark mud bottoms soak up the sun, so the midday warm-up over mud is prime. Cold-sensitive species like snook feel it hardest and tuck far back into warm creeks and canals. Work it slow and low.
Rain and runoff. Heavy freshwater dirties the water and drops the salinity. Salt-lovers like trout tend to back off, while freshwater-tolerant fish like reds and snook often turn on. Look for bait stacking where fresh meets salt, and around runoff like spillways, culverts, and creek mouths.
Dog-day heat. Through the bright hours fish pull to deeper channels and passes, or into the shade under docks and mangroves. Your best bite is dawn, dusk, after dark, or any time a strong tide is running.
Wind. A little wind positions bait and gives you cover, and an onshore wind stirs the surf and stacks bait along the beach. Too much blows the flats out and muddies the water, so fish the protected lee shoreline, or wait for it to clean up as the wind lays down after a front.