Boy... I guess for me the best advice I can give you as far as color goes is to say in clear water, stick with dark colors. A good rule of thumb is to try and match the color of the substrate to a certain extent. So if the bottom is mud, green pumpkin, etc. Also try and figure out what they are feeding on, whatever food predominates, and match that as best as you can. In muddy water black and blue, junebug, and red shad are all good colors. A splash of chartreuse on a bait goes a ling way with me, but just a tiny bit, don't overdo it.
Bait wise, I like Rat-L-Traps (Bill Lewis) in 1/2oz Chrome/blue or any red craw type pattern. Squarebills, Lucky Craft 1.5 or 2.5 in a neutral baitfish pattern or a citrus type pattern in muddy water. If it won't beat you up too bad $$$ wise, look into some homemade balsa cranks. They are expensive, but they can be amazingly effective.
A real good way to develop your skills FAST is to pick a presentation and fish it until it begins to be effective for you, and you feel confident you can catch fish with it, then quit using it and move on to another presentation. So for example, start with a jig, and get good at a jig, then move on to a crank, or whatever. In a few years you will have a deep bag of tricks. I have seen so many people just play pin the tail on the donkey, blindly hoping to stumble onto the magic bullet. Let me assure you, the magic bullet theory is a waste of time.
SS