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Old 10-11-04, 12:48 PM   #1
BaSsFiShEr20
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Default Muddy Water Bassing

Muddy Water Bassing by Charles Graves

The casual angler has a distinct advantage over those of us who fish for a living,
either as a guide, or as a tournament circuit angler. The advantage is that the casual angler can choose
what conditions they wish to fish in. However, Guides, who may book thier trips months or more in advance, and tournament anglers , who have to fish the schedules and take what is dealt them,
have to learn to locate and catch fish in all seasons and in all conditions.

By far the toughest of these is muddy water.

Let me explain: Bass use 3 major senses to locate and attack thier food.Scent, Feel(The Lateral Line), and Sight.
The Lateral Line is often though of as the primary way bass locate prey. Recent studies, however, show this may not be the case.In recent tests, it has been shown that Bass feed first and foremost by sight, then scent, then feel. Except in the worst conditions, bass use thier Lateral Line Last.

With that said, I will attempt to try to help anglers understand how to catch Bass in muddy water.

In clear to stained water, bass feed primarily by sight.
When water becomes muddy, however,this puts the bass in a negative mood.
The reason for this is simple.The Bass can no longer count on its vision to locate prey.They must depend on thier Lateral Line. Because muddy water prohibits light penetration, the bass tend to move to shallower water because it is warmest.Especially in cooler weather.
Due to the fact they are unable to count on thier vision,
they stop roaming and draw and hold tight to cover.
This is because the bass do not feel as safe when thier vision is impaired.

Find the shallower water with the best cover and you have a good chance of locating the fish.

After you have located the fish, the 3 keys to effective lure selection for muddy water are Vibration, Noise, and Water Displacement.A lure with any of these characteristics should be successful.

Single Colorado Blade Spinnerbaits, such as the Retriever Single Paw(Vibration/thump), A trap, such as a Signature Trap from CCFFL (Vibration/Noise), A big, wide wobbling crankbait(water displacement), or a Rattling Flipping Jig, such as a Retriever Brush Puppy,(Water Displacement/Noise) with a chunk trailer are all good choices in muddy water.Fish them slowly, and tight to cover. The bass will not chase them very far.

The best muddy water color, by far, is Chartruese. Period. This has the greatest visibility of any color in mud. I will also occasionally take and modify a Retriever Single Paw, and use the chartruese head, but I will remove the other skirt and add a Bubble Gum Colored skirt. Don't laugh, it works.

In early spring, and late fall/ winter, when faced with COLD muddy water, try to seek out warm water discharge areas or steam plants. The water here can be as much as 25 degrees warmer than surrounding water.These can pay off big time.

I remember a tourney I fished several years ago, in the dead of winter, with a water temp of 37 degress. I think the tourney was called a frost bite open. Good name. We found a warm water discharge area off the main lake with timber in it where the water temp read 46 degrees.
While most of the boats were fishing the deeper channels and main lake drops, 5 boats, including ours, found and fished this warm water area. These 5 boats finished as the top 5 teams.

Next time you are faced with muddy, or cold and muddy water, don't throw in the towel and write it off as bad, go for it with gusto.

Tough? YES. Impossible? Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Good Fishing,

Charles Graves
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Old 10-11-04, 06:16 PM   #2
Rob Mak
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

i fished all weekend in a muddy lake that had a high log hazard condition. i caught only 4 bass on a buzz bait i caught 12 on a watermelon seed wooly hawg tail with the kickers dyed chartuse. yeah i know not your normal color for muddy water. all of them were caught shallow less than 2 feet of water on a grass covered flat. sat. i saw no one-they had a big tourny on this lake-sunday i seen 5 boats by 8:30 am. it appeared to me that every fishermen that went by worked the very out side edge. and caught nothing. i sat in the center of about 1 acre of grass and caught 6 with out moving 2 over 4 pounds. patience is a vertue at times i fished this flat till 10 am both days.

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Old 10-11-04, 06:19 PM   #3
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

i'll take muddy water over clear any day.
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Old 10-11-04, 06:35 PM   #4
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

nah.. give me the clear stuff any day. nothing charges my booster like seeing a fish hit a stein.

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Old 10-11-04, 10:21 PM   #5
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

i really like it stained,but if i had a choice i take muddy over clear.i catch a lot of smallies in a clear reservoir here,but it wears my arm out having to make those long casts all day.using a 1/16 or 1/8 weight on a 4" worm is kinda tough to cast really far on 8lb test.
heck,when it's muddy you only have to flip a couple of feet.
excellent article,thank you BB
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Old 10-11-04, 10:30 PM   #6
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

Good article, BB. You ain't kidding about the single Colorado blade-that is the first thing I reach for.
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Old 10-11-04, 11:23 PM   #7
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

First off nice article BB, youve been firing off some good wisdom here lately. Now after all the hurricanes( Ya'll might of heard about them) my favorite areas are basically underwater. Theres a lot of dikes that no longer are visible except for the trees growing out of the water. Im not sure if I would consider this muddy water but the general appearance has now become dark brown to black. My first impression was to cast onto the dikes between the trees and use that now as an additional ledge or dropoff. Basically now there are three elevation changes vs two. So far Ive had some pretty crappy fishin the last 2-3 times out. Been skunked or just very small schoolies. Any recommendations on how to approach the new fishin surface that has developed? We are talkin 4-5 ft depth change over the entire area now. Also due to electronics I still try to fish the areas that I usually use and ignore the new shorline hoping maybe the fish are holding in their normal spots, again little luck. Is it possible that with all the new cover and food source that the fish are just plain tired of eatin? 8)
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Old 10-12-04, 05:19 AM   #8
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

everything said before is great information. I still believe that the lateral line is the primary way bass locate prey. Muddy water or not though. In muddy water, bass will move shallow, one, because the water is warmer, but this only applies to cooler weather months. In the middle of summer, the last thing a bass wants is warmer water. Another reason a bass will move shallow in muddy water is because they can see better. All of the baits listed are great fish catchers in dark water. Now, as far as color goes, I would say that chartruese is a good color, the best, well, I don't know about that. I would opt for a darker color, maybe even black. I don't usually put to much emphasis on color, but in muddy water it can play a role. Also, in muddy water, if at all possible try and find transition areas where muddy water meets clearer water. Bass will cruise these areas, and the fish that are cruising this area are usually very active fish. Don't count out soft plastics in very shallow muddy water either. Like I said before, bass will move to shallow water because they can see better. If this is the case then a wide variety of soft plastics will work. Good fishing.
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Old 10-12-04, 08:32 PM   #9
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

BB,
good post as usual. However I personally disagree with chartreuse being the best, I do think it is one of the better colors, my personal favorite is Black, or greenpumkin. I also think you left out another very good bait which is a Lizard/Brushhog/Creature bait/Zipper. These soft plastics move alot of water, and will draw in the fish also. No it's not as loud as some of your baits, but many times loud can be a deterent on any given day. Just my Opinion, again great post. 8)

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Old 10-12-04, 10:41 PM   #10
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

Oh great! there he goes again with that "the lizard is the best bait in my opinion" junk ;D Just giving ya a hard time

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Old 10-12-04, 11:14 PM   #11
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

[quote author=lizardsrule link=board=news;num=1097509712;start=0#8 date=10/12/04 at 19:32:42]BB,
good post as usual. Â*However I personally disagree with chartreuse being the best, I do think it is one of the better colors, my personal favorite is Black, or greenpumkin. Â*I also think you left out another very good bait which is a Lizard/Brushhog/Creature bait/Zipper. Â*These soft plastics move alot of water, and will draw in the fish also. Â*No it's not as loud as some of your baits, but many times loud can be a deterent on any given day. Â*Just my Opinion, again great post. 8)

Lizards[/quote]

Good points. And keep in mind, the colors I suggest are what I have had the best success with. They are by no means the only choice.

And I guess the reason I did not mention those baits is because I do not use them much. Just did not think about it.

Charles
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Old 10-13-04, 12:32 AM   #12
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

I fish muddy cold water, with NO warm discharge.
You can catch Bass in the early winter, can't you? Well, what shoud I do, since there's not a warm water source available?


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Old 10-13-04, 07:20 PM   #13
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Default Re: Muddy Water Bassing

when he said cold water he ment 40 degrees or less. normally i would work currant . as moving water is warmer than still water. using something slow a jigging spoon.or pump a storm wild eye. if ya fish a pond the water that flows into it would be consitered currant.


bout time ya asked a decent question...


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