Clear water lures?

[The Meat Fisher]

A while ago I came across a lake with really clear water; It's really fun;the bass are far from pressured! So far most of the catches have been on rapala shad raps but I was still wondering what some good clear water lures are? I am currently using flurocarbon so I doubt that I can't get much better in the line department.

[keithdog]

Well, first off, I would stick with natural colors. Soft plastics and cranks that have colors similar to the natural forage in the lake. Stay away from bright lures, and try cranks with no rattles, or cranks with a more subdued rattle. If you use a spinnerbait, I would downsize a bit, say 1/4 to 3/8oz. The larger size spinnerbaits are not needed in very clear water like they might be in very stained water, and in fact, a large spinnerbait may cause a bass to shy away in very clear water. Drop shotting should work well, and I would give a Senko style plastic stick bait a good workout. The clear water is ideal for that type of bait. Make sure your shadow does not get between you and your target as it can send a bass running in clear water. BE EXTRA QUIET in clear water too!!! Also, long casts are often needed in very clear water to allow you to make a presentation while not alarming the fish. Fishing heavy cover also would be an advantage in very clear water as it offers you cover as well as the fish.

[bamabassman]

Listen to keith here pal.

[jooleyen]

All the same lures, but slightly modified to be faster and smaller.

Keith has got it right.
Here are the things that come to my mind when I'm fishing clear water...

-Long casts around open water
-Fast erratic retrieves and bumping cover or if you cant, slow down and finesse the fish with some lighter lures.
-Mostly natural colors - if you're not positive of the forage, pick a color that blends in to the bottom content, as nature has this ability. If you're going for smallmouth, you should try bright colors. And for deep cranks in the summer, it's a known tip to use bright colors like yellow and blue.
-Not necessarily so tight to cover unless you can tell the fish are tight due to sun or whatever other factors. (fish will move a long way to get your lures in clear water.)

Oh, and try some swimbaits

[Bubba_Bruiser]

Some T-rigged Zoom 4" watermelon lizards and curly tails on 1/16 or 1/8 oz bullets for me.

[Bassboss]

I've been having luck with jigs, black, watermelons, and pumpkins are good colors! You my also try a swimjig, white skirts with translucent and mettle fleck skirts work especially well! Like Keith said, use crank baits with little or no rattles. If you're using reaction baits like spinnerbaits, swimjigs, crankbaits, and the like; keep them moving fast, never let them get a good look at them!

Never let a bass get a good look at you lure. If you're a topwater, such as a popper, don't let the bass get a very good look at them, keep it moving, pop it every one second or so, letting the bait sit for 3 after every 5 pops. If you're using a spook, don't stop it.

If you're gonna use soft baits, than, stay natral! Stay away from worm rattles and clacking glass beads. Use the same colors you would use for a jig. I would not use more than a 7" worm in clear water.. I like less than 6" though. Strait tail worms with a fast fall should work well, make sure to watch your line when the bait is dropping -- as a lot of bass will hit it then. A curly tail worm I don't think will do as well, they have more vibration and bulk then a strait tail worm, but you can try it.

Good luck, and good fishin!

[The Meat Fisher]

I should mention that because of this lakes location it is never fished in; I've fallen in the water a few times, and 15 minutes later the fish are just as happy as could be right next to where I fell in. A while Ago I caught an 8 pound bass on a bluegill color shad rap with no rattle (about as natural as it gets). But the next day I started catching way more fish(albeit smaller) on a larger yellow perch color shad rap with rattle and a red hook and shiny tape. I'm pretty sure of what this says about the fishing pressure in this lake; but it could be that it dove a little deeper.

[Bassboss]

Originally Posted by The Meat Fisher

I should mention that because of this lakes location it is never fished in; I've fallen in the water a few times, and 15 minutes later the fish are just as happy as could be right next to where I fell in. A while Ago I caught an 8 pound bass on a bluegill color shad rap with no rattle (about as natural as it gets). But the next day I started catching way more fish(albeit smaller) on a larger yellow perch color shad rap with rattle and a red hook and shiny tape. I'm pretty sure of what this says about the fishing pressure in this lake; but it could be that it dove a little deeper.

Ya, the jointed one does dive deeper. But you did catch the 8lb on 17lb mono, and the rest on 20lb, so dive depth my have nothing to do with it! Probably more to do with color, and action! We where gonna go down there today.... but my bike's a broke!

[Raul]

Three of the lakes and all the ponds I fish near my home are crystal clear ( you can see the bottom 30 ft+ below ), soem like Keith are going to say: "go natural", I´m going to say: choose your poison and fish those you like, the problem with clear water is not the fish not liking what you throw, I fish those lakes and ponds with lures that don´t look "natural" at all, neither sound "natural", I do fish with hot colored and noisy lures. What does matter is the approach, fish can certainly see you and that has a more direct impact on your success than with the lure.

[bigjim]

if im throwing spinnerbaits i stick with white, if im throwing a Zoom Finesse Worm i stick with the natural colors. (green pumpkin has been working very well for me lately)