Muddy Water

[syd]

Smith Mountain has been nothing but red and muddy last 2 weekends in the areas i fish. Not having any luck at all. But the tournament guys are getting 18 pounds etc. Any muddy water tips greatly appreciated.

[lilmule]

Buddy of mine used to fish smith regular,dont beat the bank find an offshore hump.
You will find that mud line stops and doesnt go all the way down.

[JESTERxHEAD]

I fish the mississippi river... Up here its pretty clear/stained but when it rains it muddy in a split second....

Slow down. Run any color as long as its black.

lots of vibration/noise.

Get rid of those willow leaf blades on spinners... big fat colorados (heavy thump)

dark browns, purple, blacks....

fish need to go by sound to locate the bait.... then they can pick up the contrast. give them time by slowing down...

[bowhunter63]

Anything loud and creating alot of water push.I like a orange strip on the belly of my crankbaits it seems to help.

[carolina-rig-01]

I fish Grand Lake in Oklahoma and it certainly gets muddy at times. I like breaking out the flipping stick and doing a lot of flipping and pitching into flooded brush and willow trees. Also I fish spinnerbaits in the same places I flip and pitch. Crankbaits on chunk rock and rip rap is a good pattern here that usually can keep you on fish from late spring through fall (Firetiger is a tough color to beat in colored water).

[bamabassman]

agree witht eh finding a hump and the mudline. use big spinners, LOUD deep cranks and 10-12" worms is what i have heard for real muddy waters. black, dark blue, browns.

[carolina-rig-01]

I am not saying that finding an offshore spot like a hump isn't going to be the answer but in my experience when the lakes around here get muddy the shallow fish are easier to catch. It seems like they hold up tight to cover and structure which not only makes it easier to pattern where they will be but it also allows you to cover a lot of water. I love fishing offshore stuff but if the water gets real muddy I head shallow.

[keithdog]

Big spinnerbaits with large colorado blades and large black/bluejigs pitched right up against the cover in shallow water would be my approach.

[syd]

Thanks for the input. Really learned something with this question. Just learned a lot about another method.

[Backwater Charlie]

I've always liked a big worm in muddy water. 8 or 10" curly or ribbon-tailed worm, black with a firetail (or chartreuse tail), Texas-rigged with enough wait to fish it properly (1/4oz should be fine). Then there's the old stand-by single Colorado chartreuse Spinnerbait (3/8 or 1/2oz), Jigs (1/2oz with a bright trailer), and everything in between.

[DVT Mike]

Stained water can be a degree or two warmer than clearer sections of the lake. That may make the difference if the water is super cold like it still is here.

[Raul]

You are not going to believe it but fish in muddy water are a lot easier to catch than they are in clearer water, they can´t see up close so all you need is to trick them with large hydrodynamic signature ( fat baits ), loud baits ( rattles ), lots of vibration ( blades ) and flash ( metallic finish ).

[Apt79]

Bill Dance on his show said that large mouth in muddy water can see 5 to 7 feet in front of them. You'll have to try to find them and drop or run your lure close, slow it down too. Bill Dance is half bass, did you know that?

[Cavs1123]

No, I think you misunderstood, Bill Dance STOCKS half of his bass

[danielbasspro]

If you're in muddy water, you generally stay near the bank. you really need to be flippin, but in any case throw curlytail worms t rigged, brush hogs, lizards, etc. Maybe even a jig across submerged sticks. Just remember, fish very slow. Methodically. If you find good flippin cover, depending on the density of the cover, use a 1 oz. tungsten flippin weight, heavy braided line, strong hook, and a Biffle Craw, or whatever you please. Throw darker colors, like purple, blue, black, red. Try a weightless trickworm if all else fails. For the most part, stick with lures that the fish can locate, because they can't see far in the dark, just like us.

[Bassboss]

Slow, loud, bright, and close to cover.

If the weathers warm enough, a firetiger, or black and blue spinnerbait, with a single colorado blade is great. A black and blue jig, with a bright blue trailer with a loud rattle is great. SK jigs like the pro model, or a denny brauer premier pro are great jigs with loud rattles.

[BBD]

Originally Posted by Apt79

Bill Dance on his show said that large mouth in muddy water can see 5 to 7 feet in front of them.

Where is the scientific data to back this, seriously?

[danielbasspro]

i mean, muddy can be kind of opinion based. whats muddy to one man may be stained to another. A wise man once told me they can see just about as far as us underwater.