Muddy water and worms.

[keithdog]

I am wanting to start a discussion about using soft plastics, especially worms, in off colored water. Am I missing the boat? I am particularly talking about straight tailed worms. In water with visibility of less than 20 inches or so I have no confidence in them. Especially stick worms like a Senko. But any straight tailed worm is in the same boat. They have so little action and are so quiet that I can't imagine them being useful in off colored water. Am I wrong? Am I missing the boat?

[lilmule]

They are fat,heavy for just plastic,toss a fair distance without a weight sort of a finesse approach yet displace a lot of water.12 in clarity is good,muddy is 1-2 in a fish can see ten times your sight range underwater so not as muddy to him or it.
Thus a lil color and a spinnerbait bite,and less topwater if under 12in clarity normally but not always.Barkley due to its mud banks is always colored 12 in would be about its best if it hadnt rained in two weeks.At 4- 6in clarity they hit a horney toad(green Pumkin) so fast its hard to get a hookset sometimes.Same worm colors as Ky lake work here plus a few others.Like motor oil,just after a rain.There is also a worm some might call it a swimbait that is built just like a senko with a paddle tail used with a jig head swimbait head etc it can be deadly and no longer or thicker than a senko.

[lilmule]

In clear water 2-3 ft visability in any flip situation the fish can visually see the fliper.
Thus light gear a spinning outfit,ten pd green power pro unweighted and a circle hook.Steve constantly outfishes me with that with senkos,making long casts.
Main difference is you think anything under 20 in is muddy,some locales they may react differently to light situations,ut in most areas 20 in visability isnt bad at all actually to clear for a good spinnerbait bite.Kevin Van Dam thinks 11-12 in is about right,we develop habits not always true to intended target but to us and how we do in those conditions.Possiby less movement,possibly more.Whenever we get bit try to emulate that action again and some days want a wiggle or jerk some not.The old saying let the fish tell you is applicable.

[bassboogieman]

Keith, with off-colored or muddy water most guys forget that bass (fish in general) do not see their world as we see ours. Fish can see much better in stained/muddy water much better than us. I forget the exact number but think it is 4-5 times better than ours. So visibility to us of a foot is more like 4' to a bass. Fishing plastic baits like worms Senkos, beavers, etc., to me, indicates fishing cover. So if you can't see a worm crawling along a foot away from a log, a bass can. You can improve the sight distance using baits with chartreuse tails (or baits entirely that color). Easy method is to dip your baits in chartreuse dye, doing the tail end or half the bait. As for Senkos, I love them and use the pumpkin w/chartreause tail (color #903) in stained water and low light conditions. In muddy conditions I fish slow, close to cover and something with a little chartreuse. Last "secret" tip (I hate giving this up) add a rattle to the bait. As to the straight tail worms (Senko excepted, because I usually wacky rig them), not my first choice in dirty water, I want a ripple tail to get some motion. Motion of the lure also improves visibility. You can also wacky rig a straight worm but I prefer doing that with a Senko.

HELLO Roger, good to see you posting!

[keithdog]

Thanks for the info guys. I guess I am underestimating how well bass see in muddy water.

[nobass]

I muddy water I fish worms that displace water big saw tail,zoom Mangum. I always use a glass beads a.between the hook and bullet weight make more noise. Also dye like Bruce said. Zenko type I fine.wacky works.better

[mikechell]

Although the water I fish is rarely muddy, it is tannin stained to about 12 inches clarity. My bright yellow paddle disappears at about 15 inches below the surface.
In my travels, I often find myself fishing water that is murky or muddy.
My goto lure is always the unweighted, Texas rigged Sticko from BPS. I can pull it through any kind of cover or structure without fear. This allows me to put the lure in the bass' face. For this reason, I don't think there's a down side to the lack of noise. Plus, I think a few slack/tugs on the line produce enough low frequency sound to attract attention ... getting to within sight is the fish's job after that.
My second goto is a (only slightly more noisy) Rapala 5 inch original floater. Again, a few twitches gets the interest, getting to the source of that sound is the bass' job.

[keithdog]

I find it odd that often in off colored water, many fisherman prefer to use natural colors, such as watermelon, green pumpkin and motor oil and so on. It seems to me these colors would be camoflauged in that kind of water. Like a deer hunter wearing camo in the woods.

[lilmule]

Green pumpkin is ky lake color yet works on barkley its darkness assists it in colored water,motor oil is for heavily stained water,never use it in any clarity myself.
A fish sees color differently and sees about ten times your distance under water.
Even a camo deer hunter is seen when he moves around,wear wrong camo even more so.

[Captmikestarrett]

On the muddy Potomac before hydrilla made the water gin clear..like back in the early 80's we used ribbed worms and they worked very well. Just needed a dark color and bingo you have a LGMouth. Ketchum used to make them, then Berkly and then the ribs got bigger and Zipper worms made the scene. Still use the ring worms and when I find them at a flea market I get a few bags.

Capt Mike

[Rebbasser]

Keith, I haven't had a whole lot of luck fishing a straight tail, whether it be a trick worm or senko in "chocolate Milk". Here in Texas after a big rain the water gets like that. I usually go with something that creates a disturbance like a trap or a spinnerbait. For those conditions I would go with at least a curl tail worm.

[mikechell]

Originally Posted by keithdog

I find it odd that often in off colored water, many fisherman prefer to use natural colors, such as watermelon, green pumpkin and motor oil and so on. It seems to me these colors would be camoflauged in that kind of water.

"in off colored water, many fisherman prefer to use natural colors"
My opinion and conjecture:
The bait fish, and other prey, don't change colors just because the water gets murky. They aren't chameleons. So why change lure colors?
Fish caught from murky water are, in my experience, much lighter in color than any other water condition. So, the bait fish will be lighter, too.
Predators are on the lookout in murky water. Looking out for danger, since it can sneak up on them easier ... and looking out for food, since it can sneak up on those without being detected.
If you drop something into the water right in front of the bass, it needs to be natural looking ... otherwise, it might be danger.

[3dkicker]

I find that with stained water dark worms work very well. But also worms that closely match the water color can catch fish too. If the water is newly stained then we'll find the fish tight to cover. If it stays stained for a couple days then not so much.