Muddy water

Went out yesterday after heavy rain fall 2 days prior that brought the place I fish up 2 feet above full pool and muddy. Also had all the docks I shoot completely submerged.

My first couple of questions would be how do you guys tackle muddy water conditions? Is it worth fishing? Do you use white or chartreuse?

Next question when the water levels go up that high above full pool do crappie typically relocate?

Thanks for any help on this topic it will help me in future trips know if I’m searching with nothing to find. I did manage to escape the skunk with one white bass on my new ultra light rod that shoots awesome had one dock shootable he was hiding under.
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They have to eat. In my experience they are still under those docks as long as there is not high current in that area. They feed on the edge of the shaded area. If I can't fish under the dock I will fish right alongside of it.

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Originally Posted by DockShootinJack

They have to eat. In my experience they are still under those docks as long as there is not high current in that area. They feed on the edge of the shaded area. If I can't fish under the dock I will fish right alongside of it.

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That’s what I was thinking only down side was the docks I’ve had success at were submerged…. What colors do you prefer?


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I will throw several colors until I find something they like. That being said I almost always start with a blue ice BGBS. It provides me with a lighter belly and a darker back. Even though the docks were submerged they still had edges that can be fished. The docks being submerged gave the fish some extra structure they would not normally have.

Don't forget to "Vertical Cast" around the dock posts !! :check [ Just a moment... ] <<< link to article on Vertical Casting

Water up !
fish are up !
if all your docks are submerged go try to find a culvert or where water runs in ! When we get those warm rains after being real cold those fish love all the goodies that get washed in from a rain plus the warmer water helps!
I use slab sauce quite a bit especially in stained water also their is a YouTube video from (wired for crappie) that’s real good on explaining colors in stained or muddy waters! Helped me quite a bit . Don’t stay home just because it’s muddy I have caught some of my best fish in real stained/ chocolate milk water! :twocents

Funny you ask this question . Yesterday it was super muddy . Saw lots of fish on livescope but no takers . Several boats came and went . One local told me I was using wrong color . :Rofl He did not stay long . Sun popped out bright and they fired up . Caught a quick limit on a dark mostly black/purple with some gold glitter 1/8 oz Takeum handtied jig . Once the sun got covered with clouds and winds reversed the bite was over . Normally on livescope they will look at a bait even if the won't bite . I think it was so muddy without bright sun they had trouble seeing my bait .

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Originally Posted by Slabprowler

Water up !
fish are up !
if all your docks are submerged go try to find a culvert or where water runs in ! When we get those warm rains after being real cold those fish love all the goodies that get washed in from a rain plus the warmer water helps!
I use slab sauce quite a bit especially in stained water also their is a YouTube video from (wired for crappie) that’s real good on explaining colors in stained or muddy waters! Helped me quite a bit . Don’t stay home just because it’s muddy I have caught some of my best fish in real stained/ chocolate milk water! :twocents

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Thanks I will check out that video. Yeah I didn’t end up staying home but I felt like I didn’t know how to tackle the conditions that were presented to me. After reading through some of these post I know what I will do next time if I encounter the same issue. Slab sauce is awesome I use it all the time!


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by NIMROD

Funny you ask this question . Yesterday it was super muddy . Saw lots of fish on livescope but no takers . Several boats came and went . One local told me I was using wrong color . :Rofl He did not stay long . Sun popped out bright and they fired up . Caught a quick limit on a dark mostly black/purple with some gold glitter 1/8 oz Takeum handtied jig . Once the sun got covered with clouds and winds reversed the bite was over . Normally on livescope they will look at a bait even if the won't bite . I think it was so muddy without bright sun they had trouble seeing my bait .

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Wow sounds like sticking it out really payed off. Thanks for sharing that with me it helps me to read about other’s experiences with different conditions.


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My success in muddy conditions is to always look for eddys in the water and fish the seam between the moving water and what is still. Fish seem to wait for things to wash out of those currents as it presents an opportunity for an easy meal. Think about the fish and how they operate: (energy consumed - energy spent = amount of growth) I would believe that this is important because it’s a big fish eat little fish world out there!

I’m not a seasoned fisherman and I may be completely wrong, but thinking about fish like that has helped me locate and understand what to look for on the water in muddy conditions.


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