Muddy Water???

Guys help me out here, please. What is it with muddy water, that shuts the fish down completely? Heres my situation, when it rains of course what comes with rain is run off. Leading to muddy water, for a few days until the water clears you can forget a good bite. Sure< you could go some where else, but i dont have that option, with a smaller craft with just a trolling motor to get me around, cruising the lake for clearer more fishable water is just not happing.

I know those fish are still there, but there not having any. I just wonder what factors are playing here. Is it, they cant see well enough? Times like these ive used all approaches when it comes to jigs, either really bright colors, hot, hot pinks, all the way to the other side of the spectrum, dark colors. Nothing! Yep, and on those muddy day, when your like why am i out here, beating this dead horse, the blows like crazy. Boo!

Go to the new water and fish something like pumpkin seed chartreuse or live bait. Scents help! These fish will bite. They can not feel the baits vibration as far or see it as far, but if you put it in there face they will bite. Scents will help them locate the bait and a live bait helps you keep the bait there longer with action.

Thanks for the input there ''crappielimits'', that all makes perfect sense.

What he said--also with muddy water many times fih will move to shallow water. In small bays the water at shore to 1 to 3 foot out usually clears up first and fish will sit where dirty meets clear looking for food, the fish do want to eat so they will go where they can see if nearby.

yup they will bite

I don't shy away from muddy water. You might try fishing shallower than normal in these conditions. The fish are going to feed, that's for sure. There is an influx of new food for all creatures in the food chain and muddy water will also warm quicker which brings in bait fish, as well. Don't let it discourage you, try something with flash or vibration to help encourage a response. Good luck!

I guess I'm weird. I always go deeper when the water gets muddy. Unless you have had a tremendous amount of rain the whole lake won't be muddy. The silt and run off will muddy the shore line first and by the time it gets to deeper water it will be a non factor. Fish the muddy break line where it transition from cloudy water to clear. Target any brush piles you find or drop offs.

After many years of fishing i notice that weather crappie or bass when water is still cold that when it first start to get muddy that the fish are turn off but as soon as it gets to its muddiest point and then starts to clearing up but still muddy they will bite no matter if it is still muddy.fish like stable weather and water or going to their preferred liking.when water is muddy the backs of creeks will start to clear up first and that is a good place then unless it is bringing in colder water.as said some can still be caught but it is good to put bait in front of them and annoy them,they will usually get close to a object like a log ,brush or hill or dropoff.it then takes patience,but the viberation lures do not work good untill it has completed it muddiest point and start back.fish are not like humans that feel like they have to eat all day no matter what the condition are but can lay dominate for days if nessesary,but bait in front of them a while ,they will bite not of hunger,but for other reason,but who cares as long as he bite it

I use sent on hair and feather jigs, crappie nibbles in tubs. I also fish roadrunners and beetle spins with minnows on all. ya need all the smell and vib ya can to help`m find it.

when water gets muddy all of a sudden I have my best luck with all black marabou jigs @ 1/8 oz - I usually like 1/32 or 1/16 oz but the bigger seem to work better when its muddy

Hey there yall! Thanks for your helpful, words of wisdom, and tips. Went out yesterday, April 1st, water was still muddy. See we have a few creeks that feed the upper end of the lake i fish. Now, i would go find clearer water and new spots that hold fish somewhere elese on the lake if i could, my boat can only take me so far, and not that fast with just a trolling motor to get myself around. This, said, is why i hang around the upper end, I mean the fish are there. When the water is clearer, not chocolate milk, they will be on fire in this area. But no, no fish really being caught in these conditions, everyone I passed had the same story. Me I had the same answer, its the water. I did, finally catch one, little guy in the usual spot for this time of year. White and chartreuse, and he swallowed the jig! Got a few more hits, which is telling me, what i all ready know, they cant see it.

I like muddy water.

The bayous I fish are always muddy. I use black and green jigs at 10 inch deep. Look at the water color in the back ground.Attachment 157263

Warm, murky to muddy water is not a bad thing. Cold, muddy water is not a good thing. :twocents

... cp :kewl

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Warm, murky to muddy water is not a bad thing. Cold, muddy water is not a good thing. :twocents

... cp :kewl

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I agree that day the water was 73 degrees. They were attacking the jig. I was skirting the edge of the stumps with a foot or two of line out giving the cork a pop every other second.

Yep thats what our water looks like. Doesn't take much rain to get it that way either. So guys, what your saying is i need to try dark colors? See, thats whats so hard about color, i have read so many articles that state; ''hot, loud colors'' are the way to go. ill give it a try, thank you all for the feed back. Ill be sure and pay it forward. God Bless.....thanks EC

Thanks EC for starting thisthread. I have been having trouble getting results also and the water seems to always be muddy around my Morgan City area. I'll apply some of the suggestions h3ere.Steve in so la

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Originally Posted by electric chicken

Yep thats what our water looks like. Doesn't take much rain to get it that way either. So guys, what your saying is i need to try dark colors? See, thats whats so hard about color, i have read so many articles that state; ''hot, loud colors'' are the way to go. ill give it a try, thank you all for the feed back. Ill be sure and pay it forward. God Bless.....thanks EC

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EC .... that's one reason I use contrasting colors (light/dark). That way I'm covered for most any water clarity I run into.

The main idea behind using dark colors in dark water, is because dark colors block any light penetration ... making them more visible, because they present a darker shadow against the lighter water surface & sky, than a light colored bait.

I don't see any real reason for any particular set rules for bait color vs water color ... the fish can still feel the presence of a moving bait, in dark waters. They don't necessarily have to see it ... they can smell it, and "hear/feel" it (pressure waves are felt through their lateral lines).

... cp :kewl

Thank you CP, that makes sense. When it comes to color CP, it all seems to run together. For example, I never forget this one video on Kentucky Afield, where Tim Farmer (show host) met up with a well known local crappie fishermen. Well, at one point i guess the bite got slow, so they local changes color, and the color change he claimed was this, and I quote " see look there Tim, we changed our color from a black and green, to a black and green with little black specks in the tail". Okay really, little black specks are going to make that difference.

Color makes no sense to me. I have read articles one says, hot colors, one says dark colors, one says hot and dark colors together. Some people, say' all you need is three basic colors, black, white and or chartreuse.

CP, last year I came upon the color combination, it was like the magic jig, really just pitch it past a stump and let it fall back and magically a crappie was there. But, again this was only true till it rained and the upper end where i fish gets muddy due to run off. Then nothing for days until the water cleared, and when i mean clear i meaning still only 1 to 2ft visibility which is normal. I just bothers me, that i can only do good in certain conditions.

My buddy and me were fishing today in muddy water using black jigs and he caught this 4 inches deep less than a foot of the bank.Attachment 157396

That's a great fish there! So how did the fish react to the black jigs y'all were using? Was it one here, one there, slow action, or did they really want that it? I mean I can catch some, but is hard work, much to hard for a relaxing fishing trip. With this muddy water we are having due to heavy rains, I have had the best luck on a 1/16 pink/white marabou jig a few on the slab slayer. But, it's nothing like yep, that's the ticket to the show there. When the water is clearer, still murky which is normal. The slab slayer is just that, simply awesome!

Your very welcome. Hope it helps you, I'm gonna apply all this wisdom provided too. Thanks to the members for all your help, I'll pay it forward!

We are fishing in tight to cover. I just give it a slight twitch ever other second. When they hit it you think you have a bass on. They hit it at full speed. The boat was a few feet from the fish when it hit. One thing about muddy water you can get in close if you are quiet. When I fish I have one eye on the cork and one in the trees looking for snakes and wasps. Its never the same this year. We usually do better this time of the year. The weather has things so messed up. Normally the fish have spawned by now. Last weeks fast and furious this week one hear one there. Today we did have 2 double hookups back to back. The front came though at 9am and the fish shut down. 2 weeks ago I caught 15 in less than 30 mins in a 50 yard stretch. But that day the water temp was 73 degrees. I had one trip this year where I put 32 in the ice chest in 30 minutes off one log.