Have I lost out.

The water temps are correct,daylight is adequate,just one problem....the crappie lake I fish has been super muddy for over two weeks now,and we just suffered through another 14 hrs of torrential rain.
I'm afraid our spawning season is going to be a bust,at least the fishing part.Am I wrong in thinking the super muddy water that last for weeks will hinder the spawn? Plus how does one deal with fishing dense muddy water?
I'm gearing up for the gill spawn,should be in another few weeks,I have other lakes to fish,but this particular lake is the best for crappie,( flooded trees,and stumps everywhere.)The other lakes have far fewer crappie,but are teeming with big gills.

fish slower with a noisy bait with black and lots of contrast and a crappie nibble ....the fish don't care much if the water is muddy most of time during the spawn and in some cases they even go extra shallow in the daylight due to the camo provided by the lack of clarity in the water .....
also explore areas close to where you normally find spawners as they may have found a new area that has the right substrate for the reproduction mode
and NEVER give up .....

:hesaid

Crappie like muddy water during spawn. Try 1 FOW give or take a few inches..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cane Pole

Crappie like muddy water during spawn. Try 1 FOW give or take a few inches..

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Yeah ... that would be WHITE Crappie -- Black Crappie, not so much. :biggrin

When Ima setting hooks, I don't ask race, color, creed, sex, or religion and etc. However, we do catch more blacks shallow here than whites during spawn no matter the water. Usta be mostly whites here. Blacks have become the dominant creature in our area. I know the general spawn rules, but the rules done moved to deeper cover.

Stained water will not keep them from spawning. I fished Eufaula where the water was very stained and caught spawners in less than 1 foot of water. I fished another lake where the water was a little clearer and caught spawners in 4 feet of water and fish one lake that is crystal clear and get spawners in 15' of water. All three lakes produced both species in the same area. I must admit that when I was younger I also thought the didn't spawn in stained water. Now I think they will not spawn only in falling or lowering water. But that's just my opinion. Best advice I could give is don't get tunnel vision.

Catching both black and whites in less than 2 FOW in west KY with chocolate milk for water. Decreased visibility will push them up shallow. You've only lost out if you stop fishing for them.

Personal best caught during muddy muddy high water. Crawfish color jig!

This is gonna be tough for me,I never fish water as muddy as this lake,my confidence level will certainly be challenged.I use a lot of beetle spins,tipped with various plastics,will they work,or should I go another route?

Beetle Spins are better than Side Imaging in 1-2 foot of water. Itza good search engine. Road runners are good too. Either will work. Just don't always throw to the bank, fan your casts.

Just so I'm being clear ( pardon the pun), here in almost heaven WV, we got tons of red clay.The copious amount of rain and runoff has the lakes red clay muddy,not just dirty,does that change things? Sorry for all the questions,but this dang rainy spring has sure made a mess of things.

Try using a 1/16 oz jighead with a black & chartreuse jig of your choice under the smallest float that will hold it up. The idea is to make as little splash as possible when you cast. Fish in that stained of water will be very shallow and will spook easily with the noise of the cast.