How muddy is too muddy

I watched a video by Richard Gene,he was crappie fishing in what he called muddy water,The water he was calling muddy was what we call clear in these parts.We have pure red clay here in almost heaven,and when it rains for a couple days,I'm talking red mud water.
Are those that say they are catching crappie in muddy water really meaning stained? I just can't fathom anyone attempting to fish in water that is so muddy the lure cannot be seen mere inches below the surface.
As of right now,we have endured several weeks of floods,our waters are incredibly red clay mud colored,with zero visibility,would you consider fishing in this type of water condition ?

https://youtu.be/bpjs9PLwwJg

It's all relative to your area and to what the fish are accustomed.


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I have caught them in chocolate milk a few times so it can be done

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I fish in pure muddy water like right now with all the rain we have had and high water. I normally use a blade lure like a RR for the sound and vibrations it gives off. You just have to adapt to the environment of what mother nature throws at you. Fish are still active and have to feed in muddy water also. Right now, this muddy water is going to hang around for a few weeks. I don’t like to fish in muddy water, but it is what it is. You can’t see your lure 2 inches deep either it’s so muddy right now.

Well-my brother and I do not seem to care whether it is windy, after a barometric high, water murky, or anything else. We are going fishing for our favorite—crappie. Take lots of colors, do not forget slabsauce, buy some minnows, do a war dance but just go fish. Life is too short to worry about the conditions. Just my thoughts...


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You also have to know Mr Gene was on lake guntersvillie an it is a petty clear lake, not the clearest I've ever been on but that was very muddy for there.

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Originally Posted by chaunc

https://youtu.be/bpjs9PLwwJg

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That, is some muddy water....

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Originally Posted by chaunc

https://youtu.be/bpjs9PLwwJg

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That’s some muddy water! Proves that I can’t use that as an excuse anymore!

Man when I was a kid we use to fish some farm ponds that were MUDdy. But they were like that all the time and those fish just adapted and it didn't seem to phase them. Fish have multiple senses...they can find your lure or bait.

Now waters swollen and muddy from rain...well,sometimes it does shut em down for a while...but sometimes it doesn't. This time of year with the warmer rain and warmer temps they will move shallow around brush or weeds. And sometimes they will put on the feed bag in those conditions. I might not plan a week long vacation trip when its like that intentionally or I might postpone one if I can. But if not heck yeah I'm going fishing and I'm gonna try and hunt them down. Put a nibble on that thing it will help them find it. PINK works good sometimes in muddy water and contrasting colors like pink and black. If I am not marking a lot of fish out from the bank I think are catchable crappie....then I'm going in after em shallow.

Attachment 291931Can’t see water real well here but I used to stay home on chocolate milk days like this untill we caught this one it was a 2.58 .i don’t use too muddy for an excuse anymore!

Been catching them out of Old Hickory Lake this week......which is muddy all the time....but now it is worse than chocolate milk. The crappie have moved into water that is one foot deep. It’s so bad I wouldn’t put a boat in it.....been catching them from the bank in wind blown coves.

Regards


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That was an enjoyable video,our water is a bit muddier than that presently,but I admit,I probably wouldn't fish in that either.......well perhaps I should after seeing him catching.

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Originally Posted by Yaker

I watched a video by Richard Gene,he was crappie fishing in what he called muddy water,The water he was calling muddy was what we call clear in these parts.We have pure red clay here in almost heaven,and when it rains for a couple days,I'm talking red mud water.
Are those that say they are catching crappie in muddy water really meaning stained? I just can't fathom anyone attempting to fish in water that is so muddy the lure cannot be seen mere inches below the surface.
As of right now,we have endured several weeks of floods,our waters are incredibly red clay mud colored,with zero visibility,would you consider fishing in this type of water condition ?

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I fished the headwaters today of Guntersville....below and down from Nickajack Dam. Guntersville is stained....not muddy. I fished Old Hickory Lake this past few days in zero visibility water....couldn’t see a pink Fin Spin inches under the water. The crappie were very cooperative. I don’t like it but it beats sitting at home.

Regards


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Being from the great lakes state, it seems like every body of water outside of Michigan is muddy to us!

Be have some crystal clear water in almost all inland lakes, rivers, streams, and the great lakes. Attributed to the dreaded Zebra Mussel. That said, our techniques are much different due to fish being boat scared. Spider rigging is not nearly as successful in these parts simply because the fish can see the boat before it ever gets there.

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Originally Posted by chaunc

https://youtu.be/bpjs9PLwwJg

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I have fished water exactly like this in Ohio, a lot. On particular day a gentleman fishing the bank beside me was using BG monkey milk, with a bobber in this muddy water and was absolutely killing them. If I had not seen it would not have believed it. this was several years ago fishing a flood control lake that is very quick to rise with rain and turn the water to soup. Not sure but the fish must have X-ray vision in this lake because I seem to have better luck when the water clarity is down to zilch.

muddy water scares fisherman not fish , white crappie thrive in muddy waters ,remember that

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

muddy water scares fisherman not fish , white crappie thrive in muddy waters ,remember that

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So when the water turns like this, where do the crappie gravitate to? I usually guess wrong, but at times I've caught them shallow in muddy water conditions. Especially if the lake is rising.

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Originally Posted by CHECrappie

So when the water turns like this, where do the crappie gravitate to? I usually guess wrong, but at times I've caught them shallow in muddy water conditions. Especially if the lake is rising.

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they should be in shallow water when it's muddy. Muddy water will hold heat better and they like warmer water.

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

muddy water scares fisherman not fish , white crappie thrive in muddy waters ,remember that

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If that's the case,the white crappie should be living high on the hog around here right now Im not doubting anything that has been said about muddy water, and how fish react to it,but it's pretty hard to wrap my head around.:scratchhead .i will surely give the mud water a go once the torrential down pour stops,and the 45mph wind dies down,until then it's back to the tying table.

The question I have is, how long does it take to clear up?

The rain stopped on Sunday. Was out last night and the lake was still chocolate milk on the lower 2/3rds. Have had some light rain once or twice but nothing like it was, extended forecast looks mostly clear.

Water rose sharply on both of my favorite lakes, one has already been drawn down to power pool, the other is still 10ft high. Raises even more questions about how the Crappie are going to behave.

I used to occasionally fish the Duck river below the dam in Columbia. I always had my best crappie days when the water was stained to muddy. Hot pink head with a 2" white or pearl twister tail was my go to bait.

Cold & muddy water = bad conditions

Warm & muddy water = much better conditions

(or so I've been told) :dono

Muddy and Cold is a bad mix for sure to ketch crappie in best I can tell you . But I don’t think it bothers the fish much , just us ...:biggrin

The subject of muddy water leads me to pondering bait choices,or rather color choices..After watching a few videos and demonstrations of lure color in different water clarity at different depths,I'm led to believe that overall, purples,blues,blacks,and Browns are better choices in all water charity's ,at all water levels.
That leads me to the next question,it seems like the color craze leans toward the brighter eye appeal colors,what say ye?
In one demonstration,a fellow had 4 containers filled with different textures of stained water.In his demo,the bright colors showed well in clear water,but diminished quickly in each stain of water.The darker lures,all showed well,and actually seemed to improve the more stained the water became as far as contrast .
With that said,logically it appears the more natural colored the lure is,the better the appeal.Im not wanting to stir the pot,I'm just saying what I've kinda always thought,I've never seen too many naturally bright colored live baits out there,wouldn't it be prudent to say,the natural colored baits have more appeal to the fish,and the brighter colors have more appeal the the fishermen? .......

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Originally Posted by Yaker

The subject of muddy water leads me to pondering bait choices,or rather color choices..After watching a few videos and demonstrations of lure color in different water clarity at different depths,I'm led to believe that overall, purples,blues,blacks,and Browns are better choices in all water charity's ,at all water levels.
That leads me to the next question,it seems like the color craze leans toward the brighter eye appeal colors,what say ye?
In one demonstration,a fellow had 4 containers filled with different textures of stained water.In his demo,the bright colors showed well in clear water,but diminished quickly in each stain of water.The darker lures,all showed well,and actually seemed to improve the more stained the water became as far as contrast .
With that said,logically it appears the more natural colored the lure is,the better the appeal.Im not wanting to stir the pot,I'm just saying what I've kinda always thought,I've never seen too many naturally bright colored live baits out there,wouldn't it be prudent to say,the natural colored baits have more appeal to the fish,and the brighter colors have more appeal the the fishermen? .......

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That would be true if fish see like humans see .... but they don't. They see better, more clearly, and farther than we can ... in their environment. Contrast is the key in most instances, along with how much light refraction comes off the bait. Then you have to add in the water temp, since a Crappie's eyes see better in colder water temps. They can also see better than we can in a murky water scenario. Plus, you also have to add in their lateral line, which picks up vibrations (water pressure waves) of things moving in the water. And that's not the end of it, since they can also smell the scent of various critters in their proximity.

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

muddy water scares fisherman not fish , white crappie thrive in muddy waters ,remember that

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:hesaid X 2

This muddy water discussion makes me ask: in muddy water bass can switch from sight feeding to sound feeding. Do crappie do that as well?

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Dark water dark bait, I have found blue/black works well for muddy water bass, and in preparation for sundays muddy water crappie fishing I stopped and picked up some black with flake plastics

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Originally Posted by Tom 513

Dark water dark bait, I have found blue/black works well for muddy water bass, and in preparation for sundays muddy water crappie fishing I stopped and picked up some black with flake plastics

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Let us know how it works for ya,I'm tired of wasting fishing time due to the muddy water we seem to always have in the spring.

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Originally Posted by silverside

This muddy water discussion makes me ask: in muddy water bass can switch from sight feeding to sound feeding. Do crappie do that as well?

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Pretty much all fish use three factors : sight, sound, smell : to their advantage, considering the conditions. Crappie are sight feeders, first and foremost, but when conditions are such that their sight is diminished ... sounds (pressure waves) are picked up by the lateral line, telling them direction and distance of the sound making object. But, don't think that just because the water is "muddy" that the fish are essentially "blind" .... they can see much clearer and farther than we can in such conditions. Basically ... they use all three of those senses all the time, but when conditions dictate it they can primarily depend on any one of them.

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Originally Posted by chaunc

https://youtu.be/bpjs9PLwwJg

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Good video chuanc

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Nice video thanks

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Yesterday visibility was about 6 inches. Water is rising. Could not find them. Nobody was catching. Had a good time, anyway, but they were not shaĺlow.