Where Do You Draw The Line?

[Tony L.]

I am headed back to a lake that I have only ever fished once. There is a good stock of bass in it and LOTS of organic matter from last season's lilly pads. So much, in fact, that the water is deeply stained. I would say that visibility is maybe 6 inches tops-even though it really isn't muddy at all. It feels like fishing in a giant pot of coffee.

I had great success with noisy baits like topwaters, spinners and rattling cranks last time, but got to wondering if it would ever be productive to throw soft plastics. It is just where I have more confidence. I know that, even if totally blinded, bass will still sense with their lateral lines, but I still think of soft plastics as more of a sight lure. Does anyone have a general visibility cutoff where you might decide to only use flashy or noisy lures, or do you keep on using baits like soft plastics through the murkiest water? If there is a line, where is it?

[J Francho]

Water Clarity alomost never enters the equation for whether to throw a plastic or not. I suggest you get away from this awfully limiting idea that plastics are just for clear water - that's total nonsense!

Toss a RageTail Craw or Lobster aty your favorite spot, and see what happens.

[F14A-B]

Lochloosa & Orange in Florida & many , many other lakes are tannic in color, I fish plastic worms with great success in those " coffee" stained waters.. Therefore I agree with JF in his statement as well ( worms, craws,etc make up about 75% of my fishing )

[WRB]

Check the depth of light, tannic or stained water can have good depth of light. Make succchi disk (1/2 black & 1/2 white painted pie tin with a hole in the middle to attach you line to. Drop the disk down until you can't see it in day light, measure the depth. You can also drop a white spinner down until you can't see it for approximate depth of light. You probably have more than 2' depth of light!

The bass don't have any problems finding prey trying to hide from them in stained water, you can use whatever lure is working best for you. I always use a tempered glass faceted bead between the weight and hook to make a clicking sound regardless of the water clarity with soft plastics.

Tom

[Raul]

Ok, I´ll have to say it again and excuse me if it bothers somebody´s sensibility.

 

BASS DO NOT NEED TO SEE THE BAIT IN ORDER TO HIT IT

 

Now that I got that out of my chest and hoping, the size and being in bold the message will go through and won´t land on a coat of teflon you can help the fish a little to locate the bait, it´s not absolutely necessary but it ain´t gonna hurt.

 

Make it loud, make it noisy, make it strong vibrating, make it shiny.

 

I have caught thousands of fish with soft plastic baits out of water you could literally plow.

[J Francho]

Check the depth of light, tannic or stained water can have good depth of light. Make succchi disk (1/2 black & 1/2 white painted pie tin with a hole in the middle to attach you line to. Drop the dish down until you can't see it in day light, measure the depth.you can also drop a white spinner down until you can't see it for approximate depth of light.

And do what with that info?  I mean, when communicating water clarity, this *could* be helpful,  It's also one of the several measurements we captured when doing environmental studies in college, but what part of knowing that measurement can we apply to fishing?  At best it's acedemic, at worst it's just a time waster.  The water is dirty or clear, or somewhere in between.  I am probably one the best known "measurebaters" on this forum, and inclined to take detail oriented things way too far, but I can't see the practical application here.

[Catt]

Bass have to live where they are born, they can not pack a suit case & move.

The bass have adapted...The angler must adapt as well!

[Raul]

Bass have to live where they are born, they can not pack a suit case & move.

 

 

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God.

 

I like that part of packing bags and leaving´. 

[J Francho]

It's funny becuse I'm often subconciously guilty of the opposite - thinking of clear water lakes as "hard lure" or "moving lure" lakes. It gets stuck in my head that bass can see better, so baits have to be realistic or have a quick retrieve.  Totally not true, but goes to show you that any kind of "conventional wisdom" is often a mistake in fishing.

[K_Mac]

Adding a bead or rattle can make a difference, but it is situational. Sometimes just going bigger will make the difference. A big jig and craw, a big worm, or a big creature bait displaces enough water to be easily found by a hungry bass. Bigger or louder are not the only answer though. I have caught big fish in shallow muddy water on a t-rigged Smallie Beaver and 3/16 oz weight. In other words, as J Franco said, don't let water clarity determine what you fish, let the fish do it.

[WRB]

The OP ask a simple question; Where do you draw the line?

We have answers ranging from plowed dirt, it does't matter and bass don't have a choice where they live.

The succchi disk is a universal baseline, not subjective and simply gives the angler a specific depth of light, do with it as you see fit. A spinnerbait angler may use water clarity to select blade colors for example.

Bass have exceptional eye sight, you can ignor that fact or take advantage of it.

Bass often pack their bags and move out of or into dirty water looking for prey; mud lines, river confluence, rain run off etc. Fishing water color break line is common, the bass may move to that zone to take advantage of their good eye sight.

Tom

[Nice_Bass]

I guess the key for me would be how long has that water been stained that way?  if it is new stained water I tend to agree that soft plastics would be a bit more difficult to fish, or at least have confidence in.  For water that is year round like that different story altogether.  Post spawn w/ temporary acute coffee water I would go to a different lake until it normalized, personally...

[EmersonFish]

I'll skip the science. I can tell you "anecdotally" that I have caught plenty of fish on soft plastics and jigs, fishing cover in water with very little visibility. I'd guess they take advantage of the low visibility to ambush prey more easily, so let them ambush your bait. I fish fairly clear water most of the time, and when we do get a little muddy water, it can actually be an opportunity, rather than a bummer.

 

Whatever their motivation, they seem to find a black/blue jig I can't see 12" under water just fine. In your case, they probably see better than you think. The coffee colored water you describe is different from really muddy water from a lot of runoff in the spring or fall. Even in truly muddy water, they'll find it. All I would avoid is a subtle, quiet, moving bait. Either fish tight to cover, or use moving baits that they can locate a little easier.

[Raul]

Not only they "see" better, they feel better through their lateral line.

[WRB]

Years ago I was fishing with my father in law in Ontario Canada near Kenora on a chain of lakes called High Wind. This is the first time experiencing stained water coffee or dark tea color. The was clear, just brown color.

These are lake trout lakes with pike and smallmouth bass populations. We started with chrome spoons that in this water looked gold, you could see them form a good distance. Changed to gold spoons that looked copper color in this water and immediately started catching big pike and some smallmouth. Going deeper jigging the spoons for lake trout the gold with blue strip was the ticket, not plain gold, or chrome or chrome with blue stripe. Lure color made a difference in this stained water to the fish.

Just try different colors.

Tom

[Catt]

Tom, you ate correct the secchi disc is the universal baseline for "human eyesight"! But once again you are trying to apply "science" meant for humans to bass, it does not apply. Bass born in muddy water rely less on their eyesight & more on their lateral line to sense the location of prey.

As to "Where Do You Draw The Line?"

We can not draw a line & expect to be a successful angler. The OP was given personal experience proving this. Like the bass some of us have to deal with the waters we are forced to fish because we simply can not move to where ideal waters exist!

[Ratherbfishing]

I'd let the bass draw the line.  My rule of thumb, at least initially, is this:  The darker or muddier the water, the darker (or sometimes brighter) the bait I will go to and the slower I will generally fish it.  It doesn't always play out that way but that's where I begin.

[J Francho]

The OP ask a simple question; Where do you draw the line?

We have answers ranging from plowed dirt, it does't matter and bass don't have a choice where they live.

The succchi disk is a universal baseline, not subjective and simply gives the angler a specific depth of light, do with it as you see fit. A spinnerbait angler may use water clarity to select blade colors for example.

Bass have exceptional eye sight, you can ignor that fact or take advantage of it.

Bass often pack their bags and move out of or into dirty water looking for prey; mud lines, river confluence, rain run off etc. Fishing water color break line is common, the bass may move to that zone to take advantage of their good eye sight.

Tom

 

Yes, all of that is true and I agree with what you say.  However, what do I do after I've use my secchi disk and determined it diappeared after 2.3 meters? What am I supposed to do with this?  I hear this brought up repeatedly, but I never hear the next sentence. Why did I measure the visibility?

[K_Mac]

Does anyone have a general visibility cutoff where you might decide to only use flashy or noisy lures, or do you keep on using baits like soft plastics through the murkiest water? If there is a line, where is it?

Here is the actual question. My reply was that I treat muddy water like any other situation, and let the fish decide. I do not night fish in cold muddy water after a major rain event, so if you want a line that is one. In cold water I will generally look for the clearest water available in the abovementioned situation to start. I don't really care about trying to quantify how muddy the water is.

[WRB]

Depth of light helps to determine how deep green aquatic vegation will grow. I realize you don't need a succchi disk, that be easily done with a lure. All a succchi disk does is provide a standard method of measurement.

Catt I realize we don't know how bass see colors underwater, in fact we very little based on experience. It's like the color blind person who has all the normal human eye components and can't distinqiuse some colors or in some individuals, can only see shades of gray, the brain determines how colors are interpreted.

Tom

[Fishing Rhino]

Check the depth of light, tannic or stained water can have good depth of light. Make succchi disk (1/2 black & 1/2 white painted pie tin with a hole in the middle to attach you line to. Drop the disk down until you can't see it in day light, measure the depth. You can also drop a white spinner down until you can't see it for approximate depth of light. You probably have more than 2' depth of light!

The bass don't have any problems finding prey trying to hide from them in stained water, you can use whatever lure is working best for you. I always use a tempered glass faceted bead between the weight and hook to make a clicking sound regardless of the water clarity with soft plastics.

Tom

 

I think the "depth of light" is twice what the detector shows. 

 

Consider this.  Let's say that you lose sight of the object at a depth of three feet.  That means that the light has to travel through three feet of water to get to the object, and then be reflected back through another three feet of water to be seen.

 

To me, that means that the light, or its source could be seen at a depth of six feet. 

 

I could be wrong, but I'm used to that.

[everythingthatswims]

In REALLY dirty water the only baits I ever catch many fish on are black and blue jigs and black and blue t-rigs.

[bassr95]

I think the "depth of light" is twice what the detector shows. 

 

Consider this.  Let's say that you lose sight of the object at a depth of three feet.  That means that the light has to travel through three feet of water to get to the object, and then be reflected back through another three feet of water to be seen.

 

To me, that means that the light, or its source could be seen at a depth of six feet. 

 

I could be wrong, but I'm used to that.

Sounds right to me...

[Paul Roberts]

Great question and great responses. I agree with... all of it!

 

...
Toss a RageTail Craw or Lobster aty your favorite spot, and see what happens.

There are all kinds of "soft plastics".

 

... However, what do I do after I've use my secchi disk and determined it diappeared after 2.3 meters? What am I supposed to do with this?  I hear this brought up repeatedly, but I never hear the next sentence. Why did I measure the visibility?

When I measure such things it's to get some sense of the scale of things out there, rather than as something directly applicable. Values may be helpful as basic limnological/ecological background info on a water body. But in terms of immediate fishing decisions, an actual value doesn't mean anything.

 

Bass have to live where they are born, they can not pack a suit case & move.

The bass have adapted...The angler must adapt as well!

Yeah, bass can make good livings in such a wide range of conditions. This does not mean that clarity never factors in.

 

I guess the key for me would be how long has that water been stained that way?  if it is new stained water I tend to agree that soft plastics would be a bit more difficult to fish, or at least have confidence in.  For water that is year round like that different story altogether.  Post spawn w/ temporary acute coffee water I would go to a different lake until it normalized, personally...

Nice nuanced response. Bass that grew up in low clarity adapt at a developmental level and can be effective hunters in low clarity. This is not an instantaneous process. Waters that are normally very clear that undergo a sudden turbidity change can end up with very skinny bass until it clears. Beyond such extremes, bass in most waters experience a range of visibility conditions and can hunt effectively in a wide range of lighting conditions.

 

I think the "depth of light" is twice what the detector shows.  

 

Consider this.  Let's say that you lose sight of the object at a depth of three feet.  That means that the light has to travel through three feet of water to get to the object, and then be reflected back through another three feet of water to be seen.

 

To me, that means that the light, or its source could be seen at a depth of six feet. 

 

I could be wrong, but I'm used to that.

Speaking of academics... Not only does this (light travel distance) work as you describe vertically, but horizontally too, although I'm not so sure the 6ft number wouldn't be slightly less due to attenuation at depth. Not sure. Guess we'd have to measure that one.

 

Anyway, the point is that there is more light getting through than we might think when we lower a lure (or secchi disk) down to check visibility. Further, bass are apparently quite light sensitive -more so than some of their common prey like bluegills and shad. Most bass we fish to are well equipped to deal with low visibility conditions.

[J Francho]

While you were playing with your disc, I caught a delicious bass.