Dark water, and lure choice

[IgotWood]

I'm planning on fishing a spot with very steep banks, and dark water. The banks drop to between 10-12ft in a hurry, and the water is very dark. It's not cloudy and muddy, it's just really dark stained...it almost looks black. What would be your lure choice, and/or color choice? 

[riverbasser]

Black/blue jig with blue craw trailer of your choice

[everythingthatswims]

I like a green pumpkin chatterbait in that color water. 

 

Also you will probably find very healthy fish if the water has that color to it 

[Scarborough817]

i fish the same colour water and i do well on bluegill coloured baits, green pumpkin chatterbait being my biggest producer, i also do well on red craw lipless cranks

[Ratherbfishing]

In very stained water I almost always use very dark blue or black OR very bright colors.  But usually it's the former.

[GORDO]

In dark water, color isnt as important as vibration/water displacement IMO. Chatterbaits, as stated, are always a good choice. If you dont have any of those, a rattling, chartreuse crankbait is never a bad idea. Personally, I have had success in dark water with rattling, chartreuse or white square bills and lipless cranks. Then again, Im a lipless crank fanatic lol 

[Mike L]

Junebug plastic of your choice bounced on down. If that doesn't work I'd tie a blue gill colored spinnerbait with dual Colorado blades and work all levels if you can. 

 

 

Mike 

[JigMaster4]

Either a black and blue or junebug jig, with a green pumpkin paca chunk or bbug as a trailer.

[soflabasser]

I have had success using loud lure colors when the water visibility is bad.

[BassB8Caster]

When fishing jigs and soft plastics in dark water,  do you still fish them slow or be a little more aggressive/ active due to the lack of visibility? 

[Catt]

Lunker Lures Triple Rattleback

[Hot Rod Johnson]

I use the Lucky Craft ILV 50 Blade Baits in 1/2 Oz. size... The colors are Tiger Perch, Aurora Gold, Northern Perch, and American Shad.. I use a Casting Reels with Sunline TX1 Braided Line Ultra Vis Yellow in 16 Pounds...

[IgotWood]

10 hours ago, Hot Rod Johnson said:

I use the Lucky Craft ILV 50 Blade Baits in 1/2 Oz. size... The colors are Tiger Perch, Aurora Gold, Northern Perch, and American Shad.. I use a Casting Reels with Sunline TX1 Braided Line Ultra Vis Yellow in 16 Pounds...

Interesting! I thank you all for the replies. Very useful information. Anybody use swim baits, or swim jigs?

Hot Rod, do you cast and jig it back? Or do you prefer to locate fish with your electronics and vertically jig?

[Turkey sandwich]

Whatever you're throwing, make it either dark and loud or dark contrasted with chartreuse and loud.   Jigs with larger trailers, Colorado or Colorado/willow spinner baits in chartreuse or black (ideally with a trailer), dark lipless cranks or dark deep diving cranks rattles) run parallel to the shore line.  As it cools off, I would probably approach it more with larger, rattling jerkbaits you can suspend and make easy to locate, as well. 

[Bluebasser86]

A lot of time water that looks black like that has a strong, tannic stain to it. In water that color, I have really good luck with baits with gold in them. I like the bladed jig suggestion, usually I go with one of my homemade ones in golden shiner color. Spinnerbaits with gold blades can be really good, and dark colored jigs or plastics as well. It seems like junebug is usually a good plastics color in that kind of water. 

[Raul]

OK, so bass only have one sense, the sense of sight, interesting ....... 

[bigbill]

Some will fish darker colored baits. I fish the brightest colored baits. Spinnerbaits, HOT Chartruese. I believe the hotter colors liven up the party. If it's still light out and your fishing in the shade go brighter color wise.

[jr231]

Sounds like a good spot to hop a worm down that bank. I'd try a black worm with a ribbon tail . t rigged . At least 7 inches. They'll have no problem finding the worm. Personally my favorite way to fish is crank baits. But no matter how much I love them. I can not argue with a simple worms effectiveness. 

[soflabasser]

I am surprised no one mentioned a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap,it's a great lure for when water visibility is bad.

[timsford]

Big jigs with loud rattles in black and blue, larger chatters it's with paddle tail trailers in the same color, and spinner baits designed for night fishing with big single Colorado blades. 

[5fishlimit]

I would throw a twin arm spinnerbait like this. 

[Hot Rod Johnson]

18 hours ago, IgotWood said:

Interesting! I thank you all for the replies. Very useful information. Anybody use swim baits, or swim jigs?

Hot Rod, do you cast and jig it back? Or do you prefer to locate fish with your electronics and vertically jig?

Use your SI to check out the areas that you want to fish. Find the fish first if you can and then fish for them.

The ways that I fish the 1/2 Oz. Lucky Craft ILV 50 Blade Bait and Rattel-Traps is making "Casts Parallel" with the shore line while the boat is about 3 feet away from the shore line... The fisherman in the front of the boat "Cast Forward" and the fisherman in the rear of the boat "Casts out the back"... Keep the boat about "3 feet away from the shore line" and just slowly troll along and stop every once in awhile...By the way both fisherman will catch fish using this method, give it a try some time. Make four to six passes back and fourth in a "50 Yard Area"... Change you distance and lure speeds and colors until you make contact with the fish. It may be due to the speed of your lure, depth or color that makes the difference. Just keep trying different tactics until you are successful . Also Ripping it through the Grass, Jigging it Vertically and Bouncing it on the bottom works at times. I utilize all of these tactics... One of the techniques that I use when I am fishing live minnows is to bait the front hook with ( 3 ) small minnows, one minnow on each 'Barb" of the treble hook... I am jigging vertically from the side of my boat. This really increases you catch rate.

This works great along "Bluff Walls" in the very early morning, and winter time...

[Torn Thumb]

2 hours ago, 5fishlimit said:

I would throw a twin arm spinnerbait like this. 

Brands to recommend? Never seen one in store like that.

[Bluebasser86]

7 hours ago, Torn Thumb said:

Brands to recommend? Never seen one in store like that.

Looks like a War Eagle

[Airman4754]

A key lime Senko.