Advice for lure choice and fish location in HIGHLY stained water

[LrgmouthShad]

12 hours ago, ironbjorn said:

Watermelon Red [watermelon with red and black flake] (not to be confused with Watermelon Magic) is my best producer in both heavily stained, almost muddy water, and cleawater. 

Very interesting

[Captain Phil]

There are subtle differences in "stained" water.   Don't assume what you see is what fish see.  Some stained water isn't stained as much as you think.  Lake water stained by cypress trees looks black.  This is caused by tannin in the trees themselves.   Examples of black water lakes in Florida are Blue Cypress Lake near Vero, Lake Crescent off the St. John's River and Lake Dorr in the Ocala National Forest.  If you pull a spinnerbait through this water, you can see it's actually fairly clear. 

 

Lakes stained by algae blooms can be clear a few feet under the surface.  From my experience, the darker the water the less influence color has on the fish.  Most anglers who fish dark water will do just as well with solid black baits.  If the water is light green to clear, watermelon colors work well.  The most popular worm color in Florida by far is June Bug.  I try to throw baits different than what others are throwing.  I like Christmas (June Bug with Red and Green flakes).  Paddle tail worms have fallen out of style lately. They are very effective in stained water.   Producto makes a great paddle tail worm call the Vibrator.   If you can still find these worms with a white or light blue paddle, they are killer flipping baits.

 

If you are fishing for fun and relaxation, worm color is not that significant.  If you are fishing for money, it can make a difference.  At the end of the next tournament, walk around and look at the baits still tied on your competitor's line.  Don't be too obvious.  It's amazing what people will tell you if you are nice to them. ?

[Dens228]

This screams spinnerbait to me.   Any colors with a touch of chartreuse in the skirt and a little chartreuse JJ's on the tail of the paddletail trailer. 

[WFL_Bass]

Ok, just an update. I made a chartreuse double colorado spinner and used a chartreuse and black speckle trailer. I also tried a chartreuse buzz bait. Neither resulted in strikes or fish. Only one strike this morning on an old Arbogast Jitterstick (frog color). Nothing on a green popping frog with light belly, soft plastic frog, or white rattletrap. 

[Mbirdsley]

This one was a good one in water with about a foot of visibility and over cast conditions