Stained Water

[PeterF]

I've been reading here for a while about stained water and the different colors that should be used under different conditions. Since I believe that what might be stained for some might not be for others, how do you determine how stained the water is? Do you see how deep you can see? Example; How stained would you consider the water if you could see your bait at 5 feet deep?

[George Welcome]

not very.

[Chris]

Clear... If I am sitting in 5ft of water and if there is a coke can on the bottom and if I can make out it is a coke can and can read the word coke its is clear. If I can just make out that it is a can then it is stained water. If I can not see the can at all then its is heavy stained to muddy.

[Matt Fly]

clear to slight stain.   Stained water, 3 ft vis.  

Different lingo comes from all around the country,  maybe a good thread starter.

Terms used all around.     Clear,  stained, slight stain, cloudy, murky, mud-lines, muddy, off color, off colored,

In other regions, these terms or how they are defined might be different in meaning.   Like clear in Cal, may be you can see 20ft,   where in Tx, clear may be define with visibility up to 10ft.

Place your lure in the water, let if fall until out of sight, pull up line.  If its 6ft, my report is simple, visibility up to 6 ft.   This gives everybody an idea of the water clarity no matter where your from.   To me, 6ft vis is clear to slight stain, stained is 3ft vis

[Chris]

That's something else... sometimes because of water drainage or algae bloom the top layer might be hard to see through and under that layer could be clean clear water. Sometimes its a change in water temp that causes the particles to suspend or maybe the wind has been stacking in a particular cove.

[PeterF]

If you guys don't mind, I would like to take it one step further. Let's say that I'm fishing in 8-10 feet of water and I can see my bait down to 5 feet, would you say that the water is just as stained the rest of the way down or does it become more stained?

[Nick_Barr]

Probably just the Light refraction, unlesstheir is a thermocline and mud particles, etc. are caught in the colder, heavier water.

[dabluz]

To me, clear water is where I can stand in my canoe, look down and see my anchor on the end of 30 or 40 ft of rope.  It's like I'm on the edge of a 2 story building.

There are brook trout streams that I know, where the water is so stained, it's like fishing in pepsi.  The small brookies I catch in these streams are almost black.  Most of the waters nearby are stained to varying degrees.  The stain comes from the different deciduous trees that make up 95% of the forest in my area.

The walleye in these stained waters bite better on brownish or golden coloured lures...ex.; Ripplin Red Fin with gold sides, black back and orange belly, craw couloured Shad Rap, Smithwick Suspending Rogue with gold sides, black back and orange belly.

[mcipinkie]

Run this by me one more time.

Are you looking for a lesson in semantics, or do you want to know what color lure to throw?

The definition of stained and clear is your own perception. I know what I call clear, but I'm a dirty water fisherman. Clear water fishermen would have different definition.

I don't know, or care, what someone else calls clear, stained, or muddy. I do know, or at least think I know, what lures to fish at various levels of clarity.

If you want to get technical, the proper tool is called a Secchi disk.

[Guest avid]

Mcpinkie is right on target here with the secchi disc.  There has to be a standard otherwise we may as well all be speaking a different language.  Think about it.  Your question is "If I can see my bait at 5 feet"  An orange crankbait will show up alot better at 5' than a ghost minnow color. Of course most of us don't run around with two tone painted discs in our boats, but most of us do have a white skirted jig or spinnerbait.  This is what most use do determine how clear/stained their water is.  

[PeterF]

I didn't mean to turn this into a science project but you are correct, I do want to know what to throw. In 8-10 feet of water with 5 feet of visibility, would you throw the same color worm as you would a shallow crank bait?

[mcipinkie]

You know, it's just not simple. A lot depends on the time of year, water temperature, what the fish normally feed on, etc.

For me personally, based on your hypothetical circumstance, I would choose a watermelon worm, if I was going to throw a worm, and either a crawfish or shad colored crankbait.

That's a lot of generalization, not knowing anything else about the conditions.

Actually if I was fishing, I probably would not throw either a worm or a crankbait.

I'd throw a jig, probably in a relatively neutral green or brown color, or a spinnerbait, either white or white/chartreuse, but not knowing any more about the conditions, that answer is really no better than the worm/crankbait answer.

I throw a jig at every opportunity because I like to jig fish and I avoid crank baits because I don't like to throw crankbaits. Those are just my personal preferences and certainly don't mean that crankbaits won't catch fish.

[PeterF]

Thanks for the tips. I'm going out on Monday morning and I'm keep you posted on how I did with the jig.

[5bass]

If you can see only a foot or two in the water,that is what I call stained.If that is what I'm faced with,I would throw a wide wobbling crankbait,probably in a chartreuse pattern.The next thing I would do would be to find some laydown trees and pitch a black base jig (with rattle) into it.Still no bites?I'd get out a spinnerbait with tandem Colorado blades,chartreuse skirt.

Dont catch 'em all.

[.ghoti.]

I think can all agrre that "stained" or "clear" cna be considered relative terms. The case can be made for considering these terms regionally relative. Clear water in my neck of the woods would probably be called stained or even dirty water in Minnesota or California. Doesn't matter what you call it. As the water gets clearer, go with more natural looking baits. As the water gets dirtier go with darker colors. Find the fish, get the depth and speed right, and worry about color last.

Good luck to all,

GK

[Siebert Outdoors]

I would say 4-5 ft visibility would be stained anything more clear anything less muddy.  

[Guest avid]

I would say 4-5 ft visibility would be stained anything more clear anything less muddy.

I think most people would agree with this, again using a white bait as the color.  If you are going deeper and its stained water then the chartruese patterns work well, on worms, darker colors, and don't forget about rattles.  Bass may not be able to see the bait more than a few feet away but sound will travel better in water than it does in air and that will bring em in closer and increase your strikes........usually.  :-/