fishing muddy water

jmoyer198484 · Post by **jmoyer198484** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 11:43 pm

after it rains,my three ponds and my one small lake are muddy,and when ever they get like that it seems like the fish shut off and i cant catch anything,execpt a catfish on a small crank bait and he doesnt count, i throw every thing at these bass and no results,its frustrating , i am not used 2 getting skunked,and it starting 2 become a trend,it was the same way in virgina,i am going pro, one day soon and dont want 2 pick and choose tournaments by the water clarity or when it rains, any tips guys

jmoyer198484 · Post by **jmoyer198484** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:08 am

and one more ? how can i find out what the main forege is in these ponds,i know they have huge bass in them and i want 2 post one alot bigger bigger than my 8.5 pder

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:53 am

Are they public ponds or private?

As for the muddy water... try this post, it has references in it to other posts on the subject:

Post on Muddy Water

jmoyer198484 · Post by **jmoyer198484** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 12:57 am

private pond and man u are fast brendan,u must have an alarm set 4 when i ask a ? if i do go or better yet when i do, i swear 2 it, i will annouce that u guy are a big reason why i got there?

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:09 am

lol, That was just a coincidence... but hey, since you replied back. Private ponds are tuff because your local fisheries department does not manage private ponds. The best suggestion I could make besides telling you to ask around, would be to get yourself a small minnow trap, stick some bait in it and see what you find.

Also, next time you catch a bass, gently feel around its stomache. You'd be suprised how much you could learn (size, shape, crawfish, etc.) from feeling around a bit. Also take a peek down its mouth and see if anyting is sticking out from its throat.

You'll really feel it in their stomach if there are crawfish in that pond.
BC

jmoyer198484 · Post by **jmoyer198484** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:19 am

ok i will be out there tommorow mourning and see what i can find out, thanks brendan,and my bad 4 posting so many pick, just trying 2 learn asap as soon as posible

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:01 am

Nothing wrong with trying to learn... post away!

jmoyer198484 · Post by **jmoyer198484** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:19 am

one more ?. there isnt any rocks or hard structure there,just alot of stumps and timber and sum grass along the shore. can there still be crayfish there? my guess is bluegill or sunfish. because i dont ever see any minnows or bait fish. but then again it kinda winter time,they might not be shallow.the only thing i havent tried topwater yet. what would be ur choice of topwater in a place like this? or is it 2 cold already? just wondering

KNBman · Post by **KNBman** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 8:51 am

I'm not a pro, but I'll take a jab at this anyway. It sounds to me like the bite doesn't shut off because of the muddy water, but because of post frontal conditions. The bite sure can be tough after a front passes. If this is the case, I usually go deep as fish in deep water are less affected by barometric pressure changes. If your body of water isn't that deep, try fishing the next available piece of cover in slightly deeper water than where you have caught fish before the front rolled through.

Going back to the original topic, regardless of weather you want to fish baits slower in muddy water. Especially this time of year. Also try using lures that displaces a lot of water. Due to the limited visibility, the fish will rely on their other senses to find prey. Lures that displace a lot of water will be picked up by the fishes lateral line. So even though they can't see your bait, they can feel it and will use their lateral line to home in on your bait. My favorites are jigs, Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, Yamamoto Senkos, and 8" plastic worms. Adding rattles to your offerings can also help the fish home in on your bait. Adding rattles to your offerings can also help the fish home in on your bait.

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 5:01 pm

KNBman... Couldn't agree with you more... spoken like a true "PRO". Just on a side note, nobody needs to be a pro to answer questions on these boards. It's all about helping each other out. Thanks for jumping in KNBman...

Bassboy, just a quick thing about crawfish... there's agood reason why they nicknamed them "mudbugs". They love to be around rocks, but they do not need rocks to thrive... muddy bottoms, weeds and wood will surve them just fine!

BC