What do you consider "clear" water 2024

Jerryj33 reply :

After moving from the northwest to the southeast, I'm coming to realize that people can have vastly different ideas of what they consider clear or dirty water. So what would you consider clear? 5 ft of visibility, maybe even less? And better yet, what would you consider your ideal water clarity?

IndianaFinesse reply :

"Clear" is relative to that lake's average water clarity, it's different for every lake. I like it to be pretty murky in the warm water season, maybe a foot of visibility, and at least a couple feet of clarity in the cold water period. I can't hope for more than four or five feet of visibility in the here, but from what i've seen the clearer the better in the winter.

Move up and down the reservoir to find the water clarity that suits what you're doing best.

TOXIC reply :

You are correct that it totally depends on where and what type of water you fish. I fish on Lake St Clair where you can read the date on a dime in 30ft of water most days, to Northern Florida tannic water that looks like black coffee. The key is to be able to adapt on whatever the water clarity is.

fishballer06 reply :

Around here, most lakes only have 1-2' of clarity. Having lots of farmland and mountains, means there's lots of runoff going into our lakes, making them very dirty. It's not uncommon to have water with less than 6" of visibility. So if I find water that has 3-5' of clarity, I consider that clear for around here. We have one lake around 300 acres in size that's on top of a mountain, so it doesn't get any runoff, and the clarity in that lake is around 6-8', so that's crystal clear for around here.

However, up in Canada where I go, 3-5' of visibility is common, and I've seen area's where you can see rocks on the bottom in 10-12' of water. However, the water is more of an off color tea color, so it's a different kind of clarity. So like you said, it's all relative to the area you're in.

A-Jay reply :

Most of the water in my area is 'clear' - definitely requires a specific type of approach to get bit.

This video shows the typical clarity.

Sometimes the best move I can make is to go at night.

It's a whole different story in the moonless pitch blackness.

A-Jay

Jerryj33 reply :

In Washington, I fished a few lakes where I could see the bottom in 15ft. And the murky lakes maybe 3ft of visibility. North Carolina lakes seem very similar, but I've noticed people referring to the clarity of lakes that have the least visibility as clear. Anyways, at what point do you generally switch from green to black and blue? Because I've been using b&b in water with several feet of visibility, water that a lot of people around here are calling "clear"

scaleface reply :

Its rare when there is 5 foot of clarity here . Its usually less than 2 foot , sometimes just an inch or two . I like about two foot of visibility . I can catch fish shallow all summer and still hit the points , humps and brush piles down to about 15 foot .

BassNJake reply :

I used to fish a lake that was fairly clear about 5-7 feet of visibility.

It had a lot of smaller blackish rocks on the bottom.

Seemed the craws and the smaller baitfish were always darker in color, so black and black/blue were more productive than other colors most of the time.

Then you have the school of thought that would go against the grain to show them something different.

Bluebasser86 reply :

Ned Kehde refers to any water clear enough to see the trolling motor head "Kansas Clear". 2-3 feet visibility is pretty clear around here. Go south a ways to Beaver or Bull Shoals and you might be looking at the bottom in 30'.

I prefer a foot or two of visibility unless the water is cold, then I'd like to have 5' or so.

Jerryj33 reply :

On 9/21/2017 at 9:48 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I prefer a foot or two of visibility unless the water is cold, then I'd like to have 5' or so.

Those are about the same parameters that I prefer too.

Scarborough817 reply :

On 9/21/2017 at 9:23 PM, fishballer06 said:

Around here, most lakes only have 1-2' of clarity. Having lots of farmland and mountains, means there's lots of runoff going into our lakes, making them very dirty. It's not uncommon to have water with less than 6" of visibility. So if I find water that has 3-5' of clarity, I consider that clear for around here. We have one lake around 300 acres in size that's on top of a mountain, so it doesn't get any runoff, and the clarity in that lake is around 6-8', so that's crystal clear for around here.

However, up in Canada where I go, 3-5' of visibility is common, and I've seen area's where you can see rocks on the bottom in 10-12' of water. However, the water is more of an off color tea color, so it's a different kind of clarity. So like you said, it's all relative to the area you're in.

quite true for up here, the northern lakes are normally surrounded with trees so in the fall when they loose most of their leaves some end up in the lake. The decaying leaves give the water it's colour much like tea as you said. I don't really consider those lakes clear but they do have some decent visibility, in saying that most of my big fish have come on black and blue baits so that should say something.

Catt reply :

Water clarity is relative to each individual body of water!

One of the marshes I fish has 2' water clarity but it's maximum depth is 2' so how clear is it?

I don't get to excited over water clarity, bass have to live in the water clarity in which they are born.

Bass in off colored waters tend to be lateral line feeders so I adjust my presentations to fit those conditions.

MIbassyaker reply :

Most lakes I fish have visibility between about 4' and 10'. Some as low as 1' or as much as 15'. I think of 6' visibility or more the "clear" range.

WRB reply :

During the early 70's depth of light was something considered important to catching bass. It was thought we should use lures that run at the depth the light dissapeared. We used sechhi disk, 1/2 black and 1/2 white painted disk, tied to a cord to lower down and measure the water clarity or depth of light. Back then nearly all our local reserviors had about 8' to 10' depth of light so that became our target depth and the water clarity hasn't changed in most local lakes without quagga mussels. I would say anywhere you can see the bottom over 8' is clear water for bass fishing.

Today we use sonar to deterime the life zone depth.

Tom

Darren. reply :

All depends. Reservoirs I fish vary greatly with whether

or not the turbines are drawing water, or the general

water levels being high/low.

There are days when it is a silty green with maybe 1 or

so feet of visibility where I put in, and others where I

can see the bottom in 6-8'. In the open, deeper water

(10-20'), rare to see past 5 or 6' (that's a depth-guess,

and only when I've thrown a shiny rattletrap )

soflabasser reply :

Come to South Florida if you want to see some of the clearest freshwater bodies of water in the USA. Most of the places I fish has +10 foot water visibility , with a couple places of +20 feet water visibility. The water is even more clear in natural springs such as the ones found in Central Florida where the water visibility can be +50 feet near the head of the spring. In these places bass can see every little mistake you make so you have to be more careful compared to fishing in water with less than 5 foot water visibility. I tend to well in low light conditions in these clear waters and prefer fishing during overcast, rainy , lowlight conditions over bright sunny conditions. When it gets real hot I tend to bass fish more at night and you will be surprised the size of the bass that bite at night that might not bite during the day.

senile1 reply :

On 9/21/2017 at 9:48 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Ned Kehde refers to any water clear enough to see the trolling motor head "Kansas Clear". 2-3 feet visibility is pretty clear around here. Go south a ways to Beaver or Bull Shoals and you might be looking at the bottom in 30'.

I prefer a foot or two of visibility unless the water is cold, then I'd like to have 5' or so.

Missouri clear water in the Kansas City area is similar to what Blue described above. If you can see 3 feet that's pretty clear water. On the other hand, I fish Table Rock in Southern Missouri approximately 8 - 10 days a year and 30 feet of visibility on the lower end of the lake is not uncommon.

Hog Basser reply :

On 9/21/2017 at 9:48 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

Ned Kehde refers to any water clear enough to see the trolling motor head "Kansas Clear". 2-3 feet visibility is pretty clear around here. Go south a ways to Beaver or Bull Shoals and you might be looking at the bottom in 30'.

I prefer a foot or two of visibility unless the water is cold, then I'd like to have 5' or so.

My place on Beaver has never gotten near 30', that's only up by the dam you can get that. The farther away you get, the less clarity. I'm normally at 6' or so, of course with all the rain earlier this year it was at the chocolate milk stage of clarity for the first few months of the summer.

Ktho reply :

Here in Socal there's mainly clear water lakes. Some of the clear lakes are in that 20-30' clarity and others are more 8-12' but it varies, even the clearest lakes can have algae blooms or mud from rains which happened this year to make visibility minimal. A couple lakes are clear if there is 2 or 3' vis. I may be wrong but from my experience the less clear the water the more fish will be shallow and the more they seek being tight to cover. In the clearer water they tend to be deeper and don't necessarily get right in the cover, they'll just associate to it and structure is a big deal.

As for ideal? I like whatever the normal conditions are for the lake personally. If it's a clear lake with a green tint then thats what I want, I don't like it as much if vis is way down or if it goes crystal and same for the dirty lakes and crystal lakes. Fish don't always love change and I find it to be more predictable when the water is the average state.

I personally really like the dirty lakes here. Most people shy away from it because it's a little abnormal and clear water is more comfortable for them but I find myself right at home in whatever water condition. They also tend to be way less crowded which is my favorite condition.

BuzzHudson19c reply :

I fish a few lakes that are gin clear and a few that are heavily stained. I prefer a lake that is somewhat stained, say 3 ft visibility. I like throwing top water and tend to trick them a little better when they don't get a great look at it.

The river varies. One good rainfall and it's chocolate milk.

YaknBassn reply :

For me, 5' of visibility would be clear water. My home lake is 1', maybe 2' of visibility.

BigAngus752 reply :

All lakes and rivers in central Illinois are subject to run-off from farmland. Two feet of visibility is clear water here. Many times it's six inches or less depending upon the season. We are nervous because we are going to Center Hill Lake and Dale Hollow Lake in Tennessee in two weeks. Those are clear, highland reservoirs. We have no idea how to fish the smallmouth there. .

Senko lover reply :

I don't mind throwing a bright lipless or spinnerbait in muddy water, and I love fishing a black and blue jig in those situations as well.

But man, the most fun I've ever had bass fishing is clear water sight fishing. Not only during the spawn, but in some situations just being in water so clear that you can see everything. I fished this one lake where I rowed out to the middle and dropped some pieces of corn in the water. Bluegills got to a lot of them, but I watched several pieces sink and sink and eventually fall out of sight some 20 feet down. Most crystal-clear water I've ever been on. I love being able to watch a bass and present a lure to it. There's something so addicting about seeing that little "slurp" as the bass inhales your bait and then timing your hookset so you don't ruin the presentation.

ww2farmer reply :

The two lakes I fish most often (Silver and Conesus) couldn't be any more different in watery clarity right now.

Conesus is gin clear right now, I can see the bottom in 15 feet of water.

Silver has an algae bloom for the ages going on right now, and I can't see the trolling motor head.

I consider each one on the extreme ends of the spectrum.

Funny thing is, they both will often flip flop. I have seen Silver gin clear, and Conesus turn to pea soup.

What I prefer, is a nice stain. Where I can see bottom in 2-3 feet, see the tops of the grass, and holes/pockets/points in the grass out to the deep edge in 8'-12', as well as the "transition lines" in the grass where one type of vegetation meets another. I do NOT want to be able to see through the grass, or the bottom on the deep edge of the grass. But I catch fish in both clear and dirty water just fine.

Here's one for the experts to chew on...conventional wisdom around these parts has always been:

"go shallow in dirty water" and "go deep in clear water"

I just won a tournament last week on Conesus fishing shallow in that gin clear water, and have been tuna hauling hogs out in deep water on Silver in the pea soup the last few trips. Go figure.

Jerryj33 reply :

On 9/22/2017 at 9:57 AM, ww2farmer said:

Here's one for the experts to chew on...conventional wisdom around these parts has always been:

"go shallow in dirty water" and "go deep in clear water"

I just won a tournament last week on Conesus fishing shallow in that gin clear water, and have been tuna hauling hogs out in deep water on Silver in the pea soup the last few trips. Go figure.

I had a very similar experience during the post spawn this year. On a lake I fish often with 15ft of visibility the post spawners holed up shallow in the tules, and in a murky lake they all went deep and stayed deep for the summer

Bluebasser86 reply :

On 9/22/2017 at 4:41 AM, Hog Basser said:

My place on Beaver has never gotten near 30', that's only up by the dam you can get that. The farther away you get, the less clarity. I'm normally at 6' or so, of course with all the rain earlier this year it was at the chocolate milk stage of clarity for the first few months of the summer.

I think that's pretty standard about anywhere. I've seen it pretty clear all the way to PC, but that was "only" about 8' visibility. We launched from Indian Creek last time and it was crazy how clear it was, makes for some tough fishing.

ClackerBuzz reply :

I forget which pro gave the recommendation during his seminar but it's helped me tremendously: in clear water, start fishing where the visibility ends. If there is 6 ft of clarity don't waste ur time fishing 6ft or less. Fish 6ft deeper. Also specifically look for structure/cover just past the loss of visibility i.e. 6-8ft

Bankbeater reply :

I like the water to be clear enough so that I can see the stumps before I hit them.

TnRiver46 reply :

On 9/22/2017 at 11:02 PM, ClackerBuzz said:

I forget which pro gave the recommendation during his seminar but it's helped me tremendously: in clear water, start fishing where the visibility ends. If there is 6 ft of clarity don't waste ur time fishing 6ft or less. Fish 6ft deeper. Also specifically look for structure/cover just past the loss of visibility i.e. 6-8ft

This is probably excellent advice 90 something percent of the time but I love fishing gin clear water (10+ ft visibility) with a wake bait or spook. You better have your adult diapers on when a big smallmouth comes up from 20 ft to hit a topwater

Hog Basser reply :

On 9/22/2017 at 2:03 PM, Bluebasser86 said:

I think that's pretty standard about anywhere. I've seen it pretty clear all the way to PC, but that was "only" about 8' visibility. We launched from Indian Creek last time and it was crazy how clear it was, makes for some tough fishing.

Yeah, I'm down below the Hwy 12 bridge at Monte Ne, PC is where it starts clearing up, but I've been up to the dam and could see bottom at 20'. We have some tributaries that muck things up a little more on our end.

Mr. Aquarium reply :

yup here in MA, i fish anything from super clear to tannic tea colored water!

Columbia Craw reply :

This is my standard:

2 feet or less is dirty

2 to 5 feet is stained

5 to 12 feet clear

12 feet or more is gin clear

the reel ess reply :

5 to 6' visibility (to the human eye) would be clear water here. But nearby Lake Murray has water clarity more like 10 or 12'.

Fishing_FF reply :

When I started fishing, I struggled with the definition of what was clear versus murky. Here in Central Florida, unless you are the the natural spring base, the water is stained to varying degrees. Wekiva, Alexander, Blue Springs, are all clear at the source, but travel down the river and they all get darker.

The other day, I was reading Al Linder's The Secret Teachings of In-Fisherman Angling Wisdom & Knowledge. In the Total Angling - Putting Ot Together chapter, Mr. Linder has a section on water clarity. His definitions are based "...on how deep a white lure is visible: 0-2' dark, 2-6 stained', and 6' or greater is clear."

I was looking to learn more about the F+L+P formula when I found this nugget. Simple and straightforward, no motor or secchi disk needed.

slonezp reply :

I didn't realize there was so much confusion in the definition of clear. If I can see 30ft down in 30ft of water, that's clear. If I can't...it aint

RPreeb reply :

At my closest pond, there is no place where the bottom isn't visible, max depth is about 8-9 feet. Even at an angle which increases the relative viewing depth, I can see the bottom. For fishing purposes, that's pretty clear. It's been like that all year. Even a heavy thunderstorm doesn't change the clarity, because there is no feeder stream. The pond is fed from a well, so the water coming in is always pure. It grows a good crop of various weeds, but I've not yet seen anything like an algae bloom to reduce clarity.

Other local lakes have varying clarity through the summer, and that can change sharply at the thermocline. As a former scuba diver, I've been in fresh water where it was a bit murky as I started down, then hit about 15-20 feet and go through into the colder water under the thermocline and it turns clear, like driving out of a fog bank.

J Francho reply :

I generally evaluate the term per the body of water. I was on Lake Ontario this weekend, and I would say it was somewhat clear. I lost the bottom at around 18'. In spring and late fall, you can sometimes see bottom in 30+. Switch that to a lake like Oneida, and I might call clear 5-8'.

soflabasser reply :

This weekend I fished a body of water where I can see bass swimming on the bottom of 15 feet of water from land. I would say that is considered clear water.

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What do you consider "clear" water 2024

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