clear or dark water 2025

iminsanenutz reply :

i was just wondering what you guys prefer if ya had a choice. im asking because my buddies at my work always said they did not like fishinhg in clearer water because it spooks the fish.

i have lots of old sad quarrys near me where the water is crystal clear and there are tons of bass. i love fishing them its like imposible to get skunked.

they have since fished there now and one says he likes it the other still does not.like to hear your opinion.

RoLo reply :

Dingy water with 2 to 3 ft visibility

Roger

guest reply :

I prefer fishing dingy to muddy water, I've always had the most luck in these conditions.

Guttboy reply :

Clearer the better on a prefishing day....slightly stained for a counter day!

Hmmm....I would like to see the fish and know that they are there....then tick the heck out of them so they cant resist the bait!

MALTESE FALCON reply :

I prefer clear water. Since St. Clair cleared-up due to the Zebra Mussels, my smallmouth fishing has improved by leaps and bounds. Numbers and size.

Falcon

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Clear- it's what I know. 90% of my time on water is on clear water.

Fishing , for me, is about the overall experience and seeing what's going on down there has always been a very cool part of the whole thing for me.

Makes for good "releases" on video too,lol

roadwarrior reply :

The only water I don't like is cold and muddy. Clear water is pretty and usually productive, but stained water is much easier to fish. Rolo's comment on 2'-3' visibility fits me pretty well, too.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

I'm wondering if there are any states that just don't have one or the other? Is there a state that doesn't have clear water? (around the 'ol Mississippi maybe) or states with only clear water (cali maybe) or are both represented pretty much anywhere?

Rattlinrogue reply :

Stained

Catt reply :

I like water that's clear but has color to it; not gin clear but not dark because of mud

senile1 reply :

Quote
The only water I don't like is cold and muddy. Clear water is pretty and usually productive, but stained water is much easier to fish. Rolo's comment on 2'-3' visibility fits me pretty well, too.

Cold and muddy can make for some unproductive hours. Almost all of the water where I live has 1 - 3 feet of visibility generally, except of course when it rains. I do like fishing clear water, but the only times I get to fish it is when I travel to Table Rock Lake or visit my Dad who is 6 hours away. Any water with bass in it is good water.

blackrose55x reply :

So far I have most of my success in stained-muddy water. So I must say dark...

BadKarma42 reply :

Prefer some stain but not opaque.

detroit1 reply :

In michigan, all of the lakes i fish are clear (at least 6'), but i would like to try some stained shorelines for a change. It seems to me that it would be hard to find cover & structure when you can't see 3' below the surface. I don't know how you southern folk can find bass, unless you fish shoreline cover all the time.

Bassin_Cowboy reply :

Stained to slightly muddy.

Taliesin reply :

I have to join the "stained" club here. I have fished many ponds with a wide variety of water clarity. Since I tend to fish shallow, clear water allows the fish to see me too easily and they get a bit skittish.

I can catch a few fish in really clear water, a few more in really muddy water, but one to two feet of visibility is where I do really well.

Matt Fly reply :

I like water that is off colored, stained to heavy. Bass still need to feed no matter what the water color. If I can't see them easy, then they can't see me easy.

Matt

JCrzy4Bass reply :

We don't have incredibly clear water around here. Mostly stained. But Burke Lake, a couple ponds I fish, and the Occoquan River can be fairly clear with visibility from 2-3 and a half feet sometimes. I like fishing this as I can anaylze the cover and see how far out it may go out. Generally in this type of water I look for long laydowns that go out a ways in the water, and structure near deep water with quick drop offs and ledges. I normally have to work deeper in these situations since the old saying goes, if you can see the fish, the fish can see you.

I like slightly stained water as I find it allows reaction baits to work a little better. Especially in these warm months when you are tugging in spinners or cranks at a quick pace and the bass only get a split second to anaylze the bait. The only thing I dislike about stained water and darker water is I find if your working a new area where you do not know the cover or the bottom structure it's much much easier to get hung up. I recently had this happen to me in the Occoquan Rez.

Tin reply :

Doesnt matter to me...

Clear water = Little baits and light line

Dirty= The jig

dink reply :

Stained for sure. To answersome of LBH's question, I live about 10 minutes from the muddy Miss and many lakes around here are stained... some greenish and some brownish. Yet we also have strip mine lakes and ponds that have 10+ feet of visibility as well as some fairly clear Ozark streams and rivers.

fishingfourfun reply :

I've had my best catches in stained water with 2 to 3 ft visability.

fourbizz reply :

I fell most at home when the visibility is between 6 and 12 feet. Sometimes I fish in 20+ feet of visibility it sucks....usually... .

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

I like warm muddy water best shallow 1 to 5 foot <Clear water is ok as long as u can get the fish you see to bite COLD muddy water = warm soft blankets ,Coffee ,and hot donuts and laying back

Bankbeater reply :

My favorites are clear and stained. I've had luck in muddy water as long as its warm.

Senko4life reply :

clear water because i seem to have more pacients. I also like to see the fish then work on them from there

llPa1nll reply :

Quote
I'm wondering if there are any states that just don't have one or the other? Is there a state that doesn't have clear water? (around the 'ol Mississippi maybe) or states with only clear water (cali maybe) or are both represented pretty much anywhere?

I'm with you LBH I only fish clear water cause thats all thats near me. I dont know of any "muddy" water in NH. I mean there are some that are slightly stained but you can still see over 5ft easily in them. I am used to fishing spring fed lakes and ponds so seeing over 10ft is the norm for me. I watch in awe when the tv shows are fishing somewhere and the water is like a cup of coffee would seem so foreign to me.

BackOnTheWater reply :

Most waters in my area's rivers, reservoir chains and lakes are dingy, so I chose dark water because I'm comfortable with the tactics and techniques.

ejtaylor822 reply :

I like a little stain - not totally clear. Enjoy site fishing and watching them in their element. Also, let me know what they are, or are not, interested in.

Taliesin reply :

Quote
I mean there are some that are slightly stained but you can still see over 5ft easily in them.

Wow... you call 5' visibility slightly stained?

Hmm... Maybe this goes back to what LBH was asking. If you are used to fishing "extremely clear" water, maybe your perception of what is clear and what is muddy changes?

Maybe we need to see what people's definitions of clear and muddy are.

To me, clear is at least 4' visibility and muddy is 2". Slight stain allows 3 to 4', with stained running 1 to 3'. Very stained (or slightly muddy) is 3" to 1'.

Maybe this goes back to my farm pond roots where the ponds were usually kept stirred up by catfish and cattle.

FishTank reply :

Stained with about 3 feet of visability.

jb_adams reply :

I'm starting to like clear water because my local lake is so hard to catch ANY bass on, it's making me a better angler. If I can lear to catch at least 1-2 fish per trip on this lake, I can catch fish in stained water a lot easier because I will know much more about presentation tactics, where to look for fish and what to show them when you find them.

The good thing about clear water is when they want to chase a bait, they can see it much easier in clear water. In stained water, you could drag an orange hunters cap and they would have to be within a few feet to see it. In clear water, they can be 8-10 feet away and see it easily.

Now, if I can only get the fish to bite at my local lake, I'll be doing OK. This year, I've learned it's all about having high quality sonar and learning how to find the fish. Once you find the fish, figure out what they are doing, then select your bait presentation around that and hope for the best. Now I need a quality sonar.... :

tnj8222 reply :

my fav is dark muddy where you can see like 1-3 inches deep. then stained where its 1 foot to 3 feet deep. my biggest bass if off of stained but i love muddy water.

Valascus reply :

I'll fish whatever holds bass. Muddy, stained, clear, warm, cold...I don't care. However, I seem to be better fishing stained water. When I say stained, I mean 2 to maybe 5 feet of visability. Clear to me is anything greater than 5 feet of visability. Muddy, well...anything less than 2 feet of visability is starting to get a bit on the muddy side. Being from MO, clear water is by far the hardest for me to fish. I can catch fish, but it usually takes me longer to get on 'em in clear water.

jb_adams reply :

Quote
clear water is by far the hardest for me to fish. I can catch fish, but it usually takes me longer to get on 'em in clear water.

Amen! No wonder all you guys like muddy water. They're easier to catch! ;D

iminsanenutz reply :

i like it because you can see the structure alot better and allso see fish, ive seen his and just casted out my work a few feet behind them and drag it buy em, BANG fish on! ;D

MemphisFisherman reply :

Bit dingy is my favorite type. Nothing wrong with clear water, but theres some TWRA lakes around here that have just gotten insanly clear, like having 20/20 vision 15 feet underwater with no polarized glasses on *cough Glenn Springs i have you*. I don't like fishing it any better, but it feels like I have the best luck in very muddy water....but only because a rattletrap is my go to bait and when its muddy and your throwing a red rattletrap, oh my gawd it work's nice.

Walkingboss reply :

I grew up in Indiana, which has mostly stained to muddy water, with the excepion of some pits. Now I live in New Hampshire, which has crystal clear water on most of its lager fisheries. So, clear or dark...

Clear.

Once you get over your fear of spooking fish, clear water can offer some great advantages. I've pulled bass out of 2-3' of water only 10-15' away. Watched them turn away, turn back, get curious and bite. Also when you do spook a fish you know where they'll be returning to and then after some time you can ease up on that spot again and feel pretty good about your chances. It's great to SEE the fish and develop patterns from there. Around here it's not unusual to see bottom in 25' of water and depending on conditions you might be fishing in 50-75' of water. At that point you're as muddy as the Mississippi as far as what might be eyeing your lure.

Besides, I can go to Fl. or Tx. and hook up anytime...like to see those boys come fish Winnipesaukee in Aug.

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