Bass tidbit

Water clarity is one of the critical elements in bass fishing.

Scientists describe water clarity in three levels, clear, stained, and muddy.

Water clarity is measure by a device called a 'sechi' disc. This is a round disc, painted in alternating black and white quarters, mounted on a pole. The pole has depth graduations marked on it.

The disc is lowered into the water and the point where it 'disapears to the naked eye' is noted. This is usually done midday with the sun overhead.

If the disc is still visible below five feet, the water is considered 'clear'.

If the disc disapears between one and five feet, the water is considered 'stained'.

If the disc disapears in the first foot, then the water is considered 'muddy'.

Water clarity will have an impact on how you fish.

Do you have a prefered water clarity for bass fishing?

Which do you prefer to fish, and why?

Good Luck!

Buddy

I prefer stained Buddy. My experience over the years has been to get the reactionary strike rather than the feeding strike.

Clear water allows for a spooked fish, yes, even a bass. Now if the clear water has a low chop on it, different story.

Just my preferences and by the way, good questions.

I prefer stained because I have had better luck with that type of water.

Great Question :D

Tim

I don't like muddy water!

I prefer clear water in streams. I'll fish stained water, but if it's muddy I'll stay home.
Local lakes are clear, but will become stained as the plankton and weeds get thicker. No problem fishing them
The one lake I fish in Ontario is clear. You can see bottom in 8 to 10 feet of water. I enjoy fishing that because there can be a lot of sight fishing for smallies and pike.

My best success fishing in clear waters has always been fishing from the canoe and casting toward shore (or the bank). You can get by with more shoddy presentations in stained water. When the water is muddy in this part of the country it's usually the result of some hard rain and I give it some time to clear.



Dale

Clear water because I like sight fishing.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

I'm surprised by the number of fly fisherman who are put off by muddy water, particularly in lakes. I will often try to fish wind-blown points and shores where the water has turned muddy because of wave action. Stripers and hybrids will often hang right in the muddy edge waiting to ambush disoriented bait fish. Particularly in the spring, I find muddy areas very hard to pass up. 8T :D

I like enough water clarity to be able to see bait fish in the shallows. Although it doesn't always hold true, if there aren't any, bass fishing could be tough that day.
How's that for a scientific approach. 8)

Buddy,
Somewhere in between stained and clear.
Do you KNOW WHY water gets TEA Colored?
In a Lake and a River?
Doug :?:

Doug,

I've heard that the most prevalent reason for that 'tea' color is tanin staining from either vegetation or the soil. None of that around me, but I have been lucky enough to fish a couple of places that have it in the South.

THOSE waters are 'ideal' bass habitat. Just enough 'color' to reduce sunlight penetration, but clear enough for the bass to hunt efficiently.

Good Luck!

Buddy

I like clear because I like to see the fish, but stained is good too.

As long as it is wet, we'll fish it. :roll: We pretty much only top-water for LM's anyway. :wink:
....lee s.