Tactics for Fishing Stained/Green water

[RuddyDuck]

I fished a lake earlier this year with stained/green water that you could barely see down 8-10 inches in. My success wasn't too good. Just wondering how you guys tackle water like this or do you just not fish lakes that are that green and dirty. What baits and techniques would you use on a lake like this for Bass. Are topwater baits even an option in water that dirty?

It does have alot of rushes in it and submerged weeds in it, but not alot of deep structure or drops. It does have a few points and humps though, but nothing deeper than 10-15ft.

Thanks.

[Craigums]

Sounds like a lake I just fished (Pelican, near Ashby). Black Jigs w/ Rattles. Topwaters work well but I'd suggest something with alot of water disturbance, Buzzbaits come to mind). Spinnerbaits always have worked for me in those types of water also

[EBass]

Try big, loud and dark. Go shallow with topwater. I assume the weedline is about 5-8 feet try a 10" worm with a bullet weight or a jig worm and make some ruckus in the weeds. Use cranks with rattles or a colorado blade spinnerbait that displaces a lot of water. OR go to a cleaner lake:)

I think those greener lakes the bass can be ultra shallow. I fished a lake that was green and was skipping docks. Came up to a pontoon that was pulled onto shore. I just wanted to see if I could skip between the motor and one of the pontoons. It had to be a mere 6" of water. I got bit and pulled out a 18" bass. Ya never know.

[BTL]

Sounds like an average lake out here.

The main thing I would say is that you should make sure to fish prime pieces of cover thoroughly, especially if you're using a "quiet" lure like a soft plastic.

Buzzbaits are a good topwater choice.

[Might_B_A_Pike]

Dark/Natural color Senkos, weightless texes riged, drop them next to cover, fish them slow, sometimes get hits in areas between docks or away from cover but still shallow. I have boated several 18-20" in the last month doing this on a lake where you cannot see your lure once its more then 12" under the water.

rattle traps and colorado blades can work well too, but I have found the shallows with the senkos seems to kick butt.

[luckycrank]

sound like everywhere I fish ! baits that move water help . trust me they can see it, taste it or feel it. better tha one would beleive.

[RK]

Lots of good advice already, but one thing I'd is that fish in darker water seem to hold much tighter to cover than fish in clear water, which is a little counter intuitive - to me anyhow. Accurate casts are important, and if a spot looks good enough, nothing wrong with multiple casts to it...

[Gekhang]

yeah i tend to fish shallower this time of the year for green water. under cattails worked wonders for me with black/blue flake jig.

[kt]

Craigums, how did you end up doing out on Pelican?

[Nick Kuhn]

I think anglers tend to under-estimate the ability of a fish to find a lure. If you fish under them, you are going to bang off rocks and stir up muck, creating all sorts of ruckus. If you fish over them: everything casts a shadow no matter how dark the water seems to you. My water you are lucky to see 6 inches down in and I have more luck with a weightless senko than I do with loud crankbaits...

[RuddyDuck]

Thanks for the tips guys. I ended up hitting Pelican this last weekend by Monti. to do some dirty water bassin. You can see down only about 10inches or so. Took a bit of switching up baits, but figured out that they wanted dark colored jigs w/trailers and purple/Black texas rigged power worms worked on the bottom. I stuck to the dark color theme and it seemed to work. Didn't catch anything huge, but caught a few in the 3lb range.

[RumRiverRat]

I have said it many times on here this summer.

I have been abusing the Largemouth with a black Money Frog on a small dirty water lake.

The fish hold tight to cover and you have to put it right in the fishes face to get them to eat.