Pre-spawn and cold muddy water

[jwp]

I assume, and hope, that the mechanic will fix my boat in time for me to fish some cold, muddy water. I've been thinking about it alot, because I have been skunked more times than I have caught fish when faced with such water conditions.

What I have read says that bass position themselves in shallow water tight to cover such as laydown and stumps. And I assume a person would need to fish shallow and slow such as with a jig, with a bulky trailer and probably a rattle.

However, in early March, many fish will still be deep. So, when the heavy, early spring rains come and bring the mud, do the fish move shallow and hang to cover or do they stay deep because it's pre-spawn and they are still hanging in deep water?

What do you guys do when faced with pre-spawn cold, muddy conditions?

[dpage70]

Go find better water lol. I love muddy water but new muddy and cold muddy water are about as tough as it gets IMO. When the water is still cold in the early spring I always try to find the cleanest water I can. If it's been a few days since a good rain I'll go way back into the creeks and pockets to see if the mudline has moved out or not, if it has hang on to your rod tight. If it hasn't moved out I'll go downlake and find some clean mainlake water and try to find some fish that haven't moved up yet. That's just me though.

[jwp]

Thanks, dpage.

So, over 80 views and only one reply? C'mon guys, let's hear some more ideas!

[CMIDD]

I would pretty much have to go with flipping jigs or creature baits in the shallows. Just my 2 cents though.

[MagikSmallie]

I've had success slow-rolling a rattletrap in these condtions.

[HawgHunter75]

you might also consider slow rolling a big colorado blade spinnerbait, the massive vibration helps the fish find you bait a little better in my opinion, but I am a biased spinnerbait fan .

[smljaw]

That's about as tough as it gets. It's the kind of day that 2 or 3 bites is all you might get. You can have some success if you've had a few warm days/nights in a row. Every March I'm always looking for 3 nights in a row where the low temps are 40 degrees or higher. You're also looking for stability in the weather. If you see a stable weather forecast with warmer evenings it's time to go!

The jig is always my #1 bait in cold, muddy water. Throw dark colors with rattles and try different weights (1/4 oz. to 1/2 oz.). If you get the warmer air temps, throw a red Rat L Trap and black spinnerbait w/ colorado blade(s). Also, don't pass up an opportunity to throw a wide wobble crankbait near the bank around wood and laydowns. And remember, a rocky bank warms up faster on a sunny day.

[bereabasser]

Get in the backs on creeks and find the timber...flip it,crank it,and spinnerbait it

[jrbassmaster]

I fished a torny on rough this year when the water was 20+ above sumer pool. It was early spring the water was cold and muddy and everybody that had fish said they made a long run to find were the water was clearer and warmer. The sad part is only 10 boats had fish out of 50 boats. So I say you need to find clearer warmer water and fish your strengths.

[jwp]

Excellent ideas, thanks! Any more input? Dave Stewart, you out there?

[Dave Stewart]

Excellent ideas, thanks! Any more input? Dave Stewart, you out there?

I am out here..but not liking this ice storm...lol. In my opinion you have received some good advice here from these guys.

Here is my opinion as it were:

The bass will be using their lateral lines and smell to find their food in muddy water so baits that key on them using their sight for feeding need to be put aside. Slow rolled thumping spinnerbaits, noisy crankbaits like the rattletrap, wide wobble crankbaits that produce vibrations (even better with rattles) etc are good choices. Bumping them against cover or structure creating more awareness of the bait increases your chances. Slow fished jigs with rattles bumping around in heavy cover works in the same way so these can be a plus for you to try(soak it in your favorite scent). Something I have not yet seen mentioned here also would be a loud buzzbait...this will get some attention also...especially bumping it into stumps, logs etc.

Now bass are not gonna travel miles to get to a clear water area...but, an area where the water is clearing like the back or a creek will tend to draw the bass that are in that area to the clear water. It is easier for them to feed by sight than by sound or smell or let's just say the added advantage of sight in addition to sound and smell will increase the bass ability to successfully find food. Pay particular attention to mudlines in these areas...bass tend to take advantage of the mudlines as ambush points. If the clearing area has water running into it, crayfish pattern baits and nightcrawler imitating baits such as an unweighted senko or floating worm can be deadly at the mouth of the run in.

Of course there are many other environmental items to take into consideration...current, rising water, falling water, rising water temps, falling water temps etc to take into consideration. Always approach your fishing from the standpoint of what is going on in the environment of the forage and the bass and how they should be reacting. These creatures have been around for thousands of years...they are not smart...they get conditioned to react to their evironment and changes in their environment...all you have to do is figure out how they are reacting and then apply the technique or pattern that will give you highest percentage chance to catch one. I would be teaching some of this very information right now if this ice storm had not caused us to cancel our class today....SEE WE REACT TO OUR ENVIRONMENT TOO!!..LOL

[buzzking]

Real simple, if the water is say 47 or below and it is rolling mud, either go find cleaner water or go home. Yes some fish will move up in that crap but very few, and they will be hard as hell to catch. Most will stay deep and just shut down for a day or two. Now once the water starts getting into the 50s, that theory changes a little bit. My big thing in these conditions is my graph. Most of the time in that colder muddy water you can cruise over drops and literally see big pods of fish suspended up off the bottom about 2-3 feet. I guess they pod up (probably not bass but all fish act the same to some extent) in that cold muddy crap. You can fish for them all day and they won't bite, been there done that. When you see this, you may as well go look for better water. Like mentioned above either go to the backs of the creeks or go to the dam and look for the cleanest water you can find. Fish the bluffs, they usually don't mud up as bad