Fishing Clear Water

[Garry2Rs]

Almost everything that is written about Bass fishing is about fishing in the "Lower 48." Our American cousins don't have a lot of clear water...Therefore a lot of what we read is about shallow water reservoirs and is not very applicable to our circumstances.

 

Where I live, near Apsley in the North Kawarthas, most of the lakes are very clear. The introduction of Zebra mussels, and the resultant explosion in weed growth has made the water even clearer.

 

Since we probably won't be reading about it in Field and Stream, let's talk about fishing in clear water. I want to hear your ideas, but here's three of my ideas to get things started.

 

Number one, in clear water I believe that bait Size becomes very important.

For instance, at the beginning of the season there are no little minnows. This years hatch are too small to see and last years are full grown...I use larger baits in May and June than I do in July and August.

 

Number two, I think Colour and lack of colour is far more important in clear water. Baits like Kopper Live Target, some Lucky Craft, and some Rapala baits have a great deal of detail and realistic paint jobs.

 

Spro, Lucky Craft, and Rapala also make some "ghost" lures that are translucent. In clear water I think these work better, because you can see light through most real minnows!

 

In plastics, natural colours like light browns, greens, smoke/grey and translucent plastics get my nod. Could the reason that pink works so well be because light passing through minnows makes them look pink?

 

My last idea has to do with Profile. Shad are the predominant forage across the USA but not in areas north of the Great Lakes. There are many Sunfish, Crayfish and Perch pattern crankbaits out there that have the profile of a Shad!

 

I know that at times fish will hit anything that might be eatable, but in my mind, "matching the hatch" becomes much more important in clearer water. Live Target baits have the most realistic profiles, but all the more expensive brands tend to have less generic shapes from lure to lure than the cheaper ones do.

 

I know that not everybody out there fishes clear water but when you do, what, if any, adjustments do you make?

Garry2R's

Edited August 8, 2010 by garry2rs

[g_clot]

Good post Garry, all great points.

 

In fishing for just over a year, I've almost only been in clear or tea stained water conditions. In terms of plastics, the browns, greens, watermelons have been the most effective by far, generally texas rigged. However, the black/blue/purple have also also been effective craw colours. In terms of hard baits, I have to agree 100% on the LiveTargets, they've been excellent producers. Silver's also been one of the best producers for the last year as well. In fact, I think my fishing buddy's caught more fish on a 4 1/2" Long A Bomber in metallic silver than other lure of ours combined (he also has it rigged more than any other lure as well). LM, SM & Northern. Based on the 'match the catch' philosophy, his success doesn't necessarily fit, however for reaction bites it's been extremely successful. Also, white, ghost, purple and chartreuse spinnerbaits have all worked reasonably well too. Top water hasn't been as good this year compared to last, unfortunately.

 

Another point - Extra slow presentations have been the way to go for us in the Georgian this season compared to last.

 

 

[EC1]

I was at a Muskokan lake not too long ago, and that spot has always been a spot where it was live bait or nothing for my entire family.

 

After trying to break that tradition with everything in my tackle box, I pulled out a crankbait that was practically clear and finally got a hit that happened to snap my 4# test line...At least I know what to go back with next time.

[OhioFisherman]

I fished waters in 3 states and Ontario some years, different degrees of water clarity. Some waters like the local water supply reservoir were very clear. An above ground mini lake, water is pumped in for storage for later use. Rip-rap banks and not much run off into the lake, 17 feet deep most of the way around it 30 feet off the bank and you can see weeds down there.

 

Really didn`t notice line type making a difference in this lake, I used Stren and vanish, rate of lure fall seems to make more of a difference, too heavy a weight means less strikes. Fished it day and night, not a surface lure lake, day or night. A number of lures work, lizards, worms, tube, small jig and pigs, it does have a lot of crawfish, some baitfish, and a mix of bluegill, and perch of a size bass could eat. You would think a faster falling lure would trigger more strikes? They don`t get as good a look at the lure? not the case. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits? almost a futile effort to use, even in crawfish and baitfish color patterns.

 

Cement company pond, a borrow pit roughly 6 acres, dirt used to build a turnpike overpass. Water also very clear, lures pointless day or night, zero top water bites. Almost weed free, structure? floating truck tire of the cement trucks, and hook a big bass on live bait near one and they will swim thru it.

 

I play it by ear and I am not afraid to work at a solution, clear water usually means downsizing, clear line like vanish and a realistic appearing bait.

 

East Harbor? at times very clear, fish location and if the will bite, experiment with colors, a seemingly minor color change can mean casting or catching. Junebug is usually my color of choice to start with on most waters for soft plastics, but I will go to either end of the spectrum, black or white.

 

Every day is a new start on the water, I know what worked before, I need to know what will work now. What worked in the past, in most places is a decent starting point. Some days you run out of time before you make the right adjustment?

 

Caught largemouth in the slop for days at a time on vacations in Pointe Au Baril, fairly clear water to very clear. Line color didn`t make a difference, a couple days later they are sitting in water 20 feet deep? with the smallies? an abundance of food there?

 

Fish till you run out of time and harder once you find what works.

[Harrison]

Great topic Gary.

 

#1 for me is distance. Make longer casts, pitches etc.. stay further away from structure.

 

#2 Colour - natural colours, browns and greens. This is the closest to the natural shillouette you can get IMO.

 

Interesting view on the pink worm and clear water, not sure the logic, but it has to be a shillouette the fish want for whatever reason.

 

On one kawartha clear lake, bright sun, my green jig will outfish a black, then reverse the next day with the same weather conditions. There are guidelines to follow, but the fish have the last word!

[uglyfish]

lighter line, FLOURO is a must. downsizing baits occasionally, more natural presentation, and more natural bait shapes, and colors.

[Guest gbfisher]

Oh man. ..a green carp tip eh...

A very important factor about clear water fishing for green carps. Speed kills!! When you slow down, unless you have something on and it is attached by very thin invisible line. The fish get to check out your bait and decide very quickly it isn't worth hitting. Now when you pick up the speed...they'll commit instead of looking.

 

Hope that helps.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

I'd say the first thing is to fish days with low light conditions. Morning, evening, night time, cloudy days, windy.

 

Then, I would go with light line(especially using finess baits like worms, tubes,ect). Fish are more easily spooked in clear water(especially smallies). With that said? I would go with lures(and colors) that look as realistic and natural as possible. And I would cast as far away from the boat as possible(since the ones near by can see you and are spooked).

 

If your fishing relatively shallow water? Fish close to bottom. Since that is where they will feel safest until it is time to feed.

 

I think the pink works because it is bright and it triggers a reaction to attack it in the water. Fear of the unknown sort of thing.

[OhioFisherman]

LOL GB,green carps? better than them toothy ones that bite the hands that feed them?

[OhioFisherman]

finesse baits? best one I have used http://www.productolure.com/proddetail.php?prod=SW4100

 

rigged texas style, on a 1/16th or 1/8th ounce jig head, or a drop shot rig, even as a trailer on a small hair jig. 13.20 per hundred plus shipping and they work, small catches all.

 

a speck of weeds and lilies, 50 yards from massives weedbeds no apparent difference in weed types or water depths, on the G/B and me 20 feet from them, 5 bass 16 to 20 inches in 5 casts, distance may not be as important as stealth? and how important was stealth? pulling 5 good sized bass from a patch of lilies as big as a small car? not exactly stealthy? clear water and me standing in the bow?

 

I can cast a fairly long distance, with casting tackle or spinning tackle, yet usually choose not to. A quiet approach and a flip or pitch 10-30 feet usualy works, less distance? less to go wrong? Long distance? searching for fish holding locations and on some lures getting the right depth.

 

Everyone has their own methods, be open to ideas and use what works for you.

[bushart]

Well the last lake we fished was GIN clear---my son gave me a lesson using clear mono and me using Power pro-green.

 

Only confusing part is the colour issue---one would think natural clour would be best---which was tried by all---mono and braid-----purple senko was hot and white sluggo ...??? even over live bait.

 

only issue my son had was digging those 4-5 lbers outta the grass with mono

 

 

[cram]

natural coloured baits, and faster retrieves.

[TennesseeGuy]

Here's a good read if you can find it.

 

"Them Ol' Brown Fish"

by Billy Westmoreland

 

Billy spent lots of time on Dale Hollow, a clearwater lake.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

finesse baits? best one I have used http://www.productolure.com/proddetail.php?prod=SW4100

 

rigged texas style, on a 1/16th or 1/8th ounce jig head, or a drop shot rig, even as a trailer on a small hair jig. 13.20 per hundred plus shipping and they work, small catches all.

 

a speck of weeds and lilies, 50 yards from massives weedbeds no apparent difference in weed types or water depths, on the G/B and me 20 feet from them, 5 bass 16 to 20 inches in 5 casts, distance may not be as important as stealth? and how important was stealth? pulling 5 good sized bass from a patch of lilies as big as a small car? not exactly stealthy? clear water and me standing in the bow?

 

I can cast a fairly long distance, with casting tackle or spinning tackle, yet usually choose not to. A quiet approach and a flip or pitch 10-30 feet usualy works, less distance? less to go wrong? Long distance? searching for fish holding locations and on some lures getting the right depth.

 

Everyone has their own methods, be open to ideas and use what works for you.

 

If they are in reasonable cover then they feel safer. Out in the open, not as much.

 

I hardly fish jigheads that light, but considering your years of experience, bass fishing. I will certainly give it a try.

[Guest Johnny Bass]

Well the last lake we fished was GIN clear---my son gave me a lesson using clear mono and me using Power pro-green.

 

Only confusing part is the colour issue---one would think natural clour would be best---which was tried by all---mono and braid-----purple senko was hot and white sluggo ...??? even over live bait.

 

only issue my son had was digging those 4-5 lbers outta the grass with mono

 

 

 

I too prefer mono(especially in open water). If your using braid, it will help to put on a floro carbon leader.

[troutologist]

On saturday it really amazed me how fast I could work an xrap and still get bass (SMB). Considering it was the last day of KBI and the fish had been pressured. I did quite well with a a black/silver and purple/yellow xrap as well as a skitter pop. But speed was key, I was really moving baits to the point that it was all I could to to keep up with a 7:1. pauses mixed into quick snaps were doing well. I think picking up the speed forces that reaction strike, kind of like fishing in rivers where fish are conditioned to make quicker judgements about eating things.

[ehg]

Was talking recently about how zebra mussels changed the fisheries in Kawarthas and Quinte.

Sun penetration and resultant temperature rise to greater depths made walleye locations change in past 15 yrs(more weed relation).

Sight feeders like bass really thrived and i noticed bass were shallower. More largemouth in new areas etc... But these American shad body baits became my 'go to' baits over time; jointed shad raps,CC shads, swimmin or spittin image baits etc... go figure .

 

Good to get us thinking about fishing

Edited August 9, 2010 by ehg

[Garry2Rs]

Was talking recently about how zebra mussels changed the fisheries in Kawarthas and Quinte.

Sun penetration and resultant temperature rise to greater depths made walleye locations change in past 15 yrs(more weed relation).

Sight feeders like bass really thrived and i noticed bass were shallower. More largemouth in new areas etc... But these American shad body baits became my 'go to' baits over time; jointed shad raps,CC shads, swimmin or spittin image baits etc... go figure .

 

Good to get us thinking about fishing

 

I'm sure that Bay of Quinte has Shad. I have seen them on the Lower Grand River and in Lake Erie. Therefore, I think it's safe to assume that all of the southern Great Lakes and there tributaries now have Shad.

 

North of the Kawarthas we don't see them. I'm not sure if they are in the Kawartha chain. Does anyone know for sure?

[daryl0815]

From my experiences fishing lakes up north of the kawarthas, and recently in the clearer water kawarthas, and the rivers and creeks in the GTA there are a few things with regards to clear water that most of the people here have already mentioned in their posts.

 

I think that it is important to use smaller baits, more natural looking colours, and usually using a faster presentation, so the fish bite more out of instinct than having a chance to examine the bait.

 

Thinner or lower visibility line is very important, different species are more finnicky with regards to line, I know its a huge deal for Trout and Salmon but I think most fish are generally the same, if they can see the line, they wont eat it.

 

Shade, and structure/cover aswell as water depth also seem to matter quite a bit, I find that if there is no shade or cover that fish dont tend to stay as shallow as they do when the water is dirty, this is also key for hiding yourself from the fish, usually I have found that its harder to catch a fish that I can see/can see me.

 

Just a few thoughts, I am by no means an expert!

[OhioFisherman]

"I hardly fish jigheads that light, but considering your years of experience, bass fishing. I will certainly give it a try."

 

LOL Johnny polite way of saying old guy? Actually the heavy fishing pressure here, smaller lakes, a 3000 acre lake is a big lake here and tournament pressure and shear numbers of people using a limited number of lakes. Just a plain ball head jig may have been the original shaky head? a small light jig forces you to fish slow, or you wind up swimming the worm, also effective at times.

 

Actually lost a lot of very good fish when I started using that method 35 or more years ago, hook quality isn`t what it is today. Not hard to find or make small light jig heads now with a quality hook like the gammie 604`s, back in the day it was aberdeen and maybe a size 4 hook, a gammie size 2/0 to 4/0 keeps fish on a lot better with out bending. I will go smaller with jig hooks depending on intended use, a size 1 or 1/0 for crappie tubes ( 2 inch ).

[fish_fishburn]

Long, long casts and the lightest mono you can get by on. I fish a lake for smallies you can see 22 ft no probs and if you see them they have already seen you and you ain't catching them. Drove me out of my mind till I figured them out. Best conditions are a nice pickeral chop and they become really agressive.

[sauce]

Id be inclined to give night fishing a try. I've found that my best results fishing at night happen when the water is at its clearest. One spot on the grand river is awesome for bass n eyes but only at night when the water is clear. Really tough during the day clear or murky. Ok with stained water at night and complete garbage when dirty.

The real obvious tips like lighter tackle and smaller baits etc all lead to the same end presentation. Finesse. Just need to try a variety of baits and fish'em with finesse.

On the other end of the spectrum you should also consider reaction baits. Long casts well past your target with a 6" swimbait could work. Pound bottom with a diving crank. Keep it moving fast.

[ehg]

North of the Kawarthas we don't see them. I'm not sure if they are in the Kawartha chain. Does anyone know for sure?

Shad are definately in the Great Lakes and have been for long, long time. Don't think they are in central kawarthas but with a perch or sunfish pattern or some chartreuse; shad body baits are still good.

 

Have zebra mussels cleared out Jack/Chandos et al?...i don't know

 

Like the idea of translucent baits being natural. Maybe pinks do mimic light shining through blood, skin etc...

Edited August 10, 2010 by ehg

[Garry2Rs]

Shad are definately in the Great Lakes and have been for long, long time. Don't think they are in central kawarthas but with a perch or sunfish pattern or some chartreuse; shad body baits are still good.

 

Have zebra mussels cleared out Jack/Chandos et al?...i don't know

 

Like the idea of translucent baits being natural. Maybe pinks do mimic light shining through blood, skin etc...

 

 

Definitely effecting Jack's...The weedbeds seem to be expanding and joining together.

 

In the shallow areas, Chandos is weedier than it was ten years ago, but with the rocky bottom there's less fertile shallow water.

 

I don't mind generic shad-shapes for Perch, at least they are close in profile, but not for Sunfish!

 

I wish Kopper would do a Rockbass. I feel like Perch, and Rockbass are the predominant forage from here to Bancroft.

garry2rs