Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Water Clarity - Bass Preferred

In a recent post, a member mentioned that water clarity is likely playing a role in a largemouth bass' ability to catch prey.

For those in the know, what is a bass' preferred hunting water? Clear? Murky? Muddy?

I haven't researched it, but my guess as a fisherman is slightly stained. Clear enough to see and identify the prey but cloudy enough to not be seen a mile away. That being said, I've caught bass in all three water conditions before....

My largest bass caught almost always come during low light conditions, which leads me to believe that it is playing a part too. The lure is able to be chased down, while the low light is helping it not be perceived as fake.

ML10 - I think your practical observations are very helpful for this topic of a LMB's ability to catch prey items. To my limited knowledge very little published research has been done for this topic. Thank you for your input. There still is a lot to be learned about what factors allow how well LMB can catch prey fishes in different water colors and turbidities.

I recently saw studies on both LMB and SMB foraging and water clarity. I will try to find them again. LMB & I assume SMB (due to their close genetic relationship) have better low light vision than BG and other prey species. That is why they often hunt at dusk and dawn - and at night. They also rely on non-sight abilities (lateral line sorta like sonar) as well when foraging. Keep in mind that water clarity /turbidity and low light conditions (which happen every day) are related, but they are not the same. There is speculation that turbid/muddy water also hampers lateral line function as well as vision. Also color vision in fish is not certain in its effect. Low light greatly effects color vision while we have little info on how turbidity effects color vision.

When fishing at night with topwater baits, at least around here, black is the preferred color. Sight has a lot to do with it. I believe the fish can see the luer against the night sky better than if it was a lighter color.

Don't be fooled that fish don't know what a hook. line or an artificial bait is. Unless I am using a larger in-line spinner I have gone away from using snap/swivels. Too visible. Why is there a market for Fluorocarbon line? Yep, it virtually disappears in water from a fish perspective. If I fished in water that had abrasive conditions (i.e. lots of wood, rocks or weeds) I would use braid with a Fluorocarbon leader that is as long as the rod is long.

If I was fishing where long casts were required, I'd also fish with the same Braid/Fluoro setup due to the low diameter of braid, the low stretch, increased sensitivity of it. The low stretch can bite you at times too - when salmon fishing in the river I was pulling hooks from fish on a more frequent rate than other fishermen when using the Braid/Fluoro combo. I went with a rod that had a much softer tip and the hook pull problem virtually disappeared.

On the flip size, I have fished in clear water with mono and braid and have seen lower catch rates.

I have switched to almost exclusively fishing with Fluorocarbon on 90% of my setups and have seen my catch rates increase.

If using braid, do NOT wrap it around your hand to try and pull a snag free - you WILL cut your hand. If I have to do that I take a rag in my hand then wrap the braid around that and my hand. Or wrap the braid around my forearm if I am wearing a long sleeve shirt of jacket.