I'm not clear on something.  I watched a DVD I bought a few days ago, Advanced Finesse Bass Strategies with Mike Iaconelli.  It's a very good $15.00 DVD.  He mentioned that in dirty/stained water bass stay close to cover and in clear water they roam around away from cover.  

 

 I think I heard someone on Youtube say the exact opposite - in brown/dark/stained water bass roam and in clear water they stay in heavy cover.  

 

 So which is it?  What do you all believe is true or are both true?  

 

Thanks! 

All I know is that when the water is stained or muddy I target bass shallow and tight to cover, and it works.  It works well.  This is not to say that the same isn't true in clear water, but I always expect bass to be a little farther off the bank when the water is clear as opposed to muddy on the same body of water.

Muddy water they stay close to cover while they roam more in clear water. 

Been wondering the same thing. KVD said the same in an older video.

 I'm not clear on something.  I watched a DVD I bought a few days ago, Advanced Finesse Bass Strategies with Mike Iaconelli.  It's a very good $15.00 DVD.  He mentioned that in dirty/stained water bass stay close to cover and in clear water they roam around away from cover.  

 

 I think I heard someone on Youtube say the exact opposite - in brown/dark/stained water bass roam and in clear water they stay in heavy cover.  

 

 So which is it?  What do you all believe is true or are both true?  

 

Thanks! 

 

Regardless of the fact that I've always found muddy water fish holding tight to shallow cover, I would consider the following:

 

When the choice is between a proven fisherman such as Ike -vs- Someone(?) with a video on Youtube, I would think the choice would be obvious. 

In my exp. I have found Ike to be correct. While we don't often get "muddy" water here on our natural lakes, we do get heavy, super green algae blooms from late spring, through the summer, and into the early fall. The blooms will turn clear water into pea soup overnight, and then after a little while clear back up for a bit( although each time it clears it's a little less clear than before). This green to clear, green to clear, green to clear stuff goes on multiple times during the season. The transition times when it turns from one to the other can be tough as the fish are on the move. But once it settles in (either green or clear) the fishing picks back up. I usually fish shallow and tight to cover when it's green, and when it's clear I tend to fish deeper grass beds/grass lines. BUT it's not a hard rule. I have found hoards of fish up shallow in gin clear water, and had some fantastic days in green water off the bank as well.

Muddy water they stay close to cover while they roam more in clear water. 

 

X2, It's always seems like this holds true around here.

The single greatest 'truth' that I've found is this:

It is extremely easy to find contradicting information on ANY and EVERY bit of information pertaining to bass fishing....often in the same article/video/interview/magazine issue, etc.

The misunderstanding comes from the use of the word "roam"

Do bass in off colored water hold tight to cover, yes I believe they do

Do bass in off colored water "roam", yes they do "roam" when hunting prey

I think what is being refered to is if I'm fishing a brush pile in off colored water I would have to make my cast into the a actual brush pile to get bit.

With the brush pile in clear water I could get bit on cast a foot away from the actual brush pile.

Bass in clear water are sight feeders & move a greater distance to strike

Ike is right for the most part.  There are levels of clarity and fish can be anywhere in between holding tight to cover in dark muddy water to swimming freely in gin clear water.  Unfortunately bass don't see like we do and we don't see like bass do.  You can use Ike's rules as a general guideline but each day, heck even each hour, can be different on the water.

In general terms roam could be thought of cruising or moving around in their territory.

Muddy water is hard to define and usually a result of rain water run off changing the water clarity. If the water is muddy due to rain, then bass usually move into newly flooded areas and they may move some distance depending on how much the water has risen. If the water is normally off color with poor depth of light, say less than 3 feet, bass may hold closer to cover areas if prey is available.

Light  has  to do with bass holding or moving, low light they are more aggressive and move more, bright light they tend to hold closer to cover, regardless of the water quality.

Tom

Bass will roam in both clear and dirty water. Just like they will hide in cover in both clear and dirty water. But a bass will put itself in the best position to get something to eat. in muddy water a bass will use a piece of cover to hide and ambush prey that swim by. Though bass in clear water will do they same, clear water bass have the opportunity to see their food from a much longer distance and chase them down when the conditions are right. But in the heat of the summer on a clear lake when the bass go deep its important to remember that light penetration is lowered and the fish cannot see as far and will get on a piece of cover such as a tree ledge, rocks, etc to ambush prey.