Does a lake get muddy from the top down or the bottom up?

[fin]

And does it clear from the top down or the bottom up?

 

Or maybe none of the above? (It’s the same density, top to bottom.)

[TnRiver46]

Right down the middle 

[Bird]

Blame the carp.

 

[Team9nine]

If it’s the same density, due to all being the same temperature, then it clears from the top down, and usually the bank out. How it gets muddy can vary. If the incoming muddy water was much different than the lake temp., then you could have a different scenario. Same goes for wind/current induced muddiness.

[PaulVE64]

Dirt is on the bottom.

[Peddiesake]

Where I fish top down from all the runoff from heavy rains. The sand and sediment usually sinks in about 72 hours.

[Koz]

12 hours ago, Peddiesake said:

Where I fish top down from all the runoff from heavy rains. The sand and sediment usually sinks in about 72 hours.

Must be nice. Our lakes have been packed with sediment and 1”-2” visibility for over two months now.

 

Every bass I have caught so far this year has been pale and most have been skinny.

[Pat Brown]

Wind seems to stir it up off the bottom more and heavy rain washes it in from outside.

 

I feel like muddy water positions fish much shallower and very tight to cover and to some degree, makes them easier to catch.

 

I like baits that displace a lot of water and create a ruckus when it's muddy and I usually slow my retrieves down just a hair from my typical speeds.

 

Muddy water can produce the biggest bass of the year because they're more likely to hit something that normally they would recognize as not food and avoid.

[fin]

2 hours ago, Koz said:

Must be nice. Our lakes have been packed with sediment and 1”-2” visibility for over two months now.

 

Every bass I have caught so far this year has been pale and most have been skinny.

 

Lately in Georgia we keep getting large rains, like two inches in one day, and then a week later just as the water starts to clear, we get another two inches, so that we haven’t seen really clear water in a long time now. Stained is about as clear as it gets. We haven’t gotten more than normal rain amounts for the month, but when there’s large amounts of rain in a short period, that’s when you get the muddy water. Well that and high winds, which has been an issue here too, so that also helps keep it stirred up.

 

I’ve been catching some big fat girls on the west side of the state, and with good color lately. I was catching pale ones last month, but their color has been normal lately. Hang in there.

 

2 hours ago, Pat Brown said:

Muddy water can produce the biggest bass of the year because they're more likely to hit something that normally they would recognize as not food and avoid.

 

Yep, there's a lot of benefits to fishing muddy water, but there's a limit. There's a sweet spot where they can't see well (and make mistakes) but they stay active. If the water gets too muddy, they can shut down altogether. If I have to choose between clear and muddy, I'll take muddy every time.

[Pat Brown]

To that effect @fin sometimes what I like to do is find the muddiest water on the lake and work my way backwards out until I find that sweet spot between the clear water and the muddy water where the fish are active and holding!

[J Francho]

This is an interesting question that I don't recall ever being asked in the 15+ years I've been on here.  As for the answer, I'll defer, lol.  All I know is look for well defined seams where muddy meets clear, if possible.

[Koz]

2 hours ago, fin said:

 

Lately in Georgia we keep getting large rains, like two inches in one day, and then a week later just as the water starts to clear, we get another two inches, so that we haven’t seen really clear water in a long time now. Stained is about as clear as it gets. We haven’t gotten more than normal rain amounts for the month, but when there’s large amounts of rain in a short period, that’s when you get the muddy water. Well that and high winds, which has been an issue here too, so that also helps keep it stirred up.

 

I’ve been catching some big fat girls on the west side of the state, and with good color lately. I was catching pale ones last month, but their color has been normal lately. Hang in there.

 

 

Yep, there's a lot of benefits to fishing muddy water, but there's a limit. There's a sweet spot where they can't see well (and make mistakes) but they stay active. If the water gets too muddy, they can shut down altogether. If I have to choose between clear and muddy, I'll take muddy every time.

I live on Sinclair and the waters off my docks are usually very clear. But it’s been chocolate milk for over two months now.

[Big Hands]

11 hours ago, J Francho said:

This is an interesting question that I don't recall ever being asked in the 15+ years I've been on here. 

 

The four leaf clover of the Bass Resource forums!

[Glenn]

Typically in the Spring, warm rains cause the feeder creeks to dump muddy water into the lake.  The water is warmer, thus it sits above the colder water of the lake.  As the temperature of the muddy water is cooled by existing lakewater, it mixes in.

 

Therefore, in this scenario, it's muddy on the top first.