went to my buddys pond the other day for the first time, and his pond has mud color water, visibility about 1/4 of an inch, if that. what would work in this water and does color of the lure mean anything?

Use any bait that will attract attention  like a rattle trap. In other words anything that will make noise.

Wide wobble crankbait, chatterbait, large worms, spinnerbaits with a colorado type blade, or anything else that will move water. Fish tight to any cover.  Good luck.

Chartruese spinnerbait with gold Colorado blades. Also, if there is any cover, try a jig. With water that muddy, the fish should be holding pretty close to any cover.  

Something that moves what. The fish can see so they have to feel their prey.

They position right on the cover in shallow water.  Good Luck

After fishing Kentucky lake I have a whole new respect for you eastern water fishing guys.

Fish will find your bait. They have to feed everyday. We were catching fish on jigs and shakey heads. Try to find cover and the fish will be there. If you are fishing suspended fish I would use a bait with as much water displacement as possible.

As the spring approaches I would find areas where there is gravel with cover close by and is close to ledges. As the water warms the fish will travel up into their spawning grounds. A little JJ's Magic will also help!

wow!! did i read that right 1/4 INCH of visibility due to mud?

That's pretty bad.

I guess you could equate that to night fishing and use my night time favorite, a big (I mean B-I-G) colorado bladed spinnerbait.  but I gotta tell you.  I can catch plenty of fish at night, even dark overcast nights, but I cannot catch bass with any decent reliability when the waters muddy.   With only 1/4 inch of visibility I would toss my big spinnerbait a couple of times, maybe a big noisy jig, but just because I was there.  after a couple of pro forma casts I would move on looking for clearer water.

In muddy conditions you need a bait that move a lot of water

1/2 Oz. Black/Blue Rattling Jig w/ Large Bulky Dark Vibration-y Trailer

As mentioned before, tight to any available cover...That's where they'll be.

Thank you, gonna have to pick up some more lures  ;D , we know theres bass in it, as the guy who lived there before was a pro and always brought his tourny fish home and threw them in there.

Thank you, gonna have to pick up some more lures  ;D , we know theres bass in it, as the guy who lived there before was a pro and always brought his tourny fish home and threw them in there.

Hmmm....  ???

Any lure with vibration: Spinner bait preferibly the colorado or tandam blades, buzzbait, lipless crankbait, and a jig with rattle. I use natural colors year round in muddy waters also.

vibrating lure (cranks, chatterbaits, spinneers). also worms with good scent seem to work.

You know, a buddy of mine fished a few BASS opens last year, one of them being on Red RIver in Louisiana.

He got there, saw the muddy water and thought, I am gonna need dark and chartreuse colors and noisy, noisy, noisy.

Got out the first day and he said almost every person he saw fishing the tourney had brilliant white, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits tied on.

To me, according to everything I have ever heard and read, this goes completely against the grain. But it worked, I wouldnt have believed it if he hadnt told me, but using white in that muddy water worked.

I would have thought that at the very least the white wouldnt work well because EVERYONE was using it and from what others told him, that is a common thing there, compared to him using a black and chartreuse War Eagle spinner bait with a big ole chartreuse colorado blade.

Being different than the standard used, I figured he would have a chance of just killing them fish but nothing.

Switching to white the second day made all the difference.

Cyas,

D

I have had pretty decent success fishing muddy water with the same baits that I use for clearer conditions.  I don't deviate that much from what I usually throw and do pretty decently.

Bass have to eat just the same when the water gets muddy.

In muddy conditions you need a bait that move a lot of water

Double Colorado blades instead of double willow leaf

Crank baits with a wide wobble instead of a tight wobble

Plastics with appendages instead of say a trick worm

Noisy lures like buzz baits, rattling jigs, lip less crank baits

A big old thumpin' spinner bait never fails in dirty water. Big Colorado blades are great.