I haven't been fishing SERIOUSLY for long, but something I just noticed over last week... I fish Wolf Creek, a decent sized "creek" that widens in some spots to 20-30 yards or so... Anyhow, it's ALWAYS crystal clear, except for after rain... Well, I've noticed it's MUCH harder to catch them in cloudy water than clear. (when cloudy, it's GREEN, not brown, if that helps.)

It seemed today that they were much shallower, and hiding in the rocks on the banks... I noticed one would come out of nowhere from under a random rock, slam the soft plastic, and dart right back under the rock.

...Is this normal? What do you do to "bring 'em out?"

I don't fish streams very often but I figure the same would apply. There are some streams that empty out in a lake I used to fish and, after heavy rain, it couded some of the water.

Typically, smallies use their vision to feed and obviously prefer clear water to stained or muddy. But sometimes, cloudy water can be a good change since the smallies will use it to their advantage to feed all day long. The key is to use horizontal baits with various vibration strengths.

I would start with top-water or buzzbaits to call them up and get them agitated a bit. The more aggressive fish should respond. Then, you slow down and use perhaps a spinnerbait, jerkbait or 4-inch grub with a big tail to help the fish home in on the vibration.

If there happens to be a mud line, I would fish that extensively as smallies tend to use this as an ambush point.

Hope this helps!