I would like to talk about fishing Dirty Water..
by Jim "The Spinnerbait Professor" Hale

But first I would like to tell you a little about me.

I grew up in the mid-west, in a little town in Iowa. I started bass fishing in the early 70s. Just about like almost everyone out there, I started fishing little farm ponds and rivers. As I got older, I got into fishing the lakes, that were small compared to what I fish now. These lakes average about 1000 acers. In the late 70s a friend of mine came up and asked if I wanted to fish a tournament. Boy was that a mistake. Since then I have fished tournaments all over the country. I guess you could say I got HOOKED. I now reside in Georgia. I still fish tournaments all over and will most likely till I die. Don't get me wrong guys and gals I still don't consider myself an authority.

Now on with the subject.
I was out the other day with a very good friend. He wanted some advice on a lake he has a tournament coming up on. Just happens to be a lake that I know pretty well. We were up the river fishing some rip-rap. The water had just a little stain and looked real good to me. I pulled several fish from the rocks, and told him this should be where you start. He agreed. I told him this is real good to get a limit from and maybe a kicker, but if you really want a kicker for your limit we need to go up some more. To make a long story short we went about 5 miles up river to the tributary. The water was pretty dirty. We fished along for about a half an hour. I missed a couple of BIG fish. I looked at him and said, you see what I mean. The fish in this dirty water are going to run a lot bigger. This is when the subject came up. He told me , yeah but you have the confidence to fish this water. Sorry but this really shocked me, well not really. I have been in Georgia for about 5 years now, and have heard this from just about everyone I have fished with that has been raised in the south. Now the main question... What are all you guys afraid of?????

I guess where I grew up has something to do with it. I have read articles by some of the best pros out there on the subject of fishing dirty water. To me, it is just another day on the water. If you would start fishing non clean water, you might just learn to like it. You will find that it is a lot easier to fish in all aspects. The fish are not nearly as spooky. They usually are bigger. Granted you are not going to catch the numbers of fish that you will on the lake or in clean water. But on the other hand you are not going to get the size that you will in the dirt.

One of the main things that keeps me in the dirt in the south is very few people fish it here. Makes it a lot easier to catch the bigger fish as they are somewhat unmolested. An other thing I would like to discuss is colors, another grave misconception. This also goes back to the other articles that I have read. You DO NOT have to throw those BIG blade spinnerbaits or big noisy lures. As a matter of fact I very seldom change lure colors when I go from clean to dirty water. I use a white spinnerbait with a white trailer most of the time in dirty water. OK now I know that is not what everyone has written. (You think it is cause they want to keep it a secret)??? Most of the articles that you read will tell you that you have to throw those big ole colorado blades and bright chartreuse to get the fish to see them. Ok now everyone don't get an attitude. If you sit down and think about it, what color do the bait fish turn in dirty water??? Well you are right. I am going to tell you, if you don't know..They turn almost white. Yes even the bluegill and bream. Next question, do they get louder??? The answer is NO. They still do their little swim thing that they do in the clean water. So what I am saying now is I use willow blades in the dirt just like I do in the clean. About the only time I go to bright chartreuse is if I am in what I call coon tracking water. This is water that is so muddy that when you drop your bait in it is GONE. Not a foot of clarity but NO clarity. Then, and only then, do I go to the thumper blades. Big colorado blades. And still this is not all the time. I guess you could throw what ever makes you feel good. If you want the big stuff, throw it.

The main thing you need to remember is these fish are going to be in inches of water not feet. I have caught fish in muddy water that I am not even sure how they had water on there back. Let me explain to you why, if you don't know. Bass eyes do not dilate like ours do. Their eyes are fixed, meaning they stay the same, they do not move. So now you need to think about this. What do you do when the sun is bright??? Personally I put on a pair of sunglasses, AKA shades. Now what do they do in clear water??? 1 of 2 things. 1) they go deep to get out of the sun, or 2) they get into the shade, ie docks, blow downs, brush, you get the id idea. Now the muddy fish. They don't have to worry a whole lot about it. The sun doesn't penetrate it like it does the clear water. So the bass doesn't have to go anywhere. You still need to try to fish the cover. Because it is a natural place for a bass to be. The main reason for this is, it is a ambush spot for them. The bass, even as intelligent as they are, do not now the bait can not see them.

So do you get the point yet??? I would recommend that you try it some time. Give it more then one time, and more then 1 minute. Once you get the hang of it, I truly think that you will fish it a lot more then you do. I guess I have babbled long enough. I hope that some of you will give it a try, actually I don't. I enjoy having all that water to myself.

Thanks again for reading this mumbo jumbo of mine.
By Jim "The Spinnerbait Professor" Hale

I'll be glad to answer any of your questions on the subject.
You can E-mail me at bassdevil59@aol.com
My thanks to Minn Kota® for all the help you are giving me