Number 1 tip for catching bass in muddy water

Pro angler shares his tips

Muddy water is all a part of bass fishing in the Carolinas this time of year, and while some anglers choose to sit on the couch and wait for better conditions, FLW pro Brian Latimer of Belton, SC doesn’t have that option. And even if you do, he said you’re missing out on a lot of good fishing if you let the rains and muddy water keep you from chasing bass.

And while he acknowledges that fishing muddy water does pose plenty of challenges, he has one tip that’s helped make fishing in muddy water one of his favorites. That tip, he said, will help anglers catch more bass no matter how dark and muddy the water is.

The tip? Forget about lure colors and use lures that cause a lot of water displacement, noise, and disturbance.

Forget about color in muddy water

“When there is muddy water, there is no light. You can’t see color. You can’t differentiate color. The fish is not going to find your bait because of the color in extremely muddy water, and I’ll prove that to you.

“If I were to lock you in a garage and it was completely dark so that there’s no light penetration in the garage, and I park three cars in front of you. If I tell you that you need to pick out for me which car is green, which car is red, and which car is black, it would be almost impossible for you to pick out the right car.

“But, if I turned one of the cars on, you’d be able to tell which one was running and which one wasn’t. You’d hear the sound of the engine running. You’d be able to touch the cars and feel the vibration. Plus, you’d be able to tell me which one is running, but you wouldn’t be able to tell me what color it is. And it works exactly the same way when you’re picking baits for water where there’s no light penetration. You can show me where it is by the vibration and by the sound.

“Bass have very sensitive lateral lines, and they’re finding and reacting to everything they feel,” he said.

Good lure choices for fishing in muddy water

While extremely muddy and dark water does hinder bass from seeing your lure, its other senses are amplified, so Latimer said we should all pick our lures with that in mind.

Spinnerbaits with single or double Colorado blades, the Bill Lewis Echo 1.75 crankbait, and Z-Man chatterbaits with a 4-inch Diezel Minnow trailer will all allow bass to locate them by vibration, sound, and water displacement.

Other muddy water fishing tips from Latimer include finding the areas that are slightly less muddy than the rest of the lake, and fishing in extremely shallow water, since bass will hunker down when the water is muddy.

For frequent bass fishing tips, follow Latimer on his Facebook page, where he often shares his favorite fishing techniques at https://www.facebook.com/brianlatimerfishing/.