How To Find & Catch Fish In The Dirtiest Water
- By: Matthew Lanier
- on
What should you do to catch fish in the DIRTIEST water???
Substantial tidal flow and an increase in heavier wind are super common for this time of the year.
That’s why we tend to see dirtier, murky water in the fall.
Check out more below!!
How To Catch Fish In The Dirtiest Water [VIDEO]
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Featured Equipment:
- Strike King Redfish Magic
- Dr. Juice Saltwater Slam Scent
- Gulp! 5-inch Saltwater Jerk Shad
- Gold Digger Paddletail 2.0
Fish feed just a little bit differently in dirty water.
Visibility is lower in dirty water so the fish have a much tougher time seeing your bait.
You’ve got to do things to make your presentation stand out and be noticeable.
Another thing to note is having a strong water presence because those fish are relying heavily on their lateral lines to locate meals.
The lateral line runs across a fish’s body and is used to help feel vibrations in the water around them.
The last factor in the mix is the scent.
These fish will also rely on their olfactory senses to detect nearby meals.
More often than not, the fish will use their nose to find the bait in dirty water and pick up on scents.
I was out on a recent trip with an Insider Member in new waters and the water clarity was extremely low.
The water was cloudy, dark, and stained like it had been churned up from the bottom.
Strike King Redfish Magic
While on the water, I made the switch to the Strike King Redfish Magic spinnerbait.
Lures with a spinnerbait like the Redfish Magic absolutely shine in dirty water situations.
The Colorado blade on the spinnerbait creates a flash letting fish easily find and strike it.
Moreover, these spinnerbaits give off lots of vibration and displace water.
The vibrations get picked up by the lateral lines of fish to alert them of a meal.
I personally have my Strike King Redfish Magic spinnerbait rigged with our Gold Digger Jerk Shad which is one of the best lure colors for fishing dirty water.
Dark colors in darker water are the way to go.
The last step is to of course apply some Dr. Juice Saltwater Slam Scent to this rig and you’re ready to hit the water.
On my trip just last week, I actually had a 5-inch Gulp! jerk shad on which fulfilled adding more scent.
You can use any type of Gulp! lure with the spinnerbait because that is where the action lies, not in the lure.
Gulp! is a great option for the additional scent it provides in dirty water.
Conclusion
Fishing in cloudy or dirty water is just an obstacle and with the right gear, you can easily overcome it and reel in some fish.
Remain patient and use every little thing to your advantage.
Remember to capitalize on scent, and water displacement, and use darker colors in dirty water!!
What other kinds of questions do you have regarding fishing in dirty water?
Let me know down below!!
Finding The Fish Help
In order to help make sure that you are targeting the right areas based on the latest feeding trends and upcoming weather forecasts, make sure to use the following 3 resources because they will save you a ton of time.
1. Weekend Game Plans (updated weekly)
These regional game plans will show you exactly what types of spots to target in under 10 minutes… just click the video to start, and you’ll be informed on what to do on your next trip.
2. Smart Fishing Spots Platform (updated every 15 minutes)
This exclusive software literally shows you where the most fish are likely to be feeding based on exactly when you’ll be fishing. It factors in the tides, wind, and weather to help you quickly see which areas to target throughout the day.
3. Community Reports (live feed)
The Insider Community platform is what you can use to see what is biting near you, and you can get to know other members who fish in your area. Plus, you can use it to keep a log of your catches so you can use past trips to help predict future catches.
Related categories:
STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
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- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
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- Everything you need to start catching fish more consistently (regardless if you fish out of a boat, kayak, or land).
Great topic, incredibly presented! Thank you for sharing your experience Matt!
Thanks for watching and taking the time to post the nice comment Robert!
Great tips Matt!
Thanks Wyatt!
Thank you for the video. It’s been 18 yrs.since I’ve been serious fishing. your video brought back a lot of memories and new information. I was a guide for a long time. Thanks again Captain. Tight Lines.
So glad to hear that it was so well received. Love that! Thanks Jack!
Redfish Magic is becoming one of my favorite baits. A few days ago, I caught a trout and a redfish on the fall right after casting and the bait hit the water.
That’s awesome! Nice work Ray! Thanks for the nice comment!
Great video! Thank you!
Thanks Gary!
“Stupid question” I am confused on where to tie a knot onto the spinning bait and what is the best knot to use for spinners like the one you showed in this video. To me it seems that if I tie to that loop the line will move off it… Thanks, Scott M,
That’s not a stupid question! Tony just put out a great video for that! It talks about the correct type of knot, as well as where to type it.
Search “spinner bait knot” in the fishing tips section and it will pop right up.
Thanks for taking the time to leave the quotation, Scott!
My dad and I were literally just out in corpus yesterday and today. Lol. Saw this email when we just back to the hotel. Although I like the appeal of spinnerbait, we just moved around to find that particular structure with dingy water and ended up sight casting some reds, trout and a mess load of black drum on Zman shrimpz. Today we could only manage 1 keeper due to them being oversized from 31-37”. Darker colors are definitely a must! Light tackle not so much. Lol. We were trying to target slot sized drum like yesterday and the water clarity didn’t allow that so much…great read though! One of these days I’ll break out my Zman diesel chatterbait or spinnerbait
I do love a chatterbait as well! So glad to hear you and you dad had solid success! Thanks for the nice comment Casey!
Every time I watch one of Matt’s videos, it makes me want to pack up and move south.
It’s wonderful here! Thanks for the nice comment Robert!
Well Matt while I do agree vibration scent and flash are all very important in finding fish in off colored water the redfish magic is not the best spinnerbait out there in other words YOU NEED TO SWTCH if you think the redfish magic is a good spinnerbait I guarantee if you try the zman you won’t go back to the redfish magic again the wire frame is so much tougher then the magic is and comes prerigged with a zman quarter ounce red eyed jighead they are awesome I have had big reds and flounder both bend the wire frame to the point of ruining it on the magics but not the zman everyone who fishes inshore usually knows the reputation zman baits have on being the toughest out there well there spinnerbait is no different and we here in Jax fl deal with murky water pretty much in a consistent basis and I use spinnerbaits all throughout the year except in the winter and very early spring but I have found out once the water warms to about 65 degrees I Starr using then the only difference is I use the ones in the spring with a little smaller blade versus the big blades I use in summer and fall I have told alot of guys about how productive they are and usually after they see my live well full of fish they are convinced but I have also found that a baitcasting outfit works better for me because I pitch them alot in grass pockets and under docks with a spinning outfit the vibration to me isn’t felt as much as opposed to using a baitcasting outfit for it I use a lews inshore size 200 reel with a st Croix tournament inshore baitcasting rod loaded with power pro 20lb braid and a Berkley invisoline 20lb fluorocarbon leader tied using a improved albright knot for leader to braid and a Palomar knot for leader to lure hasn’t failed me yet thanks for the info and all you do👍😉
Steven, can the jig head be changed out on the ZMann spinner bait? Thanks.
Good stuff Steven. I’m gonna give that spinner bait a try. Thanks for leaving the comment!
Steven would you please include a link to this spinner bait? Thanks!
Great Video Matt, a lot of my fishing is done in the Neuse River and Pamlico sound and the water is dark and dirty looking most of the time so great tip. Will tying the lure on with a Uni Knot work? I love all your videos. I am always waiting for you to post a new one.
Thanks for watching Pam! I like to use a cinch knot with spinner baits.
Tiny just put out a great video about the knit to use with a sooner bait! Check it out in the tips section. Just search “spinner bait knot” and you’ll find it.
Thanks for leaving the nice comment!