# Coping with chocolate creek



## bronzer (May 29, 2013)

Ok. Too much rain, rivers and creeks are high, muddy and "unfishable" right?? Wrong! So what are the fish doing, not eating??? They are there...they are just as hungry as they were when the water was clea. They may be changing their habits and patterns in these conditions, but so must we! Fish On I say. Fish longer and harder than normal. Yes we will catch less fish, and yes the finicky Monsters will elude us, but we will get smarter, adapt and understand what those fish are doing just a little bit better every time we go out in Subpar conditions. So, with all that being said, how do you switch it up when the water is high, fast and doo-doo brown? I tend to bring out the flashy, the stinky, and the loud lures, makes sense right? But I still struggle locating them...I'd like to hear from some of you true "fish-a-holics" on how you still manage to outfish us when the rivers suck.


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## Stekor (Mar 25, 2012)

You must have read my mind, as I was just logging in to start a similar topic! Black spinner baits have done the trick for me when the river is high and stained traditionally, as well as darker patterned rebel craws. Last year, a crawfish patterned lipless crank produced a bit too. I picked up one on a whim from wal mart last year and had one of my better outings a few days after a heavy rain ran through. 

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

in my opinion, the fish will eat to a point with muddy water then basically shut down for a day or two before eating again, so if its bass your after, once water is too muddy for them to see lures, youll have to play to their other senses like smell and sound and most importantly vibration. that means slow presentations, steady retrieves so they can hone in the lure and lures with rattles or spinners. fish will hold in normal patterns if the water is just muddy, but once it comes up youll need to dredge the bottom of slow moving holding waters like behind logs or behind points or in slow deeper eddys, places fish can hang and avoid the high water. in these areas and conditions, both high and muddy, fish will often go into a holding pattern, staying along the bottom and conserving energy since they have mostly shut down on eating ( because as a wild annimal, they must make a decision to expand "X" amount of energy to make it worth the effort or they loose weight and eventually die, I forget the official term for this act within nature, but in muddy high water, it takes too much energy to actively hunt so thats why they conserve energy and shut down, this is also a great time to catch fish once water clears up a few days later as once they can see again, the time to feed is ON!) but they will bite if you hit them on the head and thats the key, you gotta put the baits where they are.....I have found that a live minnow on a 1/8-1/16th oz jighead is a great way to catch these fish in these conditions


Salmonid


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## GarrettMyers (May 16, 2011)

Great post. I'll just add a couple things along the same lines. I've had success with black large soft plastics. When I say large, I mean for the LMR. I've had success with a 4" power bait crazy legs chigger craw (I think that's the name) in black with blue flake. When the river has been stained but not completely blown out, I've had success casting downstream in slow moving water and keeping tension while reeling slowly. In really high water, it can be relatively easy to find them. There aren't a whole lot of areas that are calm, so any calm spots should hold smallies. The challenge is to get them to eat. Just like Salmonid said, I think you have to almost hit them in the head with it. Again, like he said, slowly rhythmically bouncing off the bottom seems to work the best.


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## bronzer (May 29, 2013)

I guess also, if you know the Area like the back of your hand when the water level is good, you can visualize the structure, and the "new" structure that is now under water. I also bank on loosing a lot more Lures, going in knowing that makes it easier to swallow when my lost lure count is higher than my fish count. Everyone says black, but that seems counter intuitive to me... Any one have any insight as to why black seems to do much better in murky conditions??


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## B1gDaddyT (May 19, 2006)

Dark lures offer more contrast in these low _penetrating_ light conditions. This is why you will also frequently see black and blue combinations. The blue is the last color to disappear from the light spectrum giving the fish more opportunity to be preyed upon by reaction strikes. 

Feeding does slow down and the increased turbidity of the water will reduce the opportunity to catch with fish using scent based baits. Unless of course you're seeking the ever hungry carp- some is opinion some is fact but a bad day fishing is always better than a good day at work (or golf).

Above all, exercise more caution when wading in higher, less visible waters. Even fishing familiar water after a heavy wash, things get moved and new holes can appear that were not there the last time you waded.
Vive la clear water!


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## FishDoctor (Aug 9, 2012)

bronzer said:


> Everyone says black, but that seems counter intuitive to me... Any one have any insight as to why black seems to do much better in murky conditions??


Videos every angler should watch, especially with all the rains check out video 4 (dirty water colors):


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

when i was at ostego park the river was muddy i used a white inline spinner
and caught that walleye.. i'll post the pic of the river and post it


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

here's the pic of the maumee river at ostego park... gona have to tilt your monitor or laptop screen or print out the pic


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## B1gDaddyT (May 19, 2006)

*Trailbreaker*, I gotta crick in my neck now, great pic though.
*
Fish Dr.* thanks for sharing, those are great resources for a rainy day.

If ya'll are like me trolling on OGF on a rainy day just makes me want to get in the creek and fish even more- GRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


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## Lil Crappie (Jun 17, 2013)

In high and muddy waters in the Great Miami. I have always had luck with Chart. colored Grubs. Casting into fast water, and letting it find the Eddies. Sometimes there may not be these pockets in normal pools.

I also was impressed by the Videos. Some things just made sense. Like Blue being seen the deepest.

Probably the same factors the make the sky blue. Yellow and red bounce off the atmosphere? 

To me it makes sense to imitate the color of the natural bait. Maybe Grandpa knew something?


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

B1gDaddyT said:


> *Trailbreaker*, I gotta crick in my neck now, great pic though.
> *
> Fish Dr.* thanks for sharing, those are great resources for a rainy day.
> 
> If ya'll are like me trolling on OGF on a rainy day just makes me want to get in the creek and fish even more- GRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!


thanks that was taken this past monday


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## Lostleader (Apr 19, 2013)

Need to watch those videos.

DC 33


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## crappiedude (Mar 12, 2006)

A lot of times in muddy water (in lakes) I find fish actually move shallower. Fish that were 8'-10' deep will move up and suspend maybe 1'-3' deep. I always assumed it was because light penetration in deeper water was diminished so the fish move up in the water column where light penetration and visibility is better. Dark and/or noisy lures worked slower seems to do the trick.
I've also noticed that fish will hold very tight to cover.


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## trailbreaker (Oct 11, 2008)

maybe that's how i caught that walleye at maumee.. he/she was close to shore
roughly 10' away


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Where does White fit into all of this???

I have always thought (or been taught) that White is always your second best color.
When in doubt - Throw White! 

Is that correct, or incorrect???


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

BMustang said:


> Where does White fit into all of this???
> 
> I have always thought (or been taught) that White is always your second best color.
> When in doubt - Throw White!
> ...


I'm a pretty big fan of white. If you were to ask what color I've caught the most fish on in my entire life I'd say its a toss up between green pumpkin and white.


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

BMustang said:


> Where does White fit into all of this???
> 
> I have always thought (or been taught) that White is always your second best color.
> When in doubt - Throw White!
> ...


I honestly have no idea, but I do know that like BA83 I have a lot of confidence in using white baits, from grubs and tubes to senko type worms and maribou jigs. No one ever told me to use white I just did and liked the results.


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## TRAILGATOR (Jul 3, 2011)

BMustang said:


> Where does White fit into all of this???


White isn't A color it is ALL colors.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

TRAILGATOR said:


> White isn't A color it is ALL colors.


OK, so does it turn grey too at 10 feet???

Or is it always, white???


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## deltaoscar (Apr 4, 2009)

TRAILGATOR said:


> White isn't A color it is ALL colors.


Is that you Bill Nye?




BMustang said:


> OK, so does it turn grey too at 10 feet???
> 
> Or is it always, white???


Good question. I was actually thinking about this yesterday as I was chucking a bright yellow (not chartreuse) square bill, into water that I could only see about two inches into. I thought of the video FishDoctor posted and had this thought; the fish must "know" what depth they are at, so they also probably "know" what colors they can see at that depth. So if they see a possible meal with gray stripes at a certain depth, they probably "know" what it is. 

Make sense? Or am I thinking too much?


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## BassAddict83 (Sep 21, 2010)

deltaoscar said:


> Good question. I was actually thinking about this yesterday as I was chucking a bright yellow (not chartreuse) square bill, into water that I could only see about two inches into. I thought of the video FishDoctor posted and had this thought; the fish must "know" what depth they are at, so they also probably "know" what colors they can see at that depth. So if they see a possible meal with gray stripes at a certain depth, they probably "know" what it is.
> 
> Make sense? Or am I thinking too much?


I think that makes perfect sense. I have always had that same mind frame.


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## Northern1 (May 9, 2012)

FishDoctor said:


> Videos every angler should watch, especially with all the rains check out video 4 (dirty water colors):
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQTh_tnJ6c
> 
> ...


Those videos are some of the best i've seen. Thanks for posting.


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## Just Fishin' (Nov 27, 2012)

BassAddict83 said:


> I'm a pretty big fan of white. If you were to ask what color I've caught the most fish on in my entire life I'd say its a toss up between green pumpkin and white.


Same here.. green pumpkin tube or white super fluke tend to be my go to baits, but I'm sure my confidence level in those have a lot to do with that!

Great videos and discussion here!

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## Northern1 (May 9, 2012)

Here are a couple more questions-

What about browns and black colored lures? I would assume you could see them better in deeper and dirtier water?

Also what about moving water like rivers. They aren't necessarily choppy, but the water is still moving.

Any answers on this one guys?


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