In muddy or dirty water, use high-contrast, dark, or bright colors to help bass locate the bait, such as black/blue, black/red, white, or chartreuse. These colors create a solid silhouette or high visibility against the murky backdrop. Effective lures include spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and jigs with high vibration.
Stained or Dirty Water: This ain't the time for subtlety. Think bold, high contrast, and just a little bit ridiculous. Black & Blue: Classic. Punches through the mud like a bass-kicking ninja.
Go for colors that are either extremely bright or very dark. Best Colors for Muddy Water: Black and Red: Dark colors like black create a strong silhouette that's easier for bass to see against the light filtering through muddy water.
Bladed baits like spinnerbaits and vibrating jigs work extremely well in muddy water because their blades appeal to the two senses bass rely on most in low-visibility situations—sight and feel—by putting off a lot of vibration and creating a bright flash.
Muddy Water Bass Fishing Tips: Best Bait Colors & Techniques
What is the 80 20 rule for bass?
The 80-20 principle tells us that - as a generalization - 80% of our results are achieved from just 20% of our practice. If we can identify those 20% activities - and do more of them - then our practice will become much more effective. That is the starting point of 80-20 bass.
White, Chartreuse or black on jig body. Always just use plain lead jig heads and change up jig body color. I personally like a white or chartreuse jig head, paired with a white and chartreuse twister tail and or crappie magnet! Gold can be a good color.
Do bass really even care about lure colors? The answer appears to be a definite yes and an equally definite no. Bass apparently do see color. Their vision is strongest in the areas of medium-red to green.
Whether the water is muddy, murky, stained or clear will dictate which lures he ties on and what colors are most likely to generate bites. His basic rule of thumb is to go with more natural colors in clear water. In dirtier water, he opts for dark colors in soft plastics baits and bold colors in hard baits.
In stained/muddy water you want to use dark blues, black, and dark purples because they create the most contrast. Black doesnt let the light pass through it so the fish sees a dark silhouette. Lighter colors are essentially invisible in murky water.
The three best baits for speed working muddy water are ones you have probably heard of. I like a white spinnerbait with a gold and a silver blade for fast location of fish. I also like to put a paddle tail swimbait trailer that extends past the skirt for some extra thump.
The most fundamental rule is to fish brightly colored baits in dingy or muddy water and light, subtle colors in clear water. The logic here is that a bass' visibility is hampered by silt, and colors like chartreuse, yellow and orange are easier to see than bone, pumpkinseed and smoke.
Darker colours will create a silhouette and that really increases the visibility of your offering. If you're fishing shallow, something with a bit of flash is also very effective when the sun is out. The light will penetrate the water and let the lure create its magic.
One of the biggest concerns that fishermen have is the amount of drag their reel has. With the possibility of a very large fish chomping down on a bait, saltwater fishermen are notorious for fishing with a reel that has as much drag as possible. Look for a baitcasting reel with a smooth and powerful drag system.
Dark / Silhouette Colours - When the water is dirty or tannin stained and during low light periods it can be effective to utilise a darker, more solid colour, that creates a silhouette that is more easily located and tracked by the fish. Examples from the ZMan Range include Gold Rush, Houdini, New Penny and Red Shad.
After each fishing trip, rinse your braided line with fresh water, especially if you've been fishing in saltwater. Salt and debris can weaken the line over time. Use a gentle stream of water to clean the line while it's still on the reel. This helps remove any salt or dirt that may have accumulated.
Jigs. A jig is the bass lure to use when you plan to fish for bass in an area of heavy cover. In other words, if you see a lot of grass, surface vegetation, trees or stumps, a jig should work well.
Other anglers gravitate to purple in tough conditions as well, from offshore captains trolling purple skirts for tuna, to salmon guides in Alaska who prefer blue or purple beads, to bass pros who like purple-shaded soft plastics. One theory is that purple catches fishes' eyes better than other shades.
Different wavelengths (colors) of light are selectively filtered by water, with reds being most attenuated; but in clear water and at depths less than 25 feet where most bass anglers fish, all colors are visible to bass.
About all the jigs I use also have at least 1 attractor color like chartreuse, pink or orange. Orange and pink are the colors I use in dinghy / muddy water. In the clear creeks I fish I most often stick to browns and olives with a little chartreuse or orange.
A chartreuse and black-back squarebill has always been my go to in muddy water. A bait I pick up with utmost confidence in those situations, knowing that if I have to get a bite, this is the bait for the job.
