Cold, Muddy Water Makes It Tough But Not Impossible

When I stopped by West Neck Marina for a few minutes yesterday and saw the muddy, low-water conditions at the ramp, I had a sneaking suspicion the fishing report I would get later from my buddy, Charlie, wouldn't be very good. I knew he was out, because his vehicle was parked in its usual spot beside the one catwalk.

As it turns out, I was right--and please don't mistake me for being smug here, because that's simply not the case. I have nothing but the utmost respect for my kayaker friend and "coffee mate," and, therefore, never would wish him anything but the best of luck.

I merely know from my own experiences, combined with what I've heard or read from many of the pros, that cold water or muddy fishing conditions (angler in upper right photo is on cold, muddy Lake Pickwick) by themselves usually are tough. And together, they nearly always spell bad news. In Charlie's case yesterday, it amounted to one pickerel that spit the hook right at the boat and a lone bass that tipped the scales at 1-8. The latter fell for a crystal minnow.

Charlie's report included the fact he had been throwing a variety of crankbaits and jigs yesterday, which most will readily agree are good choices for the conditions he faced.

One person who would do things a bit differently, though, is Greg Hackney, the 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year. He advocates using something that will aggravate the cold, muddy-water fish into biting.

His choice is a safety-pin-style spinnerbait made by Strike King, called the redfish magic (pictured left), which, according to him, "has twice as much vibration as any single-spin Colorado blade out there today. You can reel it at a really slow speed... it's made for cold, muddy water," he says.

Hackney's preferred color pattern is a black-and-chartreuse skirt, and he usually reels the bait steadily, making repeated casts to the same isolated pieces of cover. The objective, of course, is to aggravate the fish into biting. In using this tactic, he urges you to remember that "you're often fishing for just three to five bites a day."

North Carolina pro Dustin Wilks agrees that the first step anglers should take in cold, muddy-water conditions is to adjust their expectations. "If you hit the water expecting bass to slam your baits like they did last summer, you're setting yourself up for disappointment," he says. "Mentally prepare yourself by accepting the fact the bite is going to be much slower than normal." Instead of setting a goal of limiting out quickly, like you might under better conditions, he suggests that you "tell yourself you're going to try coaxing one or two big fish into hitting."

Wilks' approach to cold, muddy-water fishing is to flip or pitch compact, weedless jigs and Texas-rigged creature baits. As he explains, "Muddy conditions allow you to move close to stumps, logs and other targets without spooking bass. I try to drop my lure into the thickest part of a brush pile or log jam and work it very slowly. Often a strike is so light, it feels like you've hooked a leaf."

One other lure Wilks uses is the squarebill crankbait. He urges anglers to "try banging shallow stumps and rocks with a crawfish-colored squarebill (like the one pictured at right) beginning about noon, after the sun has warmed up the muddy water a few degrees."

Some anglers also use a black crankbait, which offers a sharp contrast in muddy water. Regardless of color, a slow retrieve is the order of the day.

It's likely doubtful that cold, muddy water is anyone's preference. But then, what we prefer and what we're often forced to fish aren't always the same, especially for anglers who have to work for a living. Saturday frequently is your only available day to fish, and if that happens to be a tournament day, you can be fairly certain the tournament director isn't going to reschedule the event just because there's a cold front and muddy water on hand.

As Greg Hackney describes it, "This is one situation where it's possible to take lemons and make lemonade. Fishing cold, muddy water is not a desirable situation to find yourself in, but it's no reason to throw in the towel, either," he says. "Pick up the big stick, head shallow, and thump some bass."

Charlie may have thumped only one bass yesterday, but that's one more than I, or anyone else who stayed home, can claim. As he related in his blog post, "I really needed to get out. I've been sitting in the garage staring at my gear and TV-13 weather for far too long, hoping for a break. Today, it was a go." ...and he went.

Can't blame a man for wanting to do something to break that cabin fever.