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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | What are your thoughts on water clarity? If a lake has bays that are different water clarities, will the muskies migrate to clearer water when some bays get a little thick, or no?
Let's say, for the sake of discussion, that the forage is similar in each bay. And the water clarity can go from pea soup to emerald clear... depending on the bay.
Just curious... |
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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | Sorry, I clicked on 'new poll' instead of 'new topic'... brain fart... |
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Posts: 2753
Location: Mauston, Wisconsin | Hmmmmm... The pea soup may be where the active fish are, i.e., the added micro organizim's causing the reduced clarity could be fueling a feeding frenzy in the water coluum. It all depends on the cause of the reduced clarity, wind driven turbulance stirring up the bottom, attracting bait fish, attracting, predators.................
Now tannic stained versus clear water is another subject. Maybe some of the folks who fish LOTW & other large bodies w/ mixes of water types can better comment.
Have fun
Al |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | I fish several systems that get very stirred up, and a few that are algae prone. My observation is that muskies avoid very shallow muddy water if there is clearer water readily available. The mud line can be like an additional piece of structure.
Bloom is another story. I've caught lots of fish in pea soup conditions, and yet have seen it where the fish seem to have moved out of the areas where there is very heavy algae. I think oxygen levels have alot to do with that, ut I'm sure there's more to the equasion than just that. |
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Posts: 2361
| No pat answer for this one. If it is all the same lake and adjacent to open water with good flow from each bay then wind direction could alternately fill and empty the algae in each bay. However if these bays are closed off through something like a channel you are probably looking at different water chemistry for each bay. Early in the year, I would look in the "rich"bays. If water temps get up over 74-76, I would get out of the green bays and go to the clearer waters, I don't like the warm water algae connection. |
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Posts: 146
Location: Wayzata, MN | On two different lakes, with the channel situation you described [so you could get to much clearer water] I noticed as the summer came in [warmer temps]... the fish seemed to disappear out of the green areas [blooms caused by fertilizing and heavy spring rain run-off].
I went to noisy lures, varied color, etc... thinking that their strike zone just got smaller due to the reduced water clarity... nothing.
Switched, and concentrated on the clear water, and started seeing fish again...
Wasn't sure they left the pea soup, or if my presentation needed more work ;}
Thanks for the replies... |
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Water clarity