For Northern Powell anglers: do fish avoid muddy water in Spring?

[Boudreaux]

Do fish in/around GHB move out of the muddy water and concentrate in clearer water? I’d think maybe walleye would be happy in stained/muddy water, bass don’t like to move far from home, maybe stripers prefer clearer water? Or does it even matter? Maybe the baitfish like the food and protection of incoming muddy river water? Theories? Experiences?

 

[linnell]

Bass can definitely be found in dirty water, can't speak for the walleye or stripers.

 

[fastarget]

Tough finding anything in that mud and lots of floating debris is starting in it, getting worse as you go north, and the debris was getting larger in size.

 

[TND]

This time of year I like to find the mud line coming into a canyon. Caught a bunch of Walleye at the transition from clear to stained water, it seems like they are hunting the mud line.

 

[last wild human]

i was coming down Wednesday and going to blue notch , is it going to be to muddy to fish ? i will be in my kayak.

 

[BrianID]

I've caught SMB, LMB, walleye and Stripers all in really muddy water in Powell in the past. Fish tend to be shallower in the muddy water than the clear water and the muddy waters surface temperature warms quicker in the spring. I still prefer to fish clearer water but you will certainly be able to catch fish in the muddy water.

 

[Boudreaux]

That makes a lot of sense! I’ll try it and report back in a few weeks (currently in Ireland, dreaming about Powell)

 

[John P Funk]

I don't believe that the fish themselves are influenced by the "dirtiness" of the water. The effect on fishing comes from their inability to see the lure that you're casting. In dirty water you basically have to hit them on the nose with the lure, the fish are still there it is just harder to hook them.

 

[Ryan]

I have it on good authority that the inflows are so strong from both the Colorado and the SJ that all the fish have been pushed down south of Dangling Rope.

 

[Sasquatch]

I am calling B.S., Everyone knows that the fish hang out with the alligators, tigers and giraffes found in the upper reaches, anything south of Dangling Rope weighs less than a pound.