murky waters?

Question
we fish in wa. state a  lake with murky water's for about three year's it's a lake cloase to home with bass,trout,bullhead and black croppy. what lures do you suggest that we use can you help? would like to catch somthing thank's adrian

Answer
Adrian,
Thanks for using All Experts.

I'll try to help you out, but there are a lot of variables when it comes to fishing any body of water.  First, you told me one, and that is that the water is murky.  For that reason I would suggest using lures with flash, vibration and brighter colors.  Although some dark colored lures will work in certain conditions.

The other factors to consider are the size of the lake, bottom structure, and fish holding areas, such as timber, weeds, moss, rocks, etc.

If I were to suggest some all-around lures to cover trout, bass and crappie, it would be something like a Beetle Spin and Road Runner.  Curl tail grubs would also work, as would
maribou jigs.  The Road Runner combines all of these lures, and can be fished with a slow swimming, pumping or jigging retrieve.

As for size, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce would be another to cover most of these species, although the smaller size would be best for the trout and crappie.

Colors for the lures mentioned would be white and chartreuse.  These two would cover most of your fishing in murky conditions.

Another type of lure that could work is the Rat-L-Trap, but this is best for areas without snags, as they will get hung easily.  In this lure I would suggest the 1/8 and 1/4 ounce sizes - again because I'm trying to cover all species with a few lures.  The colors would be chrome/black back, chartreuse/black back, Tennessee shad, and fire tiger.

There are many lures, and as I said earlier, a lot of factors must be considered.  In fact, the selection of lures can change from season to season, and in some cases from day to day.  I would also have different lures and sizes for each species, but the ones I've suggested
should cover all the species you mentioned, except for the bullheads.

For the bullheads I would suggest using the old stand-by live nightcrawler.

I talk a lot on my radio show about things like you have asked.  If you get a chance you can listen to the show via the Internet by going to www.wrmj.com.  I am on April through September, on Thursday and Friday at 5:45 p.m. and Saturday at 6:15 a.m.  This is central time.  Thursday and Saturday are fishing reports, and Friday is a show with interviews and information.

Another place you can go for information regarding bass is www.bassinusa.com.  I am a member of their pro staff, and all the pro staff members answer question posted on the
site's boards.  It is free to join and ask questions.  There are pro staff members from all the states, and perhaps they have some from Washington.

Hope this has helped.  If you have further questions please feel free to ask.

Best of fishing,
Dan