Quote Originally Posted by itsbob View Post
Nice article on reading water color.Water clarity is one of the most important factors affecting your catch rate.The water clarity is usually a big factor in the spring when water is still pretty cool, and the jig/ crankbaits bite is what we are using to catch fish.One way to find proper water color is to use the satellite pictures that the NOAA puts out on their websites.Look for that greenish color in those pictures and avoid the chocolate and blue areas.But because of cloud cover we sometimes don't get pictures every day and even a week at a time.You also can't go by a two day old picture because of currents and winds constantly moving that water around.One of the reasons you will catch fish in the greenish color water over the clear water is due to the cloudy water is warmer than the clear water.It is more comfortable in the warmer water for the fish and the walleye use it to ambush their prey bait.
I would agree that going by a 2-day old satellite image is less than ideal and I mentioned in the article that currents and wind are always changing the water conditions. 100% agree on that.

However, I would argue that 2-day old information is better than none. If you don't have any other reports to go by, then I will use the 2-day old image and the weather info from the time in between and try to extrapolate what has likely happened to the water in between. I know from experience that a strong E wind will muddy things up in MI waters, and a S or SW wind will do the opposite. So, I can use that information to estimate what changes have likely happened since the last clear image.

It's not perfect, but it gives me some idea what I am likely to be facing. If I kept my boat in slip and was able to go whenever I wanted, then it may not matter as much. I would just go and start searching. However, I am usually trying to decide whether to go to Erie or Lake St. Clair, and which launch to go to from there. I may even decide to stay home and do yard work and fish another day if I think it will be a muddy mess, so any information I can use towards that decision helps.